January 2026

Hello writers,

In the appropriately dimly lit Hideaway at The Walrus, in our first event of the year, we leaned in close to discus intimacy in our writing in all its forms. An enormous thank you to everyone who shared their reflections, challenges and ideas. 

And we're hugely grateful to Emily Howes for describing so thoughtfully and clearly how she writes closeness, and for sharing extracts from her work. It was a privilege to be the first public audience to hear her read from Mrs Dickens, which hits the shelves in June.

Thank you to our readers: Helen for introducing many of us to the idea that we need to get hot and cold to say healthy, and to Sue for transporting us from Canary Wharf to the South Bank. We hope you got as much out of reading as we did listening.

Our next event in on Tuesday 24 January, 6-8pm, also in the Hideaway at The Walrus, Ship Street, BN1 1AD. Best-selling author and master of suspense and intrigue, SJ Watson will be with us to discuss Thrillers. And in an exclusive one-off session, instead of readers sharing work, Circle member, poet, performer and jazz vocalist Lou Beckerman is going to coach us on reading our work aloud with impact. It's going to be a rich evening. There are a handful of tickets left.

Then, on Tuesday 31 March, 6-8pm at The Mesmerist, 1-3 Prince Albert Street, BN1 1HE, author, writing mentor and academic Louise Tondeur will gently guide us through a Spring Reset. If you'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on your writing goals or intensions and retune them as the season shifts.

Before then, Lou is offering Circle members who otherwise might not be able to afford it a complementary spot at her Mindful Goal Setting for Writers workshop on 4 Feb at Yellow Wave Hove. Book with the code COMP.

Our very own Meesha is hosting a screening of two of her short films, Arcana 2024 and Eyewitness 2025, on Saturday 28 February at 6pm at Community Base, 113 Queens Road Brighton BN1 3XG. If you remember, she had us gripped as she shared from her screenplay back in September. It's free to attend - and Meesha says the more the merrier! - but if you would like to support her with the cost of hiring the venue you can do so.

And the Forthwrite Festival in partnership with New Writing South is offering Circle members a 15 percent discount on tickets for the A Writer's PR Toolkit workshop on Saturday 7 March, 10:30-11:30am at Jubilee Library in Brighton. Book with the code REALWRITERS15.

Until we see you next, happy writing!