Simon Brace, Nathan Fidler and Laura Williams
Making Write Move with Book Business
Background
"What We Wrote" is a poetry and prose anthology by 12 Derby students and graduates, with themes including lies, unusual encounters and a man with a moon fixation.
The Book
"What We Wrote" can be previewed online and an audio reading will be available shortly. The book can be bought for only £5.99 from Author House and all profits from the book go to the National Literacy Trust.
Laura Williams, 22, of Wirksworth, Derbyshire, a second year student on Derby's Joint Honours Creative Writing and Media Writing degree course, established the What We Wrote business project.
She said: "I wanted to launch a book because of the difficulty Creative Writing students and graduates have in breaking new ground and achieving commercial success.
Often new writers find themselves in the 'Catch 22' situation of being told they cannot be published unless they've been published before. After the launch of What We Wrote, 12 people will be able to call themselves published authors."
She added: "Zadie Smith (multi-award winning author of White Teeth) was discovered through her university anthology."
The authors
"What We Wrote" features six poems and six short stories. Authors includes:
- Simon Brace - a Creative Writing graduate who is also a singer/songwriter on Derby's open mic scene.
- Nathan Fidler - a graduate in Film and Television Studies, and Creative Writing. His novel All the Ways Grow Dark won the East Midlands Free Read Scheme.
- Laura Williams - a Creative Writing and Media Writing undergraduate, who studied at the London School of Journalism. Read her blog...
Contributions
The book was supported by the University of Derby's Entreprise Inc Scheme that gives financial help, training and mentoring to students and graduates looking to develop a business idea.
As well as the written contributions University of Derby students from a range of courses were involved in the cover design, and selecting and editing materials.
Maggie Morley, Programme Development Manager in the University's Centre for Entrepreneurial Management, said: "Laura's idea was one of the more unusual business concepts supported by the Entreprise Inc programme.
"She impressed us not only with her passion to succeed but also her determination to gain as much as possible from the training and mentoring programme.
"We are delighted that her business vision has now become a reality and wish her continued success."
