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Local newspapers can inspire creative writing, says award-winner

kochAn award-winning former regional press journalist who has had her debut novel accepted for publication is aiming to show how local newspapers can inspire creative writing .

Emily Koch, left, former deputy news editor at the Bristol Post, is due to have her as yet untitled first book published in 2018 by Penguin Random House imprint Harvill Secker.

She is currently working on a second book, and will shortly be running a workshop as part of the Bristol Festival of Literature on how local newspapers can inspire creative writing.

Emily was named Young Journalist of the Year at the Regional Press Awards in 2012, but left the Post in 2014 to study for a masters’ degree. She later co-founded Bristol’s WriteClub, a monthly session aimed at inspiring creativity.

Said Emily: “I’ve been running workshops for several months now in Bristol as part of WriteClub, but this is the first one to focus on how your local paper can be mined for great creative writing prompts.

“As a writer you’re constantly looking for new ideas and inspiration and newspapers are the perfect source.

“Obviously there are some cracking stories around which could be the starting point for a short story or novel – but there is also much more to be harvested from a newspaper.

“I’m under no illusions that this will single-handedly save local newspapers but if it brings in a few sales here and there then it’s nice to think that I’ve been able to give something back to the industry which got me to where I am today.”

The workshop, entitled From Newspaper to Notebook, takes place on Thursday 20 October from 10am to 12pm at Paper Arts in Broadmead, Bristol.

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  • October 9, 2016 at 12:48 pm
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    Well done to Emily, and of course she’s absolutely right. Newspapers are a great source of creative writing. All you have to do is check out some of the la-la land stuff that is sent out with monotonous regularity by JP, TM, etc

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