Good news, the talented writing group, Chesham Writers and Scribblers’s latest collection of short stories has been launched. Varied, thought provoking, and raising money for charity, what more can one ask from the written word? Well, I wanted to know how a collection of 15 writers could be corralled for long enough to produce such interesting work. So over to Clare.

‘Seasons’: a collection of 15 short stories  by Clare Elstow

Autumn bonfires, winter snow, spring lambs and summer swifts – all classic elements of the Chiltern seasons. Add in a birth, a marriage, a death and a murder, a couple of holidays and a dream or two and you have the recipe for the entertaining mix of fifteen short stories that makes up Chesham Writers and Scribblers’ second collection of short stories: ‘Seasons’.

The group meets monthly, writing to a themed assignment, and it’s become an annual event to use one of the themes as the basis for a published story collection. We all appreciate having an extra focus and inspiration for writing and as well as seeing our work in print, the project means group members raise money for local charities, including Chesham Museum.

L – R: Michael Rowan, Catriona Troth, Kate Hutchinson, Denise Beddows (writes as D J Kelly), Clive Hewitt, Clare Elstow and Patricia Heath.
Photographer credit: Emily Conboy

How does it work?

Three of us act as editors, making the initial selection of stories and deciding on an order that provides variety and contrast; it’s fascinating to see such varied interpretations of the same theme. Perhaps only these eclectic local collections can provide a home for styles and genres that range from thriller to folktale, historical to contemporary and which encompass both despair and hope, alongside a helping of humour.

Professional local photos ensure a colourful and attractive cover and are provided by Chartridge Photographic, who also print the copies. We decided on an inexpensive stapled booklet style, to keep costs and price down (£3) and attract the casual buyer; it also ensures we can afford to donate a number of copies to our stockists. As well as Chesham Museum, ‘Seasons’ can also be bought at The Drawingroom coffee house in Chesham – the venue for most of our meetings.

For more information about the group:

http://writersandscribblers.wordpress.com/ , or email cheshamwritersandscribblers@gmail.com .