Gary Dalkin

@bmthwritingfest.bsky.social celebrates #RobertLouisStevenson - 175th birthday at his former home, where he wrote #DrJekyllandMrHyde and #Kidnapped.

13th November - performances, readings, poetry from Stevenson experts. @alibacon.bsky.social

www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk/networking-e...

Organising Chaos: Turn a Messy Draft into a Publishable Novel originated as a talk I gave with Sophie Beal (Director of Cadence Publishing) at the Bournemouth Writing Festival. It proved so successful we are now doing an extended version for Writing Magazine:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/organising...

Last night was the July Author Events' Books & Bubbles at Sobo:Sommelier. Bestselling psychological thriller writer @alexstoneauthor.bsky.social (The Quiet Sister) interviewed bestselling psychological thriller Jackie Kabler (The Revenge Plot). I adjudicated the fun and chaotic competition.

Author Linda Liebrand standing holding a copy of her novel for children aged 8-12, Wiilda and the Troll Trials, which was published on 2 July 2025.

I'm delighted that #WiildaAndTheTrollTrials by #LindaLiebrand, which I worked on last year, is now published. Linda says:

'I wrote Wiilda and the Troll Trials for curious kids who don’t quite fit in. For those who ask too many questions, or dream of adventures no one else sees.'

I've known about this for a while now, but am delighted to share the news that Andreina Cordani, bestselling, Crime Writers Association Daggar Award-nominated author of #MurderAtTheChristmasEmporium, will continue her seasonally-themed thrillers with #AScroogeMystery. And yes, there will be ghosts.

social media graphic for Author Events crime writers panel, 24 June 2025.

Really looking forward to this crime writer panel with Andreina Cordani, TH Carrington, Alex Stone, and MA Hunter.

@andreinacordani.bsky.social @alexstoneauthor.bsky.social

authorevents.co.uk/2025/03/30/2...

Social media image for blog post Romance & Frankenstein by Gary Dalkin on AuthorEvents.

New guest post on the #AuthorEvents Substack. From being asked to chair a panel at #RomanceWritingFestivalBournemouth via #Frankenstein to how for a brief while I thought I'd been published by #PrincetonUniversityPress and didn't even know it. #AlexStone

authorevents.substack.com/p/the-write-...

Romance Writing Festival Bournemouth - A Sense of Place — To The Last Word I’m delighted to announce that I will be chairing a panel at the first Bournemouth Romance Writing Festival, a new sister event to the hugely successful Bournemouth Writing Festival, where I’ve been a...

I’m delighted that I'll be chairing a panel at the first Romance Writing Festival Bournemouth, a sister event to the Bournemouth Writing Festival.

The panel will feature the bestselling authors #PhillipaAshley, #HollyMcCulloch, #SueMoorcroft and #JoThomas.

tothelastword.com/blog/place

Mark deMeza’s The Heroine of Auschwitz is Published — To The Last Word Last year my client Mark deMeza’s novel The Thirteenth Child , based on his own family’s history during the Holocaust in Amsterdam, was published to great acclaim and success. The novel currently has...

See more on my blog at: tothelastword.com/blog/the-her...

Cover of The Heroine of Auschwitz by Mark deMeza, sequel to The Thirteenth Child.

Cover of bestseling The Thirteenth Child by Mark deMeza.

My client Mark deMeza’s The Thirteenth Child, based on his family’s history in the Holocaust, was a bestselling success, with a 4.4 rating from over 2000 Amazon customers. Today the sequel, The Heroine of Auschwitz, for which I also provided editorial feedback during development, is published.

Yes, horrible as it is, I kept thinking about this novel and decided I needed to reread it.

Cover of The Survivor by James Herbert. The image of a crashing, burning jetliner is merged with that of a man's head.

I've just reread the prologue of #TheSurvivor by #JamesHerbert, first reading it around 45 years ago. The gradual shift from normality to overwhelming horror in just six pages is masterfully done, while the 50 year old story could have been written yesterday... Let's see if the rest holds up.

Quote of the day.

If someone needs AI to write anything for them for any reason they have no business calling themselves a writer.

As an editor I can't help but be amazed that no one at Tyrrell's took a look at this packaging and said, 'Hold on a minute...' Because really, I'm not even 25% convinced that crisps made with recycled plastic is the selling point they think it is.

#tyrrells #recycling #recycledplastic #editingfail

Shakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggests Professor says text shows Hathaway lived with playwright in London, upending the established idea of an unhappy marriage

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Some new information about Shakespeare's domestic arrangements for his birthday.

#shakespeare #annehathaway

Our writing events in Bournemouth, England All of our writing events taking place in Bournemouth to inspire all writers to write.

www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk

Organising Chaos: Turning Your Messy Draft Into a Publishable Novel with Gary Dalkin and Sophie Beal Archive - Pavilion Dance South West (PDSW) Self-editing your book without losing the plot "Following their sold out talk at last year’s BWF, publisher and writer Sophie Beal (Cadence Publishing) and editor and writer Gary Dalkin (To The Last...

Booking link: www.pdsw.org.uk/whats-on/org...

Organising Chaos: Turning Your Messy Draft Into a Publishable Novel with Gary Dalkin and Sophie Beal Archive - Pavilion Dance South West (PDSW) Self-editing your book without losing the plot "Following their sold out talk at last year’s BWF, publisher and writer Sophie Beal (Cadence Publishing) and editor and writer Gary Dalkin (To The Last...

Booking link: www.pdsw.org.uk/whats-on/org...

Last year I wrote an article for #WritingMagazine, Organising Chaos: How to Turn a Messy First Draft into a Publishable Book, to coincide with my talk with #SophieBeal of #CadencePublishing at the #BournemouthWritingFestival. On Saturday we are giving an updated version at this year's festival...

In the light of publicity given to a nude writing workshop at the Bournemouth Writing Festival I must point out that Organising Chaos: Turn a Messy Draft into a Publishable Book will be fully clothed. That applies to the audience too. Even those right at the back.

www.pdsw.org.uk/whats-on/org...

Indeed, and well remembered!

Bournemouth Writing Festival - 25th - 27th April 2025 Tickets now on sale! Three-day literary and writing festival across Bournemouth in Dorset, jam packed with talks, walks, panels, performances and networking. If you're a budding writer or looking to ...

www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk/home

Organising Chaos: Turning Your Messy Draft Into a Publishable Novel with Gary Dalkin and Sophie Beal Archive - Pavilion Dance South West (PDSW) Self-editing your book without losing the plot "Following their sold out talk at last year’s BWF, publisher and writer Sophie Beal (Cadence Publishing) and editor and writer Gary Dalkin (To The Last...

www.pdsw.org.uk/whats-on/org...

Organising Chaos: Turn a Messy Draft into a Publishable Book, with Sophie Beal & Gary Dalkin at the Bournemouth Writing Festival, 26 April 2025

Literary festival cartoon from Private Eye

Just three weeks until the #BournemouthWritingFestival, where I'll be co-presenting Organising Chaos: Turn a Messy Draft into a Publishable Book with #SophieBeal of #CadencePublishing. Happily the #BWF is far too nice to have anyone like the chap from this #PrivateEye cartoon in our audience...

Members of the Society of Authors are protesting at Meta's London HQ today.

societyofauthors.org/2025/04/01/s...

#libgen #meta #dothewritething #bookthieves

The covers of six books written by Jane Goodall

Title page of In The Shadow of Man, with dedication to my wife and myself by Jane Goodall

Cover of In The Shadow of Man by, as she was at the time, Jane van Lawick-Goodall

Jane Goodall, the internationally renowned primatologist, environmentalist, activist and author celebrates her 91st birthday today. So here's wishing Bournemouth's most famous living author a very happy birthday. (Photos are from my collection of Jane Goodall's many books.)

Article by Gary Dalkin and Festival Director Domnic Wong about Bournemouth Writing Festival, published in the May 2025 issue of Writing Magazine

I wrote a piece with Festival Director #DominicWong about the #BournemouthWritingFestival for the May issue of #WritingMagazine. In shops 3 April, available as a print or digital edition online now.

www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk/home

www.writers-online.co.uk/store/back-i...

Bournemouth author bases psychological thriller on popular beach A Bournemouth author has based their new thriller on the 'idyllic' Boscombe beach.

Congratulations to Alex Stone on the launch of her new novel, The Quiet Sister. Dark deeds afoot on Boscombe beach, where I've spent many happy hours and days.

#alexstone #thequietsister #psychologicalthriller #bournemouth #boscombe