Articles: Tweetups and Tapping the Trend

Tweetups…#Twinter

I’ve been out to quite a lot of networking events or meetups as they are generally called by the techie crowd, over the last couple of years. Last night, however was my first ‘Tweetup’ (i.e. a meeting organised by and including people from Twitter) with the publishing crowd. Named ‘Twinter’, it was a very enjoyable event and I would thoroughly recommend it. It was definitely worth braving those icy North London pavements to get there.

There was a nice mix of people who worked in publishing companies as editors, designers and publicists. There were also a number of writers, booksellers or people who were a combination of both. It was great to meet the voice behind @vintagebooks and the organiser @BenJohncock writes a column for the bookseller and is one of those people that you follow on Twitter and kind of feel that you know them (without having ever really had a conversation).

I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye out for more Tweetups around my area with a view to hooking up with some of the other writerly types that I keep in touch with there. If anyone has any that they have been to before and would recommend, please let me know!

Tapping the Trend

(narrowly avoided typing Tapping the ‘Twend’ just then…darn Twitter!)

This Saturday I will be heading down to the Free Word Centre in Clerkenwell (which you should definitely check out if you haven’t heard of it yet). Spread the Word, who we worked with for our 24 Hour Book Project and The Literary Consultancy (a manuscript appraisal and editorial service) are hosting Tapping the Trend. I’m particularly looking forward to hearing from Sara Lloyd of Macmillan, author of the forward looking A Book Publisher’s Manifesto for the 21st Century and of course Kate Pullinger, who is always fascinating to hear from!

Here are all the details…

“The digital future is already upon us and we need to engage with the multitude of possibilities for storytelling offered to us by the new technologies”
Kate Pullinger

Publishing is changing, and writers need to keep abreast of developments within the commercial and online world. Don’t miss our important and timely event, Tapping the Trend, which includes a panel discussion to be chaired by The Guardian’s Literary Editor Claire Armitstead, Q&As and performances. Our cast of brilliant speakers and writers includes Canongate Books’ Digital Editor Dan Franklin and Sara Lloyd, Digital Director Pan MacMillan. Canongate and Pan MacMillan are widely recognised as being at the forefront of digital publishing. What’s more, prize-winning author and leading writer in digital media, Kate Pullinger, together with writers commissioned by Spread the Word, will perform, demonstrate and discuss how they use the internet to produce new work and how it has informed their creative practice. This will include poet Karen McCarthy’s online experiment in poetry which opens up the creative process online, as well as Spread the Word’s groundbreaking collaboration with if:book, The Society of Young Publishers and CompletelyNovel.com to challenge a group of writers to write a new story about London in just 24 hours. Take the future into your own hands and get informed and inspired about how to develop your writing opportunities and practice – in the digital and online publishing era.

Saturday 13 February 1pm – 5.45pm
Free Word Centre
60 Farringdon Road
London
EC1R 3GA
Train/Tube: Farringdon
£35/£25 (concessions)