Wrap-up of the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival 2015

Wow, another amazing year in southern Italy at the annual Matera Women’s Fiction Festival. I have been going for the past few years, and I always enjoy this yearly pilgrimage to this beautiful Italian cave town, and the chance to learn about trends in publishing and writing, to attend writing workshops and one-on-one sessions with…

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2019 European Culture capitals – Matera and Plovdiv

Two European cities or towns are selected by the European Commission each year to serve as European culture capitals. Two cities I’ve visited and enjoyed have just been named as 2019’s culture capitals. The first is the beautiful Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, the first ever European culture capital in Bulgaria. I already posted about this…

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Wrap-up of the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival 2014

I’m back from my yearly pilgrimage to the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival. For the past couple of years, the end of September finds me in Matera, the ridiculously picturesque cave town of southern Italy’s Basilicata region. Each year, the festival brings together women (and a few men) who write in many genres – women’s fiction,…

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Where to stay in Matera, Italy?

Okay, this the transparent attempt of a traveller –  to start dreaming about a place before an upcoming trip by imagining the place, digging thorough old photos, etc. Tomorrow, I’m off to Matera for my annual mecca to the Women’s Fiction Festival, and I’m anxious to be back to this beautiful southern Italian town. Over…

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Brainstorming at the spa 2013

I’m typing this with my tears in my eyes because I’d been hoping to go myself, but March is shaping up to be more hectic than I thought and I won’t be able to get away this year. But for you lucky writers in Europe – or those of you who just need a thinly…

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What I learned at the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival – Part 2

I’ve already mentioned much of what I learned at this year’s Matera Women’s Fiction Festival in Part 1. In that post, I covered issues related to  electronic publishing, the newly-coined term   ‘dicoverability’, and the role of agents today in a quickly-shifting marketplace. But just to prove all my time wasn’t spent wandering the steep…

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Greetings from the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival

This is an advance post anticipating the fun I’ll be having at the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival when this goes up. The annual festival is underway in the spectacular southern Italian town of Matera. If you haven’t seen my travel post on Matera  and you’re flat out of ideas for your next holiday, be sure…

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Sleep in a cave in Matera, Italy

If you read my blog, you’ll know I’ve raved about the Women’s Fiction Festival held each September in Matera, in Italy’s southern region of Basilicata. But I haven’t actually posted a travel piece about the town, which is well worth a visit. Since I am on my way to the annual conference later this week,…

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