A monthly newsletter from the journalist, blogger and independent media tutor David Atkinson; more from atkinsondavid.com

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Morning

I've got some news for you – the second in my new series of monthly newsletters.

After catching some late-summer sunshine on the Gower Peninsula (that's the view from Three Cliffs Bay pictured above) for a walking assignment, I'm now working on some new editorial projects, including cultural Manchester, walking Wild Wales in the footsteps of George Borrow and Antwerp through the eyes of the Baroque painter Rubens.

I'm also interested in developing ideas around 150 years of Alice in Wonderland and Cleopatra's Egypt.

Get in touch if you want to support these projects.

Also, check out below links to recently published travel writing, blog posts on an education theme and details of the last places left on my day course for budding writers – the first in a series of insider-tips courses I'm running as an independent media tutor.

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Contact me:

07974 390435
atkinson.david@icloud.com
@atkinsondavid

Media tutor

I'm running a series of day courses to help budding writers get started in the industry.

The first course takes place on October 17 at the Glynne Arms in Hawarden, North Wales.

Bookings are now open and there are still some places left.

The topic for the first course is getting your story ideas into print and I'll be sharing some key insider tips for success.

The course costs £45pp, including coffee upon arrival and e-learning support. Contact me to book, or pay online via my website under workshops.

Yo can read the accompanying press release about the course, Award-winning journalist launches series of workshops for budding writers.

And find out about another series of workshops I'm launching for schools, working with media literacy for KS2 and KS5.

Read more: Teachers: do you want to enhance the quality of your writing in class.

Travel writing

This month The Daily Telegraph ran my story about maritime heritage in Liverpool and it generated a lot of buzz on social media sites. Read the story, T he renaissance of Liverpool.

Also published was my guest post for the official DT100 blog about walking on the Gower in the footsteps of the young Dylan Thomas. That's my walking guide, Geoff Haden, on the trail [pictured left]. Read the blog post, Mumbles and Gower.

I also had a short piece about the road of death in Bolivia in Enterprise magazine as part of Unforgettable Journeys.

Liked these? Then try also one from the archives – a long-form piece for TRVL magazine. Read Walking with the Romantic Poets in the Lake District.

Copywriting

Chester celebrated the annual Heritage Open Days (HOD) weekend in September and, this year, I covered the events as a guest blogger for the official HOD website.

There was a strong theme of heritage in connection to the centenary of the First World War.

From a little-known museum inside Chester University to a swift half in an eccentric local watering hole (that's some of the historical re-enactment crew having a drink at The Albion pictured above), I uncovered some heritage highlights on my own doorstep.

Read the guest blog, D iscovering stories from the Great War in Chester, Cheshire.

Feature writing

I wrote an education feature this month, combining case studies with my own personal experience.

Here's an extract:

“I walked away from university employment but carried on doing academic things, such as working as an external examiner and being part of an editorial board for an academic journal,” explains Dr. Neil Thompson, who left a job as Professor of Applied Social Studies at Staffordshire University in 1997 to go freelance.

Read the full story, G oing it alone: Why university lecturers go freelance.

Liked this? Then try also on an education theme, Freshers: How to make the most of student life.

And finally

I spent an evening watching a group of town criers from around the world jostle for the top prize in the spirit of friendly rivalry and wrote about my experience for my blog.

Read the story, O yez: World Town Crier Tournament in Chester.