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It's the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness! Or if you prefer F. Scott Fitzgerald to Keats, "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." Whether you're devouring literature or munching on all that delicious autumn produce, take a few moments to explore all the latest news and opportunities from Autumn Voices.

Time flies when you're enjoying yourself - and here at Autumn Voices we're almost ready to launch our Autumn Poetry Competition! 

Our competition is again in honour of National Poetry Day, which is on the first Thursday of October annually. This year it’s on Thursday October 7th, and we open for entries on October 1st. The competition, like last year, will run for the whole month of October, and you can find the entry and eligibility details here including information about our lovely judge, Chrys Salt. The theme for this year's poetry competition is ‘Choice‘ and we heartily encourage you to interpret that in whatever context you choose. See what we did there? Competitions are a great way to get the creative juices going again after a writing hiatus, revisit previously unpublished work or test out new writing forms, plus you might just win a cash prize or lovely poetry books!

We’re delighted to be able to offer a 1st prize of £100 plus a selection of poetry books, a second prize of £50 plus a selection of poetry books, and the writers of two Highly Commended poems will each receive a copy of the Autumn Voices book.

If you've been keeping up with the website, you'll have read all the latest content we've been adding on the subject of S for Sleep - the very last of our 'Clangers' topics!  Hamish Whyte's blog - in response to  Diana Hendry -  were complemented by several of Renita Boyle's Bedtime Stories and accompanying musings on somnolent subjects.

We've also had responses to our Quick And Quirky Questions from Mark Daws, Liz Niven Colin Will,  Hamish Whyte and Miller CaldwellDiana Hendry has also written a review of John Burnside's latest poetry collection, 'Learning To Sleep'.  Autumn Voices staff held a vote to determine what we thought was the best Clanger we received during August - and member Jill Korn duly won a copy of the book in recognition of her aptly titled 'Sleep'. You can read everyone's contributions HERE.
Orlando the marmalade cat is an integral part of the Autumn Voices team. This month he extends a paw to invite all humans over 60 who love cats to join him! OnlineWithOrlando is a new series celebrating our love for our pets and you and your animal companions can participate . You can Tell Orlando, Show Orlando or even Ask Orlando and there's also a wee competition to enter!   
Just in case you missed the announcement...we're delighted to be offering two poetry and publishing workshops on 18th Sept 2021 at Eskdalemuir Community Hub. A morning workshop on Writing Poetry with well-known poet, Liz Niven will be followed by an afternoon workshop, on How To Get Published with publisher Sheila Wakefield,  founder and editor at Red Squirrel Press.  Both workshops are free of charge if you’re 60+ and accessible on Zoom if you can’t attend in person.The workshops are being held in partnership with Lockerbie Old School Community Hub and Eskdalemuir Expressive Arts, and are funded by DG Unlimited as part of the 'Watering Grassroots' live event series. 

For more information or to reserve your free place on September 18th on either the poetry writing workshop or the publishing workshop, or both, please email Catherine Lacey, Chair of Lockerbie Old School Community Hub on:
chairperson@lockerbieoldschool.co.uk  
More details on the Autumn Voices website HERE.
Wigtown Book Festival runs from 22 September to 4 October this year.  Check out the fantastic programme - it includes Polly Pullar, author of A Scurry of Squirrels: Nurturing The Wild who will be blogging for us this month!     
Those of you who are keen photographers will already be familiar with Instagram - well,we've just opened a new Autumn Voices account.  Right now this will help us share the content for Online With Orlando more widely - after all, everyone knows that cats are the biggest influencers! So please follow us there and enjoy all the pictures of pets our members will soon be sharing. 
AND FINALLY..... Edinburgh-based artist Alec Finlay has been commissioned to design Scotland's Covid Memorial, which will honour lost loved ones and recognise the impact of the pandemic upon us all, helping to shape a culture of recuperation.

Alec's key ideas are 'I remember' and 'support'. These ideas will inform the design of a series of physical structures which will be refined into the final memorial artwork in Pollok Country Park in Glasgow. There are also some forthcoming events to attend led by Alec Finlay, Lucy Richards, and Ken Cockburn. All are free, but please book via Eventbrite via the links below.

I remember (older people and carers), Thursday 9 September, 11.00-12.30 - This is an online event in association with Life Changes Trust.

I remember at Pollok Country Park, Saturday 11 September 11:00-15.00 - a drop-in creative session guided by Alec Finlay, Lucy Richards, Ken Cockburn & Hannah Laycock.

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