Phoenix Writing Group

It is said that time passes quickly when you’re having fun and that’s certainly been the case for Southendbased Phoenix Writing Group, writes Kim Kimber.

It’s hard to believe we first formed ten years ago and, since that time, friendships have been forged, tea drunk and biscuits dunked. This monthly ritual was the inspiration behind the title of our latest anthology, Better Than Biscuits.

Originally known as WoSWI Writing Group, we published three anthologies under that name: Write on the Coast (2013), Ten Minute Tales (2016) which won Writing Magazine’s Writers’ Circle Award that same year, and A Book For All Seasons (2018). Two years ago, we underwent some changes and emerged as Phoenix Writing Group, retaining many original members.

We knew very little about self-publishing when we put together our first anthology, just one year after forming, but have learnt more about the process on each subsequent occasion. It is a very exciting time for indie authors and self-publishing enables writing groups like Phoenix to showcase their work.

All of our books have raised money for local charities and our latest anthology is no exception. This time, we are supporting Southend in Sight (Registered Charity no. 1069765), an organisation that helps visually impaired individuals in the community.

We are also publishing across more platforms, including hardback, and have set up a GoFundMe page to create an audio version of our book so that it will be accessible to all.

As a way to promote our books and reach out to the wider writing community, we have recently set up a Facebook page where we plan to publish a selection of short stories, poems and information about the group. You can find us at: https://writ. rs/PWG. All are welcome to stop over and say hello.