Life is hectic. Finding time out feels almost impossible. We want to pray, we want to reflect, but when we do find a snatched moment to ourselves, we remain distracted. I've designed this space to help you reconnect with your breath, to gently stretch your body, and to listen... to the voice of your inner wisdom, and to the voice of your Beloved. We will meditate with scripture, we will journal, we will use creative means to listen to the Spirit. We will sit with Love. I hope you will come away feeling centred, refreshed and assured of your belovedness. Two hours, on Zoom. "Come away with me to a quiet place" The sessions will be shaped around the following themes this year: October: Teresa of Avila November: Letting Go December: Advent / Expectant Hope January: The Gifts of Winter Darkness February: Love March: Lent April: No Session May: Resurrection / Spring June: TBC July: The Gifts of Summer August: No Session You are invited to participate from the comfort of your own home. Ideally you'll be able to find a little space where you won't be interrupted. You might wish to ask those you share space with to help you protect this time by respecting your privacy. All who sign up will be sent a link to the recording of the retreat which will remain live until the following session. If you would like to participate via recording, simply register for the event. It would be great if you could let me know that you won't be with us in real time. Past Participants are Saying: "A really well led session allowing time for reflection and prayer." - Ellie Virtual Mini-Retreats are hosted by Lissy Clarke, Spiritual Director, Yoga Teacher and the voice behind the meditations at Contemplative at Home. NB: Virtual Mini-Retreats are FREE for members who support the show at £15/ month and above (thank you!! ✨) - but you must still register to secure a place on a particular date, as places are limited. Memberships can be started or stopped at any time. More information here.
LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Clare set up the Liverpool Literary Agency in 2020 to help address inequality and underrepresentation in the publishing industry. With more than 15 years’ experience of writing and editing professionally, including the publication of two novels, Definitions (2015) and We Are of Dust (2018 - which has received development funding from the Liverpool Film Office for a TV adaptation), she has developed an in-depth knowledge of what commissioning editors and publishers expect to see from a submitted manuscript. With a background in PR and marketing, alongside teaching on creative writing programmes, Clare also has extensive experience in pitching and promoting writers and has been nominated for the Romantic Novelist Association Agent of the Year Award! Clare would love to see historical fiction, crime fiction, psychological thrillers and women’s fiction, but she is open to all great writing with a strong hook in any area (excluding non-fiction, children’s and YA). She actively encourages submissions from writers who have been traditionally under-represented. Clare would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Clare is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print). By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Monday 9 December 2024
LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Jade Kavanagh is a Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Literary Agency. She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Westminster then went on to achieve her Masters in Modern and Contemporary Fictions. Alongside assisting Camilla Bolton on her list of clients Jade is building her own list of suspense, thriller and horror with distinct voices and setting. Across these genres Jade looks for powerful female narratives and dynamic characterisation. She wants female characters like Shiv Roy (Succession), Emily Gilmore (Gilmore Girls), Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder), Buffy Summers (Buffy), Ellen Ripley (Alien), Dana Scully (The X Files), Detective Kima Greggs (The Wire). Jade would love something with a big book club hook that readers devour in one sitting. Setting and atmosphere are of huge appeal. She wants stories with a vivid sense of place and to be immersed in the world of the characters. Jade wants detail down to what shade of lipstick or colour of the lamp on their bedside table and the nature and landscape around them. She loves luxury settings she can get excited about reading and descriptions to lose herself in. Jade also loves dark twists on glamorous concepts and settings. Think The Devil Wears Prada meets Killing Eve, or Real Housewives or Succession meets How to Kill My Family or something akin to White Lotus. Across the spectrum of horror and speculative fiction, Jade is looking for haunting stories filled with slow build darkness and characters with heart. Think 28 Days Later and The Last of Us. She really wants a dark witchy story… or on the cozier side a fresh take on something like Practical Magic or Charmed. Jade wants heroes to root for, and villains that terrify and enrage her in equal measure. One of Jade's favourite TV shows is Orphan Black; she'd love to see a book series like this. As a proud member of the Twilight generation, (Team Edward forever!) she’d also love to read a modern vampire novel. Show her American Psycho meets Dracula. Give her 2023 Carlisle Cullen in a thriller or a new take on Buffy. Whilst not actively looking for sci-fi novels, Jade would love to see A Scully and Mulder for the 2020s! Notably, Jade looks for voices from all walks of life. She is incredibly passionate about bringing working-class voices into the commercial fiction space. She would love to hear from new exciting talent, telling stories about everyday people with relatable voices, people she grew up with, people she can imagine. Jade would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 -2 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your completed manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Jade is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print). By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Tuesday 10 December 2024
Whetstone Communications and comms2point0 are pleased to bring you the Data Bites series of free webinars. Our aim is to boost interest and levels of data literacy among not-for-profit communicators.
This session will provide a clear update for governors as to the latest developments in terms of risk, updates on statutory guidance and KCSIE requirements from the governance perspective, and an overview of what the safeguarding team should be working on.
Monthly online ekphrastic writing workshops exploring contemporary artworks for story inspiration.
AS YOU DELIVER THIS INFORMATION, YOU ARE COACHED TO IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC-SPEAKING STYLE IN THESE (AND A FEW OTHER) AREAS: BODY LANGUAGE, POSTURE, WORD CHOICE, CONFIDENCE, EYE CONTACT, VERBAL TICS/FILLER WORDS, AND VOLUME. You will be coached to overhaul your content and visual aids (frequently PowerPoint) used during the presentation by: stating your purpose clearly, reducing the amount of text on slides, making messages more user-friendly, and choosing best graphics to support message. Attendees Will Be Able To: Increase ability to motivate the audience by delivering organized and engaging presentations; Gain more efficiency by crafting carefully-worded, streamlined messages, free of verbal tics and filler words; Increase enthusiasm through focus on body language and stage presence; and Convince listeners with strong evidence presented in speech and visual aids. Online Format—Advanced Presentation Skills is a 4-hour interactive virtual class for up to six people. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. The Diversity Sensitivity & Awareness workshop was excellent. It provided a unique approach to addressing the topic. The session was interactive, interesting and very informative, leaving participants with a greater understanding of the merits of diversity and an inspiration to continue to broaden that knowledge base. Sandra Hess Moll, Director of Employment Services / Affirmative Action CoordinatorMcHenry County College
KNOW THE RULES! POOR GRAMMAR SHOWS A LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND ULTIMATELY CAN SLOW DOWN COMMUNICATIONS AS WELL AS PRODUCTIVITY. Business people who know grammar judge others based on their correct (or incorrect) usage. Be the professional who is able to be clear and correct in writing. Business Grammar & Usage: ENGLISH BOOT CAMP is the answer for today’s business competitive environment. Interactive instruction and collaboration with your fellow attendees means that you will master the skills and apply your new knowledge to the classroom exercises and activities. When you return to work, you’ll have new confidence about what is right and wrong, when it comes to writing. Attendees Will Be Able To: Know the Parts of Speech and their correct uses; Understand Sentence Structure, including applying rules for Subject-Verb and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement; Be able to create Plurals and Possessives accurately and with certainty; Review and use the rules of Spelling, Mechanics (Capitalization, Abbreviation, Number Use), and Punctuation; Create original email / documents to employ newly-learned class material. Online Format—Business Grammar and Usage is a 4-hour interactive virtual class for up to ten people. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. It was great to have the opportunity to learn some new techniques and to gain more awareness of how I present myself. The most immediately applicable uses have been in reducing my “ums” and “ahs” and in trying to come to my point in a more succinct way. I’ve been cultivating this awareness in one-on-one settings; meetings and individual conversations. Christina Vargas