Looking back at the last year of hosting The Sunday Writers Hangout, I can't help but be amazed that we're still going, and that it has been so effortless!
Its optimistic to organize any event at 10 am on a Sunday morning, let alone every Sunday morning. But it has been an absolute joy and honor to be able to have met so many wonderful and different people, some for one morning and others for months if not the full year! Getting to know these people has given me friendships I never saw coming, and while productivity levels vary, I have written more consistently than ever before (even putting together my first book!)
The last year has been a tough one personally, so being able to turn to strangers into friends has been rewarding in a way I don't think I have ever actually thanked them for. So if your reading this. Thank you!
We've in turn been hosted by The Folkestone Bookshop, a magical place. Really, no matter where you are in the world, stop what you are doing and plan a trip there. The team here have plied us with coffee each morning and given us an invaluable space, full of comfort and creativity. And right now I'm trying to think of ways we can make this thanks tangible.
In all honesty, I feel a slight guilt. I think I've taken for granted this group. It's become such a self sustaining thing that I rarely, if ever, take a second to acknowledge the commitment people have made to it, the fact that people schedule their lives around it, and factor it into their days. Every time someone mentions 'the writers group' or 'writers hangout' I have a sense of entirely unearned pride. Each person who comes has made that group. They have shaped it in some way.
Which leads up to now! We know it works. I love it. And so now I might actually push, and give it the attention it deserves. So if you would like to come down, please do. Whether you have never been before or came before but its been so long you feel awkward, trust me we don't mind (in fact we probably wont even remember).
Every Sunday - 10am - The Folkestone Bookshop
All my love,
KB