Writers Enjoying Words

Contact: Noelle Bryant

My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel–it is, before all, to make you see.”

Joseph Conrad

Writers Enjoying Words Group
Some of our friendly Writers Enjoying Words Group

All of us enjoy words of some sort: the latest blockbuster novel; the newsy articles in magazines; the sports report from the latest match; the rapid fire of social media or the quiet thoughts of a poet. Whatever the piece may be, Conrad’s words ring true – the author is trying to engage you, capture your thoughts and present new ideas, telling you a story.

So who are Writers Enjoying Words?

A diverse group from varied backgrounds with different life experiences and a desire to write, read, discuss and share the written word. Some rarely write, others are published authors – and every shade of author in between.

Where would you find us?

The group normally meets fortnightly on Monday mornings at 10am in the Monmouthshire Building Society BUT please check the calendar on this page as we do have to move at times to accommodate events in MBS and Bank Holidays!

What happens?

Members generally write or select prose or poetry in any genre and come along and read it to the group. Pieces may be short or long, an excerpt from a longer work or a new episode in a serial work. To allow everyone to read, longer pieces may be split across meetings or emailed out for discussion at the meeting.

We take it in turns to give 1-4 topics for the next meeting to give a focus but this is optional. It is surprising what a variety of tales can be generated from just one topic.

The topic ‘Green’ prompted 12 very different stories and poems. What would you write?

PLEASE NOTE: To allow sufficient time for all to read and discuss their writing within our 2 hours, we have to limit the numbers within the group.

All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.

Friedrich Nietzsche

April 2024

Monday 8th April

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Monday 22nd April

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

May 2024

Monday 13th May

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Themes decided at previous meeting

June 2024

Monday 3rd June

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Themes decided at previous meeting

Monday 17th June

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Themes decided at previous meeting

July 2024

Monday 1st July

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Themes decided at previous meeting

Monday 15th July

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Themes decided at previous meeting

Monday 29th July

10:00 – 12:00
Writers Enjoying Words

Themes decided at previous meeting

WEW Pick of the Month

We thought we’d share some of our work on a monthly basis. We do hope you enjoy the variety of pieces.

  • March 2024 Uplands by Lorraine Gray

Latest news from the group

WEW Pick of the Month – March 2024

Published 1st March 2024

Writers Enjoying Words would like to share some of their work with you on a regular basis. We do hope you enjoy the variety of pieces. This month it’s Uplands by Lorraine Gray

The Shadow Fairy

Published 14th February 2024

Book cover

At the begining of things there was only blackness and then vibration. The Shadow Fairy tells the charming story of how a kind fairy came to give colours and shadows to the waiting universe.

The Shadow Fairy by David Hiscox is available from Amazon in paperback or for Kindle

With Grave Consequences

Published 13th January 2024

Book cover

The third D I Mandy Wilde novel by Jacqueline Harrett

Published 5th December 2023 Diamond Books ISBN 1915649323

A dead teenager.

A dying mother.

A missing baby.

DI Mandy Wilde and her team have a mystery to solve.

With her pregnant twin sister, Joy, back in Cardiff the tension isn’t all work based. Life has become more complicated.

Progress on the case is slow. Too slow. Mandy is worried. She’s lumbered with a detective from another team who has a grudge against her. His obstruction is unwelcome.

Can things get worse? Of course they can. The return of her ex fiancé, now a DCI, doesn’t help. She needs to prove she can solve this case – despite the odds.

National U3A Short Story Competition

Published 1st October 2023

The results of the 2023 competition have been announced. There were over 400 entries across the UK. The top 13 finalists are available to read at https://www.u3a.org.uk/learning/short-story-competition-2023 Noelle Bryant from Writers Enjoying Words was delighted to be placed in the shortlist.

The Whispering Trees

Published 16th February 2023

The Whispering Trees - cover photo

The Whispering Trees by Jacqueline Harrett

Published Nov 2022 by Diamond Books  ISBN 978-1915649188

The second DI Mandy Wilde novel.

The unidentified body of a young man is found in Nant Fawr woods, Cardiff, giving DI Mandy Wilde and her team a big problem. There’s only one clue – his expensive handmade shoes.
But where is he from? Why has no one come forward to identify him?
Then… a local boy disappears, a rash of burglaries breaks out and the pressure is on.
Yet again, DI Wilde is fighting on all fronts. Not just the criminals and her boss, but even her fly-by-night twin sister. She needs every ounce of her famous off-beat thinking to create order from the chaos.

Some of Our Work

Published 6th September 2022

We have put together a collection of some of our work  : Writers Enjoying Words : Collection

Greenscapes

Published 6th September 2022

by Janet Laugharne

ISBN 978-1-912455-33-1

Published by erbacce-press 2022

https://www.erbacce-press.co.uk/janet-laugharne

The Nesting Place

Published 12th July 2022

The Nesting Place
by Jacqueline Harrett
Published 2021 ISBN: 1838402675

My debut crime novel, ‘The Nesting Place’, was published by Diamond Crime, a new Indie publisher (a form of publishing that doesn’t rely on the Big 5 publishing houses) They have been a joy to work with and, as writers themselves, the team have been collegial and supportive in their approach. It was exciting to introduce my character, D.I. Mandy Wilde, to the world and pleasing she has been well received.

Mandy Wilde doesn’t always follow the rule book. She is guardian to her niece and unwavering in her quest to find the truth. You can find out more at harrett.co.uk.

What Lies Between Them

Published 15th April 2022

By J. L. Harland

Publisher: Dixi Books (UK) Limited
ISBN: 9781913680350
Number of pages: 256

Janet Laugharne and Jacqueline Harrett have been members of the U3A Writers Enjoying Words group for many years. They write together under the pseudonym J. L. Harland, as well as separately under their own names. Both are delighted to belong to a wonderful group of talented writers, published and unpublished, and are grateful for the support and encouragement on their long and winding road to publication.


‘What Lies Between Them’, their co-authored novel, published by Dixi Books 2022 in the UK and internationally in the US, Australia, America, and Europe,  is contemporary women’s fiction. It is the story of Elin Fiorelli and her struggle to come to terms with the secrets of the past while dealing with problems in the present. Their website is https://jlharland.co.uk/

One Syrian Summer

Published 12th April 2022

One Syrian Summer
by Dorothy Al-Khafaji
Published 2018 Publisher: Book Guild Publishing Ltd ISBN: 1912362937

Cardiff