Writing Wild Issue 12
Words from the Wild Women Writers' Salons
Hello, wonderful wild ones. I hope this finds you well and feeling nourished.
Here we are in November and into the last sprint of the first year of salons. It has been a fantastic journey, and I am honoured to have spent it with all of you. But don’t worry— the year isn’t over yet, and I am already busy putting together a wonderful programme for 2025 when we are mixing it up and bringing together novelists, memoir writers, nonfiction authors, and poets as we deep-dive into the things that matter.
More than ever, it feels so important to have this space, to put our stories down, to share them, and to stand together, giving witness to the humanity we share. So, I hope you will keep joining us, supporting us, and bringing your beautiful beings to this wild place of stories and shared journeys.
We have two more amazing salons in this programme! Because things get a little crazy at this time of year, both events are available to book now.
Book now and give space for wild nourishment in these closing months of the year!
Upcoming Salons November & December 2024
Salon 13—Mother, Myself
Exploring the balance and tension between motherhood, creativity, and identity
Thursday, 28th November, 7 pm—8.30 pm UK time
Join us as we explore the balance and tension between motherhood, creativity, and identity with guest authors Tanya Shadrick (The Cure for Sleep), Alice Kinsella (Milk), and Caro Giles (Twelve Moons).
Salon 14 - The Shape of Faith
Exploring how religion and faith shape the stories we tell — to ourselves and each other.
*Saturday 14th December, 7 pm—8.30 pm UK time
Join me and guest authors Lamya H. (Hijab Butch Blues), Dr Sara Glass (Kissing Girls on Shabbat), Suzanne Joinson (The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things*), and Catherine Coldstream (Cloistered) for a deep dive into how religion and faith shape the stories we tell to ourselves and each other.
*The lovely Indigo Press is offering ticketholders 30% off on purchases of The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things when you buy directly from them (a coupon code will be shared with all those with tickets).
*Please note that the final salon of the year is on Saturday, 14th December, rather than the last Thursday of the month.
For more information on the salon guests, keep reading.
And remember, if you missed the previous salons, consider upgrading to a paid subscription to access all previous newsletters and private links to the salons for this programme, plus extra interviews with authors, writing prompts and reading suggestions.
Did you know that you can find all the author books and recommended reads on our Bookshop page, or you can buy author books directly (deliverable worldwide) from Sam Read Booksellers?
Wild Women Writers’ Retreat 2025 (Online)
Monday 27th to Friday 31st January 2025
Cost £550 / £450 / £350
Join us for the Wild Women Writers’ Retreat 2025 (online) — a week of inspiration, community and creativity to nourish and support your writing journey.
Hosted by Victoria Bennett, this online retreat will include:
Creative inspiration
Daily creative nurture sessions
Writing workshops with select authors from the Wild Women Writers’ Salons
Industry insight with professionals from the publishing world
Complimentary ticket to the January Wild Women Writers’ Salon
Guest authors
The chance to write alongside and connect with other creative wild writers
1:1 feedback
A nourishing space for sustainable practice
Best of all, you can do it all from the comfort of your own home! As with all salons, supporting and nurturing your well-being is at the heart of the experience.
Please note that the sessions will run via Zoom between 9.30 am and 8.30 pm UK time (exact timings will be given with further details of the retreat).
This will be a small group retreat with no more than 24 places to ensure the week is supportive and nourishing. Workshops will be run concurrently and kept to 12 people max in each session.
There is a fixed charge for the retreat, which we have set at three price points to make it as accessible as possible. We won’t ask for proof, but we ask that you remember when selecting that the fee is there to ensure that we can support those who put in a lot of work to make the event happen—from writers to tech support to the busy, duck-paddling admin. For all of us, this is our livelihood and a considerable commitment of time and creativity.
We appreciate that this means the retreat will not be possible for some, so we are looking into ways of offering support.
As with everything we do, we are approaching this problem collectively. If you are interested in being a Wild Angel and would like to sponsor a place for another person to come or donate to a bursary fund, please get in touch using the message button below.
If we can offer assisted places, we will let you know!
Want to sign up and get your name on the list? Please message us below, and we will contact you soon with further information and booking details.
A Look Back… to Salon 12
‘I am a woman / Phenomenally / Phenomenal woman / That's me.’ — Maya Angelou
Thank you to our September salon guest authors, Gulara Vincent, Catherine Simpson and Sumayya Usmani, for bringing their wisdom, inspiration, courage and open hearts to the conversation. It was such an empowering and thought-provoking discussion of what it means to inhabit the country of our body and how we navigate our stories of womanhood, identity and freedom. Thank you to everyone who shared the evening and gently held the space. It was an absolute honour to host.
Did you miss the salon and want to listen to this inspiring conversation? Upgrade to paid to access the recording.
Want more from our authors? Here are some contacts and resources …
Catherine Simpson is on the list of approved authors on the Scottish Book Trust Live Lit Programme and is available for author events, festivals, book groups, writing workshops and residencies. You can find out more about Catherine via her website.
Sumayya Usmani is an experienced creative mentor. Offering membership to her ongoing writing community QISSA, 1:1 mentoring, and bespoke courses in writing book proposals, there is plenty to support writers at every level. You can find out more via Sumayya’s Website or via the links below:
Qissa is open—a membership for writers looking for accountability, connection, and support with their writing. To book, follow this link.
Brewed is an online course for writing a cookbook or food memoir proposal in 4 weeks. Booking opens soon Waitlist here
I Then, I Now, with myself and another writer, is a live course on writing a literary memoir. Waitlist here
Wordsmith, 21 days to find your writer's voice: an email and audio course that is always open - Link here
Details and links of any mentoring/training or other related opportunities that you offer
One-on-one writing tiered mentoring to all writers — Nourished | Nurtured | Noted. For more information, follow the link here.
Substack Letters by Sumayya
Newsletter The Intuition Seeker
Gulara Vincent: Gulara is a renowned transformative trauma healer who specialises in healing the root of trauma, integrating the inner split caused by trauma, and supporting people in becoming more embodied and present. You can find out more about Gulara via her website. Gulara is also offering two free healing sessions (online):
Befriending Your Banished (Shameful) Parts on 22 Nov at 14:00-15:00 UK time/ 9:00-10:00am EST
You are NOT your story on 13 Dec at 14:00-15:00 UK time/ 9:00-10:00 am EST
Wild Women Writers' Salons is a reader-supported publication. To access all recordings of the 2023-24 salons, author interviews, writing prompts and more — and support our work — please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Coming Soon…
Wild Women Writers’ Salon 13 — Mother, Myself
Creating Motherhood — Exploring the balance and tension between motherhood, creativity, and identity.
Thursday, 28th November, 7 pm (UK time) — Online & recorded for delayed viewing
Join me, Victoria Bennett, and guest authors Tanya Shadrick (The Cure for Sleep), Alice Kinsella (Milk), and Caro Giles (Twelve Moons) as we explore the balance and tension between motherhood, creativity, and identity.
The event is recorded with English subtitles and has captions enabled.
PLUS
Wild Women Writers’ Salon 14 — The Shape of Faith
Exploring how religion and faith shape the stories we tell to ourselves and each other
Saturday 14th December, 7 pm (UK time) — Online & recorded for delayed viewing
Join me, Victoria Bennett, and guest authors Lamya H (Hijab Butch Blues), Dr Sara Glass (Kissing Girls on Shabbat), Suzanne Joinson (The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things), and Catherine Coldstream (Cloistered) as we explore the intricate role of religion in shaping personal and collective narratives. This conversation delves into how belief systems impact identity, relationships, and the stories we tell ourselves and others.
The event is recorded with English subtitles and has captions enabled.
** Buy a ticket for Salon 14 and receive a coupon code to claim 30% off orders for The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things bought through The Indigo Press**
Introducing our Salon Guests
Salon 13 - Mother, Myself: Creating Motherhood
Tanya Shadrick
Tanya Shadrick is a former hospice scribe and writer who has worked in public spaces to encourage others to share stories and take creative risks — a practice that has earned her Royal Society of Arts Fellowship. She has been a visiting writer in many extraordinary places, including England’s oldest outdoor pool, Virginia Woolf’s garden at Monk’s House, and the Jan Michalski Foundation for Writing and Literature in Switzerland. Founder and editor of Selkie Press, she is the creator of several interdisciplinary and collaborative art projects, including Birds of Firle, Concentrates of Place, and the Wild Patience Scrolls. The Cure for Sleep is her debut memoir, published by W&N in 2022.
The Cure for Sleep: on waking up, breaking free and making a more creative life
What happens when you realise that you must change your life? When - after years of hiding in routine, shrinking from opportunity, and sleepwalking through your days - you know you want more. How do you remake your life without breaking it?
The Cure for Sleep is the stunning memoir of a small-town wife and mother who returns from sudden near-death determined to live her second life on a larger, braver scale—whatever it takes or costs.
Alice Kinsella
Alice Kinsella lives on the west coast of Ireland. A poet, author and Arts Council of Ireland Next Generation Artist, her writing has appeared in Banshee, The Irish Times, Poetry Ireland Review, The North, and Multipoetry Project Krakow, among others. She is also the editor of Empty House (Doire Press, 2021), an anthology of creative writing on the climate crisis. She is the author of two poetry pamphlets. Reviews of Flower Press and Sexy Fruit, which was a Poetry Book Society Spring 2019 Selection. Her full-length collection, The Ethics of Cats, is forthcoming in 2025.
She has been involved in several multidisciplinary collaborative projects, including Benchmarks, a collaborative heritage art project with Mike McCormack and The Linenhall Arts Centre; Confine(d), a virtual reality poetry film created with visual artist Paul Kinsella, supported by The Arts Council of Ireland, and the recent Wake of the Whale, a hybrid docutext of poetry and creative nonfiction created with Daniel Wade. Milk is her debut non-fiction prose and was published by Picador in 2023.
Milk: on motherhood and madness
When poet Alice Kinsella becomes a mother, she finds herself utterly lost. As she searches for answers to the question of her new identity, she considers the mothers and writers who came before her. Taking on pregnancy and the first nine months of motherhood, Alice forms from them a broken prism through which to view both a woman’s place in the world and her child’s in the future we’re creating.
‘…powerful, visceral, memorable, touching and, above all, beautifully rendered prose…’
The Irish Times
Caro Giles
Caro Giles is a writer based in Northumberland. Her writing appears in journals, press and periodicals, including a monthly column for Psychologies magazine. In 2021, she was named BBC Countryfile magazine’s New Nature Writer of the Year. Inspired by her local landscape, the wide empty beaches and the Cheviot Hills, she writes honestly about what it means to be a woman, a mother and a carer and the value of taking the road less travelled. Her debut memoir, Twelve Moons, was published in January 2023 by HarperNorth.
Twelve Moons: a year under a shared sky
Caro Giles lives on the far edge of the country with her tribe of daughters: The Mermaid, The Whirlwind, The Caulbearer and The Littlest One. She is at once alone and yet surrounded. Bound by circumstance, financial constraints, illness and the challenges of single motherhood, she has nowhere to go but the fierce landscape that surrounds her.
Over the course of a year, the moon becomes her fellow traveller through dark times and companion through joyful ones—and even when the sky is wreathed in clouds, the moon is still felt in the pull of the tides.
It is a dazzlingly honest memoir that, while never turning away from the awkward truths of life, also shows how love will flourish if we can only find a space for ourselves. Twelve Moons is one of those stories – a book about finding yourself, your voice and a sense that even in the dark of the night, we are never truly alone.
Introducing our guests
Salon 14 - A Story of Faith
Lamya H
Lamya H (she/they) is a queer Muslim writer and organiser living in New York City. Their work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, Autostraddle, Vice, and others. She has received fellowships from Lambda Literary and Queer|Arts. Lamya’s organising work centres around creating spaces for LGBTQ+ Muslims, fighting Islamophobia, Palestine and prison abolition. In her free time, she eats lots of desserts baked by her partner, plays board games with whoever she can corral, and works on her goal of travelling to every subway stop in the city. She has never run a marathon. Hijab Butch Blues is their debut memour, published by Dial Press/Penguin Random House in 2023, and won the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize and a Stonewall Non-fiction Book Award, and was a finalist for Lambda Literary and Publishing Triangle Awards.
Hijab Butch Blues
When Lamya is fourteen, she decides to disappear. It seems easier to ease herself out of sight than to grapple with the difficulty of taking shape in a world that doesn't fit. She is a queer teenager growing up in a Muslim household, a South Asian in a Middle Eastern country. But during her Quran class, she reads a passage about Maryam, and suddenly, everything shifts. Written with deep intelligence and a fierce humour, Hijab Butch Blues follows Lamya as she travels to the United States, as she comes out, and as she navigates the complexities of the immigration system - and the queer dating scene. At each step, she turns to her faith to make sense of her life, weaving stories from the Quran together with her own experiences: Musa leading his people to freedom; Allah, who is neither male nor female; and Nuh, who built an ark, just as Lamya is finally able to become the architect of her own story.
A truly original voice, asking powerful questions about gender and sexuality, relationships, identity and faith, and what it means to build a life of one's own.
A Roxane Gay Book Club Pick 2023
Dr Sara Glass
Dr Sara Glass is a psychotherapist and author based in NYC. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Capella University and a Master’s in Social Work from Rutgers University, with specific expertise in treating complex trauma and PTSD, providing art and play therapy to children and adolescents, as well as general experience treating a range of human struggles such as anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, and stress. She is the current clinical director of Soul Wellness NYC, a private psychotherapy practice in Midtown Manhattan, and also serves as a Clinical Supervisor for Jewish Queer Youth — a non-profit organisation that supports and empowers LGBTQ youth.
Her debut memoir, Kissing Girls on Shabbat, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2024.
‘A searing testament to the strength in claiming one’s destiny.’ —The Washington Post
Kissing Girls on Shabbat
Growing up in the Hasidic community of Brooklyn’s Borough Park, Sara Glass knew one painful truth: what was expected of her and what she desperately wanted were impossibly opposed. Tormented by her attraction to women and trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, she found herself unable to conform to her religious upbringing, and soon, she made the difficult decision to walk away from the world she knew.
Sara’s journey to self-acceptance began with the challenging battle for a divorce and custody of her children, an act that left her on the verge of estrangement from her family and community. Controlled by the fear of losing custody of her two children, she forced herself to remain loyal to the compulsory heteronormativity baked into Hasidic Judaism and married again. But after suffering profound loss and a shocking sexual assault, Sara decided to be completely faithful to herself.
Kissing Girls on Shabbat is not only a love letter to Glass’s children, herself, and her family—it is an unflinching window into the world of ultra-conservative Orthodox Jewish communities and an inspiring celebration of learning to love yourself.
Suzanne Joinson
Suzanne Joinson is the bestselling author of two novels, A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar and The Photographer’s Wife. She is currently a Reader (Associate Professor) in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, where she teaches fiction and creative non-fiction, with a particular interest in ‘Life Writing’. The winner of the New Writing Ventures Award, she was also longlisted for the IMPAC International Literary Fiction Award and is a member of the Folio Academy. She has published work in The New York Times, the Guardian, and Conde Nast Traveller, and her books have been translated into sixteen languages. She lives with her family in Sussex.
The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things
Suzanne Joinson grew up in a 1980s council estate in Crewe, where her parents were followers of The Divine Light Mission cult. This clash of class and counterculture destroyed her family, leaving a legacy of turmoil and poverty.
Years later, she attempts to reclaim what she’s lost and piece together the impact of a childhood infused with esoteric yoga practices, psychedelic encounters, and meditation techniques.
The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things explores mother-daughter relationships and inherited class-based trauma in a moving, delicately woven account of coming to terms with a complicated past.
‘Surprising and persuasive.’ — The Telegraph
** Buy a ticket for Salon 14 and get a coupon on the night to claim 30% off orders for The Museum of Lost and Fragile Things through The Indigo Press**
Catherine Coldstream
Catherine Coldstream was born in London and grew up loving music, words, and books. After converting to Roman Catholicism in her twenties, she spent 12 years as a Carmelite nun in a silent order. She has since studied at the Universities of Oxford, East Anglia, and London and taught philosophy and ethics in schools. She has written on many aspects of contemplative spirituality and the arts, had her poetry and nonfiction shortlisted, and published in various journals and anthologies. She is the associate editor of MONK arts magazine and a keen amateur musician. Her debut memoir, Cloistered, was published by Chatto & Windus in 2024.
Cloistered
After the shock of her father’s death, twenty-four-year-old Catherine was left grieving and alone. A search for meaning led her to Roman Catholicism and the nuns of Akenside Priory. Here, she found a tight-knit community of dedicated women and peace in an ancient way of life. But as she surrenders to her final vows, all is not as it seems behind the Priory’s closed doors. Power struggles erupt – with far-reaching consequences for those within. When Catherine realises that divine authority is mediated through flawed and all-too-human channels, she is faced with a dilemma: Should she protect the serenity she has found or speak out?
A love song to a lost community and an honest account of her twelve years in the Order, Cloistered is also a cautionary tale about what can happen when good people cut themselves off from the wider world.
A BBC Book of the Week
Introducing our Salon Host — Victoria Bennett
Victoria Bennett is a disabled writer, carer, and mother. A firm believer in everyone’s right to write their own story, she has dedicated much of her working life to nurturing spaces where people can do just that, founding Wild Women Press in 1999. When not juggling writing, care, and chronic illness, she can be found where the wild things grow, tending her new apothecary garden in Orkney.
Her debut memoir, All My Wild Mothers: motherhood, loss, and an apothecary garden, was published by Two Roads/John Murray Press in 2023. An intimate memoir of motherhood, grief, and care, it is a testimony to the love and radical hope that can grow in even the most broken places and, in doing so, holds a quietly positive manifesto for a changing world.
Nautilus Book Award Winner 2024.
'...A fascinating, tangled read on gardening as resistance and using ancient ways to heal in the modern world'... -- AMY LIPTROT, author of THE OUTRUN
‘A treasure map back to 'living' for those who have been away too long…’ — DONNA ASHWORTH, author of WILD HOPE
What are the Wild Women Writers’ Salons?
The Wild Women Writers’ Salons are on the last Thursday of every month (except December) and include day and evening events. This programme focuses on memoir and creative nonfiction and runs until December 2024 (please note, the date for the December 2024 salon will be different due to holidays).
With a treasure chest of excellent writers from across the globe, these are different from your regular Zoom sessions or author events. Together, we're creating a welcoming and inspiring space to gather and engage in meaningful conversation and reflection, where writers can share and explore their inspirations and writing journeys.
Each salon will feature three (and sometimes four!) fantastic guest writers. Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:
Dive deep into the world of words.
Hear authors share their works.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process.
Real talk about publishing highs and lows.
Engage in some heart-to-heart during the Q&A session.
Remember, ticket sales and paid subscriptions help value and pay all the fantastic people making these salons possible—from behind the scenes to the fabulous authors!
Be part of the growing Wild Women Writers’ community
Why Upgrade to Paid?
The salons are entirely unfunded. All paid subscriptions support the work behind the scenes to make the Wild Women Writers’ Salons and the newsletter happen. In exchange for your support, you receive access to:
access to all previous newsletters with recordings of all the salons;
additional interviews with our guest authors on their writing and inspirations;
further reading/resources and book suggestions from our guest authors;
writing prompts from our guest authors;
submit your writing questions to our guest Author Agony Aunt. One will be picked to be answered in each issue;
listed opportunities and courses;
the chance to be part of a nurturing community of creative practice!
Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription today.
Writing Wild (Wild Women Writers' Salons) is a reader-supported publication. By taking out a paid subscription, you support the work behind the scenes to make this project possible. Thank you.
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