Hello February!
Sunday 1st February 2026
Well, here we are…
the first day
of the shortest month.
The one that pulls us that much closer to springtime.
Image by Aniket Bhattacharya on Unsplash
So, how was your January? Did you hunker down, resort to full hibernation or make grand plans for a brand new year? For me, the winter months are the perfect time to focus on writing. I’m steadily consistent, as the pull to be outside when it’s cold and dark just isn’t there. I’m more inclined to make a pot of coffee and crack open the Ginger Nuts. Wintering is definitely a priority.
No lofty aspirations or sudden actions, I like to emerge from December like those first spring buds and shoots, tiny glimpses of what’s to come.
What’s great about my role with NWS, is that I get to hang out with others that qualify this as time well spent! I no longer find myself making excuses to my friends when I want to stay home and write, I just do it! And that’s been so liberating. It’s also been rewarding to connect and collaborate with other writers, discover what talent lies behind the NWS memberships and beyond. I’m privileged to be meeting some incredibly inspiring people.
And in the spirit of all things community, always looking for opportunities to show support for and appreciation of this.
Behold…
THE MEMBERS BOOKSHELF
A small selection of our members’ published writing
Having spent the end of the summer updating the website, and learning a fair bit of technical stuff I didn’t know already, I have been talking with the team about extra benefits we could provide to members. We all feel the website now reflects better our vibrant community and intend for it to adapt and grow as organically as Nottingham Writers’ Studio has over the years.
I felt offering members a platform to promote their published work was something we could easily do - you know, now I’m a technical genius - and it was! I put a call out for members to send me their books and when I had enough to create a modest bookshelf that I could photograph, I got to work! So now, when you scroll down through the past publications that NWS produced, you will find a slideshow gallery to browse.
*tap images to scroll
The ‘how to buy’ section underneath, which will have links to all the places you can purchase, will help promote shopping at our independents where possible. Some of our members have more than the featured masterpieces to buy on their websites too, so it’s definitely worth heading over for a nosy. I did, and discovered Ian C. Douglas has a whole back catalogue on his, and Kel Eckley has been designing her own merch!
Hmm… NWS merch? Now that’s an idea…
Pop back at the end of next month to find out what we got up to in February, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Come and join our creative community!
Debra
