Norfolk authors will be showcasing their work at a special event in Wymondham on April 26th as part of the Wymondham Magazine’s arts festival.
The Meet the Author Day will highlight the diversity of the work of Norfolk writers with more than 12 in attendance at the Rothbury Centre in Rothbury Road from 10am until 2pm.
The authors will talk about and read extracts from their work, as well as selling signed copies of their books.
The writing will showcase many different genres including horror, fantasy and poetry alongside children’s stories, autobiographies and history-based books.
The event is being organised by Norfolk author Samuel J. White and proceeds will go to the Rothbury Community Centre. Refreshments will be available throughout the event and there will be a raffle or tombola with books by the authors as prizes.
There is also a pre-event 100-word writing competition organised by Bill Yeates. Stories must be exactly 100 words excluding the title. The competition is open to adults only and must be the author’s own work. Stories should be e-mailed to Bill at billyeates55@gmail.com by 19th April. Entries should include the author’s name and address.
The first prize will be signed copies of the first four books in Bill’s Rob Blackstock adventure series.
The runner-up will receive a signed copy of Bill’s book Robin – The Truth Behind the Legend.
Here is a bit about the authors visiting:
Samuel J White
Samuel J, White host of the event, is an author and former indoor rowing champion who grew up in Hevingham. He always wanted to write but never found the time until a change of circumstances in 2014. He published his twisting paranormal romance about two strangers sharing a dream, A Midwinter Night's Dream: The Broccoli, the Stilton and the Haystack in 2017, followed by the first part of his paranormal series Derailed and Dispersed, which is set on the marshes around Great Yarmouth. Sam has been selling at local events since 2023. His best seller is Maria's Photograph, a ghost story based on an actual photograph set in Hevingham.
Bill Yeates
Bill was born in Worcestershire and is retired, living with his wife in South Norfolk. He began writing in 2017 with a collection of stories restricted to 100 words each. Bill quickly moved onto storytelling proper with his first novel, a story of corruption, kidnap and murder. He is currently writing the eighth book in the series with the same characters. Bill has an interest in history, is the author of Robin – The Truth Behind the Legend, and is researching for a book based on characters in the US 8th Airforce, set in Wymondham during World War Two.
Sandra Derry
Sandra Derry (Sandy), is an author and illustrator of Applegate Farm books. She is the daughter of a cowman and was raised on farms in the East Anglian countryside. It is from there that she drew inspiration for her farm animal stories. Initially, they were written for her own pleasure, but being an artist and having created the animals, she felt empowered to illustrate them. The stories are written for children 2-8 years old and designed to give a little insight into each animal's role on the farm. A donation of 50p is given to charity for every book sold.
Peter Steward
Peter Steward spent his working life as a journalist in Norfolk, Suffolk and the Midlands before moving into PR. Following his retirement, he now spends his time on voluntary work in Hethersett and writing a number of books. In 2024, he was given a lifetime achievement award by South Norfolk Council. His first published book, Hell in Paradise, was co-written with John Head and tells the true story of a massacre at Le Paradis in Northern France in which 97 soldiers lost their lives. He followed this with an autobiography entitled A Charmed Life and Life In Lockdown Volume One. The latter of these is a collection of blogs written during lockdown.
JM Burgoyne
JM Burgoyne (also known either as Jax or Jacqui Burgoyne) is originally from St Albans in Hertfordshire. As well as being a writer, she is a freelance journalist and teaches in a variety of fields. Her writing includes post-apocalyptic fiction, somewhat experimental fiction, and dystopias, plus a few short stories. Her first published novel, Writer, is a Gothic western horror. A man makes a wish on a typewriter to forget a woman who has hurt him, then realises he made the wrong choice. It is a meditation on love, loss, and the things that we will do to avoid pain.
David Viner
David Viner has had a number of short stories published since 2007. He has edited and contributed to both Redwell Writers anthologies (2017/2020). In 2020, he self-published two novels, Splinters and Time Portals of Norwich, and has followed the latter with two sequels, Time's Revenge (2022) and Time's Paradox (2024). In addition, he has released two collections of short stories, Time Enough for the World to End (2021) and Beyond Between (2023) and has published two other authors. He is currently working on at least two more Time Portal sequels!
Anne Pearce
Anne was born in Norfolk and has lived mostly in East Anglia. Before retirement, she worked as an administrator – also, for a while, as a registrar of marriages.
Writing is a passion, and, post-retirement, she found more time to devote to it. Anne has self-published two short story collections on Amazon and is currently working on her third book. This third volume may follow a similar format, but she says that sometimes writing takes off on different tangents, and pesky characters take on a life of their own.
Martin Ferguson
Martin's debut series, Relic Hunters, is a Young Adult adventure series, drawing on the myths and legends of different time periods and blending them with thrill-seeking action in the modern age. A team from the British Museum, led by the daring Hunter brothers, investigates myths and legends across the world - facing legendary villains, terrible curses and epic races against time. Martin's most recent work delves into the Young Adult fantasy worlds of The Forsaken Series and his new Thief series - both entertaining with magic and mayhem aplenty. The Forsaken is a team of misfits - hunted, cursed, banished, orphaned and unwanted - led by the monster slayer, Wraith. Together, they face the worst the world has to throw at them; beasts, demons, accursed sorcerers and their own terrible reputation! Wraith's own secret proves to be their greatest challenge, hiding her growing arcane talent in a world where any who can control magic are hunted. Thief follows the story of a young orphan who becomes a thief to escape slavery and then to survive the unforgiving streets. When gifted an opportunity at living a better life, putting his thievery talents to use for the local Guild, he jumps at the chance. In doing so, Jaryd will unknowingly place all he holds dear in danger, and beckon a confrontation with his own secret past closer and closer.
Jack W Gregory
Jack W Gregory, also known as The Accidental Journalist, is a formerly homeless addict who turned his life around using creativity. In his almost 11 years of sobriety, he has not only rebuilt his life and family in Wymondham but has carved out a life in film, poetry, filmmaking, investigative journalism, and international speaking on podcasts all over the world. He has worked on projects for such people as Martin Scorsese, Tom Burke, Joanna Hogg, A24, BBC and ITN. In his relatively short journalistic career, he has interviewed everyone from former criminals, comedians, convicted terrorists, serial killers and former undercover police to escapees of human trafficking and eighties popstars such as Chesney Hawkes. Jack's first book, A Personal Apocalypse, is a Biography/Poetry fusion. His Second book, Between the Streetlights and Red Lights, is an expose of the world of human trafficking and the stories of those who escaped it, which led Jack to open up about his own experience of being trafficked as a child. He has also written two poetry chapbooks and collaborated on other true crime books with other authors.
Martin Wanger
Martin Wanger is a retired banker living in Wymondham and has been writing since 2011 under his mother's name, Madeline Dando. He has published two novels in the genre of Women's Contemporary Fiction and two children's books for ages between 8 and 10. His books can be found in Norfolk libraries. He has also written short stories and is currently finishing his third novel. Both are expected to be published this year. Martin has given talks and readings in libraries and schools. He loves to chat and will be pleased to talk to visitors about his writing journey.
