Patrick Gale Launch

Yesterday evening Sarah and I went to the lovely Dolly's Wine Bar in Falmouth to hear Patrick Gale talk about and answer questions on his latest novel, A Perfectly Good Man. There  turn-out was a fantastic, as was the free bubbly.

Patrick very generously donated his archive to University College Falmouth in 2010. I always enjoy looking through the collection as it gives such an insight into the process of writing - something which, previously, I had known absolutely nothing about! Unlike most modern authors, Patrick still  writes his books out in long-hand first in notebooks: the pages of which are frequently stained with coffee mug rings or pawprints, or have the odd apple sticker stuck on them. We also hold the research that Patrick carried out for his novels, and a particular favourite of mine is a letter from Elizabeth Anderson, who was a teacher in Penzance in the 1960s, who gives a very scathing portrayal of Barbara Hepworth, which Patrick used in his novel Notes From An Exhibition. So hopefully, sometime in the near future, the Collection will be joined by the notebooks, paperwork and documents created and amassed for this lastest work!

I am slightly ashamed to say that I have never read one of Patrick's novels, but  Notes From An Exhibition is now next in line on my reading list!

Patrick Gale Book Launch, Thursday 15th March

This Thursday, Patrick Gale (author of bestselling Notes from an Exhibition), will be launching his new book, A Perfectly Good Man. The event will be hosted in Dolly's Wine bar above the Falmouth Bookseller, starting at 6.30pm, so come along for the chance to meet Patrick and enjoy a glass of wine! Having got to know his work through our Patrick Gale archive, I am really looking forward to the event!

The Nick Darke Award 2012

This year the School of Media and Performance at University College Falmouth will again be hosting and funding the annual Nick Darke Award. The idea of the Award was initially conceived by his wife, artist and film maker Jane Darke, after Nick Darke's death in 2005. The Award aims to celebrate the best writing for screen, stage, and radio, and this year the winner has the chance to take away £6000 - double what has been offered in previous years.

Every year there is a theme, and this year entrants must pursue an environmental theme, which can be broadly interpreted, and come up with one of the following:

• Screenplay
• Stage Play
• Radio Play
• Documentary Film

Nick Darke himself wrote in several formats but is best known as a playwrite. At the Archive and Special Collections Service we are privileged to hold the manuscript papers of Nick Darke. The Collection contains preparatory work and scripts for his 30 plays, along with publicity, promotional material, photographs and correspondence.  Nick's work for television, film and radio is also well represented.  The Collection is broad in its appeal, documenting Nick's interest in environmental issues, music, Cornish history and culture, as well as his recovery from a stroke in 2001 and events leading up to his untimely death in 2005.

This year's judges include some pretty prestigious names: Jeremy Howe, Drama Commissioning Editor for Radio 4; Molly Dineen, a BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning UK television documentary director, cinematographer and producer; Roger Mitchell, the theatre, television and film director who directed Notting Hill; and Sebastian Born, the Associate Director (Literary) of the National Theatre London.

The Award is a fantastic opportunity for young writers. Our Nick Darke Collection is also a great resource for students wanting to learn about the writing process, for all of the formats mentioned above.