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Hastings Writers' Group is an organisation for published and aspiring writers based in
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
, East Sussex. It was established in 1947, and is one of the longest-running writers' groups in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Catherine Cookson
Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE (''née'' McMullen; 20 June 1906 – 11 June 1998) was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile i ...
was a founder member and was patron for many years. A more recent patron was
David Gemmell
David Andrew Gemmell (; 1 August 1948 – 28 July 2006) was a British author of heroic fantasy, best known for his debut novel, ''Legend''. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. H ...
, a best-selling author of
heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which events occur in a world where magic is prevalent and modern technology is nonexistent. The setting may be entirely fictitious in nature or based upon Earth with some additions. Unlike dark fiction ...
.
The group runs a national short story competition, the Legend Writing Award, and also produces an annual anthology, ''Strandline''. ''Strandline'' won two national awards: Volume 3 won the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust anthology award and Volume 4 won the National Association of Writers' Groups' Denise Robertson Trophy for the best group anthology.
Meetings are held fortnightly on Monday evenings and the programme includes manuscript evenings with constructive criticism, guest speakers, workshops, and competitions with judges from the field of professional writing.