Sutton Writers was first set up in 1986, with the romantic novelist Kate Alexander (real name Tilly Armstrong) as its President – a position most recently held by the local historical biographer and novelist Alison Weir, though we currently have no PResident.
In the 1990s, we regularly ran a national writing competition and established links with the Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club, whose members have often performed in plays written by members.
We have also held writing competitions funded by the local arts network, publishing work by competitors and members in two anthologies, Kaleidoscope (2009) and World War I Centenary Writings (2014). We have subsequently published other anthologies, as well as some poetry pamphlets from our poetry group. You can also purchase a Sutton Writers-branded notebook, developed by former Chair Jonathan B Evans, here.
We have always been very active in the local community of Sutton and surrounds. In 2018, our involvement in the local archive’s Past on Glass project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, culminated in the production of the book Writing on Glass. To encourage younger writers, in the past we have run workshops in local schools and in Sutton Library.