Scottish Writers' Centre What I learnt the hard way (so you don’t have to), with Joanna Lilley

Join author Joanna Lilley to hear her read from her debut novel, Worry Stones, and share what she learnt from 17 years of trying to get it published. Joanna will talk about the mistakes she made and explore such questions as how do know what structure is best for your story, how do you know what feedback to listen to and how do you know when a manuscript is ready to send out? Joanna will also speak to the importance of perseverance in the writing process – and joy. Find out about Worry Stones at http://ronsdalepress.com/books/worry-stones/.

Author Joanna Lilley emigrated from the UK to Canada in 2006 and settled in Whitehorse, Yukon, north of the sixtieth parallel and next door to Alaska. Joanna’s fourth book and debut novel, Worry Stones, was published by Ronsdale Press in October 2018. She’s also the author of a short story collection, The Birthday Books (Hagios Press), and two poetry collections: If There Were Roads (Turnstone Press) and The Fleece Era (Brick Books) which was nominated for the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry. Joanna’s third poetry book, a collection of poems about extinct animals, will be published by Turnstone Press in spring 2020. Before moving to Canada, Joanna lived in Torphichen and Lanark and still misses Scotland. She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde and is the recipient of four Advanced Artist Awards from the Government of Yukon. Find Joanna online at www.joannalilley.com.