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Congratulations to the winner Cody Southern, with our two runners up being Imogen Teare and Edith Clarke. There were also seven Highly Commended stories. All 10 winners received Waterstones book tokens, with their winning stories being displayed in the children’s section of Yeovil Waterstones.
Welcome to the 2018 Yeovil Community Arts Association and Western Gazette Mini-Saga writing competition. It’s a welcomed fact that in this digital age reading books and writing stories or poems is more popular than ever for all ages. We are sure our regular writers are eager to know the theme of the competition, and this year we have chosen SPELL.
YCAA has received donations from Hazelgrove School, Helen Laxton Dance School and the Somerset School of Performing Arts, and Dance, Dance, Dance with The Dance Factory.
It’s hard having a dream to become a book illustrator, or be involved in film making, but with hard work and commitment and a little help from people like you who donate and the YCAA charity, it can be achieved.
Art student Reuben Lane is one of the many young people to receive YCAA bursaries to support them in their creative careers. By attending our events, making donations and becoming members, you're enabling us to help talented youngsters like Reuben fulfil their potential and complete their training. Thank you for your ongoing support.
We welcome any fundraising that you or your organisation can contribute and promise to use it wisely in supporting young talent in the pursuit of their ambitions.
Currently we support several dancers, an artist, other students of theatre studies, business in music, art therapy, and musical theatre.
Battens Solicitors' Charitable Trusts have donated
£200 to the YCAA to enable us to support two young dancers with their
tuition. Liz Pike is receiving the cheque from Ceri Stephens at Battens.
The YCAA is delighted to receive a donation of £2500 from the Dance Factory
being the proceeds from the Dance, Dance, Dance! show at the Octagon last
April. The dancers, plus founders Laura and Stephanie Bacon, presented Liz Pike with cards, flowers and the cheque at
the Dance Factory studio. These are a few of the brilliant dancers who
performed so professionally to a packed auditorium at the Octagon. Very
many thanks and the funds will be used to give grants to young dancers who
are persuing their dancing careers.
A photo of Damien Lewis who gave a riveting talk on his career in journalism
as a war and conflict correspondent, a novellist and a screenplay writer.
The audience were enthralled and left wanting to listen to more of Damien's
experiences. His books are bestsellers and always keep the reader gripped
until the last page.
A fantastic YCAA event at the Johnson Studio on 12th April.
Thank you to all the children from local primary schools for entering our competition this year, and congratulations to all the pupils whose stories were shortlisted. Our judge, John Dougherty has made the final selection and the winner is Madeleine from Preston Primary School with the two runners up being Gracie from Milford Junior School and Matthew from Preston Primary School. Their three excellent stories will be on display in the Yeovil Library window for two weeks from March 13th. All the shortlisted pupils are invited to come to the library for the presentation of prizes and to hear John Dougherty on Tuesday 21st March at 11am. Representatives and players from the Yeovil Football Club will be there to meet everyone. The Yeovil Library will be buzzing with excitement!
The winners of the four categories of the Yeovil Literary Prize at the Past Winners’ event at the Yeovil Literary Festival.
This year the YCAA has broken all records by being able to award 15 grants to young people furthering their studies in the arts, as well as helping a school buy musical instruments.
To further enable the YCAA to give grants to young people, it is always good to know that others appreciate what our charity does, as well as our bringing brilliant speakers to Yeovil for art and cultural events.
The fourth Yeovil Literary Festival will be four days of literary events to suit all tastes and ages. See some brilliant speakers in four venues. Starting at 7pm in the Manor Hotel, the YCAA will host the grand opening of the festival with a Gala Dinner. Keep watching.
The third Yeovil Literary Festival will be five days of literary events to suit all tastes and ages. See some brilliant speakers in four venues. Programme and tickets are now available.
Liz Pike was welcomed at the home of YAOS, Edward’s House in Yeovil, where the YCAA was one of two recipients of donations given to charities.
Thank you for such a warm welcome, and the YCAA would like to thank the pupils for all their efforts in raising such a worthwhile amount for the YCAA to use in sponsorship. It was very obvious that they really enjoyed performing.
Liz Pike from the YCAA receiving a cheque from Stephanie and Laura Bacon from The Dance Factory, who donated the proceeds of their 2015 Dance! Dance! Dance! show for the Yeovil Community Arts Association to use for sponsorship grants.
A decade has passed since the Western Gazette invited the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) to run the very popular Christmas Mini-Saga writing competition.
The second Yeovil Literary Festival will open with the YCAA Literary Dinner at The Manor Hotel on Thursday 6th November, at 7pm. Tickets are £25 for a Champagne Reception followed by dinner, with guest speaker Elizabeth Buchan.
Our second Anthology of short-listed poetry and short stories from the 2012 and 2013 Yeovil Literary Prize will soon be available. If you want to see the standard that we enjoy every year, then it can be bought online using PayPal, or by post.
An opportunity for people to share their original poetry and song is starting in Yeovil this summer. Hosted by Same Difference Live Arts at Yeovil Library, open floor acoustic sessions will take place every fourth Saturday of the month.
The Western Gazette is once again pleased to collaborate with the Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) for our ninth Christmas Mini-Saga writing competition.
The long-awaited first Yeovil Literary Festival takes place from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd September in two main venues, The Octagon Theatre and The Manor Hotel. There will also be events in Yeovil Library, and the town’s Waterstones bookshop.
The YCAA is particularly proud to add this item to our website. Kate Kelly was one of our short-listed winners of the 2010 Novel category of the Yeovil Literary Prize. Her book Red Rock was Highly Commended. It is a brilliant read.
Our second Anthology of short-listed poetry and short stories from the 2012 Yeovil Literary Prize is now available. If you want to see the standard that we enjoy every year, then it can be bought online using PayPal, or by post.
The Yeovil Literary Prize event is on Friday 20th at 6pm. Listen to past winners reading from their winning novels. There are many events which include – Alison Weir, Lindsey Davis, Prue Leith, Sophie Hannah, Michael Dobbs, Heather Couper & Nigel Henbest, Ben Kane, Kate Williams and Adrian Tinniswood – to name but a few. Katharine McMahon is the speaker for the YCAA Literary Dinner on Thursday 26th April. Her latest book Season of Light is brilliant.
Thanks to the Buskfest, held in the Yeovil Town Centre during the Yeovil In Bloom Flower and Gardeners’ Market in September. The two local charities, Yeovil Community Arts Association and the Flying Colours Appeal at Yeovil Hospital, are seen receiving their cheques from music students from Yeovil College.
The good news is that this year, for the first time, the YCAA have been able to sponsor six young, talented people.
Here is a success story. Sophie Duffy told us she was talking to publishers a few months ago, and now we can see her first novel, a prize-winner in the Yeovil Literary Prize, on the bookshelves. Congratulations Sophie, and thank you for mentioning our international writing competition on the cover of your wonderful book.
From Andrea Clarke of Martock
Last year a friend and I visited Oxford for Art in Action which was an absolutely wonderful event. This year we are hoping to go by minibus or coach and wondered if any of your members would be interested in a place on the coach. The price will be approx. £30 – £35 for travel only and does not include entrance.
Poet, writer and broadcaster, Katrina Porteous is coming all the way from Northumberland down to Yeovil in April. This is a rare opportunity to hear Katrina perform her poetry here – and perform is the word, because she has that knack of engaging and spellbinding an audience with her evocative poetry about the North East of England.
This year, after a really successful Yeovil Literary Prize, it was decided the charity could donate £300 to the Yeovil College Bursary Foundation. This will enable many students to benefit in a life-changing way by having some financial help with their studies.
The YCAA are delighted to be able to sponsor the talented dancer from Yeovil, Alex Jackson. Alex, then 16 years of age, was selected last year to attend the prestigious Urdang Academy of Dance in London, and we sought the opportunity to sponsor Alex in his endeavours.
The Western Gazette has joined up with Yeovil Community Arts Association (YCAA) for the sixth year to launch the Christmas Mini-saga writing competition.
