The Magic Apple Tree. Palmer, Samuel (British, 1805-1881). Pen and Indian ink, and watercolour, which in some areas has been mixed with a gum-like medium on paper, height 349 mm, width 273 mm, 1830.

As we approach the Harvest Moon and the Autumn Equinox it is a good time to take stock of one’s personal harvest, and to mentally adjust to the different rhythms and riches of autumn, embracing what I call the ‘Inward Spiral’. Ahead lie longer nights, bonfires, naked trees, frosty mornings and starry evenings, and the deep dreaming of Winter — a contemplative interiority reflecting on the year and its lessons, cathartic soul-winnowing of all that no longer serves, and clear-eyed visioning for the coming year borne out of peaceful nights and starkly beautiful days — but for now let us revel in the intoxicating bounty of the early Autumn, and celebrate the gathering in of all that we have sown over the last few months.

Over the summer I undertook the Dorset Bard Hike with a couple of poet friends, Robert Casey and Tom Rogers. We walked from Abbotsbury to Dorchester and then onto Chaldon Herring the next day, stopping at locations associated with some of the counties’ greatest writers (William Barnes; Thomas Hardy; The Powyses; Sylvia Townsend Warner), reading their work and our own in situ. It was a lovely experience of poetic fellowship.

Last in the summer I ventured off solo on two wheels on a Journey for Wildness – 500 miles around Brittany in aid of The John Muir Trust. I started in Roscoff and headed west, making my way around the peninsula to Pointe du Raz (and visiting the atmospheric and legend-soaked Ile de Sein), and then heading south and east to Lorient, where I stopped for four days to enjoy the Festival Interceltique, before heading northwards to St Malo and home.

I also organised my annual Bardfest – which this year changed to ‘Birdfest’, as we raised funds for the Bridport Swift Town Project. It was a truly great night. Each performer responded to the bird theme in unique and entertaining ways.

A week later I took part in an event to celebrate Mary Shelley’s Birthday, 30th August, at St Peter’s Church, Bournemouth, where she is buried alongside her family and husband’s heart! I wrote a new piece for the occasion, ‘Mary Shelley Unbound’, which imagined the author rising from her grave and exploring Bournemouth and beyond. It was very special to perform in such prestigious surroundings. You can watch the whole recording of my performance below.

Now, back in the rhythm of the autumn term I have a few things lined up…

First up, a book launch for my latest work, Writing Ecofiction – taking place at the lovely Beaminster Books, which has a fantastic nature writing collection. I’ll be joined by Matt Benjamin, performing sublime sounds on his cello. I am looking forward to wetting the baby’s head after all the work that went into this book – including interviewing 21 international authors.

Then, amid the blizzard of term – teaching on the BA Creative Writing and running the new MA Creative Writing – I am squeezing in a handful more events and projects before Yule…

In early November I’m running a writing workshop at the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) Conference, which I’ve entitled: Write Like The World Is On Fire (It Is!)

Since moving to Dorset two and half years ago I have been researching its writers and the landscapes associated with them. This has culminated in a commission from BCP Council (the Dorset Writers’ Trail) and a popular talk, The Literary Landscapes of Dorset, which I’ll be offering at venues across the county in the coming months, starting with the Dorset Museum, Dorchester.

The Literary Landscapes of Dorset | Kevan Manwaring

And finally, I’ve taken over the editorship of the British Fantasy Society Journal, and I’m currently putting together the Winter issue, which has a special focus on the Scottish visionary writer, George MacDonald, whose bicentenary we celebrate in December this year. I’ve commissioned some great Regular Features covering a range of topics – fandom, film, horror, women in fantasy, global fantasy, etc – as well as the articles about MacDonald, written in response to my Call for Submissions. BFS Journal #24 will be launched (touchwood) on George MacDonald’s birthday with a special showcase event. Watch this space!

https://www.britishfantasysociety.org/bfs-journal-submission-guidelines/