Work in Progress
By Dan Brotzel, Martin Jenkins, Alex Woolf
A farcical novel-in-emails about an eccentric writers group. They've all got a book in them, unfortunately.
Publication date: TBC
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Anti-Critique from Peter, Writer (Bespoke)
Copycat, by Tom (Bespoke)
Xęn”dährin Message, by Keith (Bespoke)
Blue, Blue Poem, by Blue (Bespoke)
Literary Agony Aunt, by Alice (Bespoke)
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In December 2016, Julia Greengage, aspiring writer and devoted housewife, put up a poster in her local library with an idea to start a writers group. This group would read each others' work, exchange constructive feedback and generally share the pains and pleasures of this excruciating yet exhilarating endeavour we call Literature.
Seven people answered.
The emails gathered here present a true and unvarnished account of a developing dynamic culminating in the events of the, now notorious, Bleeding Typewriters documentary.
This is the story of the Crawley Writers Group.
New!
Listen to the opening of Kitten on a Fatberg in podcast form! This opening sequence introduces all the characters, voiced by professional actors, all edited and produced under the direction of BAFTA-winning producer Richard Webb.
Meet the motley members:
Keith is an IT consultant and mercenary sci-fi geek who can bang out 5000 words before breakfast, and is obsessed with monetising his work. He has to read to the group at double-speed because he’s so prolific.
Alice identifies as a writer of fiction, even though she hasn’t ever written any fiction. She blogs a great deal about planning to write fiction, and overcoming writer’s block, and has been working on the opening sentence of her novel for two years.
Tom is a suburban lothario who describes himself as a ‘brooding TEFL bureaucrat, novelist manqué, lover not fighter. I write therefore I am’. He has an embarrassing secret, which may come to haunt him.
Peter (never Pete, please) sees himself as a conceptual literary artist whose goal in life – for reasons best known to himself – is to ‘re-present the present’. In practice this means finding different ways to spy on people. He is only ever really comfortable when he has made everyone else feel completely ill at ease.
Jon is a faded muso with a UFO complex. After a few years as part of an obscure prog rock band and a lost decade as a hippie traveller, Jon now works for the Dental Estimates Board. He writes deceptively simple animal fables with powerful hidden messages about the deep state and, you know, the way things really are.
Blue works in a charity shop and is a big fan of gloomy music and dark poetry including ‘Sylvia esp. Sylvia. My poetry is very intense and tells it like it is about me and my emotions and the world how the world is. I use free verse which means no rhymes and academic bs. Just raw feels.’ Her poems include Electrocuted Angel In The Headlights of My Dead Lover’s Eye Sockets, and the notorious Kitten on a Fatberg.
Mavinder, sadly, couldn't make the first meeting. Or the second. But promises to come to the next one!
Led by Julia, a glamorous housewife with steely ambitions of her own, these budding writers meet every month to read out their work and encourage each other in their dreams of getting published.
But it’s not long before the group’s idiosyncrasies and insecurities start to appear. Expect feuds, rivalries and romance; sex, scandal and humiliation -- not to mention an exploding sheep's head, a cosplay stalker, and an alien mothership invasion. They’re on a journey, and God help the rest of us.
A novel-in-emails about seven eccentric writers, written by three quite odd ones, KITTEN ON A FATBERG is a very British farce about loneliness, the ache of literary obscurity, and the perils of Twiglet sex.
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-
Dan Brotzel, Martin Jenkins & Alex Woolf -
Dan Brotzel: My first collection of short stories, Hotel du Jack, is out early 2020. Winner, Riptide short story comp 2018. Asda Christmas Cracker gag champion, 2004.
Martin Jenkins: I'm a freelance writer, researcher and editor. My own publications include the experimental novel A New Science of Navigation and a contribution to the Soul Bay Press short story anthology 13.
Alex Woolf: I’ve written over 100 books for children and adults, published by the likes of OUP, Ladybird, Heinemann and Watts. Subjects I’ve tackled include sharks, asteroids, acne, chocolate, zombies and much else besides.
- Read more...
Editors’ Note to the First Edition
Like many TV viewers, we were pleasantly appalled by Bleeding Typewriters, Channel 4’s notorious fly-on-the-wall documentary about the Crawley Writers’ Group. Here was a story that seemed to have it all – if, by all, you mean sex, drugs, violence, a vicious cosplay stalker, a prog rock reunion, and an alien mothership invasion.
As members of a (comparatively rather staid) writers’ group ourselves, we wanted to know more about this extraordinary collection of authors. Documentaries have a tendency to bring out exaggerated behaviour in people, so we were keen to uncover the real characters and trace the unguarded evolution of the group, right back to its beginnings as a twinkle in Julia Greengage’s eye.
The emails gathered here, then, present a true and unvarnished account of a developing dynamic – forming, storming, norming, performing, and even mourning. As editors, we saw our job as merely to facilitate the free flow of the unfolding story; to that end, we have excised material that was repetitive or merely functional, tidied up a few inconsistencies and inaccuracies, but otherwise left things as they were originally written. We conclude, of course, with a transcript of Bleeding Typewriters itself.
To our minds, the narrative this correspondence unveils is every bit as extraordinary as the documentary itself – exploding sheep’s heads, fascinator attacks, Twiglet sex and all.
D.B., M.J., A.W.
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From: JuliaGeeGee@gmail.com
To: Crawley Writers Group
Sent: 01.12.16, 10:37
Subject: Welcome writers of Crawley!My dear writers
What a fantastic response to my little notice in the library!
I'll be honest, I was a tad trepidatious before I put the idea of a writing group out there, but I just thrive on creativity and so the idea of a little community of like-minded literary searchers was irresistible.
So just imagine my delight when I returned to my little poster a few days later to see that all the little paper fingers with my email address on had been torn off! (The graffito about 'arty-farty slags' I could have done without, but still.)
So if you're getting this email, welcome to the group and I hope the writing is flying! I propose we meet every 2 or 3 weeks, rotating around different homes or other venues (pubs can work, but in my experience all that boozy bustle can be a tad unconducive). We'll be reading bits of our work, exchanging constructive feedback – and generally sharing the pains and pleasures of this excruciating yet exhilarating endeavour we call Literature!
I propose that we meet at my place for our first gathering – it's No 1 The Larches, the big one at the start of that private road opposite the golf course with the newly – and very dearly – asphalted carriage drive (don't ask). Shall we say next Thursday, 745 for 8? Do let me know if you can come.
I thought it might be nice if we all briefly e-introduced ourselves beforehand, so we know a bit about each other before we meet? I'm Julia Greengage, 49 (though my dear hubby insists I don't look it), and I've been an actress for about 25 years (Bad Girls, The Bill, ‘difficult fibroids patient’ in Holby etc). My husband is big in HR at the airport, and we moved here because the commute from Richmond was sapping his spirit.
In between gigs in 'the biz of show', I moonlight as a paralegal, but my secret self has been plotting the big novel for over a decade. I've finally got an idea I can work with and a few draft chapters, and am looking forward to putting it out there!! Nothing ventured and all that! I guess style-wise I'm a mainstream fiction type, with a love of big emotions and gut-wrenching twists, somewhere between David Nichols and Judi Picoult. Well one can but dream!
Anyway enough about me. Do drop the group a line to let us know if you can come and tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Until Thursday, dear writers!
Julia
Dan Brotzel, Martin Jenkins, Alex Woolf has written 1 private update. You can pledge to get access to them all.
22nd September 2020 Kitten on a Fatberg is no more (the title, that is)Greetings Fatberg fans!
Our book is now scheduled for launch in the summer of next year. It's been a long wait, but there has so much to preoccupy everyone this year that the time has come round surprisingly quickly. In the meantime, we've made some great progress - and a surprising decision.
We've been working hard with our editor Martha. She and her colleague Hayley have done a fantastic…
5th May 2020 New publication dateHi everyone
First of all, we hope you are all staying safe and well during these tough times.
Apologises for the radio silence on the Fatberg front -- we've been waiting to hear from Unbound where things stand in the light of the current situation.
The good news is that the final manuscipt has been delivered, and we have now been allocated an in-house editor who will shepherd the book…
21st February 2020 Hotel du JackIn case you've not heard, Dan has recently published a debut collection of short stories.
It's called Hotel du Jack, it's published by Sandstone, and you can find all the details here: https://bit.ly/39TD8KQ
If you've already had a chance to look at it, Dan would really appreciate it if you'd consider writing a wee Amazon review - there's no purchase necessary or anything, and they can really…
17th February 2020 MS delivered!Greetings Fatberg fans!
Just to let you know that we have now delivered our final draft of the manuscript to Unbound.
Next we'll be assigned an editor and a publication date!
More news as it happens...
Alex, Martin, Dan
6th February 2020 You've only gone and done it!Bloody hell. One hundred per cent!
We can't believe it.
A massive thank you to everyone who has helped make Kitten on a Fatberg a reality!
We'll be back soon with details of what happens next.
But all we can really say right now is: thank you. Also Phew. And thank God for that. And: where's the gin?
But mostly just: thank you.
Dan, Martin, Alex
xx9th January 2020 Shut the front door! | Over 90%!Amazing news - we are over 90% funded!
Thank you so much, everyone!
We shall be back in touch once we've stopped weeping...
D, M, A
19th December 2019 New pledge levels to mark 80%!Greetings #KittenHeads! (OK that sounds a bit odd, but then #FatbergHeads isn't great either...)
Thanks again to everyone who's helped us to flop over the 80% mark! We're really grateful for everyone who's made a pledge, helped spread the word, or put some work our way.
To mark the milestone, we've added a couple of new pledge levels..
Bespoke critique
Get practical feedback on your own…11th November 2019 How NOT to run a successful writers’ groupTo mark Kitten on a Fatberg hitting the 70% funding mark, our characters have got together to offer a few tips for how to run the perfect writer’s group. (Please note that the following views are entirely their own, and do not necessarily represent those of their creators.)
Julia: I have five essentials for the perfect group evening. First, comfort: make sure your cushions have been restuffed…
5th November 2019 Hitting the big six-oh: Blue and Jon pay tributeBoth in their different ways rather underwhelmed/disgusted by Peter's recent effort to commemorate our 60% milestone, two more of the charcters from Kitten on a Fatberg have put pen to paper to mark the moment.
Blue, our resident poet, has naturally turned to typically upbeat verse, while Jon, our resident conspiracy theorist, sees through to the 'true' meaning of the number...
Sixty…5th November 2019 Thoughts on reaching 66%Hello world, it's Alice here, almost certainly the least prolific WRITER in the country if not the world, though perhaps what I lack in productivity I make up for in depth of insight into that condition, blessing, curse or disease - take your pick - that we call being a WRITER.
I want to thank all our supporters for helping us achieve another amazing milestone: 66%
I do love milestones, and…
20th October 2019 A nice surprise!I got this lovely note in my letterbox yesterday from an anonymous #KOAF fan on the back of a leaflet he delivered. Thank you! (and I am old enough to remember that song!) - Alex
17th October 2019 Hitting the big six-oh: Blue and Jon pay tributeBoth in their different ways rather underwhelmed/disgusted by Peter's recent effort to commemorate our 60% milestone, two more of the charcters from Kitten on a Fatberg have put pen to paper to mark the moment...
Blue, our resident poet, has naturally turned to typically upbeat verse, while Jon, our resident conspiracy theorist, sees through to the 'true' meaning of the number...
A Diamond…
14th October 2019 Thank you to our fellow UnboundersWe've been very lucky in recent weeks to get some support from some of our fellow Unbound authors, and in the process to find out more about the incredible variety of projects that are currently funding. Over the next few weeks we'll try and highlight a few...
Erica Buist's This Party's Dead is an extraordinary exploration of death festivals around the world, triggered by a heart-beaking personal…
10th October 2019 We've hit 60%!Thank you so much to all our wonderful backers who have got us this far.
In celebration of this important milestone, here is a little extract from the book. This is from Peter, the group's conceptual artist, whose main goal in life is to make everyone else feel uncomfortable:
From: peterpeterpeterpeter@gmail.com
To: Crawley Writers Group
Sent: 24.01.1, 12:12
Subject: Who took my…
9th September 2019 Fifty Per Cent – a poetic tribute from BlueFifty Per Cent
50%?
That could mean a glass
Half full or
Half empty.
My favourite glass -
A memento from a
Goth Weekender in Whitby
Showing a view
Of the Abbey -
Is
BROKEN!
Smashed to a million pieces by
A careless cat.
The Whitby trip was nice:
I met Greg, looking good
In vampire drag, his eyeliner
Immaculate!
BUT
When we met up later in London
It became clear he was
A part-time…2nd September 2019 Can it be true? We've hit 50%!!!!I cannot believe we are now on 50%. In other words, if my maths is correct, we are halfway there! The authors have informed me that my previous update to mark the occasion of 40% was a little ‘self-regarding’. They said I should show more ‘gratitude and humility’ this time. So with that in mind I would like to humbly and gratefully thank all the contributors who have pledged so far. Thank you each…
5th July 2019 We have 130 backers!!!Wow! Extraordinary! Our humble project now has 130 backers. That’s more than the number of words I’ve written in the past week! Thanks to every single one of you for your wonderful support. I can feel your collective love flowing through me, giving me strength! You believe in me, so maybe I can start to believe in myself, too!
Alice Knowles
I've just heard: 130 generous people have put…
3rd June 2019 Congratulations! (what's my percentage?)So now we’re on 40%. Who’d have thunk it! As the Arhythmic Tics of Planet Pi (Vol VI, Chapter 13) might cry, ¡thätzâlmøstfiftēę!
I’m proud to have played my part in getting us to this almost not quite halfway stage in our journey, even though I don’t totally agree with the way I’ve been portrayed in this book. Admittedly, those are my emails, but something is amiss evidently because they don’t…
2nd June 2019 They Don't Want You To Read This (A message from Jonathan Armory-Wargrove)40%! Woah! Help publish the books THEY don't want you to read! The Deep State vets ALL manuscripts submitted to regular publishers - FACT! Support the little guy and beat the Main Stream Media! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
Jon
P.S. Also, demand full UFO disclosure now! Expose the COSMIC Conspiracy!2nd June 2019 Life Begins at Forty (a poem by Blue)Life Begins at Forty
by Blue
They say that life begins at forty - don't make me laugh!
As the dread day approaches I feel like a giraffe
With laryngitis.
My creative juices will dry up and agglutinate
And people will say that it's age inappropriate
To have a full back tattoo of Robert Smith.
They say that life begins at forty, you'll feel free!
But that is not how it feels to me.
…2nd June 2019 Hitting the big four-oh!We're delighted to tell you that we've hit the big four-oh - 40% funded at last.
Thanks so much to everyone who has pre-ordered a copy of Fatberg - we couldn't have got this far without you.
Some of the characters from our fictional Crawley Writers' Group have been threatening to add their own voices to the commemoration of this important psychological milestone. We can only apologise in advance…
5th April 2019 Kitten on a Fatberg hits 30%! Thank you so muchWe are delighted to announce that funding for the launch of Kitten on a Fatberg has now hit the 30% mark! We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has pledged or helped to spread the word -- this is all your doing, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
Many of you don’t know each other, of course, so we thought it might be interesting to introduce a few of our amazing supporters…
As chair…
29th March 2019 We have our 100th backer!!!Great news! Our 100th backer came aboard yesterday! We're thrilled that so many people believe in the project, and want to see the Kitten sail. Blue, our resident Sylvia Plath, has written a poem to mark the occasion, which our lucky 100th supporter will receive exclusively for this weekend, before it receives its world debut on Monday.
28th March 2019 Who will be our 100th backer?99 wonderful, generous people have so far made pledges in support of our little project. Who will be the 100th??
In their honour, Blue has bared her tortured soul with a poem. It's called 'And the Number of My Pain is One Hundred'. I've read it and I can tell you, it's bleak, poignant, plaintive, elegiac, bleak. Everything you'd expect of Blue.
If you want to receive exclusive early-bird access…
11th March 2019 We've hit 20%!A huge thank you to all who have pledged so far in support of 'Kitten on a Fatberg'. We're absolutely thrilled to have reached 20% funding and are now more determined than ever to push on to 100%. There's been loads going on since we launched just over a month ago. We've had a write-up in the local press, and are shortly to be featured in 'Boundless' and the Society of Authors magazine. We've also…
9th February 2019 Thank you!Thanks so much to everyone who has helped us get to 10% of our funding milestone in our first week! We've been blown away by how generous people have been, and we really really appreciate it.
The fatberg has been having a bit of moment this week, what with the monster they pulled out of the sewers in Sidmouth, Devon, and the launch of a public info film disguised as a movie trailer, Fatberg Invasion…
These people are helping to fund Work in Progress.
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Julian Benton
Paul Braddon
Joshua Davis
Max Richter
Janice McCombie
Bridgid Nzekwu
Mick Brotzel
An anonymous donor
Louise Herbert
Miles Hudson
Philipa Coughlan
Carlo Navato
Jenny Brophy
Michele Foulger
An anonymous donor
Paola Argiroffi
Anne Summerfield
An anonymous donor
Liam Riley
An anonymous donor
Neil Tookey
Alison Hardy
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