Mayor of Shrewsbury to share experience at writing event
The Mayor of Shrewsbury will share his experiences of being a journalist, columnist and author in the town library next week.
Councillor Phil Gillam will take part in a workshop at the Writers' Lab event on February 11.
His career began as a reporter for the Shrewsbury Chronicle and he went on to work for newspapers in Devon, Yorkshire and Staffordshire.
Along the way he interviewed celebrities including Joan Collins and Tony Blair, and wrote features which saw him fly in an RAF fighter jet and take to the sea with the RNLI.
He said: "I’m really looking forward to joining fellow obsessives at this event. I’m hoping it’ll be a two-way street and there will be lots of questions asked. It’s been said that writers write because they need to. I’m fascinated by this notion.”
In 2015 Councillor Gillam began editing and publishing his own magazine for the Belle Vue, Coleham and Reabrook areas of Shrewsbury, and has published several novels.
Katherine Berry, Shrewsbury Library manager, said: "We’re very excited about the prospect of the mayor sharing his wide range of experiences with our group.
"We are very much looking forward to his appearance at the Writers’ Lab, which is going from strength to strength.
"Going forward there are many more guests in the pipeline and some exciting events are in prospect both on and offline."
The sessions cover all aspects of the publishing industry, technique and the ins and outs of writing.
Sessions are led by successful novelist Stephen Palmer and non-fiction expert Joe Shooman.
For further details contact the library on 01743 255308 or email shrewsbury.library@shropshire.gov.uk
