Event Details
Somerset is packed with talent! Come along and hear from emerging writers from Burnham and beyond. This session is an informal chat between our local writers as they discuss what they’re working on, the things that inspire them and the challenges of putting pen to page.
Lynn Baxter
Lynn Baxter’s earlier career has been bookended by two honours degrees, firstly in English, and subsequently in Fine Art. In between, she worked in publishing, the theatre, as arts officer for a territory of 2,000 square miles in Scotland, and as a commissioner of public art.
She is also a professional artist and award-winning sculptor. Her intensive knowledge of, and experience in, both the literary and arts worlds gives a particular resonance to the substance of her debut novel, Crimson Joy. She has gained recognition through awards for her short stories and flash fiction.
Malcolm Buck
Malcolm D R Buck is a retired solicitor his debut book, Schism, reflects his penchant for history and politics. From speaking at a National Political Party’s Conference in 1981 to representing people throughout his professional career, Malcolm’s ethos has always been to be judged as if he were a recipient of his services. He has been married for over thirty years and his wife, Tina, and postgraduate daughter, Alice, remain the rocks which have held back the tidal vicissitudes of life.
Emma Forrester
Emma Forrester writes character-driven fiction about ordinary people facing extraordinary situations, where survival is shaped as much by connection as it is by courage. Her debut novel, Queen’s Road, brings the apocalypse to an unremarkable Somerset street that is deeply unprepared for the end of the world. Her work blends dark humour with emotional depth, exploring found family, community under pressure, and the quiet resilience people cling to when everything familiar begins to fall away.
Simon Parkin
Simon John Parkin’s short fiction has been published by various publications. He was shortlisted for the 2025 Burnham Book Festival Prize, the 2023 Bristol Short Story Prize and won the Somerset Prize in The Page is Printed, 2025. He has published two books: The Sunrise Swim Club – a memoir about the 12 monthly sunrise swims he and his family did on the easing of lockdown — and a book of nine, 999-word short stories, titled 999.