Best selling author holds writing workshop in Shrewsbury

Mike Gayle, a Sunday Times best-selling author, with a career as a novelist spanning 22 years, spent the day at Shrewsbury Library with a full house of 16 aspiring writers on Saturday.

He is the author of 15 novels, including My Legendary Girlfriend, Mr Commitment and Turning Thirty. He has agreed to run a second workshop on February 8 which is already sold out with a waiting list.

The one-day course will consider how to generate and develop ideas like a professional writer, touching on the creation of ‘log lines’ (your story in a sentence), understanding story structure and avoiding common pitfalls.

The course is suitable for complete beginners and those struggling to start novels or transform their ideas into something they can work with.

Previously a journalist and agony uncle, Mike’s work has appeared in a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Cosmopolitan.

He has also been a judge on a number of literary prizes including the Costa, Betty Trask and WH Smith Awards. His latest novel is Half a World Away. His books have been translated into over thirty languages.

Mr Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham. After graduating from Salford University with a degree in Sociology he moved to London with ambitions of becoming a music journalist. This didn't happen however and following a slight detour in his five-year plan he ended up as an agony uncle for teenage girls' magazine Bliss before becoming Features Editor on Just Seventeen. He has written for a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Cosmopolitan.

He became a full-time novelist in 1997.