Pen image thanks to @LauraChouette and unsplash
Writing
Virginia has contributed several articles to the National Autistic Society Magazine, Spectrum and Your Autism Magazine will be producing a feature article written by Virginia in September 2021. Virginia made her publishing debut in The Weird and Whatnot, (July 2019) with her short story, The Rented Room.
Poetry
Her poem, An Afternoon Walk, was published in the September 2019 volume of Acumen Literary Journal, which has shortlisted more poems of Virginia’s for the future. A poem titled, Tourist to the Sun, was featured in an online journal, Voices in early 2020, and Breath and Shadow, published a memoir, (Gifted) and poem (Forest) in editions of the journal Fall 2020, and Winter 2020.
Two more poems, Echo appeared here in Summer 2021. Furthermore, Minerva Rising featured her poems: Dysmorphic, Stepping out on Derby Day and Natasha. Another poem, Flesh and Glass, was a semi-finalist in Sunspot Literary Journal ‘Inception’ competition and appears in a lockdown anthology, When This Is All Over, (Creative Ink Publishing) in June 2021.
Virginia was shortlisted for The Latin Programme’s inaugural poetry prize with ‘Lost Property,’ which was published on March 4th, and she talked about this poem in conjunction with The Broadway Bookshop Poetry Sharing evening on 17th March 2021, via zoom. In July and September, The poetry Journal, Pure Slush, Lifespans Project, featured Talking About Art (Amsterdam 1995) and Comeback. The Beckindale Poetry Review and From The Heart Poetry Journal featured poetry in March and June 2021.
A poem of Virginia’s, Comeback, appeared in the July 2021 issue of Friendship Lifespan Vol. 3. Acumen and Breath and Shadow will be publishing more poems in May 2022, and three poems and a story are to feature in a collection of work from Suffolk published by TSaunders publications at the end of 2022. Virginia has just completed a full collection, Tourist to the Sun, which is in the process of publication, and she is now working on her first novel.
Radio and Theatre
Virginia’s work was showcased in an interview aired on BBC Radio Suffolk on 3rd April 2021, a flash fiction on 8th May 2021, an interview with Jon wright on 25th May 2021 and a guest interview on In Conversation with Georgy Jamieson on 2nd June 2021, and interviews and poetry on Radio Norfolk and Essex in June and July, with poems being broadcast on the BBC throughout 2021. Virginia has been a guest on Jon Wright’s fantasy pub throughout 2021. Three Haiku were published on 14th May 2021 in Love The Words Poetry Anthology 2021 for International Dylan Thomas Day: How Time Has Ticked A Heaven Round The Stars (Infinity Books).
Virginia’s debut collection of short stories, The Camera Obscure, will be published shortly, and she has just completed co-writing a professional theatre production, Lullaby which is to be performed at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich on October 24th, 2021. https://hightide.org.uk/event/community-town-hall-morning/ click on the link to book.
Virginia is also a member of the Suffolk Poetry Society, and has performed one of the leads, with Steve Roche, for their 8th Annual Festival in a play in Verse, All Change! written by Peter Sandberg, music by Colin Whyles and directed by Caroline Gay Way. She has ambitions to develop her performance work further, and is part of the Neurodelicious Launch Pad, a group of neurodiverse performers who are scheduled to perform at Colchester Arts centre and The Cambridge Junction in Autumn 2022.
The written word creates a visceral sensation in Virginia; writing is her preferred method of emotional expression, and stories and poetry often come to her in dreams.
Virginia Betts 