Milford Report 1996

Sun 19 Oct 1996 - Sat 26 Oct 1996
@ Bowden Close Hotel, Teignmouth Road, Maidencombe, Torquay, Dorset, TQ1 4TJ

L-R: Peter Garratt, Liz Counihan, Andy Oldfield, Andrew Stephenson, Liz Holliday, Ben Jeapes,
Chris Amies, Gus Smith, Robert Vamosi, David Marusek, David Nickle

1996 by Robert Vamosi

Milford 1996 was held at Bowden Close Hotel in Maidencombe, Devon, England. There were eleven us: I being one of two Americans, along with one Canadian and eight Brits. It was a good size and we were an amiable bunch.

Because of a heavy reading load (we each brought two manuscripts, some of which were over 12,000 words) it might have been a less social Milford, but overall a more productive one. I didn't mind. I came for the work and therefore got a lot out of it.

The facilities at Bowden Close were great for workshopping. There was a large living room with fireplace and bar and plenty of other chairs and hide-aways upstairs in which to curl up and read (and write: bring a laptop if you can). Also, the weather was sometimes cooperating enough that people went outside and read in the garden overlooking the ocean. Owners John and Pam Hill were pleasant and accommodating: When we needed to use the phone for e-mail downloads, they made one of the outlets (usually screwed tight) accessible.

My memories of Milford will be of the discussions themselves: both during the critique sessions and after, in the bull sessions around the breakfast or dinner tables. I always found the conversation stimulating and enlightening. I also managed to re-work my novel-in-progress by working late into the night. I would almost say I got more out of one week at Milford than six weeks at Clarion (although the two experiences are different).

I had arrived in England from San Francisco a few days ahead of the workshop and spent time in London and Bath before taking a train to Teignmouth and a cab to Maidencombe. I recommend this, as I was able to work through my jet-lag and enjoy the workshop from beginning to end.

Milford was also my first visit to the UK (my first time out of the United States for that matter). I would go back to England in a flash.

From Andrew Stephenson's Archive

Amies, Chris: "Miss Willmott's Ghost", 6250ww
"Fare Forward, Voyagers", 8000ww

Counihan, Elizabeth: "There Was An Old Woman Tossed Up In A Basket", 5300ww
"Fairest Isle", 6100ww

Garrat, Peter T.: "The Spitzbergen Raid", 8000ww
"Long, But Without Glory", 8700ww

Holliday, Liz: "Rookie's Gambit" (proposal)
"Redemption", 3900ww

Jeapes, Ben: "Twelve Good Aliens", 8100ww
"Smart Move", 2800ww

Marusek, David: "The Wedding Album", 17000ww
"Down At The Grisly Bar", 8800ww

Nickle, David: "Extispicy", 6800ww
"A Wedding In The Pit", 14000ww

Oldfield, Andy: "My Translucent Hands", 3500ww
"Tooth Faires On-Line", 7000ww

Smith, Gus: "The Worsted Suit", 10279ww
"Heads You Lose", 13800ww

Stephenson, Andrew: "...And Now The Good News", 1278ww
"Metaphors", 3365ww

Vamosi, Rob: "Ruiner", 12500ww
"Past The Mission", 7000ww

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