From pencil to posterity: University College Falmouth celebrates gift of Patrick Gale archive

Guests at a special symposium entitled The Novel - from Pencil to Posterity were treated to a rare and honest insight into the working methods of a bestselling author as University College Falmouth (UCF) celebrated the donation of an extensive archive of literary artefacts by the novelist Patrick Gale at the Tremough Campus earlier this month.

Focusing on the development of Patrick's novel Notes from an Exhibition, guests were offered an invaluable opportunity to understand every stage of the book's evolution. By drawing on a range of materials from the archive, Patrick and a panel of experts from the publishing world showed how the spark of an initial idea was developed into a spellbinding story, and how this was then packaged and sold worldwide.

Notebooks, draft manuscripts and research materials - complete with doodles, crossings out and ‘notes to self' - threw light on every aspect of the creative process, revealing how Patrick built up the book's characters and created authentic backgrounds to different aspects of the story, from Canadian psychiatric institutions in the 1950s to the world of the St Ives artists in the 1970s.

Responding to questions from the audience, Patrick was generous with his advice for aspiring authors. Among other tips, he recommended writing a first draft using pen and paper rather than a computer, observing that "Computers want to tidy up your thoughts, but mess is more fertile." He also revealed his habit of drawing up imaginary cast lists for film versions of novels that he is working on - and that he is hoping a major Hollywood actress might play the leading role in a film of Notes from an Exhibition.

The event also gave many insights into the part played by editors, literary agents, designers and booksellers in making sure that an author's work reaches the widest possible audience, with contributions from Georgia Mason, Editor at Fourth Estate (an imprint of HarperCollins), Elinor Cooper, from the literary agency AP Watt; and Katy Lazenby, Manager of The Falmouth Bookseller. As well as looking at the contract drawn up to sell Notes from an Exhibition, the audience were able to view different cover designs for the novel, highlighting the crucial importance of choosing the right image to reflect the story and its characters.

"Archives are an all too honest record of a writer's life that show clearly how we survive," said Patrick Gale. "I am very thankful to Falmouth for clearing my loft and giving these materials a new home. It's particularly pleasing that they will be staying in Cornwall, which has done so much to inspire my work, rather than in some dusty archive in the United States. It's also very fitting that they should be with University College Falmouth, as its MA in Professional Writing has a unique focus on the more practical aspects of making a career as a writer."

"Cornwall has a rich writing heritage," commented Christina Bunce, who leads the MA Professional Writing course. "Patrick's donation is a wonderful addition to this, and we are very grateful to him for allowing his archive to be preserved here at UCF for the benefit of students and academics from across the globe, as well as our resident population. The depth and range of the archive materials is particularly valuable for our students, not least because it shows what a wide variety of different types of writing they're likely to engage in at different stages of a successful career."

UCF's resident archivist, Sarah Jane, said: "Fascinating as they are, the materials we looked at tonight represent just the tip of the iceberg. Novelists and screenwriters can take inspiration from this collection, while the materials Patrick has gathered on St Ives artists such as Dame Barbara Hepworth also contain some real nuggets for researchers."

Other materials within the archive, which spans Patrick's entire writing career, include emails and letters, scripts for unmade films and TV series, literary journalism and even a promotional brochure written for the Dorchester Hotel.

The archive is now available to view by appointment and an online catalogue has also been launched to allow public access from all over the world www.falmouth.ac.uk/archives. Further information on all the archives at University College Falmouth can be found at library.falmouth.ac.uk.

This archive is part of a growing number that are being preserved by University College Falmouth, and joins collections from award-winning playwright, Nick Darke and artist, Tom Cross.

For further information about MA Professional Writing at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/professionalwriting, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 214374.

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name.  It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.  The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unique to the South West.

The University College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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