Milverton Writers
Milverton Writers began in 2016 with a small group gathered round a fire in a library, sharing drafts and biscuits in equal measure—and often spilling out afterwards to the pub for a pint. Founded by Jon Mycroft, the group was originally created to support writers who had completed a Master’s in Creative Writing and wanted to hold onto that energy—a space that was focused, generous, and ongoing.
​
Now led by Tanya Pengelly, Milverton Writers has grown into a small international community that meets online but still carries the spirit of those early meetings: informal, attentive, and quietly serious about the work. Between us, we write crime fiction, speculative stories, poetry, plays, and the occasional piece that stubbornly resists categorisation.
​
What binds us isn’t genre or ambition, but a shared commitment to paying attention—to the work, and to one another. We’ve celebrated publications and prizes, yes, but just as often we’ve stayed with slow drafts, rewrites, and the long pauses of fallow brains. And we’ve become, dare we say it, friends.
​
In 2025, we tentatively launched the newly formed Milverton Press with the aim of publishing an anthology of our work—and perhaps, in time, the work of other writers as well. We hold no grand expectations, only the simple, enduring pleasure of playing with words, putting them on paper, and creating something beautiful we can be proud of.
​
Please note that Milverton Writers is currently closed to new members—this isn’t about exclusivity, but because something steady and settled has taken root, and we’re looking after it.
