Arvon

What stories will emerge from this era of ecological and social upheaval? What kind of fiction can include the natural world, of which the human story is only a part? This course is for writers who feel challenged and inspired by the times ahead. We will consider old and new ways of writing about our predicament – including dystopia, but [read more...]

Memoir, travel, self-help . . . Whatever you’re writing, whatever your genre, there’s usually a point where you feel stuck, uncertain or unfocused. Join us for this week to reboot. Together, we’ll explore what you’re really writing about and how best to shape your material. And if your project is at the early concept stage, the same applies! As you [read more...]

How can we refresh our seeing and ‘green up’ our writing? What is nature writing, and how does it differ from, say, a field guide to orchids? We’ll think about the self and the subject and how to balance the two, and explore how to write positively about wildness at a time when the natural world is so vulnerable. Paying [read more...]

Swap your pen for a box cutter and get ready to unpack your writing and peel off labels for this wild and wideranging exploration of forms and hybrids. Over the week, we will slip across slashes, reading and writing new ways into the spaces between poetry and prose, essay and fiction as well as image, sound and performance. Expect to [read more...]

This course is for anyone who wants to get better at writing fiction, from the complete beginner to someone with a finished novel under their belt. Writing well means striking a paradoxical balance between instinct and judgement. The course will address both aspects: the spontaneous, free, instinctive impulse towards self-expression; and the complementary need for understanding the goals of storytelling. [read more...]

If you want to write creatively, but aren’t sure where to start, this course will give you the tools and confidence to get you past that challenging blank page. We’ll begin at the source – inspiration – and travel through the alchemical life of an idea to the moment it reaches its readers. We’ll ask what makes a poem a [read more...]

Two of the most difficult things to master in non-fiction are voice and structure. During this week we will help you to find authentic ways to articulate your story, rooted in your commitments and experiences as much as your knowledge and research. What role does quotation play in longform non-fiction, and how can the words of others, from interviewees to [read more...]

Are you close to finishing a manuscript? Maybe you’re stuck, or looking at a manuscript that somehow still doesn’t work? This course, led by a novelist and an editor, will guide you through the necessary re-writing, re-thinking and revision from the beginning to the end of your novel. We’ll also help you to understand the process of publication, from submission [read more...]

‘It is not down on any map; true places never are’ (Melville). An experiential week including idiosyncratic map-making, literary walks and personal songlines. Each morning will be spent on guided walks exploring local landscapes of woods, moors and rivers, with a focus on mapping from different perspectives. The rest of the day will be for the creation, through your own [read more...]