The Poet’s Toolkit, London
11 May – 20 July
This practical course considers the poem as
a fl ying machine and explores its inner
workings. Taking inspiration from poets past
and present, you’ll investigate the freedoms
and challenges of free verse and traditional
forms including the sonnet, terza rima, sestina
and more. It takes place over 10 weeks on
Monday evenings and costs £180.
http://www. poetryschool.comWriting for Children, London
11 May – 15 June
This City Academy course encourages you
to explore and analyse some of the most
successful children’s books as you start to
create your original children’s story. You’ll
look closely at picture books for children
under fi ve and learn character development
and plot-writing principles to help form
convincing chapter books and novels for older
children. It takes place on Monday evenings
over six weeks and costs £325.
http://www.city-academy.comRESIDENTIAL COURSESNovel Writing, Yorkshire
1–6 June
This retreat, run by author Zoë Strachan, is
for writers who need time and space to move
forward with a long-form prose project. You’ll
attend daily writing workshops and have an
individual 30-minute tutorial each day. It takes
place at Garsdale Retreat, a creative writing
centre in the remote and beautiful Yorkshire
Dales. It costs from £705.
http://www.thegarsdaleretreat.co.uk
Kickstart Your Writing, Kelso
13-18 July
Whether you write fi ction or non-fi ction,
this course aims to help you inject energy and
enthusiasm into your work. Enjoy an intimate
class size, one-to-one tutor time, writing,
publishing and coaching expertise on tap, and
fully catered home-cooking. It takes place
at The Whinney, a cottage near Kelso in the
Scottish Borders, and costs from £800.
http://www.thewhinney.com
ONE-DAY COURSEIntroduction to Fantasy Writing,
University of Cambridge
10 May
Through a combination of lectures, discussion
and writing exercises, this course explores
some of the key archetypes used in fantasy
and how using them can enrich an imaginary
world. It takes place from 10am until 4.45pm
and costs £110.
http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk
ONLINE COURSESPoint of View in Fiction
23 April
This course from Spread the Word explores
the ways in which a point of view determines
how a narrative feels and is structured, as well
as how it dictates what information must be
included, and importantly, what must be left at
the margins of the story. It takes place online
and runs until 3 June. It costs £90.
http://www.spreadtheword.org.ukCreate Brilliant Characters
11 May – 7 June
This four-week online course from the
Faber Academy helps you understand the
conventions of writing characters and shows
how to create more engaging characters to
keep your readers hooked. It will expand
your range of techniques and challenge you to
experiment with your writing. It costs £120.
http://www.faberacademy.co.ukSHORT COURSESPoetry Essentials: Introduction
to Poetry Writing, Southampton
28 April – 2 June
In this six-week course you will explore the
craft of poetry. You will build a foundation
of core skills, such as differentiating between
the abstract and concrete, creating impact
through line breaks, navigating sound devices,
and employing fi gurative language. It takes
place at Southampton University on Tuesdays
from 7pm to 9pm and costs £105.
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/lifelonglearningHowdunit! A Masterclass in the
Craft of Crime Writing by Martin
Edwards (£12.99 Kindle Edition, Collins
Crime Club)
offers a fresh
perspective
on the craft of
crime writing
from leading
exponents of
the genre, past
and present.
Ninety crime
writers from
the world’s
oldest and
most famous
crime-writing
network give
tips and insights into successful crime and
thriller fi ction. Published 25 June.You Can Write Awesome Stories by
Joanne Owen (£7.99, Collins) One for
children, this
book aims to
help seven to
11 year olds get
thinking, get
scribbling and
get inspired!
The guidance
is easy to
understand and
tells you exactly
what you need
to know step
by step. This fun
book should help kids get great at writing
in no time at all. Published 11 June.Edwards (£12.99 Kindle Edition, Collins
Crime Club)
offers a fresh
perspective
on the craft of
crime writing
from leading
exponents of
the genre, past
and present.
Ninety crime
writers from
the world’s
oldest and
most famous
crime-writing
network giveJoanne Owen (£7.99, Collins) One for
children, this
book aims to
help seven to
11 year olds get
thinking, get
scribbling and
get inspired!
The guidance
is easy to
understand and
tells you exactly
what you need
to know step
by step. This fun
book should help kids get great at writingHELPFUL NEW BOOKSNovel writing at
Garsdale RetreatSend your event listings three months ahead to [email protected] DIRECTORY
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