Something of a dream team tutor pairing here!
Begin your fiction journey with
@tobylitt
and Rachel Seiffert at The Hurst in May. This week makes use of challenging exercises and helpful feedback to inspire your stories, long and short.
6-11 May
Masterclass: Get a crash course in writing for immersive media with Adrienne Mackey, Artistic Director at
@SwimPony
.
Whether it's writing theatre or games that interest you, Adrienne will get you thinking about new narratives.
21 Nov, 19:00-21:00
Brilliant creative non-fiction can benefit from observation, diary-writing and oral history.
Learn to create textured non-fiction with the acclaimed
@rebeccamjohnson
and Polly Barton on this 5-Day Residential Writing Week in Devon.
6-11 November
Get your writing to take flight in this Starting to Write Week.
You'll explore fiction and poetry in a supportive environment with acclaimed novelist
@rosswriterj
and prize-winning poet
@VickyMWriter
.
🗓️ Mon 11 March - Fri 15 March
Join writer, director and actor,
@AliceLowe
for this Online Writing Day in Feb as she guides you through the process of taking your film idea and developing it into a screenplay.
🗓️ Friday 16 February, 10:00 - 16:00
Learn more >
Spend a week immersed in songwriting, co-writing and exploring your creative musical voice with
@kathwilliamsuk
and
@emma_lee_moss
from your own space.
All welcome, you don't need to be able to play an instrument to attend 🎶
Mon 11 March - Fri 15 March
We're hiring!
Arvon is currently looking for two Relief House Managers to help with the smooth running of
@TotleighBarton
, our Devon writing house. Could it be you or someone you know?
Take a look at our recruitment packs here:
Closing date: 27 January.
Lovely people of Birmingham, we are running an ALL-DAY creative writing event with
@KitdeWaal
,
@lisablowerwrite
and special guest
@coldwarsteve
on July 8th in your beautiful city! Covering all aspects of writing fiction, you won't want to miss it!
GIVEAWAY 2: Screenwriters underrepresented in film/TV, we're giving away a free place on this Online Starting to Write for the Screen Week (11-15 Dec) with
@RobinMukherjee3
and Claire Bennett!
Please send 250 words to alia.zapparova
@arvon
.org by 20 Nov.
Big news in the Arvon universe. Our "fourth house", Arvon at Home, is staying open permanently! After a strange, bifurcated year, this means more online writing weeks, workshops, and chances for writers of EVERY level. But that's not all! Learn more here:
Writers ✍️ You can apply for funding from Arts Council England. Developing your Creative Practice is a new development fund to allow individual creative practitioners time and space to work. Grants from £2,000 - £10,000. Round one deadline: Weds 16 May
Arvon are looking for new trustees! Could it be you? We'd love to hear from a diverse range of candidates. You'd be joining us during a period of transformation. We're also really keen to recruit two younger trustees (18-30) so don't let age be a barrier!
News 🔔
Arvon is excited to announce that author, activist and
@bmc_college
founder
@BenRawlence
is our new Writer-in-Residence! Ben has programmed a series of courses that challenge writers to fight climate change through creative writing.
Learn more 👇
Travel writing is about more than just the journey!
Set against the backdrop of beautiful Devon, this 5-Day Residential Writing Week with
@tarankhan
, Dan Richards and
@jblackburnbooks
will inspire you to bring the landscapes you love to life.
3-8 June
The incomparable
@neilhimself
will be joining us for a reading and Q&A on 30 Oct at 19:15!
Gaiman's back-catalogue includes multi-million selling and award winning works like: Good Omens, Coraline, American Gods, Stardust and Sandman
Book here:
The Gold Dust Writers Award is open to any writer on a low-income, to attend any Arvon course from September to November 2019. The whole course fee will be covered by the Award. Apply before June 28
#amwritinghttps
://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/grants/
British Council is offering six scholarships to ambitious young writers (aged 18-34) based in the UK and Germany who have a particular interest in and/or experience of writing about nature. Deadline May 3
Our Crowdfunder is now LIVE!
Help us raise £50,000 to ensure Arvon remains on a sustainable footing whilst our writing houses remain closed.
We’d love it if you could
#SupportArvon
. Donate if you can, please share, and tell us why you love Arvon!
We have a 5-day short story challenge coming from
@taniahershman
starting 30 March!
Sign up for Tania’s challenge, and we’ll deliver her tips straight to your inbox for free. By the end of the week you could have a draft of a shiny new short story...
Congratulations to our very own Ruth Borthwick on being elected an
@RSLiterature
Honorary Fellow last night, along with 30 other brilliant writers and people who have made a lasting contribution to literature. 🌟🎊🖋️
Can’t afford an Arvon Course? We understand not everyone has the funds to attend Arvon, that's why we offer grants. To see full details please visit:
#opentoall
#writingcourse
#iamwriting
Join our 5-day short story challenge from
@taniahershman
, coming 30 Mar, and enter our competition for the best 500w opener written during the 5 days.
1st prize is feedback on the story from Tania and 2nd prize is a months’ Friends membership!
Sign up:
Writers, facilitators, and anyone who wants to make a difference, you have just TWO DAYS left to apply for Arvon's transformative Writing for Performance with Communities Writing Week at
@Lumb_Bank
with
@SaraClifford3
and
@FrancescaBeard
.
29 May-3 June
Sound the good news horn: Arvon are delighted to announce we've been awarded £725,000 as part of
@ace_national
's Capital Investment Grant! This will allow us to redevelop
@Lumb_Bank
, improving accessibility + sustainability.
Click below to learn more 👇🏽
Hey poets! We have four fully funded places for Black and South Asian writers to join our Poetry week with
@nktgill
&
@SophiaThakur
next month. Send a statement (250 words max) outlining why you'd like one to eliza.squire
@arvon
.org by Weds 14th July 12pm.
The Jerwood/Arvon Mentoring Programme 2019/20 is now open for applications from 2017 or 2018 Arvon course attendees. Apply now for a year of one-to-one support with poet Hannah Lowe, playwright Evan Placey or fiction writer Nicholas Royle.
#JerwoodArvon
Hey writers! We're offering TWO FREE PLACES on this Starting to Write week for writers currently under-represented in publishing. Please email eliza.squire
@arvon
.org with 250 words saying why you'd like a place on the course by midday, Weds, 6th October.
Arvon and
@JerwoodArts
are delighted to announce the 2019/20 cohort of Jerwood/Arvon mentees – nine emerging writers about to begin a year of mentoring in the categories of Fiction, Playwriting and Poetry:
#JerwoodArvon
We are thrilled to announce our FREE January 5-day Hybrid Writing Challenge!
Penned by Arvon writer in residence,
@taniahershman
, you'll respond to detailed prompts over 5 days, creating work that defies labels and thrills in equal measure.
Sign up here:
GIVEAWAY✨ To celebrate our upcoming Poetry Online Writing Week with Vanessa Kisuule, Deanna Rodger and guest Nikita Gill, Arvon is giving away a free place in exchange for your participation in our collaborative poem.
Coming up next week...
27 Oct, 19:00 - Poetry masterclass from
@CarolineBirdUK
Book:
28 Oct, 19:15 - Reading and Q&A from
@winniemli
Book:
30 Oct, 19:15 - Reading and Q&A from
@neilhimself
Book:
An opportunity for
#BAME
fiction writers with a work-in-progress: Written, a 5-day subsidised Arvon writing course on October 22-27 in Yorkshire. Tutored by Patrice Lawrence and Kerry Young. Apply by September 3.
We're hiring! Arvon is recruiting for a Deputy Director to manage the day-to-day operations of Totleigh Barton, our Devon writing house. 30 hours pw, £27,725 pro rata, based in Devon. Apply by 8 November.
Next week from Arvon at Home:
3 June, 7:15 PM, Live reading and Q&A with
@taniahershman
:
4 June, 11 AM, Masterclass on Editing with
@KitdeWaal
:
5 June, 7:15 PM, Live reading and Q&A with Jo Brand:
⭐DEADLINE TOMORROW⭐ An opportunity for
#BAME
fiction writers with a work-in-progress: Written, a 5-day subsidised Arvon writing course on October 22-27 in Yorkshire. Tutored by Patrice Lawrence and Kerry Young. Apply by September 3.
#amwriting
📢Amazon is offering 3 scholarships to our Advanced Writing Programme to support underrepresented writers.
If you wish to apply for a place, please indicate this in your application by 12.00 on Friday 24 May!
@CarolineBirdUK
@calflyn
@rosswriterj
We are beyond saddened to learn of Marcus Sedgwick's passing. A nicer man and more caring tutor you couldn't hope to have met. A great writer but, above all, a wonderful human.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Standard day back in the office
@TotleighBarton
- within 5 minutes of arrival I found a signed Seamus Heaney book in the filing cabinet and a bat in my bin
@arvonfoundation
To celebrate our 50th birthday, we want to raise £10,000 to support as many low-income writers from underprivileged backgrounds as possible. Your support will help ensure Arvon remains
#OPENTOALL
Please share
#donate
#dogood
#charity
Are you a
#youngwriter
or know someone who is? We’re offering half-price courses for people aged 18-25, including Starting to Write, Fiction, Songwriting, Editing Fiction and more! Limited spaces, sign up here:
Grants to give authors valuable time to complete work or assist with research costs are available from The
@Soc_of_Authors
Authors’ Foundation and K Blundell Trust. Deadline Apr 30.
Would you love to make your workshops more accessible but don't know where to start?
Join Disability Access Consultant and writer/performer
@MandyRRowe
for a Masterclass that will help you create more inclusive spaces.
Friday 13 October, 11:00-13:00
We are thrilled to have poet
@nktgill
in the How I Write hot seat next Wednesday. Nikita will be reading from her work, sharing tips on her creative process and taking your questions in a Q&A! This event is pay-what-you-can.
17 May, 19:15-20:15
We’re bringing a taste of Arvon into your home one night a week. Every Wednesday evening an Arvon tutor will join us for a reading and Q&A. Our next Arvon at Home Live Guest Reading is with Max Porter on Wednesday 15 April at 7:15 pm via Zoom. £5
There’s only one week left to apply for our 3 grants for low-income writers to attend a 2019 course, absolutely free. Grants are for Crime Writing, Playwriting, or any Open Course. Apply before 28 June. Please share!
#amwriting
Our friends
@RSLiterature
have recently launched a Digital Events Pass – access all RSL online events for £25 a year, including RSL Fellow
@neilhimself
& Booker Prize winner
@MarlonJames5
in conversation on Thursday 15 April! Find out more here:
Next week...
13 Apr, 19:00 - Craft of Writing with
@arobertwebb
hosted by
@AlexClark3
Book:
14 Apr, 19:15 - Reading with
@Glamrou
Book:
15 Apr, 11:00 - Poetry masterclass with Jacob Polley
Book:
We've launched Arvon at Home, a digital programme of events bringing Arvon right to your home.
We offer readings, writing masterclasses, and writing weeks with some of the best writers working today.
Spaces sell out quickly; see our schedule here:
Fan of the Brontës? Interested in trying creative writing? Starting to Write with the Brontës is a course for new writers, exploring fiction and poetry through the prism of the Brontë sisters and created in partnership with
@BronteParsonage
#amwriting
We've launched Arvon at Home, a digital programme of events to keep you busy during the lockdown.
We offer readings, writing masterclasses, and writing weeks with some of the best writers working today.
Spaces sell out quickly; see our schedule here:
Are you a
#youngwriter
or know someone who is? We’re offering half-price courses for people aged 18-25, including Commercial Fiction, Starting to Write, Experimental Fiction and more! Limited spaces, sign up here:
We're excited to announce our 2020 course programme has been released today and is available to book online!
There's incredible guests and tutors on the line up, plus a huge selection of courses in a range of genres.
Browse and book courses here:
We hope you received your first prompt for our
#5DayShortStoryChallenge
from
@taniahershman
! We'll be posting across social media using that hashtag, so make sure to use it yourself, and tag us in your posts.
We'll be sharing our attempt at Tania's first exercise in a few hours!
Arvon 18-25 is here! If you’re aged between 18 and 25, sign up for half price courses with late availability, writing tips and exercises and young writers’ opportunities. RT to spread the word!
#Arvon1825
#amwriting
#youngwriters
Job Vacancy: Arvon is looking for a new Head of Learning, who will develop and implement a strategy for learning, develop partnerships with external organisations and widen participation for young people, adults and groups. Apply by Thursday 4 July
Good news for writers and readers! If you join the free Arvon mailing list, not only will you find out what's coming up online and at our houses - you'll also receive a FREE ticket to an online Live Guest Reading and Q&A of your choice!
See here to join:
Arvon is delighted to announce our Summer 22 Writer-in-Residence is the magnificent
@KitdeWaal
!
Kit has programmed a fantastic series of in-person and online workshops around the theme of celebrating identity. Take a look at Kit's courses now:
Calling all Sci-Fi and Fantasy writers! Have you seen our Science Fiction and Fantasy 5-day writing course? Tutored by Emma Newman and Peter Newman, this is one not to miss. Aug 20 - Aug 25.
#amwritingfantasy
#amwritingscifi
Following an incredibly generous £10,000 donation from the T. S. Eliot estate, we’re at £16k and close to the halfway point of our goal! Thank you so much to the Eliot estate, and to all of you have given so far.
Donate here:
📢 Introducing Arvon's Advanced Writing Programme! 📢
We are offering 15 writers the opportunity to complete a project through a unique combination of residential and online writing weeks, group workshops and 1-1 sessions over two years.
Celebrating Nelson Mandela: His Letters, His Legacy! Gary Younge, Jackie Kay, Zoe Wicomb, Jay Bernard, Kwame Kwei-Armah & Errollyn Wallen join
@englishpen
to celebrate the centenary of Mandela's birth on 17 July
@UnionChapelUK
. Book Now:
#PENmandelaletters
On Thursday join our two hour Zoom masterclass on plot and narrative structure hosted by
@DoughtyLouise
. Louise will talk through different methods of structuring a story and discuss the merits of each. It starts at 11am BST and costs £35.
Mothership Writers (
@mothershipwrite
) is a free year-long programme of writing workshops for new mothers in
#Bristol
. The focus is on creativity, community and wellbeing for new mothers - bringing together women and their babies. Find out more
#amwriting
Next Wednesday,
@GodzillaKent
, poet and award-winning publisher of
@brokensleep
, is our How I Write guest. Aaron will share tips and techniques he's learned as a writer, and get into what he looks for in a submission. It's free, so bring your questions!
Exciting news klaxon! We have today launched a new mini-season programmed by our first every writer-in-residence, the fabulous
@rachelnalong
. Rachel's season brings together huge names and newer, exciting voices.
Take a look at the full programme here:
Our 2018 programme is live and open for booking. We're very proud of our tutor line-up in our special 50th year, and have some exciting new courses including a long weekend course:
Join BAFTA winner
@nicoleftaylor
for her masterclass on Taking Yourself Seriously as a Screenwriter.
Suitable for beginners, we'll hear about writing the spec script that'll help you break in, and how to approach screenwriting in the meantime.
Book here:
It’s not too late to apply for the
@FoundationSwift
#WomenPoetsPrize
and applications are FREE! We want to hear from you. Deadline Monday 23rd July, 11pm. Find out more and apply:
📢 Apply for a fully funded place to join a non-fiction week with
@Dan_Zep
and
@tarankhan
.
Send us 250 words on why we should award you this place by Friday 17 May to totleighbarton
@arvon
.org
You must be able to cover your own travel costs to Devon.
Science Fiction and Fantasy 5-day writing course is now half-price to writers aged 18-25. Please share with any young sci-fi writers! Tutored by Emma and Peter Newman, Aug 20 - Aug 25.
#AmWritingFantasy
#AmWritingSciFi
We love this from
@hadfield_jen
: Don't object to the poem that is slowly written, because in the poem you hold lightly in your mind for days, weeks, months, years, we make room for not-writing ... I love that, in 2019, there is still no hurrying a poem.
#5DayPoetryChallenge
Arvon is proud to partner with The Literary Consultancy to offer the Free Reads Scheme to all low-income writers.
TLC processes novels, short stories, poetry, and scripts, offering professional critical feedback.
Apply by 6pm on Fri 23rd Feb
The 2019
@stwevents
and
@goldsmithsuol
#LifeWritingPrize
is open for entries from now to Fri 1 Feb 2019. The Prize is free to enter and rewards the winner with £1500, industry meetings, publication and a place on an Arvon course.
Applications open for Written, a 5 day Arvon writing course in Yorkshire, open to BAME fiction writers who have already begun or completed a draft of a manuscript; tutored by Patrice Lawrence and Kerry Young.