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Short Courses Creative Writing: Fact or Fiction Creative Writing in the City Chambers and Partners Saville House 23 Long Lane London EC1, UK 7 Oct 2009 - 3 Mar 2010 This monthly course is open only to employees of Chambers and Partners. Creative Writing in the City Workshop Your Fiction • Fall Housmans Bookshop
Weekend Courses Starting to Write Write Now! in Ireland Comedy Writing for Beginners Housmans Bookshop Tutor: Griff Phillips Fiction Masterclass Intensive Lucas Arms 10 & 17 Oct 2010 Playwriting for Beginners Finding the Inspiration to Write North London Buddhist Centre
Courses Abroad Novel Retreat in Catalonia La Torre de Dalt Camós, (Girona) Spain 11 - 18 Jun 2010 Write Now! in Texas, USA Sep 2010 Course being planned . . .
From January to March there will be a 10-week "So You Want to Write a Novel" course to kick off the New Year. If you dream of writing a book and need some guidance, this Time Out recommended course could be just the one to successfully send you on your way. January marked the first "Comedy Writing for Beginners". This workshop led by Griff Phillips was held over two Sundays to give students a chance to develop their scripted sketches, jokes or a sitcom. From March to May there will be an exciting 9-week "Creative Writing for Fact or Fiction" at the Helios Centre to develop new work in the classroom. It is also suitable for novelists, short story writers, playwrights or memoirists who want to use the exercises to expand their manuscripts. At the end of May, a London weekend course, "Starting to Write", will be offered for those who had never written before. It will give new writers the opportunity to get their pens going and flowing. In June a 7-day writing retreat will be held in an amazing baronial country house in Catalonia. Though the course title is "Novel Retreat", students who are working on short stories or life-memoirs will find this series of workshops both illuminating . . . and fun! In August there will be a residential retreat at Tig Roy, a spectacular location in Co Tipperary. "Write Now! in Ireland" offers two daily workshops, a showcase night, hillwalking, live traditional Irish music and fabulous food. In September a 2-day course is being planned in the beautiful city of San Antonio, Texas. After last year's successful workshop in New Mexico, this will mark Anne's second creative writing workshop in the US. September will also see a repeat of "Comedy Writing for Beginners" for those who were unable to come in January. Bring the funny and come along! Tutor: Griff Phillips October marks the launch of a new course, "Fiction Masterclass Intensive". This hands-on 2-day workshop helped students to begin to see their work with new eyes. October and November offers the chance to join "Playwriting for Beginners", a practical course to learn the fundamentals of this exciting form. This weekend workshop, held over two Sundays a month apart to enable you to develop your script, will be led by David Wilson. In November there will be a "Finding the Inspiration to Write" workshop at the North London Buddhist Centre. This weekend course will include an afternoon field trip to a surprise London location. From October through December, there will be an 10-week autumn course, "Workshop Your Fiction", for students wanting help and feedback on their novels, short stories and creative non-fiction. Places are available only to committed writers. Watch this space for more course news.
Wondering what special gift you might give to someone who writes or wants to? Why not give a place on one of the 12 writing courses on offer in 2010? There are a wide variety of workshops for all levels of ability, from beginners to published authors. More and more, courses are being gifted and none of the lucky recipients has complained yet! Go to the Gift Certificates page to see what you need to do to delight that special writer in your life.
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For a thumbnail description of courses offered in 2010, scroll down Column 1.
3 March 2010: Books are so important that some regimes have burned them. There have certainly been books which marked me as permanently as a branding iron . . .
Video clips are now available for viewing on YouTube. They are not up to a Nick Broomfield documentary, but I rather like the Dogme filming technique (hand-held camera, no special lighting). One video gives a flavour of what goes on in a dynamic 2.5 hour session. Another is about one of my first literary heroes and the third is a conversation with Haifa Zangana reading an excerpt from her new book, Dreaming of Baghdad, published by the Feminist Press in New York.
"Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post how he feels about dogs." Christopher Hampton
A 7-day retreat in Catalonia will be held from 11 - 18 June 2010. Join us for an idyllic week in a beautifully restored 17th-century country house with a swimming pool. The fee includes group and 1-2-1 tuition, Open Mic nights, full board and accommodation. Treat yourself to a holiday you'll never forget. Click here for course details. For a slideshow of La Torre de Dalt, click here. As of January 2010, novelists (or short story writers working towards a collection) have the opportunity to submit a chapter (or story) at Anne's discretion for a one-page critique by the Christine Green literary agency. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in a CWC workshop and have manuscripts that are at an advanced stage of development. A new 2010 brochure is now available. If you'd like to receive one by snail mail, click here. If you're a new student, please include name, address and full post code.
In January 2010 a new course was added to the prospectus, "Comedy Writing for Beginners" If you want to write sketches, jokes or a sitcom, this is your chance to start. Tutor: Griff Phillips. This course will be repeated on 12 & 26 September 2010 for those who missed it the first time round. To learn more, click here.
After a successful September course in New Mexico, a "Write Now! in Texas" workshop is being planned for 2010. Take a trip to the Lone Star state to explore your writing skills.
Ernst & Young October 2009 marked the third year of "Creative Writing in the City" at Ernst & Young. This 7-month course meets monthly and welcomes new members from within the organisation. The idea for the course came from a PA in the firm, Lavinia Osborne-Njoda, who wanted to share the joy and self-discovery of writing with her co-workers. If your organisation is interested in hosting a course in the City of London, click here to contact the Administrator for more info. Photo: Steve Mullins
Thiis beautifully-written non-fiction book is about Robin''s quest to discover the part his great-grandfather, Arthur Greenhalgh, had played in the Mexican Revolution (and maybe even find the stash of silver Arturo had, according to family history, hidden before his flight back to Lancashire). To say anything more about this not-to-be-put-downable book would be a spoiler! A high five to Robin who asked me to post this: "When I first met Anne I had a great story, but I didn't have a book. If it weren't for her wisdom, insight, belief and patience, the book might never have been finished, and it certainly would not have been accepted for publication." To read more about Robin's book, click here.
In Celebration of Cecil Collins is a compilation of reminiscences by almost 100 contributors, including colleagues, friends, curators and collectors of this visionary artist and teacher. This book. edited by Nomi Rowe, is fully illustrated in colour and is available at the extremely reasonable price of £30. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the creative process. This FoolsCap art book is distributed by Paul Holberton Publishing. To order, click here.
Don’t be afraid of writing bad first drafts. It took me a long time to realize that even the worst first draft in the world can be shaped into something better. Surrender to whatever imperfect words want to come out. Even though it might not be what you want to say, there is a certain energy in a first draft that can be lost in rewriting. This is the reason I always keep the first draft of anything and why I value my writer’s journal when I am jotting down things for myself; it crackles with thoughts I wouldn’t have at my computer. Anne Aylor
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Anne Aylor is a professional writer who has had short stories and poems published by the Arts Council of Great Britain, The Literary Review, London Magazine and Stand Magazine. In addition to being a runner-up in a Radio 3 competition, a number of her stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio. In 2008 she was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. Her novel, No Angel Hotel, was published by HarperCollins, Grafton Books and St Martin’s Press (US title: Angel Hotel). She has recently completed her second novel, The Double Happiness Company, and is 90,000 words into her third. Her stage play, Children of the Dust, won a playwrighting competition and was co-produced by the Soho Theatre and Theatre Warehouse, Croydon. She worked in post-war Bosnia where she practised Chinese medicine and taught ballet. She teaches at Morley College in London and is a member of PEN. In 2007 she was a shortlist judge for the story competition held by the Wimbledon Book Fest. If you'd like to see a sample of her work, click here for a 500-word short story or on the link below for the story shortlisted for the Bridport Prize.
In 2008 I received news that my short story, "The Speed of Dark", had been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2008. As there were over 10,000 entries of poems and short stories this year, I felt honoured. Helen Simpson and David Harsent were the judges. To read the story which is an extract from my novel-in-progress, The The Speed of Dark , click here.
To listen to Anne on Radio London,click here. This interview was broadcast in January 2008 and includes tips on creative writing.
To hear one of Anne's stories broadcast on Radio 3, click on the logo, then go to the bottom of the page.
Look out for Robin Bayley's The Mango Orchard which he worked on in a "So You Want to Write a Novel Intensive" and several "Workshop Your Fiction" courses. You can pre-order a copy before the March 2010 publication date by going to "Books to Buy" in the middle column. I am thrilled to announce that Elaine Mason who did a session at Ernst & Young "Creative Writing in the City" and the first "Comedy Writing for Beginners" has had her work broadcast on radio. Course tutor, Griff Phillips, encouraged his students to write for BBC Radio 7's Newsjack and Elaine's sketches were chosen. A coup for them both! Congratulations to R S Mann who has had her short story, "Rosie", published in the Jan/Feb issue of The New Writer (No 100). This is the second story Rachel has had in print and she's also just completed the first draft of her novel. Peter Lambrou who did a "Workshop Your Fiction" and "So You Want to Write a Novel" course has had his first book, Topavzian, published. If you're a fan of adventure/fantasy, click here to order Peter's book. His protagonist, Zak Strange, is guided by a mysterious stranger and the ghost of the ancient Greek warrior, Achilles. Time is running out . . .
Beatrice Sudsbury who was on several "Workshop Your Fiction" courses and "Learn to Edit Intensive" recently entered her book, A Half Cast Shadow, for the Novel Pitch Competition run by Spread the Word. There were over 200 submissions. In the words of the programme coordinator, Beatrice "did extremely well to make it to the final 16."
Kylie Holmes who was on a "Learn to Edit Intensive" and a fiction workshop course, had her first book, Intuitive Children, published in February 2009. I'm also thrilled to report that she has signed a 3-book contract with O Books. I'm delighted to announce that Nomi Rowe who has studied with me 1-2-1 has had her first book, In Celebration of Cecil Collins, published by FoolsCap. This inspiring book of reminiscences about the visionary artist and teacher, Cecil Collins, is a must for every bookshelf. The Coast to Coast Writing Competition (held as part of the Liverpool Year of Culture) was won in October 2008 by Jennifer Pittam who's just completed a "So You Want to Write a Novel" course and is workshopping her manuscript in another course. She's entered competitions before, but this is her first win so a big congratulations to her for her short story, "I Remember Very Well". Hekate Papadaki and Robin Bayley who have done my "So You Want to Write a Novel" and several of my "Workshop Your Fiction" courses, were shortlisted by Kingston University Press for a Life-Writing competition. The results were announced in December 2007 and Hekate placed in the Top Ten. Judges included Hanif Kureishi, Kathryn Hughes and Rachel Cusk. Congratulations to them both on their huge achievement. There was stiff competition and a large number of entries. In October 2007 Naznene Sparrow & Malavika Nataraj won Second and Third Place in the Wimbledon Book Fest with their short stories, "The Bridge" and "Waiting". Naznene was also one of 7 Honourable Mentions with her poem, "Bowler Hat".
Their stories were recorded on CD as part of the Sandi Toksvig Writing Challenge. There was an awards ceremony, followed by a panel discussion with Mary Mount, Editorial Director of Viking Penguin and Peter Straus, literary agent at Rogers, Coleridge & White. A huge congratulations to them on their success! Tom Hill, who was on a Helios 2006 course, had his play, The Fox, produced in the "No Decor Plays 2007" series at the Arcola Theatre, London. A big congratulations to them on their great achievements!
If you want to know more about Anne Aylor Creative Writing Courses, click here. "Spread the Word" is an archive events and collaborations' page. Check it out!
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I am delighted to report that The Mango Orchard by Robin Bayley was published on 5 March 2010 by Preface, a division of Random House. 
Naznene with Sandi Toksvig 
