Writing School Leicester Summer Programme 2014

April - August 2014

When I finally decided to ‘be a writer’ seriously, I signed upfor a course at Writing School Leicester. At that point I hadvery little confidence in my writing, and was struggling toput pen to paper. Two courses later I was awarded aplace on the MA in Creative Writing at UEA. Ten years on Iwas offered a two book deal with Picador, and my debutnovel, Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love was published in2013. It’s been a long, challenging and exciting journey,and I’m grateful to Writing School Leicester for that initialencouragement and support.’ Sarah Butler

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Enrol online at: writingschoolleicester.co.uk

Writing School LeicesterEvents and Courses

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“If there was a wordthat means more

than excellent Iwould use it!”

Anne Jordan

* Writing East Midlands is a not-for-profit organisation supported by Arts Council England

Call us on 0115 959 7929 Follow us on twitter @WritingSchoolEM 2

Welcome to Writing School Leicester’s Summer Programme

Writing East Midlands* is the writer development agency forthe region. We work to create opportunities for experiencedwriters, and nurture and develop new, talented writers fromall sorts of backgrounds.

We’ve been delighted to hear of the success stories of manyof our students being matched with agents or seeing theirwork published following on from one of our courses at theWriting School. Our courses are designed to encouragestudents to experiment with different writing styles, honetheir craft and strengthen their voice and find suitable placesfor their work within the literature landscape. If you have arecent success story, please do let us know!

We’ve also teamed up with Pewter Rose Press to producethe second Writing School Anthology. All students enrolledon one of our courses between August 2013 and December2014 will have the chance to submit a piece of writingdeveloped during, or inspired from, a course at the WritingSchool. Please see page 3 of this brochure for more details.

We’re pleased to announce another season of courses tosuit your ambitions and writing interests. This term bringssome exciting new courses including Writing as a Readerwith Polly Tuckett, How to be a Journalist with MichaelDavies, Crafting your Writing with Maxine Linnell as well asthe ever popular Novel Writing Workshop with Rod Duncanand Writing from the Body with Alison Dunne. Our coursesoffer students the opportunity to not only explore anddevelop under the guidance of experienced, published andpracticing writers, but also the chance to engage with like-minded people and connect with the wider writingcommunity.

We’re really keen to programme courses you’re interestedin, so if there’s something you want to see, please do get intouch.

Henderson MullinChief ExecutiveWriting East Midlands

Our Courses

For over 60 years, Writing School Leicester hasdelivered courses taught by highly respected,published, practising writers. We welcome writersat any stage in their development, from beginnerslooking to delve into creative writing and exploredifferent forms, to emerging professionals lookingto develop and share their work in our WritingWorkshops. We provide a welcoming environmentfor participants to learn a professional approach towriting, and we’ll help you to seek publication,performance, or to broadcast your work. Throughour courses you will gain skills and confidence,valuable contacts within the writing community,and knowledge of the writing industry.

Venue

All events and courses take place at Leicester Adult Education College, Wellington Street,Leicester, LE1 6HL, unless stated otherwise.

Parking & Accessibility

Please do let us know at the time of booking if you’llrequire special access, so we can book anappropriate classroom. There is some pay anddisplay on-street parking (with disabled bays at thefront of the college). The nearest car parks are onDover Street, and also a car park on York Road. Formore information please contact the collegedirectly on 0116 233 4343.

Special Offers

We’re offering Early Birds 10% off all courses! See individual courses for details.

Gift Certificates are now available

Treat a friend to a Writing School Leicester courseand help them unlock their imagination. Visit www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk or call us on0115 959 7929 to find out more.

We’re delighted to beteaming up again withPewter Rose Press toproduce the secondWriting SchoolAnthology. All students

enrolled on one of our courses betweenAugust 2013 and December 2014 will have thechance to submit a piece of writing to beconsidered for the printed anthology.

The pieces will be selected and edited by aprofessional publishing team, giving studentsvaluable insight into the practice of submittingyour work to a publisher. Each chosen piecewill be published both in the printedanthology and in ebook format, and eachselected writer will also receive a free copyof the anthology and the chance to read yourwork at the book launch should you so wish.

ANTHOLOGY

WritingSchool

For further information on how to submit please follow the links on:

www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk/writing_schoolor email [email protected]

Buy FUTURES, our first anthology, online:www.pewter-rose-press.com

FUTURES ebook is available on Kindle and iTunes

For further information on how to submit please follow the links on:

www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk/writing_schoolor email [email protected]

Buy FUTURES, our first anthology, online:www.pewter-rose-press.com

FUTURES ebook is available on Kindle and iTunes

3

Courses and Events

Novel Writing Workshop with Rod Duncan

The only way to learn the craft of the novelist is to writea novel. This course - for students with some existingexperience - will make the process of writing andediting easier and more enjoyable. You will sharework-in-progress, receive constructive feedback, hearaspiring novelists sharing their work and offer yourown feedback to them. This is an ongoing workshopbuilt around extracts of work in progress andmotivated by the shared goal of achieving publication.

9 Sessions from 29 April (No classes Tuesday 27 May)Tuesday 7.15pm – 9.15pmCourse Code: WS1322Price: £135 plus a 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £121.50 if booked before 12 April!

Writing as a Readerwith Polly Tuckett

Reading for pleasure as well as reading with a criticaleye improves one’s ability as a writer no end. In thiscourse, you will read widely, then take inspiration fromthe work of other writers, and try out various literaryforms without worrying too much about discoveringyour own authentic ‘voice’.The texts we will look at, taken from poetry and fiction,are chosen for their quality and interest, and tocontrast with one another in an exploration of a giventheme. Week to week the theme will vary – Love,Family, Self, Other. You will be encouraged to poachthe ideas and stylistic devices that appeal to you in thework of published writers, coming up with what willinevitably be your own distinctive take on a theme.

4 Sessions from 1 MayThursday 10am - NoonCourse Code: WS1324Price: £60 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £54 if booked before 12 April!

check the website for the latest course information www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk

How to be a Journalist with Michael Davies

In these days of Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and ahost of other streams of consciousness, thequestion of how to make your voice heard abovethe babble is increasingly pressing. In this one-day,whistlestop tour of the current landscape, MichaelDavies aims to explore the state of modernjournalism and look at ways that an individualmight be able to stand out from the crowd. Using acombination of interactive workshop sessions,current examples and open-forum discussions, thislively one-day course offers an overview ofjournalism in the 21st century and where thingsmight be heading. But the course is not just anacademic exercise – it also encouragesparticipants to answer for themselves theincreasingly pressing question: where do I fit in?

One-day course 19 May 2014Monday 10am – 3.00pm (Lunch not included)Course Code: WS1326Price: £45 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online


Crafting Your Writingwith Maxine Linnell

Publisher’s note for submissions: ‘you shouldpresent your work to a highly professionalstandard and ensure that you have edited the textto the best of your ability.’ Whether you’re thinkingof agents and publishers or self-publishing, youneed to give your work the best chance of shining.This course looks at the building blocks of the craft,helping you to shape whatever you're writing withmore confidence, in your own voice. Point of view,tense, punctuation, making a sentence, presentinga manuscript will all be covered - and they canmake all the difference to your craft and gettingyour work noticed. Suitable for writers with someprevious writing experience, poetry and prose areaccepted.

5 Sessions from 2 JuneMonday 1pm – 3pmCourse Code: WS1327Price: £75 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online


Call us on 0115 959 7929 Contact us via facebook www.facebook.com/writingschool.eastmidlands 4

Writing Young Adult Fictionwith Maxine Linnell

How do you deal with the latest language on thestreet? What subjects can be covered? Does it have tobe fantasy or realism? More than anything, youngadult fiction has to tell a gripping story. This one-daycourse will give you a chance to try out your ideas,discuss them with other writers and see what shapesmight work. Suitable for writers at all levels ofexperience.

One-day course 12 May 2014Monday 10am – 3.00 (Lunch not included)Course Code: WS1325Price: £45 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online


Poetry Writing for Beginnerswith John Gallas

First-time writer, dabbler, hopeful or looking for funwith words, this two-part course will set you on yourway. Session One will help you to write poems inpairs, in groups, and on your own, with clear targets,looking at various forms and styles, and learningthrough enjoyment. With some work on these athome between sessions, you will come to Session twoready to make changes according to the responses ofothers in the group. You will read, seek reactions,choose your ‘best’ work from your own and others’opinions, and have something to work into a FinalVersion for submission to a publication.

2 Sessions from 14 May Wednesday 1pm – 3pmCourse Code: WS1323Price: £30 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online


‘The teaching was excellent; veryknowledgeable industry experienceand great insight.’

Will Vollar Bell

check the website for the latest course information www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk 5

The Business of Writingwith Michael Davies

So you’ve written your novel/screenplay/script(delete as applicable). You’ve got some interestfrom agents/publishers/producers (ditto). Nowwhat? This course isn’t going to tell you how toedit, redraft or improve your work (well, maybe abit). What it will do is address some of the thingsyou’ll definitely need but might not have thoughtabout. In short, the hard graft, nose-to-the-grindstone, business side of a writing career. JK Rowling was a single mum scribbling in thecorner of a busy tea shop in Edinburgh – and lookat her now! But it’s one thing jotting down ideas;it’s quite another turning your art into a career. Sohow do you go about it? There are, of course, asmany paths as there are writers, but that’s not tosay you can’t follow some of the avenues forgedby earlier pioneers. Using examples, thisinteractive, fun course looks at the practical bits ofa writing career that are rarely talked about, andsuggests some of the tools you’ll need to survive.

One-day course 14 June 2014Saturday 10.30am – 4pmCourse Code: WS1330Price: £60 plus a 4% PayPal fee if booking online


Writing from the Body with Alison Dunne

Writing is a physical experience. In this course we’llbe experimenting with how to let your body do thetalking. Using a variety of writing exercises, we willalso make use of breathing meditation and othergentle physical methods of letting the body tell itsstory. We’ll learn to recognise when we are flowingcreatively, bypassing our own censor and getting tothe heart of what we want to say. Suitable for allgenres and levels of writing experience - you will bewriting both in class and at home and sharing yourwork with the class.

5 Sessions from 5 JuneThursday 10 - NoonCourse Code: WS1329Price: £75 plus a 4% PayPal fee if booking online


Honing Your Poetry with John Gallas

A one-session workshop aimed at helping you toassess which of your (previously written) poemswork best. This will be done by reading, discussionand an appreciation of new, different and excitingways to write, and things to write about. Our targetis to present two or three poems, in their best draft,for publication.

2 hour course on 11 JuneWednesday 1pm – 3pmCourse Code: WS1328Price: £20 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online


‘ The Writing School course was perfectfor me – very positive and encouraging,relaxed teaching and style. Just right ’Jon Wilkins

‘ The tutor was a good poet who caresfor the craft, while still believingeveryone has a chance to actually writegood poetry. That deserves respect.’

Anastassos Pagiaslis

‘ The course completely fulfilled myexpectations. The tutor, Rod Duncan,was knowledgeable, experienced,enthusiastic, welcoming and energising.’

Mary Gibson

Course Tutors

Rod Duncan

Rod Duncan is a novelist andscreenwriter. His first novel, Backlash,was shortlisted for the John CreaseyDagger for the best debut crime novel of2003. He has two further crime novels

published by Simon & Schuster, a novella publishedby Five Leaves and a non-fiction book published byGeorge Ronald. His next novel, The Bullet Catcher’sDaughter, is science fiction/fantasy and will bepublished by Angry Robot in 2014. Rod wrote thescreenplay for the feature film How to Make a Moviefor £43. He has been teaching creative writing forover 10 years. Twitter: @Rodduncan

Polly Tuckett

Polly is a published writer and tutor ofcreative writing with over fifteen yearsteaching experience. She teaches in arange of settings and pitches her

courses to people of all abilities and varying levels ofwriting experience. Polly has good knowledge of thelocal literary scene having curated Short Fuse, ashort fiction spoken word showcase for severalyears in Brighton and Leicester.

Maxine Linnell

Maxine Linnell has written three novelsfor young adults, Vintage, Closer, andBreaking the Rules, which are publishedby Five Leaves and A&C Black. “The

most realistic, most compelling read I’ve comeacross for a long time.” Carousel. Real Reads havealso published three retellings of novels by ThomasHardy for children and young people. Maxinementors new writers, is a reader for The LiteraryConsultancy and an editor and proofreader.www.maxinelinnell.com

Call us on 0115 959 7929 Follow us on twitter @WritingSchoolEM 6

John Gallas

John is a poet from New Zealand, with 10poetry books published by Carcanet Press,2 books published with Agraphia and 2Chold Hub Press books published. He has

40 years’ experience of school and adult educationteaching creative writing, poetry classes andworkshops, readings and performances, recordingsand competitions. John has been shortlisted for theEast Midlands Book Award in 2012 and he was recentlymade FEA (Fellow of the English Association) for creativewriting. www.johngallaspoetry.co.uk

Michael Davies

Michael’s writing has appeared on stage,screen, radio, the internet and the printedpage. His original stage play Rasputin’sMother won the national playwriting

competition and received its professional premiere inthe spring of 2013. His switch to scriptwriting followed a successful 20-year career in journalism. He has beena professional critic for nearly 30 years and writesprogramme notes for theatres across the country andin the West End. His work has appeared in nationalnewspapers and he has been a regular reviewer forThe Stage. Michael holds an MA in TV Scriptwritingfrom Leicester De Montfort University and has writtenradio plays, feature films, TV, corporate and onlinescripts, novels and short stories.

Alison Dunne

Alison is a poet & novelist, short storywriter & performer and teaches writing inthe community, prisons, university, adulteducation, the NHS – in fact anywhere.

She is also experienced at leading bibliotherapygroups, using reading aloud to increase wellbeing. It works! Alison’s chapbook April’s Fish was publishedby Koo Press in 2007 and her short fiction has beenpublished by Virago and has featured on BBC Radio 4and BBC Radio Wales (short story and Poetry Please). In 2012 Alison was a finalist in the Novelicious novelcompetition. She is a seasoned performer and hasperformed in various venues including at the EdinburghFringe and the Bloomsbury Theatre.ivoryfishbone.wordpress.com

‘ A very good balance of discussionand practical exercises; the workshopwas of real practical value – thank you.’

Emma George

check the website for the latest course information www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk 7

Contact Us

Email: [email protected]: 01159 59 79 29Website: www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk

Twitter: @WritingSchoolEMFacebook.com/writingschool.eastmidlands

How to Book To book on any of the courses in this brochure, please complete the bookingform on the back and return to Enrolment Office, Leicester Adult EducationCollege, Wellington Street, Leicester, LE1 6HL.

You can pay by cash or cheque (made out to Writing School East MidlandsLtd) over the counter at the college, or send a cheque in the post, along withyour booking form, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the college.Please make your cheques payable to Writing School East Midlands Ltd.

Alternatively you can book online at www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk andpay by debit or credit card. There is a 4% PayPal fee if booking online.

Please note: Card payments cannot be taken over the counter at the LeicesterAdult Education College.

Please tick the boxes on the booking form to show the course(s) you wish tobook, then enter the total fee. If booking for someone else, please includetheir name and contact details in the Additional Information section.

This brochure includes courses and events from April 2014 – August 2014.Please keep checking our website for updates to the programme, and signup to our newsletter at www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk to receive specialoffers and changes to the programme.

Course Cancellation

In the event of cancellation by us, you will be offered a full refund or theopportunity to transfer to another course. Refunds are not normally made inother circumstances. In exceptional circumstances consideration will be givento a written request from a student who wishes to cancel. If a refund isagreed, a £10 administration fee will be charged. It is also possible for thefee you have paid to be credited against a future course.

Full Terms and Conditions can be found on our website.

Gift vouchers are now available

Treat a friend to a Writing School Leicester course and help them unlocktheir imagination. Visit www.writingschoolleicester.co.ukor call us on 0115 959 7929 to find out more.

Booking Form

WS1322 Novel Writing Workshop with Rod Duncan £135 £121.50

WS1324 Writing as a Reader with Polly Tuckett £60 £54

WS1325 Writing Young Adult Fiction with Maxine Linnell £45 £40.50

WS1323 Poetry Writing for Beginners with John Gallas £30 £27

WS1326 How to be a Journalist with Michael Davies £45 £40.50

WS1327 Crafting Your Writing with Maxine Linnell £75 £67.50

WS1329 Writing from the Body with Alison Dunne £75 £67.50

WS1328 Honing Your Poetry with John Gallas £20 £18

WS1330 The Business of Writing with Michael Davies £60 £54

Please enter the total fee £

Please make cheques payable to Writing School East Midlands Ltd and send with acompleted booking form and a self addressed stamped envelope to Enrolment Office, Leicester Adult Education College, Wellington Street, Leicester, LE1 6HL.

Data protectionI authorise Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service to handle and store the data on this formon behalf of Writing School East Midlands Ltd (t/a Writing School Leicester). This data isprocessed for Writing School Leicester accounts and records and their own marketing only.

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Writing School Leicester Summer Programme 2014