September - December 2014

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Writing School LeicesterEvents and Courses

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“If there was a wordthat means more

than excellent Iwould use it!”

Anne Jordan

Enrol online at: writingeastmidlands.co.uk

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

* 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 brochure

Writing East Midlands* is the writer development agency forthe region. We work to create opportunities for experiencedwriters as well as nurturing and developing new, talentedwriters from all sorts of backgrounds.

The Writing School is an important part of this work, providingexpert tuition to writers wanting to develop their skills in allsorts of areas. In this brochure, you’ll find courses coveringeverything from novel and memoir writing to gettingpublished and composing rude songs. Whether you’recompletely new to writing or an old hand, we’re bound tohave a course or workshop that will fire your imagination andhelp to hone your skills.

Leicester Adult Education College has been and continues tobe a fantastic home for us in Leicester and all of our corecourses in this brochure will be taking place there. However,we’re also keen to spread out into other parts of the city sothat as many writers as possible can benefit from our tutors’expertise. This term, we have five Writing School Special Eventstaking place at other venues around Leicester – LCB Depot,The Phoenix, Embrace Arts and The Y Theatre. The descriptionof each course and workshop in this brochure includesinformation on where it will take place and how to book.

As always, we rely on you to let us know what you want fromyour Writing School – if there are courses you’d love to take oran area of writing you’d like to know more about, please doget in touch.

Henderson MullinChief ExecutiveWriting East Midlands

Our Courses

For over 60 years, Writing School Leicester has deliveredcourses taught by highly respected, published,practising writers. We welcome writers at any stage intheir development, from beginners looking to delve intocreative writing and explore different forms, to emergingprofessionals looking to develop and share their workin our Writing Workshops. We provide a welcomingenvironment for writers to learn a professionalapproach to writing, and we’ll help you to seekpublication, performance, or to broadcast your work.Through our courses you will gain skills and confidence,valuable contacts within the writing community, andknowledge of the writing industry.

Venue

Our regular courses take place at Leicester AdultEducation College, Wellington Street, Leicester LE1 6HL,and our one-off Special Events take place at venuesacross Leicester as listed: Embrace Arts, 35 LancasterRd, Leicester LE1 7HA; LCB Depot, 31 Rutland St, LeicesterLE1 1RE; Phoenix Square, 4 Midland St, Leicester LE1 1TG;The Y, 7 East St, Leicester LE1 6EY.

Parking & Accessibility for Leicester AdultEducation College

Please do let us know at the time of booking if you’llrequire special access, so we can book an appropriateclassroom. There are some pay and display on streetparking (with disabled bays at the front of the college).The nearest car parks are on Dover Street, and also acar park on York Road. For more information pleasecontact the college directly on 0116 233 4343.

Special Offers

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

Gift Certificates are now available

Treat a friend to a Writing School Leicester course and help them unlock their imagination. Visit www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk or call us on 0115 959 7929 to find out more.

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Courses and Events

Writing Your Own Story with Maxine Linnell

You might want to write about something thathappened to you, or a particular time in your life –maybe you want to write a memoir for publication, fora blog or for your family and friends. This course useswriting exercises to find ways of getting your storyonto paper, looks at the issues of memoir writing anddeveloping a personal style. You will be sharing someof your work and hearing how others go about theirs.Suitable for all levels of writing experience.

5 sessions from 15th Sept (No classes Mon 20th Oct)Leicester Adult Education CollegeMonday 1pm – 3pmCourse Code: WS1401Price: £75 plus a 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £67.50 if booked before 1st Sept!

Novel Writing Workshopwith 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 16th Sept (No classes Tue 21st Oct)Leicester Adult Education CollegeTuesday 7.15pm – 9.15pmCourse Code: WS1402Price: £135 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £121.50 if booked before 1st Sept!

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

‘Teaching was great – inspirational,practical, trustworthy.’

Inspiration Workshop with Joel Stickley

Every author ever interviewed has been asked thequestion: where do you get your ideas from? Inthese three specially discounted sessions, you canfind out. There will be random plot generation,games of literary consequences, instant charactercreators and all sorts of exercises designed to honeyour powers of invention. If you want to write butdon’t know where to start, or write already but feelstuck in a rut, come along and get inspired.

3 sessions from 15th Oct (No classes Wed 22nd Oct) Leicester Adult Education CollegeWednesday 7pm – 9pmCourse Code: WS1405Price: £20 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £18 if booked before 1 Sept!

SPECIAL EVENTWhat Do Editors Want?with Farhana Shaikh

A one-off workshop aimed at helping youunderstand what editors are looking for, the role ofan editor in a publishing house and putting editingskills into practice. Using examples and with expertguidelines to support your understanding this newinteractive workshop will help you to get to grips withbasic editing. Suitable for prose writers of all abilities.

LCB DepotFriday 14 November 1pm – 3pmCourse Code: WS1406Price: £20 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £18 if booked before 1 Sept!

To book, visit www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk or phone 0115 959 7933

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

The Magic of Fairy Taleswith Polly Tuckett

Fairy tales are simple stories hiding complexpsychological themes. First encountered in childhood,these darkly glittering tales continue to bewitch andmystify. Reading familiar and less well-known talesfrom the Brothers Grimm and Perrault, we’ll also lookat modern re-workings of classic tales, along with folktales from an oral tradition and contemporary fictionwhich borrows from the form. Students are invited towrite their own tales of enchantment.

5 sessions from 18 Sept (No classes Thu 23rd Oct) Leicester Adult Education CollegeThursday 10am – 12pmCourse Code: WS1403Price: £75 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £67.50 if booked before 1 Sept!

SPECIAL EVENTWriting School Leicester Taster Day

If you like the look of all these courses and can’tdecide which one to pick, why not do three of them,all in one day? Hosted by Embrace Arts, our WritingSchool Taster Day provides crash courses from RodDuncan, Alison Dunne and Maxine Linnell, coveringalmost everything you’ll ever need to know aboutwriting anything at all.

Embrace Arts, University of LeicesterSaturday 4 October 10am – 5pmCourse Code: WS1404Price: £40/£22 concession

To book, contact Embrace Arts on 0116 252 2455 or at www2.le.ac.uk/hosted/embracearts

‘ The teaching was excellent;very knowledgeable industryexperience and great insight.’

‘ The course tutors inspire you toexplore what you want to write –whether it is short stories, poetry,memoir, novels and such like – withother like-minded students, who inturn, share ideas and show there aremany ways to reach your goals.’

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

SPECIAL EVENTPreparing for Publicationwith Maxine Linnell

Writing a first draft is a real achievement, but there’sa lot of work to do to make your writing as good asit can be. This course introduces a simple three-level model for editing your own prose. You willwork on your own writing and give and receivefeedback from others.

LCB DepotFriday 5 December 1pm – 4pmCourse Code: WS1409Price: £25 plus a 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £22.50 if booked before 1 Sept!

SPECIAL EVENTPowerful Plottingwith Richard James

Drawing on practical examples and narrativetheory, this intensive three-hour course offers aninsight into what makes stories tick. Whether youwrite scripts, screenplays, novels, short stories orpoetry, an understanding of plot and how it workswill be vital for engaging your audience. The advice,tips and tricks learned in this session will provideyou with the essential creative tools you need.

The Y TheatreSaturday 13 December 1.30pm – 4.30pmCourse Code: WS1410Price: £22

Early bird price just £17.50 if booked before 1 Sept!

To book, contact the Y Theatre on 0116 255 7066 or at www.leicesterymca.co.uk/

SPECIAL EVENTWriting Rude Songs with Rob Gee

The comedy song is often considered to becomedy’s equivalent to the naughty postcard – andyet audiences love them. Over the decades, severalsuccessful comedians have used music to subvertand entertain, often with some fairly rude jokesmixed into the message. This short taster course willhelp you create such a song around the target ofyour choice.

Phoenix SquareWednesday 19 November 7pm – 9pmCourse Code: WS1407Price: £20 plus a 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £18 if booked before 1 Sept!

To book, visit www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk or phone 0115 959 7933

Poetry Writing for Beginners with 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, groups, and on your own, with clear targets,various forms and styles, learning throughenjoyment. With some work on these at homebetween sessions, you will come to Session Twoready to make changes according to the responsesof others in the group, to 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 26 NovemberLeicester Adult Education CollegeWednesday 1pm – 3pmCourse Code: WS1408Price: £30 plus 4% PayPal fee if booking online

Early bird price just £27 if booked before 1 Sept!

‘ The Writing School course wasperfect for me – very positive andencouraging, relaxed teachingand style. Just right.’

Course Tutors

Maxine Linnell

Maxine Linnell has written three novels for youngadults: Vintage, Closer, and Breaking the Rules,which are published by Five Leaves and A&CBlack. “The most realistic, most compelling read

I’ve come across for a long time.” Carousel. Real Reads havealso published three retellings of novels by Thomas Hardyfor children and young people. Maxine is a psychotherapist.She also mentors new writers and runs story cafes inLeicester Libraries. She’s currently working (sporadically) onan adult novel, a memoir and a poetry pamphlet.

Rod Duncan

Rod Duncan is a novelist and screenwriter. Hisfirst novel Backlashwas shortlisted for the JohnCreasey Dagger for the best debut crime novelof 2003. He has two further crime novels

published by Simon & Schuster, a novella published by FiveLeaves and a non-fiction book published by George Ronald.His next novel, The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter, is sciencefiction/fantasy and will be published by Angry Robot in 2014.Rod wrote the screenplay for the feature film How to Makea Movie for £43. He has been teaching creative writing forover 10 years.

Polly Tuckett

Polly is a published writer and tutor of creativewriting with over fifteen years teachingexperience. She teaches in a range of settingsand pitches her courses to people of all abilities

and varying levels of writing experience. Polly has goodknowledge of the local literary scene having curated ShortFuse, a short fiction spoken word showcase for severalyears in Brighton and Leicester.

Joel Stickley

Joel Stickley is the Poet Laureate for Lincolnshireand author of the book 100 Ways To Write BadlyWell. His work has been published by Penguin,Hamish Hamilton and Pan Macmillan, as well

as appearing on BBC One, BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4.With Luke Wright, he co-wrote the film Crash! Bang! Wallow!which won the NFBC Short Film Award at the 2010 CannesFilm Festival. The pair also teamed up to produce thecomedy book Who Writes This Crap? which the Guardiancalled “an inspired piece of parody.”

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

Farhana Shaikh

Farhana Shaikh is a writer, freelance editorand publisher born in Leicester. She foundedThe Asian Writer in 2007 and recentlyestablished a small indie press, Dahlia

Publishing. Farhana hosts the monthly Writers Meet UpLeicester and manages LeicesterWrites.co.uk. In 2010,Farhana won an Arts bursary from the RoyalShakespeare Company; she continues to write theatrereviews for The Public Reviews. On good days she writesfeature articles, poetry, short stories and scripts. On baddays she writes nothing.

Rob Gee

Poet, comic and reformed psychiatric nurse,Rob spent five years on the comedy circuit ashalf of the duo Rob & Skatz. During this time,they performed The Download Festival, The

Edinburgh Fringe and The Comedy Store, and sharedstages with Frankie Boyle, Sarah Millican, Russell Howard,Rhod Gilbert and Greg Davies, among others. Rob nowworks full time as a stand-up poet.

Richard James

Richard James is an award-winningscreenwriter with over 20 years’ experiencein writing for TV, radio, film, stage and online.He teaches at De Montfort University and

works as a freelance professional script editor as well ascontinuing to develop his own projects for TV and film.

John Gallas

John is a poet from New Zealand, with tenpoetry books published by Carcanet Press,two books published with Agraphia and twoChold Hub Press books published. He has 40

years’ experience of school and adult education teachingcreative writing, poetry classes and workshops, readingsand performances, recordings and competitions. He wasshortlisted for the East Midlands Book Award in 2012 andwas recently made FEA (Fellow of the English Association)for creative writing. www.johngallaspoetry.co.uk

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

Contact Us

Email: info@writingeastmidlands.co.ukTelephone: 01159 59 79 29Website: www.writingeastmidlands.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 Writing School Leicester Admissions, Writing EastMidlands, 49 Stoney Street, Nottingham NG1 1LX. If booking for someone else,please include their name and contact details in the Additional Informationsection. Alternatively you can book online at www.writingeastmidlands.co.ukand pay by debit or credit card. There is a 4% PayPal fee if booking online.

For the courses at Leicester Adult Education College, you can pay by cash orcheque (made out to Writing School East Midlands Ltd) over the counter at thecollege, or send a cheque in the post, along with your booking form, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to the college. Please make the cheques payableto Writing School East Midlands Ltd.

For Writing School Special Events at other venues, details of how to book areincluded with the listings in this brochure.

This brochure includes courses and events from Sept 2014 – Dec 2014. Pleasekeep checking our website for updates to the programme, and sign up to ournewsletter at www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk to receive special offers andchanges 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 is agreed,a £10 administration fee will be charged. It is also possible for the fee you havepaid 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.writingeastmidlands.co.ukor call us on 0115 959 7929 to find out more.

Booking Form

WS1401 Writing Your Own Story with Maxine Linnell £75 £67.50

WS1402 Novel Writing Workshopwith Rod Duncan £135 £121.50

WS1403 The Magic of Fairy Taleswith Polly Tuckett £75 £67.50

WS1404 Writing School Leicester Taster Day

WS1405 Inspiration Workshop with Joel Stickley £20 £18

WS1406 What Do Editors Want?with Farhana Shaikh £20 £18

WS1407 Writing Rude Songs with Rob Gee £20 £18

WS1408 Poetry Writing for Beginners with John Gallas £30 £27

WS1409 Preparing for Publicationwith Maxine Linnell £25 £22.50

WS1410 Powerful Plottingwith Richard James

Please enter the total fee £

To book, contact the Y Theatre on 0116 255 7066

To book, contact Embrace Arts on 0116 252 2455

Please make cheques payable to Writing School East Midlands Ltd and send with a completed booking form and a self addressed stamped envelope to Writing School Leicester Enrolments,Writing East Midlands, 49 Stoney Street, Nottingham NG1 1LX

Data protectionI authorise Writing School East Midlands Ltd (t/a Writing School Leicester) to handle and storethe data on this form. This data is processed for Writing School Leicester accounts and recordsand their own marketing only.

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