In-depth, Weeklong Courses run Monday 28 June - Friday 2 July, 09.30-16.30, in Shawford Hall, Shawford.

BOOKING INFORMATION: We reserve the right to cancel any workshop by 16 June if there are insufficient applicants. Each delegate will be sent an outline of their workshop and details on booking accommodation.

PRE-CONFERENCE WORK: Pre-conference submissions of work are not necessary in order to attend the workshops unless specified. Please bring sufficient writing supplies.

COURSE FEE: Non-residential £340 / Daily rate £80

Download application form here

Download terms and conditions here

CREATING, WRITING, EDITING AND MARKETING FICTION (WL01) Monday-Friday

CREATING THAT NOVEL (Suitable for beginners)
The Drive-through Imagination!
Monday 28th June 09.30-16.30
ADRIENNE DINES
Do writers write because of what comes out of their imaginations or what goes in? Events touch us, leave us changed and we feel compelled to write about them but we don't know where to start. In this workshop we'll consider three things: who tells the story; who decides what story to tell; and where on earth do you begin? We'll look at character, point of view and narration in particular. It will be very interactive, suitable for beginners and experienced writers, with plenty of light-hearted exercises to get you thinking! If you have a work in progress or just the germ of an idea, bring it along.

DISENTANGLING THE CRAFT OF THE SHORT STORY FROM BEGINNING TO END
Tuesday 29th June 09.30 – 16.30
JUNE HAMPSON
Do you dream of writing a short story? Not sure how to begin? Do the words characterisation, dialogue viewpoint, presentation, markets make you want to give up before you start? This workshop will, with the aid of your own work, tutor handouts and a sense of humour, assist you to accomplish your dream. Delegates are invited to send in short stories of a maximum of 1,000 words prior to the workshop for critiques.

PEOPLE TALKING
Wednesday 30th June 09.30 – 16.30
CRYSSE MORRISON
Characters provide plot, James Joyce said. The people you create and the way they speak are the most important aspect of your writing, whatever your genre. We will be looking at ways to create credible and intriguing characters to enrich prose, drama, and even poetry.

A NEW BALANCE
Thursday 1st July 09.30 – 16.30
PAUL BAVISTER
Balancing plot, characterization, description and dialogue can be problematic, leading to a lack of focus in short stories and novels. This course explores ways to find equilibrium in your writing while still preserving stylistic integrity. The importance of planning and structure will be explored as well as how to maintain the inspirational energy that set the story in motion.

CREATING, WRITING, REVISING AND MARKETING FICTION
Friday 2nd July 09.30 – 16.30
LUCIE WHITEHOUSE
This workshop will help you prepare for one of the most important times in the life of your novel: finishing it and submitting it to agents and editors. First we will talk about recognizing when your manuscript is ready to be sent out. We will look at opening lines, paragraphs and pages, with a view to making sure that your novel is the one which an agent doesn't easily put aside. We will identify common mistakes and talk about effective strategies for eliminating these in a final edit, with a special focus on characterisation, pace and structure. In the second part of the course, we will discuss how to write a winning synopsis and the best possible covering letter - and how not to. Delegates are asked to bring along the opening section of their novel, as well as draft synopses or covering letters which they would like to discuss.

WRITING MARKETABLE CHILDREN'S FICTION AND NON FICTION (WL02) Monday-Friday

WRITING MARKETABLE CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Monday 28th June 09.30 – 16.30
JUDE EVANS
Delegates will be invited to share with the group their goals and discuss their current writing projects. Jude will give an introduction to writing for children from a publisher's perspective. She will discuss the most common reasons why authors' manuscripts do not achieve publication, and will set the group exercises, to help them hone their work and make it stronger and more publishable.

USING THE SECRETS OF NARRATIVE DRIVE
Tuesday 29th June 09.30 – 16.30
SARAH MUSSI
In this workshop we will uncover the secrets of narrative drive, how to harness them and make them work to add pace, create tension and have agents and editors queuing up. Delegates will be invited to map their road to success and work on their own projects. They should bring the first chapter of their book and a one page synopsis.

WRITING FOR CHILDREN: STARTING OUT
Wednesday 30th June 09.30 – 16.30
PAUL BRYERS
This workshop will centre on the practical ingredients that you need to know about writing for children. Using examples and exercises, we will discuss the empowerment of the viewpoint child and if these powers give him/her an advantage in dealing with an adult world. The development of character will involve how the fictional child relates to other children, grownups and the community. The fictional child needs to play a more central role rather than the passive role consigned to most children in reality. We will consider the alter ego, which can be represented by an imaginary creature or friend, even a protector, consider a sense of good and evil, of dark forces or threats and the benign force that will come to the rescue. Into our plan we will add a sense of things not being quite as they seem, maybe involving a journey or a quest and the obstacles that the child must overcome. This could be an individual or an institution. Then, what part friendship
plays in the storyline. Is there a sense of comfort and security in knowing that the main character in your book has at least one friend on which he/she can rely. Finally, a sense of place and how we write that into our manuscripts. This analysis will give you a plotline that works.

CONSTRUCTING CHILDREN'S STORIES
Thursday 1st July 09.30 – 16.30
ELIZABETH ARNOLD
This workshop will work together to help with writer's individual agenda. We will discuss characterisation, plotting and editing from an author point of view and any other matter that delegates wish to discuss. The purpose will be to help with story construction and to build each individual author's confidence in their work. Each delegate may send up to 2,000 words by 4th June if they wish.

THE PUBLISHER AND THE EDITOR: GETTING THROUGH THE DOOR AND KNOWING WHAT'S INSIDE
Friday 2nd July 09.30 – 16.30
BEVERLEY BIRCH
What does it take to get a hard-pressed editor to look at your work? What would convince them to consider your book and then take it on? In turn, what does an editor have to do to persuade their colleagues to back their choice, publish a book, and do so successfully? A workshop about the detail of publishing decision-making, marketing and selling - a practical exploration of the state of the trade and how your work might fit. Bring along ideas of your current or next work for exercises and general discussion.

In-depth Week-long Workshops
Speakers' Biographies

DINES, ADRIENNE
Adrienne graduated from Trinity College, Dublin as a teacher before moving to the UK and establishing herself as a speechwriter and after dinner speaker. Her first novel, Toppling Miss April was published in 2005 , followed by The Jigsaw Maker and Soft Voices Whispering in 2006 and a play, In the Arms of a Child in 2007. She is currently busy writing, giving talks and running creative writing workshops in Dublin and the UK. Ever the teacher, she welcomes the opportunity writing affords her to meet and encourage new and struggling writers.

HAMPSON, JUNE
June Hampson began her writing career as a journalist for a Scottish newspaper in the 198O's. She has sold over 7OO short stories, articles and poetry to magazines in Britain, Sweden, Germany and America. She has been a creative writing tutor for Hampshire County Council for many years currently teaching at three colleges in the Gosport and Fareham area. In 2006 her novel, a gritty gangster saga, Trust Nobody, the first in a three book deal was bought by Orion. Broken Bodies, (2007) Damaged Goods (2008) followed. A further three book deal resulted in Fatal Cut (February2009) Jail Bait (April 2010). Rough Trade continues the harsh and hard bitten lives of her unforgettable characters.

MORRISON, CRYSSE
Crysse Morrison writes fiction, poetry and drama. Hailed by 'The Times' as a 'superb storyteller' for her debut novel, Crysse also writes short stories and plays, and leads creative writing courses in the UK and abroad. Her Good Practice column appears monthly in Writing Magazine.

BAVISTER, PAUL
Paul Bavister worked for Macmillan Publishers for many years and now teaches creative writing at the University of Reading and Birkbeck College, London. He has published three books of poetry.

SPEDDING, SALLY
Sally's first supernatural crime novel, Wringland, was published in 2001, followed by Cloven, A Night With No Stars, Prey Silence, and in 2007, Come and be Killed. Her crime short stories have won awards and appeared in two CWA anthologies. Sword Lilies is included in Best British Crime Stories Vol 7 (ed Maxim Jakubowski) due out in March 2010. Strangers Waiting, her first collection, was published by Bluechrome in 2008. She is currently working on her latest crime mystery set beneath the Cambrian Hills. www.sallyspedding.com

EVANS, JUDE
Jude Evans is Associate Publisher of Little Tiger Press, an independent publishing house specialising in picture books and novelty books for 0-7-year-olds. Previously she has worked on young fiction, teenage fiction and non-fiction.

MUSSI, SARAH
Sarah Mussi's first novel, The Door of No Return won the Glen Dimplex Children's Book of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award amongst others. Her second novel, The Last of the Warrior Kings, published in April 2008, shortlisted for Lewisham Book Award, is a fast-paced tale charting the downfall of Max, a black hoody from South London, determined to redress history and avenge his brother's death by restoring the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
Sarah has appeared at many festivals, including Henley and Guildford; she is a regular tutor for the Winchester Writers' Conference, and has given workshops for SCBWI as well as to many schools.

PAUL BRYERS
Paul Bryers is a writer and filmmaker based in London. He is currently working on a series of novels set during the Wars of the French Revolution, the first of which - The Time of Terror - was published by Hodder Headline in June 2008 under the pen name Seth Hunter. He has also been commissioned to write a series of children's novels - Mysteries of the Septagram - the first of which - Kobal - was published by Hodder in July 2008. The sequels in both series - The Tide of War and Avatar - were published in Spring 2010. His previous novels include The Used Women's Book Club, Prayer of the Bone, In a Pig's Ear, the Adultery Department and Coming First, all published by Bloomsbury in the UK. He has taught creative writing as a senior lecturer at Bath Spa University. He won an English Arts Council award for Best First Novel. 'In a Pig's Ear' was named as one of The Guardian's six Best Novels of the Year.He has produced and directed documentaries in many parts of the world and was deputy editor and series director of Channel Four's The Shape of the World and A Week in Politics. Price of Glory will be published by Hodder Headline in June and Abyss published by Hodder Children's Books in May. Further details on www.paulbryers.com

ARNOLD, ELIZABETH
Elizabeth Arnold's first book, The Parsley Parcel was published in 1995 and short listed for the Whitbread Children's Award. It is now published by Back to Front. Her second book, Gold and Silver Water, was commended for the TES/NASEN Special Educational Needs Award, 2001. The third book in the series is A Riot of Red Ribbon. The trilogy became a television series called Gypsy Girl shown on CITV. A ghost story, The Gold-Spectre, was published by A & C Black. Elizabeth has contributed to Higher Ground, a collection of stories edited by Anuj Goyal, about child tsunami survivors and the Wow! 366 Scholastic collection; the profits going to several children's charities. She also edited Soul-Fire, a collection of stories written by children for children. With eight books under her belt, Elizabeth has diversified and written the story behind a computer game, Escape from the Asteroids, produced by Zarista Games and is at present working on extending that game for iphone and another Asteroid expansion. She is a huge believer in the story in any medium.

BIRCH, BEVERLEY
Beverley Birch is both author and editor, commissioning children's fiction for Hodder Children's Books for the past twelve years, where she works with some of the most outstanding children's writers and has been twice shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award for nurturing new talent. Her last novel, RIFT, a mystery thriller set in Africa was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, shortlisted for a number osf prizes, and optioned for film. Author of more than 40 books, Beverley has been in children's publishing, on both sides of the fence, since joining Penguin Books in 1975 to edit economics textbooks. Immediately offered a move to the children's list, she found her true home and has never looked back. She has just finished a new African mystery thriller for Egmont, SIRI, to be published next year