workshops

There are 16 one hour Workhops on the timetable, scattered throughout the week. These short sessions are often fun and interactive - bring a notebook and a pen and enhance your writing skills!

PUBLISHER OR AGENT?

TUTOR: DELLA GALTON

Publisher/agent or go it alone – which is best?

Should you aim to get a publisher, or an agent, or should you self-publish?

Come along and get some tips and straightforward advice from Della Galton, whose had agents and publishers - sometimes both at the same time, and has also self-published her books.

We’ll discuss the pros and cons of all three routes to publication.

POEMS of CELEBRATION

TUTOR: LIZ HORROCKS

Despite the depressing news, we can all find things to celebrate,

This workshop will examine a number of these, with examples from many sources – from, for example, the Biblical to Ogden Nash and Alan Ahlberg, and many different causes of celebration – from nature, to the various aspects of love, from victory in battle to the love of words – and others!

Copies of the poems will be distributed.

To help us write our own we will look at the craft involved – the metre, rhyme, choice of vocabulary and so on.

I envisage about half an hour given to this part, then about twenty minutes’ writing, which will leave time to hear some of what has been written

THE SUBMISSION LETTER

TUTOR: SIMON HALL

Writing a pitch letter to an agent or publisher can be agonising, the task is so full of traps and traumas.

What to include and what not? How long a message to write? How to even start summing up everything your wonderful work offers in an irresistible way?

This workshop reveals the common problems and pitfalls, and will show you how to write a spot on submission from start to finish.

IMMERSIVE WORLD BUILDING

TUTOR: FRANCESCA TYLER

Learn the art of immersive world-building in this one hour workshop.

The imaginative scope for fantasy writing is vast. As such, it can be tricky knowing where to begin. Creating a fully immersive and believable fantasy world requires an ability to let your imagination run wild yet also know when to reign things in.

During the one hour session, you will learn the fundamentals of fantasy world-building, including general guidance on tropes and target audiences as well as the finer details.

While there will be plenty of discussion, the main focus will be on practical exercises to kick-start (or continue) your world-building process.

UNDERSTANDING ISBN

TUTOR: KATE McCORMICK

Dispelling the Myths and Avoiding the Mistakes” is suitable for all authors who are beginning their journey towards self-publishing, and also for more established self-published authors, due to the high levels of confusion and mis-information surrounding the subject.

Kate McCormick will present an overview of the rules and regulations for sourcing and use of ISBNs and bar codes in the UK (and for other major markets if required by participants).

She will address issues such as costs; formal versus informal sources; and when changes to a book require a new ISBN.

SAVE THE CAT PLOTTING METHOD

TUTOR: JENNIFER PAGE

Rescue That Moggy!

How to plot your novel using the 15 beat SAVE THE CAT method.

This Workshop will show you how to apply Blake Snyder's proven ‘Save the Cat’
beat sheet methodology from screenwriting to craft compelling novel plots with strong
pacing and satisfying character arcs.

THE BENEFITS OF JOURNALLING

TUTOR: JO FENTON

Learn how journalling can fuel your creativity, support your well-being, and strengthen your writing practice through simple, effective techniques.

Journalling isn’t just for personal reflection — it’s a versatile tool that can support and enrich your writing life in surprising ways. In this engaging one-hour workshop, we’ll explore how journalling can help you generate ideas, document experiences, track your progress, and stay connected to your writing goals.

Whether you’re new to journalling or looking to deepen your practice, this session will offer practical strategies and inspiration to make journalling a valuable part of your writer’s toolkit.

READINg, 'RITING & ABSOLUTELY NO 'RITHMITIC

TUTOR: LIZ PACEY

Many years ago, the straightforward talk version of this Workshop was Liz's first venture into public speaking at a ladies’ group, and it has remained one of her most popular offerings.

In this interactive hour, Liz will highlight how reading and writing have influenced her life - and yours - and encourage you to share memorable books from childhood onward, and other things that may have influenced your writing journey.

The workshop will include a quiz on childhood book favourites, and an opportunity to write and share a short handwritten letter, as well as a lot of chatter about our reading memories.

WRITING THE MAGIC
ADULT FANTASTY

TUTOR: ANITA BELLI

Witch-Lit isn’t just trending—it’s enchanting readers everywhere.

In the last eight years, adult fantasy titles featuring witches have grown by over 35%.

Readers love stories where magic meets self-discovery. From the surge in book clubs reading witch-lit, to social media, audiences are drawn to the thrill of spell craft, the tug of emotion, and the quiet power of women shaping their worlds.

Witch-lit, however, is more than spells and potions—it’s a gateway into emotion, mystery, imagination, and the everyday magic that surrounds us.

In Writing the Magic, Crafting Witch-Lit for Today’s Reader, I’ll guide participants through the rise of Witch-Lit, exploring why it resonates so strongly today—from the emotional pull and the mysterious undercurrents, to the imaginative freedom it offers.

REAL LIFE HUMOUR IN STORIES

TUTOR: IAN FISERMANIS

You laughed out loud in real life when it happened, so can you make the
reader do the same when it happens to a fictional character?

It is often said this genre is the hardest to write, as humour is not an emotion and often subjective. But if it made you laugh in real life, and you were verbally able to retell it to your listeners immediate laughter, why is it hard to find the right words to say on the page.

In this workshop, you'll learn the best way to script comic conversation between characters in your work, adding in descriptive actions and backgrounds that layer the set up of a laughable scenario.

We'll look at creating the comedy protagonist and their ‘straight faced’ sidekick, and giving them the correct dialogue and scenario - often easier when based on a real experience and we'll learn how to dissect what really tickled you back then, will help you pass the tickle on to your readers using the correct format for the joke.

NUTS & BOLTS

TUTOR: MAGGIE COBBETT

The formal teaching of English grammar began to be discouraged in UK schools during the 1960s on the grounds that it stifled creativity!

Although it has now partially returned to the curriculum, a whole generation missed out, and a good many writers who freely admit to gaps in their knowledge.

In this workshop you'll go back to basics, refreshing your grammar terminology and usage, learning correct punctuation, syntax and semantics.

Participants will learn how to spot and rectify all too common mistakes and ihow to remove unnecessary stumbling blocks for their readers.

YOGA FOR WRITERS

TUTOR: MARIA HENNINGS HUNT

As writers, we often sit for long hours and as a result, we can suffer from back ache, rounded shoulders and stiff necks.

But - it’s not just the body that can suffer in this scenario – so can the creative mind. How can your thoughts (and words) flow freely when back ache or stiffness is all you can think about?

Yoga is a perfect antidote to this! it's easy to do, you can adapt it for all levels AND it can be done in a chair!

In this Yoga for Writers Workshop, we will look at how just a few simple stretches and poses - can help loosen up your body AND your mind, enabling the breath to flow and the mind to reconnect with the creative process.

HOBBY OR HUSTLE?

TUTOR: SIMON WHALEY

Is your writing a hobby or a side hustle, and when do you need to tell HMRC? Have you told the tax man about that competition win? Do you need to? How many articles, short stories, or self-published books can you sell before you need to declare your writing income?

So, at what point does our writing hobby become a writing business and when do we need to notify the authorities?

Hobby or Hustle will answer these questions and also explore the steps we can take to be more business-like with our writing, even if it is more of a hobby, than a hustle.

WRITING PEOPLE - NOT PUPPETS

TUTOR: SHAUN ALLAN

Do you want to create characters that feel real, flawed, and unforgettable? In this workshop, we’ll explore how to build characters that stick with your readers - whether they’re heroes, villains, or somewhere in between.

We’ll dive into what makes a character tick. You’ll learn how to use aspects of yourself (without falling into the self-insert trap of making you the character), and how to shape motivations, fears, and flaws that drive your story. Through simple, hands-on exercises, you’ll start building a character from the inside out.

We’ll look at quirks, habits, and how their world shapes who they are. You’ll learn how to give your character a unique voice and explore how they grow - or don’t - through your story. You’ll also write a short scene or dialogue to help refine your character.

You’ll leave with a fully formed character and tools to create more. It’s perfect for any genre and any level of experience. Let’s turn your ideas into characters that live and breathe on the page.

SELL MORE BOOKS

TUTOR: GERALD HORNSBY

One of the first rules of marketing is to sell the dream, not the product. Most writers who have produced completed pieces of work would love more people to read it.

Even if your desire is to reach a greater number of readers rather than make money, in today’s world of superabundance you will need to attract readers to your work, whether it’s poetry, non-fiction or fiction.

For creative writers, this might well be a difficult task – creativity and commerce are not necessarily comfortable bedfellows.

In this workshop we will look at how the mind works in relation to purchasing decisions, creating a better understanding of marketing versus selling and how we can all use marketing principles to increase our author and book visibility in the book market, and then convert that visibility into sales.

OWN THE MIC

TUTOR: EMMA PURSHOUSE

Developing your performance skills and mic technique.

Good poetry works well on the page, and we spend a great deal of time crafting our pieces so they speak to the reader as confidently and clearly as possible. But when we stand before an audience, do we have the same confidence in our ability to deliver them?

In this workshop, Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists will bridge the divide between page poets and performance poets, sharing tips and techniques on performance and delivery, and enabling you to engage an audience and retain their attention when sharing your work.