CREATIVE WRITING COURSES

'WRITING ABOUT PAXOS' 13 - 20 SEPTEMBER 2010
‘WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’ 16 - 23 MAY 2011
'WRITING AND SELLING FEATURES' 23 - 30 MAY 2011
'CRIME WRITING' 19 - 26 SEPTEMBER 2011
‘UNLEASH YOUR WRITING POWER’ 3 - 10 OCTOBER 2011

BOOK BY 31 OCTOBER and SAVE £50 per person
on all our 2011 Writing Courses!

The beautiful Greek island of Paxos is a truly inspirational location in the Ionian Sea just nine miles south of Corfu and it is hard to imagine a better place to hone your writing skills.

We are therefore pleased to offer a range of holiday writing courses on the island: 'Writing about Paxos', ‘Writing for Children and Young People’, 'Writing and Selling Features', 'Crime Writing' and ‘Unleash Your Writing Power’. All the courses are aimed at helping you to develop your creativity and are equally suitable for those with previous experience and for complete beginners; what is important is a desire to write.

'Writing about Paxos' (13 - 20 September 2010) offers you the chance to explore the fascinating landscape of Paxos through your own creative writing. Spirit of place has always inspired writers, from Thomas Hardy’s Dorset to Lawrence and Gerald Durrell’s Corfu, and, whether you are an absolute beginner or an experienced writer, Paxos will provide the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in an inspirational place and find a rich source for your own poetry or prose.

The course will be led by Adam Strickson, an experienced writer, tutor and frequent visitor to Paxos, who is a Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Leeds, where he is also in the third year of a part-time PhD in ‘Adaptation and Libretto’ in collaboration with Opera North. Adam has taught poetry, fiction, life writing and the use of myth and landscape as creative sources and has written plays for several theatre companies. His first collection of poetry was published in 2005.

‘Writing for Children and Young People’ (16 – 23 May 2011) is an inspiring, challenging, thought-provoking and fun course for anyone who has ever wanted to write for children or young people. Whether you tell stories to your own children and want help getting them down on the page, or want to develop your skills and turn your hobby into a career, this course will help you will help you to get started and develop your stories ranging from picture books for younger children to novels for teenagers and young adults.

The course will be led Steve Voake, a successful children’s author whose books have sold all over the world, and who is currently Senior Lecturer in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University and a regular tutor for The Arvon Foundation. His books include ‘The Dreamwalker’s Child’, ‘The Starlight Conspiracy’, ‘Blood Hunters’ and the ‘Daisy Dawson’ series for younger readers, which became a bestseller for Scholastic Book Club in the United States. 

'Writing and Selling Features' (23 - 30 May 2011) is for anyone who has ever wanted to write about travel, hobbies, people, life experiences, personal or professional matters and find regular newspaper and magazine markets for their articles. Whether you have some previous experience or are a complete beginner, this course will teach you all the tricks of the journalist’s trade, including how to find and develop stories, write and interview like a pro, and successfully pitch ideas; in fact, all the know-how you need to get your articles into print.

The course will be led by Judi Goodwin, a journalist and trainer with wide experience in both print and broadcast media. Judi has been a regular feature writer for national and regional newspapers, and also a freelance broadcaster for BBC Radio. She takes a holistic approach to teaching, offering individual coaching to help students overcome their personal hurdles. She now specialises in home interest and lifestyle journalism, and trains journalists and professional writers in London and abroad. 

'Crime Writing' (19 - 26 September 2011) covers the initial process and practicalities of writing a crime novel from taking the germ of an idea, through to a synopsis and a plan of the novel to the opening paragraph, chapter one, page one and beyond ... with lines that will hook the reader. 

The course will be led by retired police officer and full-time crime writer, Nick Oldham, who has had 15 crime novels published and has recently been commissioned to write four more novels in his highly successful Henry Christie series of books.

'Unleash Your Writing Power' (3 - 10 October 2011) is an inspirational and innovative workshop that will unblock the barriers to your creativity and help you to inject energy, power and magic into everything you write. The unconventional techniques can be applied to fiction or non-fiction, articles, stories, family history, marketing or business communications, or even a best seller. We first ran this course on Paxos in 2009 and it has been a great success.

This course will also be led by journalist and trainer Judi Goodwin.

Cost of Courses: 'Writing for Children and Young People', 'Writing and Selling Features', 'Crime Writing' and 'Unleash Your Writing Power' each cost £545 per person. This includes tuition, accommodation in a shared villa with private pool near Loggos and a breakfast hamper. It is also possible for anyone who has their own accommodation or who wishes to be more independent just to join the group tuition sessions. 'Writing about Paxos'  costs £275 per person and does not include accommodation. Transfers between Corfu airport and you accommodation on Paxos can be arranged at additional cost, as can optional activities such as Greek cookery, Greek dancing, boat trips and walks.  

Second Holiday/Course Discount: We will give you a discount of £40 if you book any two holidays or courses in Summer 2011.

More Information: Do have a look round our website and, if you would like further information about any of our holidays and courses or about Paxos more generally, then please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

We look forward to seeing you on Paxos soon.