A course for new and more experienced writers on the art of memoir/life-writing/the writing of recollection at short or book length. Participants will learn techniques to access and shape their own stories.
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Tutor: Catherine Simpson – Writer
Catherine Simpson’s memoir ‘When I Had a Little Sister: The Story of a Farming Family who Never Spoke’ is due for publication in February 2019 by 4th Estate. Set in rural Lancashire, it tells of the suicide of Catherine’s sister and of Catherine’s search for answers as to how it happened. Catherine’s debut novel Truestory (Sandstone Press, 2015) was inspired by her experiences raising her autistic daughter Nina. Catherine and Nina have used the book as a platform to campaign for Autism Acceptance. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/daughter-autism-found-voice-after-11550953 Catherine received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2013. In 2016 she was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship. She runs creative writing workshops and has mentored young writers for the Scottish Book Trust. Twitter: @cath_simpson13 Website: https://www.catherine-simpson.co.uk |
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Guest, Wednesday evening: Kate Fox – Stand-up Poet
Kate Fox works mainly as a stand-up poet. She has made two comedy series called The Price of Happiness for Radio 4 about things she’s supposed to want but doesn’t. She has been Poet in Residence for the Great North Run, Glastonbury Festival and Radio 4’s Saturday Live, and worked extensively facilitating writing and performing projects for schools, community groups and festivals. She has performed her poetry on BBC1 and BBC2 as well as numerous radio shows. She has supported acts including Linton Kwesi Johnson, Hollie McNish, John Cooper Clarke and John Hegley and is a headline act in her own right. In Spring 2019 she will have toured a show about sung and unsung Northern women, called “Where There’s Muck Here’s Bras”. In 2018 she completed a PhD at the University of Leeds about class, gender, Northern Englishness and stand-up. She has been published by Smokestack, Burning Eye Books and Ek Zuban Press and has won writing awards from the Arts Council, New Writing North and the Society of Authors. |
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| PRICES | Fee includes all day and evening tutored workshop sessions, readings, accommodation and full board (not including alcohol).
Single – En-suite room £790 |
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| TO BOOK | £150 deposit payable on booking by PayPal, bank transfer or cheque, to secure place, balance due six weeks before start of course. Please see Terms and Conditions. |
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| WHAT TO BRING |
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| START TIME | Please arrive between 3:00pm and 5:00pm on Monday 9th September 2019. Tea and Cake 4.30pm Introductory Workshop 5.45 – 6.45pm |
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| END TIME | After breakfast, 10:00am on Saturday 14th September 2019. | ||||||||||
| LOCATION | The Garsdale Retreat, Clough View, Garsdale Head, Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5PW Nearest railway station: Garsdale, on the Leeds – Carlisle line. For directions, see Find Us section on the Contact page. |
Courses
The Garsdale Retreat provides an inspiring place to develop as a writer. Our courses offer opportunities for new, emerging and experienced writers. The tutors, all professional writers, lead workshops and also give one-to-one tutorials to help the individual student. In the remote and beautiful setting of The Yorkshire Dales, The Garsdale Retreat gives a wonderful opportunity to escape from the daily stresses of life and to draw inspiration from fellow students, tutors and the landscape itself.
All courses start on Monday afternoon, arrival time 3.00 – 5.00pm. On this first day, tea and cake are at 4.30pm followed by an introductory/ice-breaking workshop 5.45 – 6.45pm. Dinner is at 7.00pm. All courses end after breakfast on Saturday (10.00am).
Course Structure
Although there will be slight variations, according to the type of course (see below), students can generally expect the following outline:
8.00 – 9.00am: Breakfast
9.30 – 11.00am: First workshop – Students explore particular aspects of the chosen genre and take part in writing exercises to further their understanding and expertise. All students have opportunities to share their work with the tutor and fellow writers in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment in which individual work is respected and confidence developed.
11.00 – 11.30am: Coffee break
11.30am – 1.00pm: Second workshop
After lunch, participants are free to do whatever they like, such as: relax, go for walks, enjoy The Dales, draw, paint, read or work on individual writing projects.
4.30pm: Tea and cake
5.00 – 6.00pm: Third workshop
7.00pm: Dinner
All students have one individual tutorial of 30 minutes with the tutor in the course of the week which usually takes place at a mutually agreed time, usually in the afternoon.
Each evening, at about 8.30pm, there is an after-dinner event. The precise nature of this varies according to the type of course but participants can typically expect a tutor reading on Tuesday followed by a reading from a guest writer on the Wednesday evening. There is an informal activity on Thursday such as a student ‘open-mic’ night or word/literary game. On Friday, there is a reading of work produced during the week.
Poetry Course Anthology
An integral part of poetry courses is the production of an anthology of writing produced in the week. It is, of course, accepted that the writing is essentially work-in-progress. However, the aim of the anthology is to reflect a flavour of the work accomplished on the course and to provide participants with an attractive record of their time at Garsdale. The Retreat stores copies of anthologies in the library, providing pleasure and inspiration for future students.
Tutored Retreats
These follow the same basic structure as above except there is only one workshop in the morning and, depending on the size of the group, participants will have between two and four tutorials per week.
Untutored Retreats
The only formal structure of the week is determined by meal-times (see above), allowing participants to concentrate totally on their own writing. After dinner, participants in conjunction with the course director sometimes organise evening read-rounds of their work /open mics/music /word games. However, participation in such events is entirely voluntary and people are free to continue with their writing in the evenings if they prefer.
