Writing Workshops

“It is important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. When you tell your story, you free yourself.” – Iyanla Vanzant

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Workshops in areas of exclusion

We deliver creative writing workshops in places of exclusion, where people residing there have had little previous opportunities to develop their writing skills. These include places of custody and inner city areas with multiple levels of deprivation, working alongside organisations like Caring in Bristol and other community groups.

Our workshops are delivered by experienced writers, who provide a comprehensive programme that sparks the interests of participants and gets them to undertake a range of activities. At the end, participants come away with a much better understanding of creative writing and the skills to continue what they have learned, applying it both for their own wellbeing and to expand their career opportunities.

For each workshop programme, we also seek to enable all participants to contribute towards a shared collection of work, which we can get published in print. We have found that such published collections represent a source of great pride and achievement for participants. Where possible, we facilitate speaking and signing events for the participants to promote their book. This is done in partnership with libraries, book shops, local government and other charities.

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Workshops for organisations

“When we tell our stories in a safe community, all those things that separate us go away.”
- Sarah Markley -

We also deliver creative writing workshops for organisations, following a similar format. These workshops bring together employees or volunteers across an organisation to undertake fun creative writing exercises, which combine elements of outdoor activities and excursions for people to gain inspiration. At the end of the programme, a collection of work is produced by the participants, with the support of an experienced facilitator. Poetry, short stories and even illustrations can make up the collection, which we can get professionally formatted and printed for an organisation to use as it sees fit. Many organisations have used extracts from these collections to put into their Annual Reports, others have used them for promotional purposes.

Further benefits of these workshops include building teamwork skills, improving writing and creative thinking, boosting staff morale and productivity, together with having something 'as a legacy' that the organisation can keep for the entirety of its existence (and beyond).

Organisations are also encouraged to sponsor a placement for someone from a disadvantaged background to join their workshop programme, thereby enabling them to access the same benefits. It also provides an opportunity for an organisation to widen its social impact and to allow an 'outsider', who may never before have heard of the organisation before, to see what it does.

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Creative writing workshop delivery and support

Want us to deliver a creative writing workshop, or are you looking to support an existing one?

Contact us for more information