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Upcoming Arvon at Home events and news
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This week, on Wednesday evening, the celebrated poet and novelist, Owen Sheers, joins us for a Live Guest Reading. We are also pleased to highlight an upcoming TV Comedy Writing Week, starting 30 November and tutored by Jonathan Dryden Taylor and Abigail Burdess. If you''re aged between 18 and 25 or in receipt of certain state benefits, this course is available at half-price. Next Tuesday evening, 10 November, Arvon at Home will launch a brand new format, Craft of Writing Sessions, with the bestselling novelist, David Mitchell, as our first guest.
Finally, we''re asking for your help to raise essential funds to support Arvon and the livelihoods of writers while our writing houses are closed due to the pandemic. By donating to our Crowdfunder you can help Arvon weather the challenging months ahead and emerge intact from this difficult period.
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We need your help: #SupportArvon
Arvon is a charity that relies on the generosity of its supporters. We need your help to support writers during these difficult times. Our writing houses will have to remain closed for at least 12 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertainty ahead is a huge challenge for us.
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We need to raise ?50,000 to help support the livelihoods of hundreds of writers, maintain our writing houses so that they can reopen when it is safe to do so, and enable hundreds of disadvantaged young people to unlock their creative potential.
We recognise that this is a time of uncertainty for many. Any donation - however large or small - will play an invaluable role in helping secure Arvon's future. Thank you for your support!
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This week: Live Guest Reading
Owen Sheers
Wednesday 4 November at 7:15pm - 8:15pm GMT
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Owen Sheers is a poet, author, playwright and presenter. His books of poetry include Skirrid Hill, winner of a Somerset Maugham Award, and the verse drama Pink Mist, chosen as a Guardian top ten play of the year and winner of the Hay Festival Poetry Medal and Wales Book of the Year. His first novel Resistance, has been translated into 15 languages and was adapted into a film. His most recent novel, I Saw a Man was shortlisted for the Prix Femina Etranger.
Owen's theatrical work includes The Two Worlds of Charlie F., winner of the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, Mametz, part of the 14-18NOW commemorations of WWI and National Theatre Wales's 72 hour The Passion. His BAFTA and Grierson nominated film-poem to mark the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, The Green Hollow, won three BAFTA Cymru awards. His most recent film-poem is To Provide All People (BBC 2), written to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS.
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Upcoming Live Guest Readings:
Rachel Clarke on Wednesday 18 November at 7:15pm
Gabriel Gbadamosi on Wednesday 11 November at 7:15pm
Hadley Freeman on Wednesday 2 December at 7:15pm
Vahni Capildeo on Wednesday 9 December at 7:15pm
Abi Dar? on Wednesday 16 December at 7:15pm
See the full guest reading schedule here
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Coming up:
Craft of Writing with
David Mitchell
Tuesday 10 November at 7:00pm - 8:20pm GMT
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Arvon's new Craft of Writing Sessions are invigorating deep dives into the creative processes of some of the finest writers at work today. Over the course of 80 minutes, they engage in expansive conversations about different facets of their craft: how they get their ideas; how they develop characters or build stories; or, more simply, how they make sentences. Each live session includes two audience Q&As.
David Mitchell is the author of the novels Ghostwritten, number9dream, Cloud Atlas, Black Swan Green, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, The Bone Clocks, Slade House and, most recently, The Sunday Times number one bestseller, Utopia Avenue. Described by the Observer as 'the most impressive fictional mind of his generation', he has been shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize, won the John Llewellyn Rhys, Geoffrey Faber Memorial and South Bank Show Literature Prizes among others.
David is joined by writer, critic and Front Row presenter Alex Clark for his Craft of Writing Session.
Tickets: ?25
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Upcoming Craft of Writing Sessions:
Craft of Writing with David Mitchell on Tuesday 10 November 7:00pm - 8:20pm
Craft of Writing with Bernardine Evaristo on Tuesday 24 November at 7:00pm - 8:20pm
Craft of Writing with Michael Morpurgo on Tuesday 1 December 7:00pm - 8:20pm
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Coming up: Masterclass
Taming the Octopus with Cathy Rentzenbrink
Thursday 12 November at 11:00am - 13:00pm GMT
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The story of our life can feel like an octopus with tentacles wriggling about all over the place. In this lively workshop we will look at ways to capture and organise the vastness of our material so that we can come up with a working structure that helps us to avoid overwhelm and enables us to make progress towards a first draft.
Cathy Rentzenbrink is the author of The Last Act of Love and A Manual for Heartache. She speaks and writes regularly on life, death, love and literature, presents the Bookseller podcast, writes a column for Prospect and reviews books for the Times.
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Tickets are ?35.There are a limited number of grants available for people on low-income, see here for more info.
Upcoming Masterclasses:
Liz Berry Poetry Masterclass - Comfort and Joy on Tuesday 15 December 7:00pm-9:00pm
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Coming up: Writing Week
TV Comedy - Show me the Funny
Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December
How do you write comedy for the telly? When creating sketch comedy or sitcom, how do you come up with funny ideas and craft them into great sketches or situations? What makes a character or concept funny? And how do you put comic characters together to make a whole show?
On this course you'll make some jokes, play some games and, with other writers, create some brand new comedy shows.
Whether comedy is a lifelong passion, whether you've always wanted to write jokes but not known where to start, or whether you've just watched TV and thought, 'I could do better than that!' - this course is for you.
Tutored by:
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Jonathan Dryden Taylor has been writing professionally for TV and radio for twenty years. TV credits include That Mitchell And Webb Look, Watson and Oliver, Comedy Nation and numerous voiceovers for archive and compilation shows. He's also a highly experienced script editor. For radio Jon has written sketch comedy, sitcom and adaptations. He's also an actor who has appeared all over the country, including over 350 performances at the National Theatre.
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Abigail Burdess has written for comedy shows including Tracey Ullman's Show, Watson and Oliver and the BAFTA-winning That Mitchell and Webb Look, and kids' shows including So Beano (Sky) and the BAFTA nominated Sorry I've Got No Head. She also writes for stage, radio and does stand-up, when there isn't a pandemic. She's currently writing Doctor Who for radio.
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The cost is ?375. There are a limited number of grants available for people on low income, see here for more info. This week is also half-price for those aged 18-25 and those in receipt of certain state benefits.
Upcoming Writing Weeks:
Writing for Children - The Challenge and the Magic with Liz Flannigan and Emma Carroll - 9 November to 13 November *Half-price concessions available*
Fiction Writing Week - From Sparkle to Flame with Tom Vowler and Emily Barr - 16 November to 20 November *Half-price concessions available*
Fiction Writing Week - Take your writing to the next level with Adam Hamdy and Caitlin Davies - 23 November to 27 November
Short Story Writing Week - Finding powerful stories in the everyday with Andrew Michael Hurley & KJ Orr - 23 November to 27 November
Theatre Writing Week - Get your creative brain and script into shape with Tristan Bernays and Ella Hickson - 23 November to 27 November
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Obsidian Foundation and poetry Retreat launched for Black poets
The Obsidian Foundation was founded in 2020 by award-winning poet Nick Makoha. This autumn, it hosts a new poetry Retreat specifically for the advancement of Black poets to challenge the inequity in literary publishing.
The Foundation will provide Black poets, who often face several barriers of access to literary resources and professional development, with an opportunity to network with agents, publishers and influencers. The first retreat of courses, seminars, events and mentorships will be held
virtually and includes sessions with acclaimed poets Roger Robinson, Raymond Antrobus, Malika Booker, Patricia Smith and Terrence Hayes.
The Virtual Retreat will run from Monday 30 November 2020 to Friday 4 December 2020. Applications are now open and close on 15 November.
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Arvon 1-1
Online 1-1 tutorials are available to book in a range of genres. If you have a writing project on the go, this is a wonderful opportunity to get in-depth one-to-one feedback on your writing. You can now request a 1-1 with an Arvon tutor of your choice, and select times and dates that work for you. The cost is ?150.
Featured 1-1 Tutor:
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Colin Grant is a historian and author of four books including Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and the memoir Bageye at the Wheel, which was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley Prize 2013. His latest book, Homecoming: Voices from the Windrush Generation was published in October 2019.
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The Arvon Foundation is a registered charity (Charity No. 306694) and a company limited by guarantee (registered in London No.1086582).
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