Writing Weeks at Tyn -y-coed & Gardoussel with Cinnamon Press

Tyn y Coed

Join Cinnamon Press founder and editor, Jan Fortune and North Wales writer, Pete Marshall for an inspiring week of creative writing workshops, individual mentoring and inspiration from the stunning scenery of Snowdonia in the company of a small group of writers.

Where? In a beautiful group of cottages at Tyn-y-coed just four miles from historic Conwy.

When? The spring date for 2012 is March 24^th – 29th so book soon for this course. The autumn date is November 3rd – 8th

Cost? All single occupancy rooms are £500. There are also twin rooms with shared occupancy for £460 per person, but no one has to share – you will only be with someone if you prefer this or come with a friend and book a room together for this excellent price.

The price includes food at the centre, accommodation and all tuition plus excursions into the surrounding countryside (on foot and by car) to visit Roman remains, standing stones, beautiful valleys and stunning mountains.

The group? The courses are aimed at those who want to move their writing to the next level, want help with work in progress or who are looking for fresh inspiration in a supportive, stimulating environment.

The course? The workshops will focus on making your writing come to life, whether you are working on fiction or poetry. The group will be limited in size to allow each writer two one to one mentoring sessions during the week. In addition to opportunities to share work in progress, time to write and relax, there will be a visit from a local author and the chance to explore a beautiful area of Snowdonia, using walks (or car trips for those who would prefer not to walk too far) for writing inspiration.

The tutors

Pete Marshall was born in Liverpool in 1958. He left school at 15 and since then has worked in a number of occupations ranging from soldier to social worker. His writing appears regularly in literary magazines at home and abroad. His first collection of poetry was published by the Frogmore Press in 1989. His second, In Loco Parentis, a book about child abuse and children in care was described by Peter Finch, poet and chairman of the Welsh Academi as “The best new collection of poetry I have seen in years.” Pete’s third collection, The Vale, was written during a six months writer’s sabbatical in the Vale of Glamorgan. He has recently completed a novel and has a sequence of thirteen poems, ‘Bro: A Snowdonia Sequence’ fin the Cinnamon anthology Kaleidoscope, due to be published in June 2011. His fourth poetry collection, Agog, was published by Cinnamon in 2011. Pete is a member of Academi’s Writers on Tour scheme. He is married with three children and lives on a traditional Welsh smallholding in the Conwy Valley. He has an MA in creative writing from the University of Wales Bangor, where he now teaches. Pete also works in a special school for children with autism.

Jan Fortune read theology at Cambridge and has a PhD in feminist theology and an MA in creative writing. She has taught creative writing for the Open College of Art, The Writer’s House, the Arvon Foundation Women on Tour, Ty’n y Coed and Abri, and does mentoring work as part of the co-operative, Triskele Writes. As founder and editor at Cinnamon Press, she has edited over 140 books and helped many writers toward publication. Her books include novels, A Good Life, Dear Ceridwen,The Standing Ground and Coming Home, and poetry collections, Particles of Life and Stale Bread and Miracles. She is currently working on a poetry sequence exploring emotions through the landscape and architecture of an abandoned slate mining village, and a novel that ranges across three generations and two continents, exploring issues of metamorphosis and identity, I’m Still Here. Jan lives in North Wales.

Guest author - we will also have a visit from a local guest author who will read and discuss his/her wor

North Wales is rich in writers and there will be a chance to meet a guest author and discuss her/his writing.

Booking? Send a cheque for the deposit of £100 to ‘Cinnamon Press’ together with the form attached.  The balance is due on March 2^nd for the spring course and in September for the autumn course.

Abri Creative Writing Retreat, Gardoussel

Finding the Words

Join Jan Fortune for a week of creative writing and inspiration in the company of a small group of writers. (8 maximum)

Working across a range of genres, these innovative workshops and one-to-one mentoring sessions will help you find your distinctive style and voice, sharpen your writing and move your work on to a new level. For fiction writers and poets who are serious about improving their work and gaining new confidence.

Dates: Friday June 1st – Friday June 8th

Cost: tbc – approx 600 Euros

Location: Abri writing courses are held at Gardoussel Retreat, a small, self-contained hamlet 1.5km from the pretty village of St André de Valborgne  in the heart of the Cévennes mountains. We are situated about 85 km north-west of the city of Nîmes, both in the Gard district which makes up part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

More information: Guests are accommodated in rooms in either one of 2 gîtes (holiday apartments) or independent bedrooms. Single rooms are provided. Couples and guests who know each other already can of course choose to share if they wish.  Non-writing partners are  also welcome. Gardoussel has high speed internet so bring your laptop if you wish.

Meals are delicious, home-made, vegetarian and prepared with mostly organic ingredients.

Travel:

BY AIR

The easiest way to get to Gardoussel Retreat from the UK is to fly into Nimes from Stansted or Luton (both just outside London) or Liverpool, with Ryanair, then share a taxi or travel up by bus *. You can also fly into Montpellier (Ryanair and British Airways) or Marseilles (Buzz and BA among others).

BY TRAIN

Eurostar runs a TGV ‘fast train’ service from London / Lille / Paris to Nîmes, with the journey Paris – Nîmes taking just under 3 hours.  See http://www.eurostar.com for details. You can then organize a taxi share or take a bus to St Jean du Gard. (Gardoussel can help to organize taxi shares from St Jean du Gard to Gardoussel and are happy to collect you from the village of St André de Valborgne. If their commitments allow, they may be able pick you up from St Jean du Gard, where the bus from Nîmes terminates.)

BY BUS

There are 4 buses a day from Nîmes to St Jean du Gard (about 25 mins away) but the handiest is usually the one leaving Nîmes at approx. 17h30 (arr. 18h55). Check for current bus times here http://www.edgard-transport.fr/ or ask us the team at Gardoussel for help.

BY ROAD

All our local airports have hire car depots. Montpellier and Nîmes are each about 1hr 30 mins from Gardoussel, Marseilles is at 2½ hours, Lyon is 5+ hours and Paris about 6-7 hours. Having a car is useful if you want to explore the local area further afield in your free time. If several of you are coming together, it is also a cost-viable alternative to a shared taxi, since the cost of hiring a vehicle can be about the same as the cost of a taxi run. If you are interested in volunteering to hire a vehicle and act as driver, let Gardoussel know so they can help you organise this.

Booking: http://www.abricreativewriting.com/booking.html

TriskeleWrites offers a range of services for writers who want to improve their craft. TriskeleWrites has been set up by three practising writers, editors and tutors: Gail Ashton; Jan Fortune-Wood and Susan Richardson, to offer manuscript appraisals, mentoring services to writers, and specialist packages for those who want to self publish their work.

The aim is to provide high quality services with a clear pricing structure and fair contract for a range of writing services to suit your particular requirements.

TriskeleWrites will work with writers across a wide range of genres: nonfiction (including family memoirs or community histories), life writing, travel writing, playwriting, full length and short fiction (including microfiction) and poetry.

If you want to know more please email jan@janfortunewood.com or gailashton@btinternet.com or susan@susanrichardsonwriter.co.uk