If you're in need of writing inspiration this summer, choose from two 3-day Immersive Writing courses, an advanced Finding the Poem mini-course, an online talk with a literary agent or several drop-in groups including Read-in-Situ, Start Your Writing Week, and Feedback Friday - all via Zoom video link up - and all priced extremely competitively! For further information, please click here: http://collagewritingroom.com/summer-school/ or email to register.
Summer School Dates: 21st July and 25th August
Join our Read-In-Situ group leader Carmel Shortall for informal but lively discussion on the themes of Place in July, and Freedom in August.
No need to prepare anything in advance, materials will be shared on the day. Enjoy a journey through unexpected texts, and broaden your reading mind!
- Session 1: 2-3.30pm, Tuesday 21 July
- Session 2: 6.30-8pm, Tuesday 25 August
Pay As You Can.
TALK: Meet the Agent Q&A
With Sara Langham from David Higham Associates agency (sold out but we are taking names for Autumn)
During this friendly session Sara will speak about the work of a literary agency and role of a literary agent. She will discuss the submission process, how to prepare your work for submission and how to get it noticed by an agent. There will be the opportunity to introduce your own work and plenty of time for questions so do come ready to give a brief summary of your current project, and with any questions you would like to ask. Sara joined David Higham in 2018 and is currently building a list specialising in literary fiction.
New Dates TBA, Cost £8
Finding The Poem 3 - Advanced Mini-Course with Paul Lyalls
This 3-session course is aimed at anyone who has done part 1 or part 2 or both!
It features three evenings of even more ‘slightly out there’ approaches to generating new poems and material, with a great group dynamic and sharing element. Full of off-kilter pen to paper tangoing, including an Edinburgh Festival Comedy approach to humour in poetry, scuba diving what you’ve been surviving… oh, and a trip to India!
3 Monday evenings 6.30pm-9pm
27 July, 3, 10 August
Cost £65
3-Day Immersive Writing School 1
We are excited to offer a unique experience where you can spend three days immersed in your writing in the company of a group of fellow writers. Each day the group will work with a different tutor. The format is as follows: taught sessions from 10am to 12.30pm each morning, followed by independent work on set exercises from the morning, and finishing each day with a 4-5pm sharing session and discussion (along with a much earned cup of tea!).
Tuesday: UNLOCKING THE PAST with Giovanna Iozzi
‘So a single image can split open the hard seed of the past, and soon memory pours forth from every direction, sprouting its vines and flowers up around you till the old garden’s taken shape in all its fragrant glory.’ Mary Karr
In this one-day life writing workshop you will unlock key memories and images from your past to explore some of the larger themes driving your desire to write personal narratives. By the end of the day you will have produced a piece of life-writing based on one important event that has resonated with you ever since.
Wednesday: ROOMS with Paul Lyalls
A poetry making workshop in which we explore the idea that our experiences are different interconnected rooms; we go through one door into another. How do we experience the rooms of our lives, their contents, their inhabitants? How do we respond to the within-the-wall life-shapers, and the beyond-the-walls externals at work? With his usual knack of making poems appear from nowhere, Paul will guide participants through a series of exercises to create stand-out poems to keep.
Thursday: WHY WRITERS DON’T WRITE with Alison Chandler
…and what to do about it!
The urge to write is a powerful thing. So why aren’t we pouring out words twelve hours a day? Though every writer is different, there is actually only a handful of reasons we don’t write when we want to. This will be a thought-provoking discussion and workshop session for anyone who has ever struggled with their writing identity and wants to leave the struggle behind!
10am-12.30pm followed by 4-5pm
Tues 4, Weds 5, Thurs 6 August
Cost for the 3-day course: £90
3-Day Immersive Writing School 2
We are excited to offer a unique experience where you can spend three days immersed in your writing in the company of a group of writers wishing to do the same. Each day the group will work with a different tutor. The format will be: taught sessions from 10am to 12.30 noon each morning, followed by independent writing time, and finishing each day with a 4-5pm sharing session and discussion (along with a much earned cup of tea!).
Tuesday: ROOMS (PART 2) with Paul Lyalls
A poetry making workshop in which we explore the idea that our experiences are different interconnected rooms; we go through one door into another. There is no need to have done Part 1 of this workshop – today’s session will stand alone. With his usual knack of making poems appear from nowhere, Paul will guide participants through a series of exercises to create stand-out poems to keep.
Wednesday: UPSTREAM with Kiare Ladner
This fiction workshop will involve pushing yourself to find what is most alive in your work. In a supportive writing environment, you’ll do exercises that invite you to go where you’re scared or reluctant to go. To write against your natural inclinations. And to experiment with approaches that may be outside your comfort zone. The aim is one of expansiveness: it isn’t to reach a different destination so much as to challenge your perceived limitations or self-imposed barriers. Kiare will discuss aspects of her own writing journey illustrating how this can work in practise.
Thursday: GROWING AN IDEA INTO A PROJECT with Alison Chandler
Wherever you are with your writing, there’s often a separate thought agitating for some headspace. It might be something you’ve wondered about for years, or an idea that’s popped into your head this week. Whether it’s an image or a couple of lines of dialogue – or a person you once met or dreamt about – this workshop will give your project-in-waiting some focus, helping you bring themes to the surface and explore whose story you want to tell.
10am-12.30pm followed by 4-5pm
Tues 18, Weds 19, Thurs 20 August
Cost for 3-day course £90
Start Your Writing Week and Feedback Friday Check-in sessions
For existing students only!
Kate and Alison want everyone to be able to stay in touch and keep on track over the summer, so we are offering two dates for each drop-in. We will be in touch with our current attendees to confirm attendance. If you have taken our courses in the past and would like to join the group lists, please register your interest by emailing
10.30am - 12 noon
Mon 27 July, Fri 7 Aug, Mon 24 Aug, Fri 5 Sept
Pay As You Can
Via Zoom video link up
Collage Writing Room’s friendly, supportive, and affordable writing courses for adults run throughout the year and cover poetry, novels, short fiction, and life writing among other disciplines, all taught by our superb teaching team.
Our Summer School is set to run online during late July and August and our tutors are experienced in delivering courses via Zoom video link up. We will give you lots of help setting this up. It is free for you to use. Your course is only a few clicks away!