Writing Place: Creative Writing Short Course

Newcastle Writers Festival and The University of Newcastle’s School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences are collaborating to offer a month-long intensive creative writing short course in April 2024. Getting place right is more than having a backdrop or setting for your writing and in this course you will learn ways to engage with place as a narrative or poetic trigger. The course is suitable for anyone who wants to explore the ‘place of place’ across the genres of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction (memoir/travelogue/essay).

The course will be led by Keri Glastonbury (Newcastle Sonnets) and includes special guests Amy Lovat (Mistakes and Other Lovers), Kim Mahood (Wandering With Intent: Essays), and Charlotte Wood (Stone Yard Devotional).

This course is for experienced writers as well as readers who want to make the transition to becoming writers, who are happy to read the three books mentioned and hear from the authors, and then complete and workshop short ‘place-based’ writing exercises in response.

There will be emphasis placed on your reading of the three texts so allow time for that or get in early and read before the course begins. There will also be practical workshopping with your fellow participants. Short exercises should be completed before the three Saturday workshops, so you’ll need some time during the week as well to focus on writing. By engaging with writers, and with the guidance of the course facilitator, poet Keri Glastonbury, the course aims to develop a feedback loop of ‘reading into writing’.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHEDULE AND COURSE OUTLINE

Required reading:​

• Amy Lovat Mistakes And Other Lovers (Pan Macmillan)
• ​​​Kim Mahood Wandering with Intent: Essays (Scribe)
• ​​​Charlotte Wood Stone Yard Devotional (Allen & Unwin)

MacLean’s Booksellers is offering a 25% discount on required books upon presentation of your booking confirmation in store.

Tickets are $350 and the booking deadline is 20 March 2024.