‘Making great things happen around books and writing.’ Jeanette Winterson

Course ProgrammeAutumn 2011

FaberAcademyCreativeWritingCourses

Faber Academy exists for writers – of novels and non-fiction, of poetry and short stories, from the first sentence to the finishing touch.

In London, Dublin, Glasgow and Sydney, we offer a dynamic programme of creative writing courses to help you with whatever your project might be. We combine hard-learnt advice from the best writers with all the publishing experience of one of the world’s most iconic independent publishing houses, Faber and Faber.

Faber Academy means small, supportive classes, inspiring venues and an unstintingly practical approach across all of our courses: from our six-month flagships Writing a Novel and Becoming a Poet through three-month classes on Getting Started, Memoir and Life Writing and Writing For Children to three- and one-day workshops on short stories, screenplays, and how to get published.

Whether you are just starting out, considering a potential writing career or looking to develop your skills, the Faber Academy has a course to support you at every stage of your endeavour.

Welcome.

faberacademy.co.uk

FaberAcademyOpen Day2011

Six-Month Courses [p. 2—3]

Writing a NovelBecoming a Poet

Three-Month Courses [p. 4—5]

Memoir and Life WritingA to Z of FictionWriting Short StoriesWriting for ChildrenGetting Started: Writing Fiction

Short Courses [p. 6—8]

Perspectives on FictionWrite a Short Story in a WeekendWriting Wrongs: CrimePoetry and InspirationWriting a ScreenplayStuck in the MiddleThe Art of PublicationThe Art of Playwriting

Booking Information, Course Locations and Contact Details [p. 9]

Dublin & LondonDublin & London

LondonLondonLondonLondonGlasgow

Charleston Festival DublinLondonLondonLondonLondonLondonLondon

FictionPoetry

MemoirFictionFictionChildren’sFiction

FictionFictionCrimePoetryDramaFictionGetting PublishedDrama

Contents

Bloomsbury House74–77 Great Russell StreetLondon WC1B 3DA2 July 201110am–2pm

Whether it’s three days or six months, committing to a creative writing course can be a big decision. The Faber Academy Open Day gives you the chance to come into the Faber offices and meet our tutors – people like Marcel Theroux, Daljit Nagra, Tim Lott,Jo Shapcott and Esther Freud – to help you decide which course is right for you. All over a cup of tea.

Call Fiona on +44 (0)20 7927 3868 to book yourfree ticket, or book online at faberacademy.co.uk

We will also be hosting an Open Day at the Bloomsbury Festival, 21–23 October 2011– more details to come.

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Autumn 2011

Six-MonthCoursesAutumn2011

LondonStarts 5 October 2011

Writing a Novel is aimed at writers who want structured tuition and practical help, with the flexibility of an evening class. Richard Skinner and Esther Freud, together with guest writers, editors and agents, will take you through all aspects of the novel-writing process, such as voice, dialogue and plotting. Regular peer presentations provide supportive critical insight into your progress. A printed anthology and a reading here at Bloomsbury House will then prepare you for the next step – getting published.

LondonStarts 4 October 2011

An intensive course aimed at poets looking to assemble a first collection of poetry, Becoming a Poet is designed to give you the conditions and support you need to produce a body of work that you can be proud of. Through individual feedback and weekly workshops with Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott, not to mention guest tutor sessions from poets including Simon Armitage and Andrew Motion, this course will push you – in output, craft and imagination.

Writinga Novel(London)

Becominga Poet(London)

Six-Month Courses

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Writinga Novel(Dublin)

Becominga Poet(Dublin)

DublinStarts 11 October 2011

At the wonderful James Joyce Centre in the heart of Dublin, James Ryan and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne will take your idea and your passion for writing and work with you to transform them into a manuscript. Individual feedback sessions and full-day Saturday sessions form the core of this rigorous and practical course. Guest speakers from the writing and publishing community will give unique insights as well as invaluable, tailored advice as you strive towards finishing your first draft.

DublinPart One: Writing New PoemsStarts 5 October 2011

Led by acclaimed poet Paul Perry, Becoming a Poet – Part One is aimed at aspiring poets who want structured tuition in new poetry forms and techniques as well as supportive and honest assessment of their work, with an emphasis on creating new poems throughout the three months.

DublinPart Two: Towards a ManuscriptStarts 11 January 2012

Part Two will then drive towards a first collection, taking on poets who have a body of work, but who want to expand and improve, edit and collect. Specialist classes such as ‘The City’ and ‘Versification’ will hone your skills, as you continue to write new poems and look to complete the jigsaw of a first collection.

Three-MonthCoursesAutumn2011

LondonStarts 3 October 2011

In 1997, Gillian Slovo wrote her extraordinary apartheid-era family memoir Every Secret Thing. The Guardian called it ‘a luminous achievement’: it went on to be an international bestseller. Drawing on this experience and her huge success as a novelist, Gillian’s Memoir and Life Writing will examine the essential elements of an increasingly popular but elusive genre. A series of seminars and practical workshops, plus two masterclasses from well-known memoirists, this course is aimed at both new and practising writers.

LondonStarts 3 October 2011

Under the guidance of acclaimed novelist Tim Lott, tour the key locations in fiction-writing – such as Dialogue, Plot and Structure – and stop off at some of the more colourful backroads: ‘The Psychology of Writing’; ‘Why Write a Novel in the First Place’ and ‘The System is Not Out To Get You’. Above all a practical guide on the essential ingredients of writing fiction, this course will include written exercises, informal discussions and structured seminars guided by Tim and guests.

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Autumn 2011

A to Zof Fiction

Memoirand LifeWriting

LondonStarts 5 October 2011

Join Marcel Theroux for this exploration of the most challenging – and most liberating – form of fiction. The aim is to write at least three new short stories (two short, one longer); the method is immersion – reading, writing, critiquing, and discussing classic short fiction punctuated with masterclasses from leading exponents of the genre.

LondonStarts 4 October 2011

Award-winning children’s writer Anthony McGowan gives new and apprentice writers the skills they need to write great children’s books, from dialogue and tight plotting to humour and performance. With practical workshops and peer review, plus great guest tutors like Michael Rosen, this course is a must-do for aspiring children’s writers.

GlasgowStarts 5 October 2011

Janice Galloway leads this course for new fiction writers seeking inspiration and guidance. Playful, serious and fun, it will explore what writing is and why we do it, and what it is that writers go through to make their writing not only readable but good – all the while putting every lesson into practice.

Three-Month Courses

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WritingShortStories

Writing forChildren

GettingStarted:WritingFiction

ShortCoursesAutumn2011

WritingWrongs:Crime

Writea ShortStory in aWeekend

Perspectiveson Fiction

Charleston Festival20–21 May 2011

What are the essential ingredients of brilliant fiction?How do novelists unlock their ideas and stay inspired? What are publishers and agents looking for? Over two days at Tilton House, join Jill Dawson, John Boyne, Judith Kerr and Faber Publishing Director Hannah Griffiths to explore these crucial questions.

London10–12 June 2011

International award-winning author RJ Ellory and guest tutor Sophie Hannah make Writing Wrongs perfect for anyone who is writing or interested in beginning a crime novel. This intensive course is designed to strip away the mysteries attendant to crime-writing, and identify the real reasons that crime fiction works, or doesn’t.

Dublin1–3 July 2011

Our most popular short course comes to Dublin, with Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Tobias Hill and Carlo Gébler. Study the form’s finest examples before embarking on your own, and leave with a completely new short story. After intensive tuition and constant review, you will go home longing to write more.

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Autumn 2011

London16–18 September 2011

Walter Donohue – script editor on Paris, Texas, Orlando and 28 Days Later, now film and fiction editor at Faber and Faber – knows better than anyone that a successful screenwriter must understand the structure and goals of storytelling. Accordingly, the first part of this fascinating course will concentrate on how a story works, while the second will look at how to employ the techniques of screenwriting to tell the stories you want to tell in your own particular way. A must for budding screenwriters.

London23–25 September 2011

Jo Shapcott and Daljit Nagra are joined by Andrew Motion for our most popular poetry course, aimed at both new and experienced poets – whether looking for inspiration, seeking to boost their creative output or broaden their appreciation of poetic craft. The course focuses on four aspects of poetry: lyric, narrative, comic and dramatic. A series of practical workshops introduces participants to the best of contemporary poetry through discussions and innovative writing exercises designed to extend technique and approach.

Short Courses

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Writing aScreenplay

Poetry andInspiration

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Autumn 2011

The Art ofPublication

The Art ofPlaywriting

Stuck inthe Middle

London30 September –2 October 2011

The journey towards writing a novel is an epic and sometimes dispiriting one. This course, run by novelists Sarah Dunant and Gillian Slovo, will offer support and instruction for those deep in the process or contemplating a second draft, wondering how they will ever make it to the finishing line.

London 1 October 2011

Hannah Griffiths (Publishing Director, Faber) and ArzuTahsin (Editorial Director, Weidenfeld & Nicolson) lift the lid on what really goes on inside a publishing house, how editors make their choices and how to improve one’s chances of publication, with sessions on editing your first page and why manuscripts get rejected.

London4–6 November 2011

Devised by award-winning writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Nina Steiger, director of the Writers’ Centre at London’s Soho Theatre, this course is for those who want to write a new play or develop an existing idea, and will involve a mixture of group work and one-to-one feedback.

Booking a Course

To book a course or for more information on our programme of events, please contact Fiona Buswell on:

academy@faber.co.uk+44 (0)20 7927 3868

Or visit faberacademy.co.uk

Course Locations

LondonBloomsbury House (Faber and Faber offices)74–77 Great Russell StreetLondon WC1B 3DA

DublinThe James Joyce Centre35 North Great George’s StreetDublin 1

GlasgowGlasgow Art Club185 Bath StreetGlasgow G2 4HU

Coming Soon

New courses are being announced all the time, but many of our courses happen every year. In 2012, look out for Writing a Novel, Becoming a Poet, and Writing Family History, our six-month genealogy course. Our hugely popular Getting Started course will also arrive in Dublin in February 2012. For more on our 2012 programme, visit us at the Bloomsbury Festival in October.

Find Us Online

Web: faberacademy.co.ukFacebook: /faberacademyTwitter: @faberacademy

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About Us

‘This course achieved what it set out to do: kick-start the imagination, generate ideas or ways of encouraging oneself to generate ideas … I defy anyone who does the course not to walk away without at least four new pieces of writing to work on!’Poetry and Inspiration (Short Course) ‘Exercises and advice were inspiring and thought-provoking … Talks were engaging, reassuring, encouraging and interesting.’Getting Started: Writing Fiction (Three-Month Course) ‘I can’t imagine any aspiring writer not learning a tremendous amount … I came away feeling that I had saved time and heartache trying to circle a square.’The Art of Publication (One-Day Course)

+44 (0)20 7927 3868faberacademy.co.uk

Faber AcademyCreative Writing Courses fromFaber and Faber