TIME TO WRITE

A week long poetry and fiction course for advanced writersEven the most disciplined writers can find it hard to find time to write. The Arvon Foundation week long residential creative writing courses are designed specifically to combat this and provide an inspirational space and dedicated time to practice the art of writing.Working with the Foundation?s Totleigh Barton centre, Spread the Word is delighted to be able to offer sixteen advanced writers the opportunity to go on a course focussing on poetry and fiction at a highly subsidised rate. As always, the atmosphere will be relaxed, friendly and informal and the course taught by two professional writers. There is also a guest reader.

This is a unique opportunity to live as a writer with writers and concentrate on new creative work. Please note some accommodation is shared and everyone takes a turn in helping to cook one evening meal.

www.arvonfoundation.org

How to apply:
This course is for experienced writers. Please send a writing history, curriculum vitae and 10 A4 12pt, double-spaced pages of your novel or short story or four to five poems no later than 10 December 2004, to Spread the Word. Those applications fulfilling the criteria will be allocated a place on a first come first served basis.

Bursaries:
The Arvon Foundation can provide a ?50 bursary for three writers on a low income. To apply for one of these please also include, with the above, a letter explaining why you need a bursary and photocopies of documents that support your application. These will also be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Tutors: Patience Agbabi and Patrick Neate

Guest reader: Don Paterson


Patience Agbabi is a poet, performer and workshop facilitator. She has written two collections Transformatrix and R.A.W and is working on her third. She is currently Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at Cardiff University. Patience is one of the twenty Next Generation Poets, as selected and announced by the Poetry Book Society in June 2004.

Patrick Neate is the author of three novels: Musungu Jim and the Great Chief Tuloko (Betty Trask prize), Twelve Bar Blues (Whitbread Novel award) and, most
recently, The London Pigeon Wars. His latest book is non-fiction: Where You?re At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip Hop Planet.

Don Paterson is a writer, editor and musician. His poetry collections include Nil Nil, which won the Forward Poetry Prize, God?s Gift to Women, which won
the T S Eliot Prize and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and The Eyes. His latest collection of poetry, Landing Light won the T S Eliot Prize and Whitbread
Poetry Award.

DATE: Monday 24 January to Saturday 29 January
VENUE: Totleigh Barton, Sheepwash, Beasworthy, Devon EX21 5NS
PRICE: ?271