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New Writing North has launched a series of online courses for writers in partnership with the Professional Writing Academy.
New Writing North Academy courses start in March 2023 and enrolment is now open for courses including life writing with Richard Benson, crime fiction with Marnie Riches and short stories with Susmita Bhattacharya, as well as CPD-accredited courses in screenwriting with John Yorke and writing for work with Piers Alder. More details can be found here.
The courses will be taught in small tutor-led groups over four to 16 weeks. Through a mixture of independent work and workshop learning, New Writing North said students would explore the techniques used by leading contemporary writers, learn to feed back on work in progress, develop their own voice and hone their writing craft.
The New Writing North Academy is part of a wider Writing and Publishing Skills Hub funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority. Residents of Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland can benefit from bursaries of up to 75% off course prices.
Claire Malcolm, chief executive of New Writing North, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the Professional Writing Academy to bring brilliant, accessible creative writing courses to the north. For too long, it has been difficult for many people to access the highest quality of creative writing teaching, whether they live outside of urban centres, have disabilities, caring responsibilities, or simply busy lives.
“On New Writing North Academy courses, our students will benefit from one-to-one feedback, small group peer support, a wider network of northern writers and a lively international community all while accessing material and completing assignments at a time that suits them. We’re grateful to North of Tyne Combined Authority, whose funding allows us to offer discounted bursary places to those living in Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland."
Richard Benson, author of The Farm and The Valley (Hamish Hamilton) and course tutor for Stories from Life, said: “It’s no one person’s fault but the fact is that our society still gives far more access to certain groups of people than others. This is wrong because it’s unfair, but it’s also wrong because it means some people feel their stories are not worth hearing. In fact, many of their stories are more interesting than those we do get to hear. Change must happen. Ordinary people’s voices must be heard. In Getting Started: Stories from Life we will be exploring our own life stories, allowing people to experience the events, places and communities that are important to us.”