COURSES & RETREATS

"My week at Arvon was transformative. The advice, the ideas, the people and the experience have taken my writing to new levels, in ways that I couldn’t have anticipated before attending the week."

— Liz Sage

"An Arvon course is transformative and energising for tutor and student alike; it draws a temporary magic circle within which nobody has to duck their head and apologise for calling themselves a writer."

— Patrick Gale

"Two weeks ago I’d never have scribbled away on a train like this. I might daydream out of the window, passing the time, losing all those thoughts to the air. But now they’ve become a source of stories. Stories everywhere that only I can capture, only I can tell."

— Course participant

It was a week that changed my life. I was very nervous, wondering if I was kidding myself, but the tutors' exercises shook me up. They got me thinking about different ways to write. One of the big things for me was narrative voice, particularly exploring first person, and Kester's voice cam from that....I went on that course thinking I want to be a writer and I left feeling I am a writer"

— Piers Torday

"Utterly exhilarating - a supportive group and constant challenges galvanized my creativity. Performing and writing under pressure in this beautiful space has been fabulous."

— Course participant

"It might be a cliché (what a sin a writer!) but the Arvon course I went on really did change my life; it gave me the space to conceive a long poem I've never been able to match for scope or style since"

— Andrew McMillan