Fun at Lumb
A fun week was had by all (I hope!) at Lumb Bank last week when fifteen aspiring novelists gathered for a residential writing course, which I co-tutored with the excellent writer and all-round lovely person, Catherine Johnson.
The five-day course at the Arvon Foundation‘s centre in Heptonstall, West Yorkshire (the former home of the poet, Ted Hughes), focused on young-adult fiction and was aimed at more advanced writers who already have work-in-progress. The participants travelled from all parts of the north of England – and from London in several instances – to take part in workshops, individual tutorials, talks and readings . . . and to enjoy plenty of great food (and drink).
The group produced a wide variety of impressive work during the week – either from their own novels or in response to the writing exercises we set – and the Friday-night showcase was a real celebration of their talent and an inspiring way to round off the course.

Catherine Johnson
This was my ninth stint as a tutor at Lumb Bank and my 14th Arvon course in total, having taught three at Totleigh Barton, in Devon, and two at The Hurst, in Shropshire. I also tutored at the Scottish equivalent, Moniack Mhor, last year. If you haven’t been on a residential writing course I can highly recommend them – they’re certainly great fun to tutor! Here’s a link to the Arvon website.
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