Writing Workshops
A-Z of Speakers 2021 – biographies
Saturday September 11th 2021
9am-11am: Writing a memoir: Where do I start? Cathy Rentzenbrink
Do you want to write about your life? This stimulating workshop will give you impetus and encouragement and would be suitable either as a jumping off point or as an injection of energy into an ongoing project. All welcome. Please bring paper and pen! https://cathyreadsbooks.com
Classroom 2, ArtsEd £20
10am-12pm: Writing for comedy: Amita Murray
A workshop on turning your most embarrassing moments and heartbreak into writing that makes people laugh and cry, hopefully all at the same time. Writer Amita Murray invites you to share her love for humour of all kinds and discover how she explores it in her novels. Please bring paper and pen! AmitaMurray.com
Classroom 1, ArtsEd £20
2pm-4pm: Brush Pen Calligraphy Workshop: Laura Edralin
In this special two hour workshop lead by local calligraphy artist, Laura Edralin, you will learn the calming art of brush pen calligraphy (all materials suppplied). Get to grips with the essential techniques of this modern calligraphy style ideal for creating cards, decorating notebooks and journals, gifts and more. Come away with a beautiful Moleskine Cahier Journal, designed and hand lettered by you, plus all the materials to take home and keep creating. https://www.lauraletterslife.com
Classroom 1, ArtsEd £50
2pm-4pm: Publishing commercial fiction: Phoebe Morgan
Join bestselling author and HarperCollins Editorial Director Phoebe Morgan for a workshop on publishing commercial genre fiction. Learn about what fiction editors are looking for, discuss market trends, find out how the editorial process works and have a go at crafting your own killer first line. There will also be time for your own questions about how to get published. Please bring paper and pen! https://phoebemorganauthor.com
Classroom 2, ArtsEd £20
Sunday September 12th 2021
11am-1pm: How to write a successful thriller: Peter Hanington
Following on from Saturday’s session discussing ‘The Thriller after le Carre’ with Charles Cumming, this workshop will look at the key ingredients of a successful thriller from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold to the latest and last Lee Child book. Peter Hanington has written three successful thrillers and read hundreds more and this session will examine the importance of plotting, characterisation, pace and the question of whether you have to write thrillers in a shed. Please bring paper and pen! https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/peter-hanington/a-cursed-place/9781529305210/
Classroom 2, ArtsEd £20
2pm-4pm: Writing characters we care about: Elise Valmorbida
How do you create compelling characters on the written page? Where do they come from and where might they go? Good storytelling needs characters we care about, warts and all. This hands-on creative writing workshop by the author of The Madonna of the Mountains will help you to explore, discover and develop characters who matter. For beginners and experienced writers alike. Please bring paper and pen! http://elisevalmorbida.com
Classroom 1, ArtsEd £20
2pm-4pm: Writing for audio drama: Caroline Raphael
Headphones in, press play. Everyone is listening to audio. For aspiring writers, this session with the former BBC Head of Radio Drama will use examples from actual drama productions to help you discover the variety of ways you can tell stories in audio: how you can play with time, hear what someone is thinking, travel to the moon and back…all with just words and sounds. Participants will be asked to listen and consider clips (approx. 20 mins in total) that will be sent to you in advance. Please bring paper and pen! https://doraproductions.wordpress.com/about/
Classroom 2, ArtsEd £20
Chiswick’s Writers – Walks
Our walks are conducted by Ealing & West London Tour Guides.
Tickets for the Walks are on sale via Eventbrite on the links below (not via the Book Now button).
Read more about Chiswick’s writers on our Writers Trail and the Chiswick Timeline of Writers & Books. Put the word out: Chiswick may be the UK’s most literary location: The Observer.
If you’d like to make a donation to the Festival charities, find out more here.
11am-1pm: Saturday September 11th
Chiswick’s Writers Walk 1: The High Road and Beyond
Discover the homes and uncover the lives of some of Chiswick’s – and Britain’s – most important writers. Join an Ealing & West London Guide on this 2-hour walking tour. Among the novelists you’ll encounter are EM Forster, Patrick Hamilton, Iris Murdoch, JG Ballard and Anthony Burgess.
The walk starts at Chiswick Park Underground Station and ends at St Michael & All Angels, Bedford Park, near Turnham Green Underground Station. Booking via Eventbrite.
2.30-4.30pm: Sunday September 12th
Chiswick’s Writers Walk 2: Strand-on-the-Green to Grove Park
Chiswick’s picturesque riverside has been home to political journalists, thriller writers, playwrights, humourists, poets and classic novelists. As you wander along the Thames with your Ealing & West London Guide you’ll encounter the likes of Nancy Mitford, Geoffrey Household, Margaret Kennedy, Robert Bolt and John Osborne.
The 2-hour walk begins outside the Strand Café, Strand-on-the-Green (Kew Bridge end) and ends by Chiswick mainline station. Booking via Eventbrite.
11am-1pm: Saturday September 18th
Chiswick’s Writers Walk 2: Strand-on-the-Green to Grove Park
Chiswick’s picturesque riverside has been home to political journalists, thriller writers, playwrights, humourists, poets and classic novelists. As you wander along the Thames with your Ealing & West London Guide you’ll encounter the likes of Nancy Mitford, Geoffrey Household, Margaret Kennedy, Robert Bolt and John Osborne.
The 2-hour walk begins outside the Strand Café, Strand-on-the-Green (Kew Bridge end) and ends by Chiswick mainline station. Booking via Eventbrite.
2.30-4.30pm: Sunday September 19th
Chiswick’s Writers Walk 1: The High Road and Beyond
Discover the homes and uncover the lives of some of Chiswick’s – and Britain’s – most important writers. Join an Ealing & West London Guide on this 2-hour walking tour. Among the novelists you’ll encounter are EM Forster, Patrick Hamilton, Iris Murdoch, JG Ballard and Anthony Burgess.
The walk starts at Chiswick Park Underground Station and ends at St Michael & All Angels, Bedford Park, near Turnham Green Underground Station. Booking via Eventbrite.