December News and Events

Dear writer,

I hope you’re having a good week. I’m busy planning sessions and other work for the New Year, so thought I’d take this opportunity to share what’s coming up in 2026. As ever, if you’d like to find out more about any of my courses or workshops then please email me – I’m always happy to answer any questions or provide further information.

Get Writing: NEW Course at the Biscuit Factory: Get Writing is a four-week course that will run on consecutive Saturday mornings between Saturday 17 January-Saturday 7 February (11am-1pm) in the comfortable and inspiring surroundings of the Biscuit Factory Gallery in Newcastle. It’ll feature new content so it’s fine to sign up if you’ve been to any of my workshops and courses before. The idea is to revisit some of the basics of creative writing (e.g. how exactly do you ‘show not tell’) and it’ll be suitable for new writers as well as anyone wanting to refresh or improve their skills. The course costs £120 and you can book through the Biscuit Factory website.

Gather Online Writing Workshops: I’ve been running monthly writing workshops on Zoom for the last couple of years. I’m lucky to get a regular group of writers attending, but there’s always a warm welcome for anyone new who’d like to attend. Each workshop has a different focus - we might look at something technical, write on a particular theme or explore a genre (this month we looked at how to write seasonal ghost stories). There are always plenty of inspiring exercises and prompts to do in the session and you get further prompts and useful links to take away with you so you can carry on writing after the session.

Gather meets on Zoom on the first Thursday of the month between 6.30pm-8.30pm and costs £14 per session. Email me to book your place on any of the following dates (and to find out the themes if you’d like to know in advance):

15 January

5 February

5 March

2 April

7 May

4 June

Time to Write at Koru Pizza: Time to Write is a small group that meets on the last Sunday of the month between 11am-1pm at Koru Pizza in Gosforth. It runs in a similar way to Gather – lots of prompts and writing time as well as the chance to share your work (if you’d like to) and get some gentle and encouraging feedback. Tickets are £20 per session and it’s worth booking early - it usually sells out as there are only eight spaces available due to the space in the venue. Email me to book your place on any of the following dates (and to find out the themes if you’d like to know in advance):

25 January

22 February

29 March

26 April

Gift Vouchers: If you’re looking for a special present for a writer or an idea for something someone can buy for you, how about a gift voucher for my Gather or Time to Write workshops? Or my mentoring and critique service? I’m also happy to provide something more personalised such as a private workshop for a small group. Email me if you’d like to find out more.

I’d also like to take this chance to thank everyone who’s read my newsletters, come to my workshops or used my critique and mentoring services over the last year. I love helping writers and hearing their work and really appreciate your support and involvement.

Happy writing!

Amanda