January Newsletter

Hi all,

I hope you’re well and finding the time to write and be creative this January. I started 2025 by curating a display of some brilliant poems written by participants on a creative writing course I led for Helix Arts as part of their Better Connect programme. The group wrote about their memories and experiences of libraries using the pantoum form and free verse poems about small good things they appreciated in life. The exhibition is at Wallsend Library until the end of January - do have a look if you are in the area or you can listen to the poems using the link in this Helix Arts news article about the exhibition.

New Writing North Start Writing Course

Last year I led a six week Start Writing course for New Writing North at Jesmond Library and I’ve been asked to run the same course again at Seaton Sluice Library this March. The course is on Wednesday afternoons for six weeks between 5 March-9 April and costs £35 (plus booking fee). You can find out more and book your place on the New Writing North website but do be aware that it does repeat content from previous courses at Jesmond Library and Wallsend Library. Of course, you’re still welcome to attend if you don’t mind that it will cover similar topics and exercises - feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this.

Time to Write at Koru

I’m continuing my monthly workshops at Koru Pizza in Gosforth, but with a limit of eight places per session as this works best in the space and allows everyone plenty of writing and feedback time. These workshops run between 11am-1pm on the last Sunday of the month – the next session on 29 January is fully booked, but there are still spaces for 23 February and 30 March. Tickets are £20 per session - contact me to find out more and book.

Gather Online Writing Group

My online writing group, Gather, meets on the first Thursday of the month between 6.30pm-8.30pm on Zoom. The next session is on 6 February. Tickets are £10 for lots of writing inspiration (including prompts and resources to use afterwards). If you’d like to join us, please contact me.

Biscuit Factory Workshops

My next masterclass workshops at the Biscuit Factory Gallery are:

Character Creation- 16 March (11am-2pm)

A Sense of Place - Sunday 18 May (11am-2pm)

I hope that’s helpful and please do get in touch if you have any questions about any of the above events.

Happy writing!

Amanda