SCOTLAND’S CREATIVE WRITING CENTRE 2016 PROGRAMME

WWW.MONIACKMHOR.ORG.UK

MONIACK MHOR

Something is dealing from a deck of cards, face up, seven, a week of mornings, today’s revealing the hills at Moniack Mhor, shrugging off their mists. A sheepdog barks six fields away; I see the farm from here.

Twelve-month cards, each one thumbed, flipped, weathered in its way – this the eighth, harvest-time, a full moon like a trump, a magic trick. It rose last night above this house, affirmative. I sensed your answer – hearts.

Or a single hour is a smiling Jack, a diamond, or a spade learning a grave; charms or dark lessons. Something is shuffling; the soft breath of Moniack Mhor on the edge of utterance, I know it, the verbs of swifts riffling the air and the road turning itself into the loch, a huge ace into which everything folds. Here is the evening, displayed then dropped to drift to the blazon of barley, bracken, heather. Something is gifting this great gold gathering of cloud; a continual farewell.

CAROL ANN DUFFY WELCOME

Dear all,

Welcome to Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre, based in the beautiful highlands of Scotland. Perched at 1000ft, just a stone’s throw from Loch Ness, the centre commands dramatic views of the mountain ranges of Ben Wyvis and Glen Strathfarrar. Our cosy converted croft is an inspiring atmosphere for doing what we love best, writing.

2015 was a thrilling and creative year in the life of the newly fledged, independent Moniack Mhor. We’ve been visited by many writers from all walks of life, each sharing a different story, breathing energy into the walls of the building.

With these celebrations in mind, we turn our gaze to the year stretching out in front of us. Our 2016 programme offers all manner of gemstones including the newly cut Writing and Illustration course led by Mairi Hedderwick, Bob Dewer and . Nature Writing with Helen MacDonald, Sir John Lister-Kaye and Kathleen Jamie inspires us for the winter months, whilst the spring blooms with a Fiction Retreat tutored by However we meet in 2016, the Moniack Mhor Michel Faber, Emily Mackie and Michael team will be here to welcome you through the Russell. We’ve added more retreats, the chance doors with Highland hospitality and create an to disconnect and concentrate on works environment conducive to creativity. in progress. One day workshops provide a pipette of inspiration that will fuel writing endeavours. We will be building on our awards RACHEL HUMPHRIES programme from last year, extending our CENTRE DIRECTOR support for writers. We’ll also be delivering a number of events, including our annual fellowship and a ceilidh, in celebration of the centenary of the birth of Jessie Kesson, a writer who lived for some of her life on a croft near the centre and whose work is close to our hearts.

04 CONTENTS

4 Welcome THANKS TO ALL OUR 6 About the Courses PATRONS FOR THEIR 7 How to Choose A Course 9-31 Courses ONGOING SUPPORT 32-33 Retreats 34-36 Day Workshops Carol Ann Duffy 37 Events Mairi Hedderwick 38-39 Celebrating Jessie Kesson 40 Awards & Residencies Liz Lochhead 43 How to Book 44 Youth Programme Val McDermid 45 Support Us James Robertson 46 Who We Are 47 Calendar of Courses

Credits. Photos by Roddy MacKenzie, Nancy MacDonald, James Roberts or Ruth Tauber. Northern lights photo by Graeme Roger. Tutor headshots by the author except Andrew O’Hagan by Tricia Maley Ross Gillespie, Carol Ann Duffy by Michael J Woods, Helen Dunmore by Caroline Forbes, Helen Macdonald by Marzena Pogorzaly, Jane Rogers by Laurent Denimal, Jens Christian Grondahl by Robin Skjoldborg, Jo Shapcott by Rachel Shapcott, Julian Gough by Anne Marie Fives, Kirsty Logan by monkeytwizzle, Margaret Elphinstone by Mike Brown, Michel Faber by Eva Faber, Rachel Kelly by Libi Peder, Rory Maclean credit Nick Danziger, Susie Maguire by Angu Behm and Linda Cracknell by Phil Horey. Brochure design by James Roberts

05 ABOUT THE COURSES

“A place of rare space and weather-wildness and beauty. Something magical and good always happens here” ALI SMITH

Courses at Moniack Mhor provide an Evenings are spent in the company of the atmosphere for you to fully immerse yourself group. Normally, tutors read on a Tuesday in your writing. The centre is your home for evening and a guest reader visits on the duration, free from distractions and where Wednesday. On Friday the week culminates you will find yourself part of a nurturing with the fire on in the straw bale studio writing community. Residential courses run sharing what you have created through the with up to fourteen writers and each is tutored week in an informal ceilidh event. by two established, experienced tutors. Food is included in the course price. You will All courses have one-to-one tutorials except find the kitchen well stocked; we cater for the UNTUTORED RETREATS. You can expect dietary restrictions and we can get additional at least one half hour tutorial with each tutor items if requested. Moniack Mhor staff will during your stay. These invaluable sessions welcome you with a meal on the first night will provide the opportunity to have an in- and once during your stay, you will be part depth look at your work. Most courses, with of a cooking team, preparing a meal for the exception of RETREATS & UNTUTORED your fellow writers. You can help yourself RETREATS, include workshops on aspects of to breakfast and lunch is served buffet style. the genre you are working towards. On most Alcohol is available. courses, there will be the opportunity to stretch your legs in the local landscape, with a On some courses, tutors will read a sample of walk guided by staff. Often, people spend their your work ahead of time to provide more free time doing yoga in the straw bale studio, in-depth feedback on your work. running or reading.

06 HOW TO CHOOSE A COURSE

Something for every writer at Moniack Mhor – that is our aim. We suggest you think about what you want from a course, then use the advice below to find the best possible course for you.

TIME: Our courses run from Monday to Saturday, providing time to fully ensconce yourself in your writing and the tutors’ guidance. If you have less time, we have a short course in spring and several day events.

GENRE: Our courses cover many genres and choosing a genre that you work in can be a good idea. However, if the course that works for your free time doesn’t fit your chosen genre, think around it. We’ve had fiction writers who come on crime courses to get help with plot structure and established novelists attending poetry courses to develop use of HOW TO USE language. THE COURSE GUIDE EXPERIENCE: Most of our courses are suitable for writers with different levels of experience, tutors are adaptable and will OPEN COURSES - WEEK LONG work around the group. If you are new to RETREATS writing, or indeed coming back to it after a SHORT COURSES time, then our STARTING OUT courses will help get you going. If you are already well DAY WORKSHOPS on your way with a manuscript, TUTORED EVENTS RETREATS are designed to give you maximum writing time, with one-to-one tutorial sessions. UNTUTORED RETREATS are the opportunity to come to Moniack Mhor for an intensive PRE-COURSE SUBMISSION OF WORK spell of writing with no tuition.

TUTORS: We programme some of the finest WORKSHOP writers in the world to lead courses. They are tutors who understand the needs of ONE-TO-ONE SESSIONS writers and are generous with their time and experience. We recommend choosing a course with a tutor whose work you admire, and if SINGLE ROOMS ONLY you are having difficulty choosing, read some of the tutors’ work to help you decide. OPTIONAL GUIDED WALK

07 COURSES SINGLE ROOM £595 SHARED ROOM £540

GRANTS AVAILABLE ON ALL COURSES

SEE PAGE 43 FOR BOOKING INFORMATION COURSE 01 MONDAY 11th to SATURDAY 16th JANUARY

SONGWRITING WHAT NEXT?

BOO HEWERDINE & EDWINA HAYES GUEST: MARTIN STEPHENSON

DESCRIPTION

On this songwriting week Edwina and Boo will work with you on your songwriting skills. Meter, melody, lyrics, chords…. every aspect of song. Let us give you the tools to allow your inspiration to be realised. But why What Next? It is important to us what you take with you from the week. In recent years attendees have gone on to wonderful things. Albums been recorded, tours toured, awards awarded and songs sung. In one-to-ones we will help you realise any ambitions you have for your writing. Experience has shown us that giving a writer a sense of focus can be transformative.

Boo Hewerdine is a singer-songwriter and experienced tutor. He has written songs for Eddi Reader, k d Lang, Chris Difford and many others. His most recent album is My Name in the Brackets. www.boohewerdine.net

Edwina Hayes is a folk-Americana artist, born and bred in Yorkshire. Her latest album is Good Things Happen Over Coffee. Her cover of Feels Like Home was featured in the Cameron Diaz film My Sister’s Keeper. www.edwinahayes.com

Martin Stephenson began recording records in 1982. His current group, The Dainties, is a folk/rock/pop band. He is a guitarist and songwriter, playing with other bands as well as his own and solo gigs. The Daintie’s albums include California Star and The Haunted Highway. He lives in the Scottish Highlands. www.dainties.co.uk

09 COURSE 05 MONDAY 11th to SATURDAY 16th APRIL CRIME WRITING

DREDA SAY MITCHELL & SIMON BRETT GUEST: SUE BLACK

DESCRIPTION

Good crime fiction makes compulsive reading. These successful crime writers will offer insights into plotting, characterisation, embedding clues and building suspense through writing exercises, workshops and one to one tutorials. This week’s guest is a forensics professor, so bring your scientific questions. Some of the world’s most famous crime writers consult Professor Sue Black for authenticity.

Dreda Say Mitchell is the author of six novels. She received the CWA John Creasey Dagger and one of her novels was chosen for World Book Night UK. She is also a broadcaster, journalist and motivational speaker. www.dredamitchell.co.uk

Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before turning to writing full-time. As well as the much-loved Fethering mysteries, the Mrs Pargeter novels and the Charles Paris detective series, he writes for TV and Radio. In 2014, he was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association’s prestigious Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence and contribution to crime writing.

Professor Sue Black is the UK’s leading forensic anthropologist. She has worked on many high profile cases and appears in court as an expert witness both in the UK and overseas.

“Before starting to write, I get my brain going with a load of green stuff – homemade spinach, celery & cucumber juice and a cup of matcha tea.”

DREDA SAY MITCHELL

10 COURSE 07 MONDAY 2nd to SATURDAY 7th MAY

FICTION BEGIN AGAIN

JANE ROGERS & NEEL MUKHERJEE GUEST: HELEN DUNMORE

DESCRIPTION

So, you’ve got to that saggy middle bit again, and suddenly there’s a million chores to do instead of writing? Believe it or not, all writers hit that wall. The good news is that it’s surmountable. Through workshops, meeting each student several times during the week, and close reading and critiquing, the tutors will kick-start your stories back into life. Fear not, help is at hand for stories in mid-life crisis.

Jane Rogers has written nine novels including Island, Mr Wroe’s Virgins, The Voyage Home, and The Testament of Jessie Lamb, which was long- listed for the Man and won the Arthur C Clarke Award. She is a lecturer in creative writing, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. www.janerogers.info

Neel Mukherjee’s award winning debut novel, A Life Apart, was published in 2010. His second novel, The Lives of Others, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Costa Best Novel Award, and won the Encore Prize for best second novel. www.neelmukherjee.com

Helen Dunmore is a poet, novelist, short-story and children’s writer. Her latest novel is The Lie (2014). Her work is translated into more than thirty languages and she was the inaugural winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. www.helendunmore.com

11 COURSE 08 MONDAY 16th to SATURDAY 21st MAY

POETRY MUSIC IN WORDS

TIM CLARE & CHRISTINE DE LUCA GUEST: MIKO BERRY

DESCRIPTION

‘Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass,’ said Chekov. Learn ways of looking at the world, and experiment with new ways of conveying this with language. The tutors will guide you through the process of loosening up and tuning into your subconscious, while at the same time heightening your alertness to your surroundings. All levels of experience welcome.

Tim Clare is an award-winning author and poet. His first collection, Pub Stuntman, is published by Nasty Little Press. He has toured three solo shows internationally, the latest of which is Be Kind To Yourself. He has performed his work on BBC 2, C4, Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. His first novel, The Honours, is published by Canongate. www.timclarepoet.co.uk

Christine de Luca is Edinburgh’s Makar, and one the foremost contemporary poets in Scotland. She writes in both English and Shetlandic. She won the Shetland Literary Prize with her first collection Voes and Sounds. Her collection Dat Trickster’s Son was short-listed for the Michael Marks Poetry Prize. www.christinedeluca.co.uk

MiKo Berry is Scottish Poetry Slam Champion and recently took 4th place in the World Championships in Paris. He is also the founder of the poets’ collective Loud Poets. His flair for combining the finest literary technique with consumate stage savvy ensures his kudos as a poet and a performer.

12 COURSE 09 MONDAY 23rd to SATURDAY 28th MAY TUTORED FICTION RETREAT

MICHEL FABER & EMILY MACKIE GUEST: MICHAEL F RUSSELL

DESCRIPTION

‘It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.’ - Jack Kerouac This course is for those who want to take their writing further, looking at the nitty-gritty of writing technique. Whether your portfolio consists of unfinished work or you’re editing a completed novel, this course will help you fine tune what’s in hand.

Michel Faber’s latest novel is The Book of Strange New Things. Other books include The Crimson Petal and the White (now a BBC drama), The Fahrenheit Twins, and the Whitbread short-listed novel which has been adapted into a film,Under the Skin. He has also won several short story awards, including the Neil Gunn, Ian St James and Macallan. Born in Holland, brought up in Australia, he now lives in the Scottish Highlands.

Emily Mackie’s first novel,And This Is True, was nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her second book In Search of Solace was published by Sceptre in 2014. She was born in Winchester and grew up in the Scottish Highlands, where she was, at age 17, student on a course at Moniack Mhor. She now lives in Edinburgh.

Michael F Russell is the highly acclaimed author of Lie of the Land, published by Polygon in 2015. He is the deputy editor of the West Highland Free Press and occasionally writes for the Sunday Herald. Brought up on the Isle of Barra, he now lives on Skye.

13 COURSE 10 MONDAY 13th to SATURDAY 18th JUNE CRIME FICTION THE ART AND CRAFT OF MURDER AND MYSTERY

ANDREW TAYLOR & LAURA WILSON GUEST: CHRIS BROOKMYRE

DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this course is to accelerate the students’ development as crime writers. Workshops will look at techniques used by crime novelists (many of which apply to other forms of fiction). We will examine how to hook the reader and create suspense. We will also look at the practicalities of publishing crime fiction today. One-to-one sessions will allow students to discuss work in progress with each of the tutors. The programme is designed for both the beginner and the more experienced writer.

Andrew Taylor won the CWA Diamond Dagger Award and Historical Dagger (three times). His novels include international best seller The American Boy, and the Roth Trilogy, filmed for ITV as Fallen Angel. He is the Spectator’s crime fiction reviewer. www.andrew-taylor.co.uk

Laura Wilson is the author of twelve acclaimed and award-winning psychological crime novels. She is ’s crime fiction reviewer, and teaches on the Crime/Thriller MA course at City University, . www.laura-wilson.co.uk

Christopher Brookmyre is the author of 17 crime novels. His prizes and awards include the Critic’s First Blood Award and the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award. www.brookmyre.co.uk

14 COURSE 14 MONDAY 4th to SATURDAY 9th JULY TUTORED MEMOIR RETREAT TELLING THE TRUTH

KAPKA KASSABOVA & RACHEL KELLY GUEST: RICHARD HOLLOWAY

DESCRIPTION

‘Anyone who has survived a childhood has enough material to last a lifetime,’ said Flannery O’Connor. This is a course for writers at any level, who are ready to turn personal experience into something artistically whole and readable. Bring works in progress, or simply an urge to tell your own story. The week will offer time to focus on your work, as well as several tailored tutorials with each tutor. A course to hone the art of telling the truth in a literary way.

Kapka Kassabova grew up in Bulgaria, was university-educated in New Zealand and is now settled in the Scottish Highlands. She is a poet, novelist and author of the memoirs Street Without a Name, shortlisted for the Prix du Livre European, and Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story, shortlisted for the Scottish Book Awards. www.kapka-kassabova.com

Rachel Kelly is a former Times journalist and author of the bestselling memoir Black Rainbow: How Words Healed Me – My Journey Through Depression. Her new book is called Walking on Sunshine: 52 Small Steps to Happiness. She is also co-editor of the children’s poetry anthology If: A Treasury of Poems for Almost Every Possibility. www.rachel-kelly.net

Richard Holloway is a writer and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the memoirs Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt, and Looking in the Distance. He was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, and won the PEN-Ackerley Prize. He was Bishop of Edinburgh till he stood down in 2000, and among his many accolades, was chair of the Scottish Arts Council from 2005 - 2010.

15 COURSE 15 MONDAY 11th to SATURDAY 16th JULY TUTORED RETREAT: POETRY COLLECTION THE HARVEST

JOHN GLENDAY & JEN HADFIELD GUEST: ANNE MACLEOD

DESCRIPTION

Transforming a body of work into a poetry collection can be playful, surprising and intensely creative. This is a course for poets who wish to focus on the different ways of editing – and growing – a collection from their body of work. During one to one tutorials, the tutors will advise on which poems to weed out, which to re-write, which poem to give the most weight – and how to do this. There will also be time for new poems to grow out of the evolving work. The week’s goal is to focus on the creative aspects of editing, and produce a balanced and cohesive collection, from first to last poem.

John Glenday’s most recent collection Grain was short-listed for the Ted Hughes Award and the Griffin International Prize, as well as being a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. His first collectionThe Apple Ghost won a Scottish Arts Council Book Award, and his second, Undark, was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. His fourth book, The Golden Mean, was published in 2015.

Jen Hadfield held the Gavin Wallace Fellowship (Moniack Mhor & Creative Scotland) in 2015. She won the T.S.Eliot Prize in 2008 for her collection Nigh-No-Place. Her other collections are Byssus and Almanacs. Born in Sheffield, she is now settled in Shetland.

Anne MacLeod’s first collectionStanding by Thistles won the Saltire Prize for best first book. Her second collectionJust the Caravagio has been internationally acclaimed. She also has two novels published, The Dark Ship and The Blue Moon Book.

16 COURSE 16 MONDAY 25th to SATURDAY 30th JULY

SHORT STORY LESS IS MORE

SUSIE MAGUIRE & JULIAN GOUGH GUEST: BERNARD MACLAVERTY

DESCRIPTION

The short story form is a logical compromise between the intimacy of a poem and the artifice of a novel. Writing a good short story is like discovering a shortcut to love. Yes, it will dissolve after a while, but then you just need to think of another story to write. These tutors are experts in their field, running inspirational workshops and tailored one-to-one tutorials. This course is open to all.

Susie Maguire is the author of two short-story collections - The Short Hello and Furthermore - and editor of four anthologies, including the all- women compendium Little Black Dress. Over thirty of her short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland. She lives in Edinburgh with a pair of imaginary chameleons. ‘Susie Maguire’s is a voice that doesn’t resemble anyone else’s, and her vision of the world is clear, astringent, and generous.’ Philip Pullman www.susiemaguire.co.uk

Julian Gough won the BBC National Short Story Award, and has been short-listed twice for the Everyman Bolligner Wodehouse Prize. He also wrote the novels Juno and Juliet, Jude in Ireland, and Jude in London. www.juliangough.com

Bernard MacLaverty was born and raised in Belfast, and has lived in Glasgow since 1975. His five collections of stories are widely considered among the best in the UK. Recently issued as one collection, they are Matters of Life and Death, Walking the Dog, A Time to Dance, and The Great Profundo. His novels include Cal, Grace Notes (which was short- listed for the Booker Prize), The Anatomy School and Lamb. www.bernardmaclaverty.com

17 COURSE 18 MONDAY 1st to SATURDAY 6th AUGUST YOUNG ADULT FICTION THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

MARTYN BEDFORD & CAT CLARKE GUEST: ANNE FINE

DESCRIPTION

Want to reach the teen audience, but unsure how to hit the right tone? Make your story a page-turning read? Develop credible characters without cliché? Through a series of workshops and tutorials, the tutors will guide you through the intimidating morass of how to address and engage an audience of readers on the verge of adulthood.

Martyn Bedford’s three young-adult novels are: Flip, shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards, Never Ending and Twenty Questions for Gloria (Spring 2016). He teaches creative writing at Leeds Trinity University. www.martynbedford.com

Cat Clarke was born in Zambia and brought up in Edinburgh and Yorkshire. She’s written non-fiction for children, and now writes contemporary young adult novels. She won the Lancashire Book of the Year Award and the Redbridge Teenage Book Award, and her latest novel, The Lost and Found, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. www.catclarke.com

Anne Fine is twice winner of the prestigious Carnegie Medal, and both of her most recent novels for young adults, The Road of Bones and Blood Family, have also been shortlisted for this prize. Anne is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and her work has been translated into over forty languages. She was the National Children’s Laureate. www.annefine.co.uk

18 COURSE 19 MONDAY 15th to SATURDAY 20th AUGUST STARTING OUT IN FICTION CREATING VIVID AND COMPELLING FICTION M J HYLAND & ZOË STRACHAN GUEST: TESSA HADLEY

DESCRIPTION

We learn the craft of fiction through years of work, and the path can be long and lonely. This course is designed to hasten your ‘apprenticeship’ by giving you invaluable insights in a supportive, practice-based workshop environment. In the company of professional, award-winning authors you will learn the skills and techniques needed to create compelling and credible characters, as well as how to make the fictional worlds they inhabit vivid and memorable.

M.J.Hyland is an ex-lawyer, a lecturer at the University of Manchester, and the author of three multi-award-winning novels: How the Light Gets In, Carry Me Down (short-listed for the Man Booker Prize) & This is How. She is also the author of dozens of essays and short stories and works for The Guardian Masterclass Program, BBC Radio and in 2013 was appointed to the Academy for the £40,000 Folio Fiction Prize. www.mjhyland.com

Zoë Strachan is an award-winning novelist and librettist who also writes stories, plays and criticism. Her most recent book, Ever Fallen in Love, was shortlisted for the Scottish Book of the Year Award and the Green Carnation Prize. Her opera The Lady from the Sea, composed by Craig Armstrong, premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival and won a Herald Angel Award. She co-edited New Writing Scotland for three years and in 2014 curated Out There, the first anthology of LGBT writing from Scotland in over 20 years. She teaches at the University of Glasgow. www.zoestrachan.com

Tessa Hadley has written six novels, including the recent bestseller The Lie, and The London Train. She has also written two collections of short stories. Her work appears in the New Yorker regularly, as well as other publications. She is a Guardian reviewer.

19 COURSE 21 MONDAY 22nd to SATURDAY 27th AUGUST

TRAVEL WRITING TRAVELLING OUTWARDS - TRAVELLING INWARDS

RORY MACLEAN & JAY GRIFFITHS GUEST: KATHARINE NORBURY

DESCRIPTION

Of what value is travel writing in a discovered world? In retranslating the world, in fact, in the personal journey and in the imaginative quest. Through workshops, tutorials and discussions, this course will explore the transformation of our ordinary encounters and epic journeys into articles, stories and books as we revisit old ground with new questions.

Rory MacLean is one of Britain’s most inventive and expressive travel writers. His ten books include UK best sellers Stalin’s Nose, Under the Dragon, and most recently, Berlin: Imagine a City, chosen as a Book of the Year by the Washington Post. www.rorymaclean.com

Jay Griffiths is the award winning author of non-fiction worksPip Pip, Wild, and Kith. Her fiction includesArchipelago , and A Love Letter from a Stray Moon. www.jaygriffiths.com

Katharine Norbury’s first book,The Fish Ladder, is a travelogue and memoir. It was published by Bloomsbury to high acclaim in 2015.

A Travel Writing Award is available for one place on this course. See page 40 for details

20 COURSE 22 MONDAY 29th AUGUST to SATURDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER STARTING OUT IN POETRY

CAROL ANN DUFFY & MICHAEL WOODS GUEST: JOHN SAMPSON

DESCRIPTION

This is a course for new poets. There will be morning and afternoon workshops and evening events after dinner, plus time throughout the week to write alone.

Carol Ann Duffy is the National Poet Laureate. Her collections include the prize-winning The World’s Wife, Rapture, and The Bees. www.carolannduffy.co.uk

Michael Woods teaches English and Drama in Malvern, Worcestershire. As editor of Tandem poetry magazine, he promoted the work of young writers. He is a Gerald Manly Hopkins lecturer, and has written a study guide about the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy.

John Sampson is a musician who has collaborated with Carol Ann Duffy for 12 years. He plays crumshorn, germshorn, shalmie pipe, posthorn, , recorder, cornettino & Chinese halusi, which he performs between poetic sections and underscores some poems. www.johnsampson.co.uk

21 COURSE 23 MONDAY 5th to SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER

HISTORICAL FICTION

ISLA DEWAR & MARGARET ELPHINSTONE GUEST: JAMES ROBERTSON

DESCRIPTION

Historical fiction is about entering the inner world of characters who live in another time. This course will look at ways of writing convincingly about the past without research overwhelming the story or swamping the characters. We will focus on character and plot development, style and narrative voice within a historical context, and how to use research to construct a past world as authentically as possible.

Margaret Elphinstone’s most recent novel, The Gathering Night, was published by Canongate in May 2009. She is the author of seven previous novels, including The Sea Road, Hy Brasil, Voyageurs and Light, as well as poetry, short stories, literary criticism and two books on organic gardening. She has spent her working life in various parts of Scotland, and is Emeritus Professor of Writing in the Department of English Studies, at the University of Strathclyde. She has three decades of experience in tutoring writing workshops. www.margaretelphinstone.co.uk

Isla Dewar has written several historical novels including Izzy’s War and A Winter Bride. She is the author of sixteen novels, including Women Talking Dirty which was made into a film. Born in Edinburgh, she worked many years as a journalist before taking up fiction writing. She now lives in Fife.

James Robertson is a poet and writer of fiction. His contemporary novels include The Fanatic, And the Land Lay Still, The Testament of Gideon Mack, and The Professor of Truth. His historical novels include The Fanatic, and Joseph Knight, which won both the Saltire and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award. www.jamesrobertson.com

22 COURSE 24 MONDAY 12th to SATURDAY 17th SEPTEMBER

FICTION EVERYBODY NEEDS AN EDITOR TODD MCEWEN & LUCY ELLMANN GUEST: ANDREW GREIG

DESCRIPTION

This is a course for advanced writers of literary fiction. Using J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories, the tutors will talk about literature from a writer’s point of view. The main emphasis of the course is on one-to- one editorial sessions, where writers will be offered in-depth feedback on a forty-page sample of their work. Applicants should submit this by Aug 1st.

Todd McEwen was born in California and has lived in Scotland since 1980. His novels include McX: A Romance of the Dour, and Who Sleeps with Katz. His latest book is The Five Simple Machines. He lives in Edinburgh.

Lucy Ellmann was born in the USA but now lives in Scotland. Her first novel, Sweet Desserts, won the . Her latest novel is Mimi (Bloomsbury, 2013). She and Todd McEwen run the Fiction Atelier, an editorial service for advanced writers of fiction. www.fictionatelier.wordpress.com

Andrew Greig is one of Scotland’s most respected and prolific writers. He has written twenty books of award winning fiction, poetry and non- fiction. His most recent novel isFair Helen. Born in Fife, he now lives in Orkney and Edinburgh. www.andrew-greig.weebly.com

Todd, Lucy and Andrew are all Royal Literary Fellows. For more information visit www.rlf.org.uk

23

COURSE 25 MONDAY 26th SEPTEMBER to SATURDAY 1st OCTOBER

FICTION RETREAT WRITE THE BOOK JENS CHRISTIAN GRØNDAHL & IAN STEPHEN GUEST: ANDREW O’HAGAN

DESCRIPTION

‘You can’t wait for inspiration,’ said Jack London. ‘You have to go after it with a club.’ With a series of one-to-one tutorials, these tutors will arm you with clubs to grab the creative energy necessary for your writing. The tutors will draw upon years of experience as professional writers to help you take away anxieties about the act of writing and relish the hunt for a form which can only be found in the language. This course is open to everyone, but will especially suit writers with works in progress.

Jens Christian Grøndahl was born in 1959 in Copenhagen. After studying philosophy he was trained as a film director at The National Danish Film School. His first novel was published in 1985. He is the author of 19 novels, seven volumes of essays and three books for children and recipient of numerous international awards. His work has been translated into 25 languages. His novels in English translation include Silence in October, Lucca, Virginia and An Altered Light. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife and two daughters.

Ian Stephen is an Isle of Lewis writer, whose first novelThe Book of Death and Fish exploring Lewis life, was published in 2015 to critical acclaim. He was the inaugural winner of the Robert Louis Stevenson Award, and the first Artist in Residence at StAnza, Scotland’s Poetry Festival. His work has been performed and published internationally. www.ianstephen.co.uk

Andrew O’Hagan is one of his generation’s most exciting and most serious chroniclers of contemporary Britain and the part it plays in the world. He has twice been nominated for the Man Booker Prize. He was voted one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2003. He has won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is editor at large of the London Review of Books and he lives in London. His most recent novel is The Illuminations (Faber, 2015).

26 COURSE 26 MONDAY 3rd to SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER ILLUSTRATING & WRITING

MAIRI HEDDERWICK & BOB DEWAR GUEST: ALASDAIR GRAY

DESCRIPTION

Sometimes the words come first with storytelling, and sometimes art tells the story first. Both tutors are that rare hybrid, both artist and writer. Enjoy a week of exploring how others use language and art together, and be prepared to try something new with your own work. Art materials will be provided for the workshops.

Mairi Hedderwick illustrates her own travel books and the series of children’s books featuring Katie Morag. Her books include Shetland Rambles, Eye on the Hebrides, Sea Change, and A Highland Journey. She also illustrates calendars, diaries and other stationary items. Born in Gourock, she has since made her home in the Isle of Coll, Inverness, Fort William, the Isle of Coll, the Black Isle, the Isle of Coll again, and presently lives near Inverness.

Bob Dewar is an illustrator, a cartoonist and a writer. He was fifteen when he was first published, and has since worked for D.C. Thomson, Oxford University Press, Bloomsbury and Birlinn among many others. He was political cartoonist for The Scotsman and has had exhibitions in Italy, London and Edinburgh. His latest books are Soor Plooms and Beatniks and Beehives, written and illustrated by himself.

Alasdair Gray is one of Scotland’s most iconic writers and artists. His first novel, Lanark, remains a classic and is described as one of the landmarks of twentieth century fiction. His artwork is equally well regarded, and can be seen in galleries all over the world, including the National Gallery in London and the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. He often illustrates his own stories. www.alasdairgray.info

A Writing For Children Award is available for one place on this course. See page 40 for details.

27 COURSE 29 MONDAY 7th to SATURDAY 12th NOVEMBER TUTORED NOVEL RETREAT THE FIRST NOVEL DOUG JOHNSTONE & SUE PEEBLES GUEST: NAOMI WOOD

DESCRIPTION

This course is an opportunity to immerse yourself in that novel and bring out your voice. The course will begin with workshops on aspects of novel writing, with plenty of unstructured time to write. There will be individual tutorials later in the week where you can discuss your novel in progress, and you will be encouraged to read from your own work as part of the final evening programme. This week welcomes individuals new to novel writing and those with works in progress.

Doug Johnstone is the author of seven novels published by Faber, and numerous short stories. He is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Queen Margaret University as well as a musician. www.dougjohnstone.wordpress.com

Sue Peebles’ debut novel The Death of Lomand Friel won the Scottish First Book of the Year Award, the Saltire Prize, and was short-listed for Scottish Book of the Year. Her second novel Snake Road was short-listed for the Encore Award in 2014.

Naomi Wood is the prize-winning author of the highly acclaimed novels Mrs Hemingway and The Godless Boys. Her work has been translated into ten languages. She lectures in creative writing at Goldsmiths College, . www.naomiwood.com

“I write in the boiler room. It hasn’t been painted for fifty years and the carpet is worn through.” SUE PEEBLES

28 COURSE 31 MONDAY 14th to SATURDAY 19th­ NOVEMBER NATURE WRITING THE WORLD, THE WORLD! SIR JOHN LISTER-KAYE & HELEN MACDONALD GUEST: KATHLEEN JAMIE

DESCRIPTION

While each writer must develop their own voice and style, all nature writing requires a certain philosophical observation and reflection. The tutors, both internationally bestselling writers, will share their secrets of literary prowess and how writing links to love of the natural world. Open to all writers who feel inspired by nature.

Sir John Lister-Kaye has written ten books on wildlife, and is one of Scotland’s best known nature writers. He is the founder of the internationally acclaimed Aigas Field Centre in the Scottish Highlands. His most recent book is the best selling Gods of the Morning: A Bird’s Eye View of a Scottish Year. www.lister-kaye.co.uk

Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, illustrator, historian and affiliate at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. Her books include Falcon (2006), Shaler’s Fish (2001) and H is for Hawk, an international bestseller and winner of the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize and 2014 Costa Book of the Year

Kathleen Jamie’s poetry collections to date include The Tree House and The Overhaul, which won the 2012 Costa Poetry Prize. Her non-fiction includes the highly regarded nature books Findings and more recently, Sightlines. www.kathleenjamie.com

29 COURSE 34 MONDAY 5th to SATURDAY 10th DECEMBER SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

PIPPA GOLDSCHMIDT & JULIET MCKENNA GUEST: KEN MACLEOD

DESCRIPTION

Science fiction and fantasy rely on imaginative evocations of new worlds. Where does inspiration for such places and people come from? This course will teach you how to use specific and accidental observations of real-life objects, individuals and their histories in your writing; strengthening your characters, settings and plots. Sharing that story with readers means conveying all of those through vivid, compelling prose. During this week we’ll be examining the art and craft of line-editing, so that you’ll learn how to make every word count.

Pippa Goldschmidt writes fiction inspired by science. She’s the author of The Falling Sky, and a collection of stories The Need for Better Regulation in Outer Space. She used to be an astronomer and in 2015 she was writer-in-residence at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg in Germany. www.pippagoldschmidt.co.uk

Juliet McKenna is a fantasy author. Her debut, The Thief’s Gamble, appeared in 1999, followed by fourteen further novels. She also writes shorter fiction, reviews for web and magazines, and teaches creative writing. www.julietemckenna.com

Ken MacLeod is the author of fourteen SF novels, from The Star Fraction (1995) to Descent (2014), and many short stories. In 2013 and 2014 he was writer-in-residence on the MA Creative Writing course at Edinburgh Napier University. www.kenmacleod.blogspot.com

30 COURSE 04 THURSDAY 31st MARCH to SUNDAY 3rd APRIL SHORT COURSE: STARTING OUT IN FICTION BRINGING YOUR FICTIONAL WORLD TO LIFE

KIRSTY LOGAN & RAFFAELLA BARKER GUEST: AL KENNEDY

DESCRIPTION

Work with experienced writers to engage your imagination and reach your full writing potential. Develop your ideas in a beautiful, inspiring setting free from the distractions of the modern world. From compelling characters to realistic dialogue, description and plot structure, the tutors will help you to realise your ideas on the page. This course will suit those starting to write seriously.

Kirsty Logan is the author of The Rental Heart & Other Fairy Tales, The Gracekeepers, and A Portable Shelter. She is a writing mentor for the Scottish Book Trust and the WoMentoring Project.

Raffaella Barker is the acclaimed author of nine novels, including Hens Dancing, Summertime, Green Grass, and From a Distance. When she’s not writing fiction, she teaches on the English Literature and Creative Writing BA at the University of East Anglia. She lives in Norfolk by the sea.

A.L.Kennedy is considered one of the finest fiction writers in the UK and has won multiple awards and prizes. She’s written six novels, including Day, which won the Costa Book Award. She also has six short story collections, the most recent being All the Rage. www.a-l-kennedy.co.uk

SINGLE ROOM £375 SHARED ROOM £325

31 UNTUTORED RETREATS

SINGLE ROOM £300

GRANTS AVAILABLE ON ALL COURSES SEE PAGE 41 FOR BOOKING INFORMATION

COURSE 02 MONDAY 7th to SATURDAY 12th MARCH

WALKING RETREAT GUEST: EMILY RHODES

DESCRIPTION

Join us for this retreat with a difference: plenty of time and space to focus on your work in progress with a mid-week leg and brain stretcher. Emily’s Walking Book Club works like a normal book club, except you walk while you talk. Join her for a walk through the beautiful Scottish Landscape, while discussing Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. In this quietly amusing and devastating novel, we follow fifteen year old Angel as she becomes a successful author in spite of – indeed, because of – her overblown style of penmanship. Eloquent and moving, this is a novel every writer ought to read. Emily will be with us on 8th March.

Emily Rhodes is the inventor of the Walking Book Club, and blogs at emilybooks. She also writes for publications such as The Spectator and The Times Literary Supplement, and works in an independent book shop in London. www.emilybooks.wordpress.com

32 COURSE 12 MONDAY 20th to SATUDAY 25th JUNE MIDSUMMER RETREAT

DESCRIPTION

No more procrastinating, no more excuses. It’s time to start that novel, finish that play, hone those poems! Come to Moniack Mhor in the summer, where the sun sets for a few brief hours, and work in splendid peace and quiet.

COURSE 33 MONDAY 28th NOVEMBER to SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER WINTER RETREAT

DESCRIPTION

Winter is the writing season; it’s a well known fact. Let the wind howl, the rain drizzle, the snow drift. You will be safely inside, tucked up with your writing tools in your own cosy room at Moniack Mhor. Great things are produced when the days are short and dark.

33 DAY WORKSHOPS £45 INCLUDING LUNCH

COURSE 03 SUNDAY 13th MARCH POETRY DAY WRITING POEMS WITH JO SHAPCOTT ‘A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a love sickness,’ said Robert Frost. Enjoy a day with one of Britain’s best loved poets, and explore your own poetic potential in the company of fellow poetry lovers. One day with the right people in the right place can inspire a lifetime of poems.

Jo Shapcott was born in London. Poems from her three award-winning collections are gathered in a selected poems, Her Book (2000). She has won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Collection, a Costa Book Award for Of Mutability and the National Poetry Competition twice. In 2012 she was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. www.joshapcott.com

COURSE 11 SUNDAY 19th JUNE REBEL INC FICTION DAY WITH LAURA HIRD & KEVIN WILLIAMSON 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Rebel Inc imprint of Canongate Books and their publication of the now infamous zeitgeist-marking Children of Albion Rovers anthology which featured six early novellas by Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, James Meek, Laura Hird, Gordon Legge & Paul Reekie. Editor and writer Kevin Williamson has heavily influenced the contemporary Scottish literary scene, with Laura Hird, their workshops will focus on thinking original thoughts and growing the courage to express them creatively. A unique opportunity to meet two of Scotland’s most exciting and edgy writers. Open to all.

Kevin Williamson is a writer, poet, visionary and activist. He founded Rebel Inc, which later joined Canongate books as an imprint. In addition, he has written several non-fiction books and a collection of poetry In a Room Darkened. In 2005 he won a Robert Louis Stevenson Award for Literature.

Laura Hird’s novel Born Free was shortlisted for the Whitbread and nominated for the Orange Prize. She has two collections of short stories, Nail and Other Stories, and Hope and Other Urban Tales, and the acclaimed non-fiction memoirDear Laura. www.laurahird.com

34 COURSE 13 SUNDAY 3 JULY PLAYWRITING DAY PLAYING AT PLAYWRITING WITH HAMISH MACDONALD Come for a relaxed day of exploration and experimentation with one of the Highlands’ most prolific and successful playwrights. This course is open to writers at any level, including those who have yet to pick up a pen.

Hamish MacDonald is a founder and joint artistic director of Dogstar Theatre. His latest play Factor 9, a powerful expose of the contaminated blood scandal, toured Europe and Scotland. He’s written, directed, acted in and produced various plays, which have toured Europe, including the eastern block.

Jo Shapcott Hamish MacDonald

Laura Hird Kevin Williamson

35 COURSE 20 SUNDAY 21st AUGUST

POETRY DAY WITH DIANA HENDRY & HAMISH WHYTE The aim of this day is to produce a finished poem on the theme of Family, exploring a variety of forms, e.g. letter poems, story poems, elegiac poems. The course will include a workshop, discussion, readings and, if time, a brief talk on the pleasures and perils of poetry publishing. An opportunity for those who have been writing for some time and who wish to develop their craft.

Diana Hendry has published five collections of poetry (the latest is The Seed-Box Lantern: New and Selected Poems), many short stories, children’s books (including Costa-shortlisted The Seeing) and a libretto. www.dianahendry.co.uk

Hamish Whyte is a poet, award-winning publisher (Mariscat Press) and editor (Scottish Cats: an anthology of poems). His most recent collection of poems is Hannah, Are You Listening? (HappenStance Press). www.mariscatpress.com

COURSE 30 SUNDAY 13th NOVEMBER POETRY DAY POETRY IS GOOD FOR EVERYONE WITH LIZ LOCHHEAD ‘Go in fear of abstraction,’ said Ezra Pound. ‘There is genius in the particular, never the general.’ But how to choose which details to use in poems? Let Scotland’s Poet Laureate stimulate you with workshops and discussion, and find your own particular.

Liz Lochhead was the Poet Laureate in Glasgow from 2005, and stood down to become Scotland’s Makar, or National Poet Laureate in 2011. Her collections include The Choosing, The Colour of Black and White, and Bagpipe Muzak. She is also a successful playwright and radio writer.

36 EVENTS

COURSE 06 SUNDAY 24th ­ APRIL­ • EDEN COURT THEATRE • 7pm UNDER THE SKIN WITH MICHEL FABER

Based on the novel by Michel Faber, Under The Skin examines human experience from the perspective of an unforgettable heroine who grows too comfortable in her borrowed skin, until she is abducted into humanity with devastating results.

Join us for a screening of the film, followed by a discussion with the author.

Michel Faber’s latest novel is called the Book of Strange New Things. Winner of multiple awards, his other novels include The Crimson Petal and the White, The Fahrenheit Twins, The Apple and the Whitbread-shortlisted Under the Skin.

TICKETS ON SALE VIA EDEN COURT BOX OFFICE

COURSE 28 SUNDAY 30th OCTOBER • MONIACK MHOR • 7pm WHAT DO PUBLISHERS WANT? WITH FRANCIS BICKMORE

Frances Bickmore is a senior editor at Canongate Publishing. In a chaired event, he will unravel the various mysteries and conundrums of the publishing world. What makes a book successful? How has publishing changed? What are publishers looking for? Come along for an informal evening with one of the most respected editors in the business.

TICKETS £10

37 CELEBRATING JESSIE KESSON’S CENTENARY

2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jessie Kesson. Moniack Mhor has been celebrating her life and work annually since 2007 with the Jessie Kesson Fellowship. This year, we are planning a number of additional events.

Jessie Kesson was born in 1916 in a workhouse in Inverness. Though she showed academic promise, she was prevented from advancing her education and she became a farmhand and domestic servant. In 1934, she married a cattleman from Abriachan and relocated to the Highland hamlet, just three miles from Moniack Mhor. During her time at Abriachan, Kesson worked on her own writing and became a contemporary of Neil Gunn and Nan Shepherd. Her novels include The White Bird Passes, and Another Time, Another Place. She later relocated to London where she produced radio shows, including Woman’s Hour, and adapted some of her own stories for radio.

During 2016 we will have a selection of Jessie Kesson’s books for sale at the centre and copies of her original manuscripts for viewing through the generous support of the National Library of Scotland. THE JESSIE KESSON FELLOWSHIP MARCH 2016

A published fiction writer spends March at the centre, developing their own work and raising awareness about Jessie Kesson in the community and local schools. Application details available on our website.

For this special year our Jessie Kesson Fellow will host an open event for the local community in March.

During the summer, Hamish MacDonald, Scots Scriever, will be offering follow on workshops for young writers. COURSE 17 SUNDAY 31st JULY WORDS IN THE LANDSCAPE Join us for a place-inspired workshop tutored by Linda Cracknell, including a walk through the landscape of Abriachan, tracing the footsteps of Jessie Kesson, followed by a writing session on the Straw Bale Studio. Full details will be announced in February

Linda Cracknell writes fiction, radio drama, and creative non-fiction. Winner of the Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Competition in 1998, her books include Call of the Undertow and Doubling Back - ten paths trodden in memory.

COURSE 27 FRIDAY 28th OCTOBER JESSIE KESSON CEILIDH Join us for a traditional ceilidh of poems, songs, dance and readings to celebrate Jessie Kesson’s life and work. Hamish MacDonald, Scotland’s Scriever will work with a group of young people to deliver a performance to celebrate her work. Venue details will be announced closer to the time.

COURSE 32 THURSDAY 17th NOVEMBER ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE Film screening at Eden Court

Moniack Mhor is showing Another Time, Another Place at Eden Court, followed by a discussion between a National Library of Scotland Jessie Kesson specialist and Hamish MacDonald.

TICKETS ON SALE VIA EDEN COURT BOX OFFICE

39 AWARDS & RESIDENCIES

In addition to our writing courses, we support writers at all levels in a number of ways: THE BRIDGE AWARDS

The Bridge Awards is a philanthropic venture that has helped to fund theatre and visual arts projects. In 2015 we ran the first ever Moniack Mhor Bridge Award. The inaugural Bridge Award Winner, Vicky Mackenzie, attended courses at the centre and will receive mentoring from Janice Galloway towards the publication of her historical fiction work, Brantwood. The award will run again in 2016 with a tailor-made prize up to the value of £2000 for the successful writer. The Bridge Award applications open in January.

TRAVEL WRITING AWARD

This award will support one place on our travel writing course on 22nd August. The deadline for this award will be announced via our newsletter and on our website. This award is kindly donated by our patron, Mairi Hedderwick.

WRITING FOR CHILDREN AWARD

This award will support a place on our Illustrating & Writing Course on 3rd October. The winner will also have a critique session with literary agents Fraser Ross Associates. We hope to announce more development to this award soon. This award is kindly donated by our patron, Mairi Hedderwick.

THE JESSIE KESSON FELLOWSHIP

See details of the award on the previous page.

‘MONIACK MHOR ON TOUR’ - BOOK FESTIVALS

We often run workshops, readings and writers’ surgeries in our literary ambulance at book festivals. In 2015 we ran sessions at Wigtown Book Festival, London Writers’ Café, Bristol Festival of Literature, the National Library of Scotland and the Royal Gaelic Mod. Details of these events are announced on our website and newsletter.

40 “I like to read poetry, to encourage me to play with language, and myths and legends to stretch my imagination. I tend to eat boiled eggs, straight from the pan while padding about my kitchen and listening to Radio 4. My writing room is my big bright living room, with my dog at my feet and rain pattering on the window.”

KIRSTY LOGAN THE CENTRE HAS

• Tutor books for sale. • Ten single rooms. • Two shared rooms. • Wifi in the communal areas (due to our remote location we can’t guarantee a strong connection). • An IT room with two networked computers, a laptop, and a printer & photocopier. • A payphone. • Bikes for student use. • Yoga mats. • Maps and books on the local area • A branch of the Scottish Poetry Library and a fiction library. • a vegetable, herb and fruit garden with fresh produce in season. • a dry-stone storytelling circle with fire pit for sharing tales under the stars.

WHAT TO BRING

In addition to anything you need for the week, we suggest you bring:

• Boots or trainers suitable for walking on rough paths. • Slippers. • A waterproof jacket. • Warm clothes. • Writing materials: everyone’s habits are different so bring what you need, laptop, paper, pens etc. • A USB memory stick for printing • Cash for taxis, wine, tutors books or sundries. There is no cash machine nearby.

42 HOW TO BOOK GIFT VOUCHERS

Bookings can be made in the following ways: If you would like to buy a special gift for a friend, we can provide a gift voucher for any • Phone the centre on 01463 741 675 amount. • Book online at www.moniackmhor.org.uk • Email us on [email protected] ACCESS When you phone to make a booking, please The kitchen, two bedrooms, and communal have ready the course title along with your spaces, as well as a wheelchair accessible contact details and any dietary, learning or wet room are situated downstairs. There is a access requirements you may have. hearing loop in the main house, and guide dogs are welcome, just let us know. We can DIETARY REQUIREMENTS also provide mobility equipment if needed. If you would like to come with a carer or We can cater for most dietary requirements support worker, please contact the centre to and allergies. Please let us know when discuss accommodation options. booking your course.

PAYMENT GETTING HERE Moniack Mhor is 14 miles from Inverness, A deposit of £150 is required on Monday to and within easy reach of the train station, bus Saturday courses, and of £75 for short courses. station and airport. We will arrange taxis for It can be paid when booking online, or by you from these places. If you choose to drive cheque (payable to Moniack Mhor Ltd), credit there are directions on our website. card or bank transfer. The balance of the full course fee is due six weeks prior to the course starting. If we do not receive the balance GRANTS in time, your booking may be treated as a Moniack Mhor offers grants to those who cancellation and offered to another writer. You may find course fees a prohibitive barrier to will be reminded of the balance due date by attending a course. Open to those based in the email. UK. For more information and to download Courses can be paid for in monthly the grant application form, visit instalments, providing the full balance is paid www.moniackmhor.org.uk/grants six weeks prior to the course beginning. If this or contact us to discuss the details. Following is of interest to you, please phone or email the receipt of an application, we can normally centre to discuss payment plans. make a decision in one week.

CANCELLATIONS UNDER 18s

For cancellations made to six weeks before Those aged 16 to 18 are welcome to book a the course takes place, your deposit will be single room on open courses. We require a returned less a £50 cancellation charge. If a letter of consent from a parent or guardian. place is cancelled after this time, we will retain See more about our youth programme the full deposit. For cancellations later than overleaf. six weeks, we will do our best to find someone else to take your place and, if we succeed, the balance of your full course fee (less the deposit) will be returned. If we cannot re-fill your place, we will retain the full fee. However, we can usually offer a transfer to another course.

43 YOUTH PROGRAMME

HOUSE OF STORIES - RESIDENTIAL COURSES Courses for young people aged 10 – 25 living in the Highlands.

PARTNERSHIP RESIDENTIAL COURSES Courses for groups from community and arts partners and independent schools. Past partners include the Pushkin Prizewinners, Scottish Book Trust, The Bridge Education Centre in Inverness and Ashton Road Residential Unit.

WRITTEN WORLD Each May young people explore Abriachan Forest with a guide before returning to our Straw Bale Studio for a writing session.

OUTREACH WORKSHOPS YOUNG WRITERS’ FORUM We work with young people, including those Young writers shape the future of the from alternative education centres, mental programme by informing how we design and health organisations and schools. Sessions communicate our activities to best reach our range in focus from poetry to playwriting to audience. The group meet quarterly and have songwriting. one residential trip each year.

MENTORING YOUNG WRITERS ONLINE Under 25s from the Highlands can be matched Highland-based young writers can share their with a professional mentor to develop their work via our dedicated Twitter and Facebook writing. pages and online forum, and receive writing exercises through our youth newsletter. WORK EXPERIENCE PUSHKIN PRIZE WINNERS A placement that give experience of hospitality, administration, and attending Every year, we support the Pushkin Prizes by workshops. providing a residential week-long stay for ten lucky winners.

SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST YOUNG WRITERS’ AWARD We support this prize of mentoring and industry support with a weekend retreat for the winners in October.

44 SUPPORT US

Moniack Mhor is a registered charity that delivers its programme through a combination of course income, grant funding and donations.

Our aim is to make opportunities for people of all ages and from all walks of life to participate in creative writing, by providing space, inspiration and tuition from leading writers.

There are many ways to support our ongoing work and all donations, no matter how large or small are greatly appreciated.

If you would like to make a longer term commitment you can join our friends’ scheme, the Literary Collective. If you are interested in donating towards a specific scheme or development at the centre, or leaving a legacy to Moniack Mhor, please contact the Centre Director.

GOLD - £100 PER ANNUM

Priority booking Literary Collective Newsletter 10% discount on all courses Moniack Mhor embossed leather notebook Invite to events

“It was wonderful, a chance to relax, SILVER - £50 PER ANNUM sleep and work really, really, hard. I had no idea I could create something artistic. Priority booking To be amongst warm, loving friendly Literary Collective Newsletter people made me so happy. Thank you.” 5% discount on all courses “An utterly marvellous mix of art, poetry, music and storytelling. I was moved by the hard work and the BRONZE - £20 PER ANNUM honesty of the group who achieved so much. A wonderful experience.” Priority booking Literary Collective Newsletter Comments from participants in Transitions, a joint project with Highland Users Group and Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Registered Charity number: SCO 030292

45 WHO WE ARE

RACHEL HUMPHRIES SARAH KINGHORN CENTRE DIRECTOR HOUSE MANAGER

In the six years Rachel has been Sarah makes sure that every person Director there have been many who visits the centre is well fed, improvements to the centre, comfortable and indoor and including gaining regular funding outdoor maintenance is taken from Creative Scotland, the garden project, the care of, in her role as house manager. She construction of the Straw Bale studio and the works towards making our operations more move to independence last year. Outside work, sustainable and tends to our partnership Rachel can be found herding goats on her courses. In her spare time, she can be found croft, creating pottery or crafting scenarios for helping to build a straw bale house which will her role playing group. soon be her family home.

CYNTHIA ROGERSON MARK PHIMISTER RELIEF DIRECTOR CENTRE ASSISTANT

Cynthia was the programmer at Mark makes sure the house is Moniack Mhor for many years, clean, tidy and helps residents now she helps out as relief director. prepare the evening meal. He She is the author of four novels works with Sarah to look after the and a collection of short stories, as well as practical aspects of courses and take excellent the winner of the VS Pritchett Prize and a care of all our writers. An occasional barman Royal Literary Fellow at Dundee University. and fiction author, he tries to carve some time Originally from California, she loves winter to write his own brand of Highland noir. because it is good for writing. RUTH TAUBER KELSEY MORSE ANSBRO MARKETING MANAGER YOUTH PROGRAMME MANAGER Ruth joined Moniack Mhor in 2014 Kelsey works on the planning as the Marketing Coordinator. As and delivery of creative writing well as managing production of opportunities for young people in this brochure, she develops new the Highlands and beyond. Hailing projects, runs the website, social media and from Indiana, where she taught English, she booking system. In winter, she sometimes skis has embraced Highland life with enthusiasm, to work and outside work she makes films, so much so that the odd Scottish twang slips writes about rivers, travels and plays canoe into her accent. She writes about Scotland as polo. her elected home.

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Janet Adams, Caroline Deacon, Kit Fraser (Chairman), Joe Gibbs, John Glenday, Nicky Guthrie, Stewart Lackie, Laura Marney, Lorraine Mann, Anne MacLeod, Sarah Ward

46 CALENDAR OF COURSES

OPEN COURSES - WEEK LONG RETREATS SHORT COURSES DAY WORKSHOPS EVENTS

NO. TITLE DATES PAGE

1 SONGWRITING MON 11th to SAT 16TH JANUARY 9 2 WALKING RETREAT MON 7th to SAT 12th MARCH 32 3 POETRY DAY SUN 13th MARCH 34 4 SHORT COURSE: STARTING OUT IN FICTION THU 31st MARCH to SUN 3rd APRIL 31 5 CRIME WRITING MON 11th APRIL to SAT 16th APRIL 10 6 UNDER THE SKIN SUN 24th APRIL 37 7 FICTION MON 2nd MAY to SAT 7th MAY 11 8 POETRY MON 16th MAY to SAT 21st MAY 12 9 TUTORED FICTION RETREAT MON 23rd MAY to SAT 28th MAY 13 10 CRIME FICTION MON 13th JUNE to SAT 18th JUNE 14 11 REBEL INC FICTION DAY SUN 19th JUNE 34 12 MIDSUMMER RETREAT MON 20th JUNE to SAT 25th JUNE 33 13 PLAYWRITING DAY SUN 3rd JULY 35 14 TUTORED MEMOIR RETREAT MON 4th JULY to SAT 9th JULY 15 15 TUTORED RETREAT: POETRY COLLECTION MON 11th JULY to SAT 16th JULY 16 16 SHORT STORY MON 25th JULY to SAT 30th JULY 17 17 WORDS IN THE LANDSCAPE SUN 31st JULY 39 18 YOUNG ADULT FICTION MON 1st AUGUST to SAT 6th AUGUST 18 19 STARTING OUT IN FICTION MON 15th AUGUST to SAT 20th AUGUST 19 20 POETRY DAY SUN 21st AUGUST 36 21 TRAVEL WRITING MON 22nd AUGUST to SAT 27th AUGUST 20 22 STARTING OUT IN POETRY MON 29th AUGUST to SAT 3rd SEPTEMBER 21 23 HISTORICAL FICTION MON 5th SEPTEMBER to SAT 10th SEPTEMBER 22 24 FICTION MON 12th SEPTEMBER to SAT 17th SEPTEMBER 23 25 FICTION RETREAT MON 26th SEPTEMBER to SAT 1st OCTOBER 26 26 ILLUSTRATING & WRITING MON 3rd OCTOBER to SAT 8th OCTOBER 27 27 JESSIE KESSON CEILIDH FRI 28th OCTOBER 39 28 WHAT DO PUBLISHERS WANT? SUN 30th OCTOBER 37 29 TUTORED NOVEL RETREAT MON 7th NOVEMBER to SAT 12th NOVEMBER 28 30 POETRY DAY SUN 13th NOVEMBER 36 31 NATURE WRITING MON 14th NOVEMBER to SAT 19th NOVEMBER 29 32 ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE THU 17th NOVEMBER 39 33 WINTER RETREAT MON 28th NOVEMBER to SAT 3rd DECEMBER 33 34 SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY MON 5th DECEMBER to SAT 10th DECEMBER 30 “…the perfect environment for aspiring writers to dig down and find what it is they really want to say. It’s an enormously stimulating place to be.” VAL MCDERMID

MONIACK MHOR, TEAVARRAN, KILTARLITY, INVERNESS-SHIRE, SCOTLAND, IV4 7HT

WWW.MONIACKMHOR.ORG.UK | 01463 741675 | [email protected]