Key Words Creative Writing Workshops

10.30am-12.30pm, The Art of Editing – with Antonia Hodgson

Are you in the middle of a short story, or a novel? Just finished your first draft? Whatever stage you’re at, this workshop will help you gain a fresh, healthy perspective on your work in progress. Led by author and professional editor Antonia Hodgson, this workshop will include short, practical exercises, group discussions and a brief Q&A on publishing at the end. Please bring a few pages of material if you can. (You won’t have to share your work unless you choose to.)

Antonia Hodgson is the author of the bestselling Thomas Hawkins crime series. Her first novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, won the CWA Historical Dagger and was selected for the Richard & Judy and Waterstones book clubs. She worked as an editor in trade publishing for over 20 years, and has abridged novels for BBC Radio 4.  

1pm-3pm Start with Setting – with Okechukwu Nzelu

Setting can be a challenging aspect of fiction: where do you begin? How much do you tell the reader? How does it interact with character and plot? In this workshop, led by author and lecturer Okechukwu Nzelu, exercises and discussion will guide you to creating a setting that is convincing and engaging.

Okechukwu Nzelu is a Manchester-based writer and the recipient of a Northern Writers’ Award from New Writing North (2015). His debut novel The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Polari First Book Prize. His second novel Here Again Now was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Encore Award and the Polari Book Prize. He is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Lancaster University.

3.15pm-5.15pm Whose Story Is It? – with Linda Green

Knowing whose story you are telling and how to create convincing characters who will hold the reader’s attention are crucial skills for a novelist. This workshop will guide you through how to select the best point of view character/s for your story with practical examples and tips. Author and creative writing tutor Linda Green will also show you how to create and develop memorable characters with the power to move your readers.

Linda Green is the author of 11 novels, which have sold more than 1.4 million copies. Her domestic thriller The Last Thing She Told Me was a Richard & Judy Book Club selection and this was followed by One Moment – a Radio 2 Book Club pick. Her current novel, In Little Stars, is a modern-day reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, set against a backdrop of a Brexit-divided West Yorkshire.

10.30am-12.30pm How Things Break – with Andrew McMillan

A look at the different and exciting ways we can control the experience of a poem through where we choose (or not!) to break the line.  A workshop of close reading and discussion, followed by writing.

Andrew McMillan has published three poetry collections physical, playtime and pandemonium and has won and been shortlisted for multiple awards. He is Professor of Contemporary Writing at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.  

1pm-3pm Exploring Self Through Poetry – with Michelle Scally Clarke

An interactive workshop with icebreakers and free writing to encourage you to ‘Clear Out Your Closet’ and make the changes you would like to see in yourself and your work. Through writing, discussion and breath work, you will learn useful techniques to take away with you and new ways of exploring self and allowing your voice to be heard.

Michelle Scally Clarke is a Leeds-based poet, author, playwright and creative writing facilitator, whose work has been published in numerous anthologies. She facilitates the ‘Clear Out Your Closet’ poetry for wellbeing group and is an experienced workshop tutor.

3.15pm-5.15pm Do you see what I see?  Exploring ekphrastic poetry – with Rose Condo

Ekphrastic poetry is a form of writing that vividly describes visual works of art.  Join award-winning poet Rose Condo for a session that will use images of artwork from Yorkshire artists Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth to inspire writing poetry.  

Rose Condo is an award-winning Canadian poet, now based in Salford. She has been writing, performing and teaching for over 20 years, and has hosted and won numerous poetry slams. She has published two poetry collections After the Storm and How to Find Where You Belong and has won acclaim and awards for her spoken word shows.

10.30am-12.30pm Writing Life: an introduction to creative non-fiction – with Michael Stewart

This workshop will cover a range of techniques, focusing on memoir, biography and autobiography. We will examine the specific craft required to bring people to life and how to immerse your reader in the sensory detail of a scene. We will look at how other writers do it, before turning to your own writing.

Michael Stewart is the multi-award-winning author of three novels, two short fiction collections, two poetry collections, several plays and a hybrid memoir: Walking the Invisible: Following in the Brontës’ Footsteps. He teaches creative writing at the University of Huddersfield and is the editor of Grist Books.

1pm-3pm Still Here: nature writing where you are – with Amy-Jane Beer

Have you ever wondered how nature writers find the unique and remarkable places that inspire them? Well, the idea that such places exist is something of a fallacy. Nature writing doesn’t happen in some special ‘out there’, but in the head, when the windows of the mind are open. Almost any encounter with the world can be a trigger, the seed from which large and often surprising ideas might grow. This short workshop will offer insights and exercises in tuning in to inspiration, finding the threads of connection that make new nature writing the diverse and exciting genre it is today.

Dr Amy-Jane Beer is a biologist, naturalist and writer. She has worked for more than 20 years as a science writer and editor, contributing to more than 40 books on natural history. She is a Country Diarist for The Guardian, a columnist for British Wildlife and a feature writer for BBC Wildlife magazine, among others. Her book The Flow: rivers, water and wilderness won the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

3.15pm-5.15pm Writing Your Truth – with Jacob Ross

In addition to exploring and learning practical approaches to writing powerful personal narratives, you will look at sample texts by successful writers in the genre. We will look at the value of integrity in your work — how far can and should you go when writing personal narratives? What might be the challenges and blockages? How might we overcome them? Through a series of short exercises, we will learn how to exploit the four key ‘building blocks of narrative’ in order to maximise the impact of your writing.

Jacob Ross is Associate Fiction Editor at Peepal Tree Press. He is a novelist, journalist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He won the inaugural Jhalak Prize in 2017 for The Bone Readers.

10.30am-12.30pm Telling Tales: Voice and Techniques in Storytelling – with Andrew Wille

Find your voice, we’re told – but why not work with the voices we already have? In this workshop we’ll use our natural speaking voices to bring our voices in writing to life. We’ll also think about ways to create voices for different contexts, and explore aspects of craft such as point of view, tone and dialogue for the ways they bring feeling and personality into our work.

Andrew Wille is an editor, teacher and writer with a special interest in intuitive approaches to creativity. He has extensive experience in UK and international publishing, and has also studied and taught at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, the birthplace of the modern mindfulness movement. Further information can be found at www.wille.org.

1pm-3pm Character, Conflict and Plot – with Paul Burston

Whether you’re a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’, testing your characters and introducing conflict will help to drive your story. In this workshop you will learn how to create rounded characters with all their flaws, build tension and keep the reader turning the pages.

Paul Burston is the author of six novels and five non-fiction books, and editor of two short story collections. His first crime novel The Black Path was a WH Smith No 1 bestseller and his recent memoir We Can Be Heroes has topped several bestseller charts. Paul is curator and host of award-winning LGBTQ+ literary salon Polari and founder of The Polari Prize book awards.

3.15pm-5.15pm Whose Story is This? – with Yvonne Battle-Felton

This interactive workshop will include writing exercises, questions, and activities that aim to ignite your curiosity about your characters and help to explore the story the character wants/needs to tell. Using a character you’re already writing or one you create for the exercise, we will be looking at objects and story and interviewing characters to reveal who the character is, what they want, why they don’t have it, and what they’re willing to do to get what they want.  

Yvonne Battle-Felton is a writer, academic, podcaster, and event creator living and writing in the UK. Yvonne’s debut, Remembered, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize. She’s written six titles for Penguin Random House’s Ladybird series and is Academic Director for Creative Writing at Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education. Her second novel will be published in October 2024. 

Organiser: this workshop series has been organised by Michelle Hodgson, Festival Director of the Huddersfield Literature Festival, drawing on her knowledge and contacts to bring you a high-quality creative experience.