A Wirral based literary Arts organisation has been awarded funding from Arts Council England to run FREE online creative writing workshops for adults living in the borough and is looking for people to take part.

Starting in October 2020, author Charlie Lea will run six 'Read Now Write Now' writing courses, each lasting eight weeks, in partnership with Sefton and Wirral Library Services.

At the end of each writing course participants will have the opportunity to submit a short story to be included in a published anthology that will be placed in both Sefton and Wirral Libraries’ catalogues.

Charlie Lea said: “I am delighted to have received this funding from Arts Council England and to be working again with Wirral Libraries and now with Sefton Libraries.

"There is an absolute wealth of creative talent already in the region and we want to tap into those who have always wanted to write but have not, for various reasons, had the opportunity or time to do so.

"The course is designed to be easy to follow, fun, relaxed and yet informative at the same time.

"Writing is wonderful for the mind and soul. A few minutes writing can boost health and wellbeing as well as confidence and we want people from all walks of life and of any adult age to take part.

"There is no need to have had any experience in writing before, this is a beginner’s course and I will guide all the new writers on what they need to know to write amazing stories.

"I hope that this will be a steppingstone for people to become published authors in their own right.”

The courses will be inspired by the Libraries Connected and BBC Arts led campaign ‘Novels that shaped our World’ and Charlie will use examples from some of these novels to guide the writers on how to, amongst other things, set the scene, build characterisation, plot and plan their stories.

Given the current situation, all courses will take place online via Zoom rather than at library venues. There will be a maximum of 15 free places on each course and registration will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

Dates

8-week courses from w/c 12 October 2020

  • Monday afternoon: 2pm to 3.30pm
  • Tuesday evening: 7pm to 8.30pm
  • Wednesday afternoon: 2pm to 3.30pm
  • Thursday morning: 10am to 11.30am
  • Friday morning: 10am to 11.30am
  • Saturday afternoon: 2pm to 3.30pm

All interested people need to do is choose one of the above courses and then email charles@readnowwritenow.org.uk to book on and register.

Read Now Write Now is a literary arts organisation and was established in 2015 by Charlie Lea FRSA.

It runs children’s and adult creative writing courses throughout the Liverpool City Region as well as other literary projects including book exchanges on Merseyrail stations.

Charlie is a published author and is regularly commissioned to write stories on behalf of local organisations. readnowwritenow.org.uk

Arts Council England champions, develops, and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives.

They support a range of activities across the arts, museums, and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections.

Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. artscouncil.org.uk

The Novels That Shaped Our World campaign is an exciting programme of library activities, events and partnerships designed to celebrate the novel and promote the joy of reading, particularly to new and diverse audiences.

The programme is led by Libraries Connected and funded by a £253,000 grant from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme, with additional support from BBC Arts.

bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/494P41NCbVYHlY319VwGbxp/explore-the-list-of-100-novels-that-shaped-our-world