OCA preloader logo
OCA's next residential week with Arvon at Lumb Bank is in March 2013

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

Write for a week with Arvon thumb

Write for a week with Arvon

Flagship of the literature world The Arvon Foundation works with only three higher education partners each year. OCA is privileged to be one of them. Our next residential week with Arvon is taking place between Monday 25 and Saturday 30 March 2013.
Arvon has many prominent writers as friends, patrons and supporters. The list includes Lord (Melvyn) Bragg, Alan Brownjohn, Carol Ann Duffy, Seamus Heaney, Carol Hughes, Professor Andrew Motion, Salman Rushdie and Wole Soyinka.
If you are a level 1 student who wants to stretch your writing boundaries, experiment with new genres, have your writing critiqued by professional writers and get to know some of your fellow students in a peaceful rural setting, Lumb Bank in Yorkshire is the place to do all of them.
The week will be co-tutored by OCA and Arvon. Chris Arthur, who was appointed OCA’s curriculum lead for creative writing earlier this year, is taking on the tutor role for OCA.  His fifth essay collection, On the Shoreline of Knowledge, was published in September by Sightline Books,  an imprint of the University of Iowa.
OCA’s first residential week with Arvon took place earlier this year. It was hugely successful, attracting students from as far afield as the United States and Bangladesh – not to mention the Republic of Ireland and the Scottish islands. You can find out what students who went had to say about their experience in Arvon and after.
The venue for the 2013 residential week with Arvon will once again will be Lumb Bank in Hepstonstall, West Yorkshire, the former home of the poet Ted Hughes. An article published last year in the Yorkshire Post gives a good flavour of what it’s like to spend a week writing there.
The week is a ‘closed’ week, open only to OCA students. Places are strictly limited to 16, including one bursary place. Aimed primarily at level 1 students writing in any genre, including poetry, fiction, short fiction and creative non-fiction, the week has the purposely broad theme of ‘Stretching the Boundaries’.  The students who go will spend a week concentrating exclusively on their writing free from the distractions of family, home and work. The bursary place will be funded through OCA’s Learner Support Scheme and allocated on the basis of financial need and/or disability.
The cost for each student, to cover the course fee, course materials, accommodation in a single or double room, food and the use of printers and photocopiers, is £560.00 – a discount of more than 15% on the public fee of £680.00 Arvon charges for its public courses. The only additional cost for students is transport to Heptonstall, which people will be responsible for arranging themselves.
To book a place, phone a member of the OCA Operations Team on 01226 730495. We will ask for a  non-refundable deposit of £100.00 to secure a place.  The balance of £460.00 is due by 1 December 2012. Alternatively, the full payment can be made at the time booking.
We expect demand for places to be high, so book soon if you would like to join us!
 


Posted by author: Elizabeth Underwood

2 thoughts on “Write for a week with Arvon

  • There certainly is hope, S. Thomas. In our plan for developing creative writing during the current academic year is looking at what we can offer for level 2 and 3 students that will give you (I am guessing you are a level 2 or 3 creative writing student) the chance to write intensively, with your fellow students, over a period of days. Any steer you and other level 2 and 3 creative writing students can give on what you would like us to bear in mind when looking at options would be great to have!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to blog listings