creative writing course south wales

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2025 Courses and Retreats

Browse our 2025 course programme today.

Nant Writers' Retreat Cottage

Welcome to Nant; a historical Grade II* listed cottage specifically renovated for writing retreats.

Read Jude Rogers’ Guardian Piece on her Tŷ Newydd Experience

Arts critic,  Jude Rogers , recently attended a Poetry and Songwriting course here at Tŷ Newydd. Find out what she learnt, and listen to her first ever song!

Tŷ Newydd Newsletter

Keep up to date with all our courses, events and special offers by signing up to our newsletter. 

Welcome to Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre

Tŷ Newydd is the National Writing Centre of Wales. Established in 1990, thousands of aspiring and budding writers have since passed through our iconic teal front door.

With over 30 years experience, we specialise in residential creative writing courses and retreats. Every week we welcome a new group of individuals from Wales, the rest of the UK and beyond to our home. They spend time together under the tutelage of professional writers, taking part in workshops and one-to-one tutorials, enjoying readings and basking in the inspirational setting of Tŷ Newydd. For those wanting space and time away to write in isolation, or with a like minded friend, our dedicated retreat cottage offers the perfect surrounding. Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre is run by Literature Wales, the national company for the development of literature.

Explore our Courses

We have a range of courses and retreats available at Tŷ Newydd. Why not have a browse and discover what’s on offer.

Roger Robinson

Roger Robinson , a globally recognised writer and performer, boasts an impressive array of accolades, including the T.S. Eliot Prize 2019, RSL Ondaatje Prize 2020, and RSL Fellowship. Notably, he’s been lauded by Decibel & Arts Council England as pivotal in shaping Black-British literature. His work features prominently in esteemed anthologies like The Forward Book Of Poetry 2024 (Faber & Faber, 2023) and The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (Penguin, 2021). Roger’s commissions span prestigious institutions such as the BBC, Tate, and The National Portrait Gallery. He’s an esteemed judge for renowned literary awards like the Folio Prize and T.S. Eliot Prize, with his poem A Portable Paradise part of the GCSE English Literature syllabus. Roger’s workshops, recognised for excellence, have garnered acclaim, with his books A Portable Paradise (Peepal Tree Press, 2019) , Home is Not A Place (William Collins, 2022) and The Butterfly Hotel (The Peepal Tree Press, 2013) earning multiple nominations. As a co-founder of Spoke Lab and Malika’s Kitchen, he contributes significantly to global literary communities.

Amy Liptrot

Amy Liptrot grew up on a sheep farm in Orkney, Scotland who has written two bestselling memoirs: The Outrun (Canongate Books, 2016) and The Instant (Canongate Books, 2022). The Outrun won the Wainwright Prize for nature writing and the PEN Ackerely Prize for memoir, has been translated into 14 languages and adapted into a film starring Saoirse Ronan. She lives in Yorkshire and is working on a book about seaweed.

Joelle Taylor

Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry. Her most recent collection C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 T.S. Eliot Prize, and the 2022 Polari Book Prize for LGBT authors. C+NTO is currently being adapted for theatre with a view to touring. She is a co-curator and host of Out-Spoken Live at the Southbank Centre and tours her work nationally and internationally in a diverse range of venues, from Australia to Brazil. She is also a Poetry Fellow of University of East Anglia and the curator of the Koestler Awards 2023. She has judged several poetry and literary prizes including Jerwood Fellowship, the Forward Prize, and the Ondaatje Prize. Her novel of interconnecting stories The Night Alphabet was published by Riverrun in Spring of 2024 and was named Guardian Book of the Month. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year. She was recently honoured with a DIVA Award for Excellence and was also included in the Independent’s 2024 Pride Power list.

Ingrid Persaud

Ingrid Persaud is the author of two novels, Love After Love (Faber & Faber, 2021) and The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh (Faber & Faber, 2024). Her debut novel, Love After Love , won the Costa First Novel award, the Author’s Club First Book Award and the Indie Book Award for Fiction. Other prizes include the BBC National Short Story Award and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She was born in Trinidad and lives in London.

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Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre

• Reading Friends
• Literature for Well-being Funding Scheme 2019
• Land of Legends
• Ifor ap Glyn: National Poet of Wales 2016 – 2022
• Casi Wyn, Bardd Plant Cymru 2021-2023
• Bardd Plant Cymru Frequently Asked Questions
• Bardd Plant Cymru Poems
• Previous Bardd Plant Cymru
• Connor Allen, Children’s Laureate Wales 2021-2023
• Children’s Laureate Wales FAQs
• Children’s Laureate Wales Commissioned Poems
• Eloise Williams, Children’s Laureate Wales 2019-2021
• Children’s Laureate Wales News
• Writers of Wales Directory
• Wales Book of the Year 2021 Winners
• Wales Book of the Year 2021 Shortlist
• Wales Book of the Year 2021 Judges
• Partners and Sponsors 2024
• Previous Awards
• Alex Wharton
• Sadia Pineda Hameed
• Taylor Edmonds
• Inspiring Communities Fund

We specialise in residential creative writing courses. Every week we welcome a new group of individuals from Wales, the rest of the UK and beyond to our home. The group spend time together under the tutelage of professional writers, taking part in workshops and one-to-one tutorials, enjoying readings and basking in the inspirational setting of Tŷ Newydd. Participants also help in the kitchen, where homemade meals are prepared with local ingredients, by our resident chef.

Our programme features a mix of residential courses and retreats – both in the English and Welsh language – and cover many genres, forms and styles, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, script writing, nature writing, illustration, writing for children and young adults, storytelling, yoga and more.

We choose our tutors and guest readers carefully, and welcome some of the best practitioners in their fields to Tŷ Newydd every year. Present and past tutors include Carol Ann Duffy , Gillian Clarke , Pascale Petit , Paula Meehan , Mark Cocker , Menna Elfyn , Patrick McGuinness , Kaite O’Reilly , Imtiaz Dharker , Niall Griffiths , Daljit Nagra and Malachy Doyle .

“Tŷ Newydd is my favourite writing centre, that’s why I keep coming back to teach there. The welcome is Welsh and warm, the house is so comfortable and the garden, sloping down to the seaview, is inspiring! It’s a home from home.” – Pascale Petit

Our historical house was the last home of former Prime Minister David Lloyd George. It still retains the recognisable touches implemented by architect Clough Williams-Ellis, famous for his quirky Italianate village Portmeirion, the setting of classic TV series The Prisoner and Festival No.6. Nestled in a quiet spot between mountain and sea, we’re the perfect haven to retreat to and spend some time being creative.

In addition to our open course programme, we offer bespoke courses for educational groups where we work alongside tutors and teachers in order to create a perfect course for their group. It is also possible to hire Tŷ Newydd privately for a corporate course, a holiday, a wedding or a special occasion.

For further information, visit Tŷ Newydd’s website at: www.tynewydd.wales

Nant Writers' Retreat

Educational Offer

Hello from Cardiff Writers’ Studio! We are the home of the most positive and friendly creative writing classes in the world. All delivered from Cardiff, in South Wales!

Cardiff Writers’ Studio is a dedicated space for writers to explore their voice, their craft, and their writing aspirations, in a safe and supportive environment. Writing can be a solitary business but at Cardiff Writers’ Studio we’re here to listen to your ideas, respond to your words, and ultimately cheer you on!

Whether you write in your head, but not yet on the page; have scribbled in private, but wondered about going public; used to write, but have lost your way; are recently published, but want to keep experimenting; have an ongoing project that is ready for workshopping; love to write but can’t find time and space to get pen to paper; you will find the warmest of welcomes and inspiration aplenty at Cardiff Writers’ Studio.

With regular in-person workshops taking place at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff; online sessions taking place on Zoom, and writers’ retreats in lovely South Wales locations, Cardiff Writers’ Studio aims to provide accessible, fun, and affirming creative writing experiences for all.

Since 2012, hundreds of writers have passed through our doors, including individuals who went on to study Masters degrees and PhDs in Creative Writing; became finalists for Wales Book of the Year; won The Bridport Prize for fiction; and been offered deals with both local and major publishers, including Penguin. But most importantly, our writers have kindled their passion, widened their horizons, and developed lifelong friendships along the way.

Welcome to Cardiff Writers’ Studio (youtube.com)

Click here to sign up for the Cardiff Writers’ Studio Newsletter:  http://eepurl.com/dKa342

Creative Writing

Creative Writing - Autobiographical Writing

This course runs for 7 weeks with lessons for 3 hours a week from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM on Mondays

This is an accredited course certificated by AGORED

Qualification

Entry requirements, career path, what do i need.