Arvon

We are thrilled to announce the 2026 cohort for Little Chick’s Emerging Writers Scheme, which returns this year. Supported by WDM Entertainment, the Arvon Foundation and 42 Management & Production, the programme aims to champion distinctive voices and ambitious storytelling. We can’t wait to meet this year’s talented cohort! ✨

We’ve commissioned four creative projects exploring the heritage, landscape and stories of Lumb Bank in thoughtful and unexpected ways. First up 👉 filmmakers @dannyhardaker_video & @sallymolineaux are creating a short documentary exploring Lumb Bank through film and sound, tracing the relationship between creativity, landscape and place. They’ll weave together interviews, cinematic footage and recorded soundscapes to capture the visible and invisible qualities of Lumb Bank 🎬 Keep your eyes peeled for the three other Heritage Detectives and their projects landing later this week...

Come hang out with me and Sophie for an online Arvon week! We’ll be workshopping and writing and you’ll get one on one feedback. Also you’ll get to ask Sophie the questions I always want to ask her. Like how is your writing so elegant? Also if you’re wondering why I began with my sleepy face it’s because apparently the algorithm wants faces… but I promise your words will wake me up! Sign up via the Arvon website.

Reminiscing about the sunshine last week ☀️☀️☀️ And this week in Arvon’s Reading Corner, Rozie is talking about the indomitable intellect of Maggie Nelson, and the expansive nature of the domestic space in her extraordinary memoir The Argonauts 📖 Let us know in the comments if you’ve read it and what you think 🤔🤓 #yearofreading #writerswhoread #creativewriting #writingcommunity

Here is Lumb Bank across time - archival moments placed alongside more recent ones in the same rooms, gardens, and paths 🌱🌷📚 We know this magical place holds stories that don’t always make it into the archive. So we’re opening a call for them. If you have ever been here — as a writer, tutor, artist, dog walker, runner, neighbour, visitor, or someone passing through — we would love to hear from you! Share your Lumb Bank stories in the comments, via DM, or email us at [email protected]. If you’re able to, we’d really appreciate you sharing or reposting this so we can reach as many stories as possible! Thank you - more on this coming soon…

Preparing for another teaching week means reorganising my version of a mobile library… I love this work. The energy I derive from others — on the road, in the classroom, on a writing retreat — is my kind of chemistry. It comes with all sorts of chain reactions, shifting what I’m reading, how I listen, edit, write, collaborate. And when I’m teaching, I try my hardest to give as much as I receive. Reciprocity, in other words, is everything to me. Which is why I’m excited to be going back to @arvon__ for a new **extended** residential nonfiction writing course at #thehurst in Shropshire running May 2nd to May 9th. I’ll be tutoring in collaboration with @adamweymouthwriter and guest speaker @pocockjoanna . Anyone who listens to my podcast, will know how much I admire these two authors. The way they blend nature and travel, travel and memoir, reportage and history, is changing the travel writing genre — a reinvigoration that hasn’t been this alive since Bruce Chatwin and Jonathan Raban were at the height of their powers. So PLEASE SHARE. Two last-minute spots are newly available — so if you’re free to take a little journey into the Shopshire countryside in the best month of the year, perhaps this is the moment to take the risk and open a new path… Link in bio x #nonfictionbooks #travelwriter #travelwriting #naturewriting

Hello from Arvon’s reading corner, where we discuss books that our staff at Arvon have been loving, and think about how they might help your writing project ✨✨✨ This week Rozie @rozeamee is talking about Blue Ticket, by Sophie Mackintosh @sophmackintosh Sophie’s fourth novel Permanence came out on 2nd April, and is on our TBR. Sophie will be teaching an online writing week for us this June with Rowan Hisayo Buchanan if you’re feeling inspired and would like to come along… #writingcommunity #yearofreading #creativewriting

Reflecting on the most perfect week of creative writing at Arvon. Our pupils had the incredible privilege to read, write and live together at Totleigh Barton in the beautiful Devon spring. They were brave in taking creative risks, supported by their exceptional tutors: Rachel Long and Jacob Ross. Our huge thanks go to them, as well as to @hlcopley who visited us for a stunning mid-week reading of her poetry, and the all-round amazing @arvon__ crew who were so caring and fun. It wasn’t just poetry and story-telling: there was also a lot of cooking, glorious cows, general silliness, and a full game of Traitors to top things off. Creative inspiration all round @alleynsschool #allwecanbe ✨🌱🐄 ☀️

✍️Sharpen your pencil for this year’s Festival of Words and take part in a series of exciting writing workshops! Hosted by award-winning authors, these experts will offer support and advice. Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re ready to pitch to publishers, we’ve got you covered.   🎟 Head to the link in our bio to book tickets for these workshops (and much more!) at the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words.   📚Learn how to hold the reader’s attention with essayist and non-fiction writer Amy Key, author of Arrangements in Blue. You will explore how to create a striking voice in a memoir, and how personal narrative can be used to bring ideas and perspective to life.   📚 If you’re new to writing fiction and looking for advice and inspiration, make sure to join prize-winning novelist Abi Daré for this workshop on the key elements of compelling fiction: ideas, plot, and voice.   📚Join artist Reza Ben Gajra in this stop motion animation workshop - cut out letters and words from paper, then bring them to life! All ticket proceeds from this event will be donated to the charity Mental Fight Club.   📚Take part in this pressure-free supportive creative writing workshop with founder of Wordsmiths, Naomi. Focus on short writing tasks and imaginative free writing, and enjoy the creative process. All ticket proceeds from this event will be donated to the charity Mental Fight Club.   📚Are you working on a novel and seeking a boost? Join novelist and booker-longlisted author Sophie Mackintosh for a workshop on building a compelling, fully realised fictional world from the germ of an original idea.   📚How do you grab an agent’s attention? How do advances and royalties work? Should authors engage with social media? Veteran publisher James Spackman will answer all of these questions and more in this guide to polishing your publishing pitch to perfection.   📍 All happening in the Fleet Street Quarter, 7–16 May 2026.   #fleetstreetquarter #fleetstreet #festivalofwords #literaryfestival #cityoflondon @thecityofldn

1,667 applications. 12 writers selected. We’re excited to introduce the Playwriting cohort of the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies ✨ Mentored by Amy Rosenthal, these writers will spend the next 18 months developing new work for the stage. With space to experiment and support from mentors and peers, this programme is designed to help bold new voices take their next steps. 🔗 Follow the link in our bio to read more

1,667 applications. 12 writers selected. We’re proud to introduce the Creative Non-Fiction cohort of the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies ✨ Mentored by Chitra Ramaswamy, these writers will spend the next 18 months developing work that draws on lived experience, memory and research. This programme offers time and support to shape ambitious ideas into finished pieces – and we can’t wait to follow their journey. 🔗 Follow the link in our bio to read more.

1,667 applications. 12 writers selected. We’re thrilled to introduce the Fiction cohort of the Jerwood Arvon Writer Residencies ✨ Working with mentor Michael Donkor, these writers will spend the next 18 months crafting their powerful stories. With time, space and support to focus on their work, we’re excited to see these projects take shape. Follow the link in our bio to find out more!