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Royal Court Playwriting Workshop with Beth Flintoff – Forres
Saturday 24 Jan
This free workshop, led by Royal Court Associate Playwright and Young Writers Associate, Beth Flintoff, will help you get started coming up with ideas and writing scenes for your play.
Read more and book your place. -
Royal Court Playwriting Workshop with Beth Flintoff – Inverness
Saturday 24 Jan
This free workshop, led by Royal Court Associate Playwright and Young Writers Associate, Beth Flintoff, will help you get started coming up with ideas and writing scenes for your play.
Read more and book your place. -
2681 Online Masterclass: The Carrying Stream with Cáit O’Neill McCullagh and John Glenday
Friday 23 Jan
Online
Join Cáit O’Neill McCullagh and John Glenday for an online discussion and reading where they will discuss their perspectives on the relationship between poet and mentor and share poems which reflect on their personal experience of living with chronic illness.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Kirsty Logan
Thursday 22 Jan
Join Kirsty for a Young Writers’ Café about how to take real experiences from your life and transform them into surreal, fantastical fiction.
Read more and book your place. -
2604 January Retreat
Monday 19 Jan - Saturday 24 Jan
Fully Booked
While the cold dark weather surrounds us, warm up next to the cosy wood-burning stoves at Moniack Mhor to focus your attention and hone your writing.
Read more and book your place. -
2661 Online: Moniack in Six Weeks – The Workshop with Elizabeth Reeder
Wednesday 14 Jan - Wednesday 18 Feb
Online
The Workshop at Moniack Mhor Online is a six-week course led by Elizabeth Reeder where eight writers come together to give and receive feedback on each other’s work.
Read more and book your place. -
Song Clinic – Masterclass with Boo Hewerdine
Tuesday 13 Jan
In this supportive session, Boo Hewerdine will examine what makes a song studio ready. Boo will look at pre-submitted songs from a selection of participants to go deeper into the songwriting process and demonstrate techniques you might apply to your work.
Read more and book your place. -
2660 Online: Three Seasons of Poetry with John Glenday – Season 1
Tuesday 13 Jan - Friday 27 Feb
Online
Get off to a flying start in 2026 by joining poet John Glenday in a sustained, long-term online poetry writing programme designed to stimulate the imagination, examine technique and hone existing skills.
Read more and book your place. -
2603 Early January Retreat
Monday 12 Jan - Saturday 17 Jan
Fully Booked
Start your year with an untutored retreat at Moniack Mhor and give yourself time and space to focus on your project.
Read more and book your place. -
First Stages Songwriting Masterclass with Boo Hewerdine
Wednesday 10 Dec
Join Boo Hewerdine for a relaxed workshop that explores the basics of writing a song. He’ll look at lyrics, melody, chord progressions and editing. This friendly session would suit anyone who is new to making songs or who might already be writing but would like to revisit what techniques and skills underpin making good work. No experience or instrument needed!
Read more and book your place. -
2550 Fiction: Tutored Retreat with Louise Welsh and Zoë Strachan, Guest Reader Francis Bickmore
Monday 8 Dec - Saturday 13 Dec
Fully Booked
This week-long tutored retreat offers an opportunity to focus intensively on a work-in-progress: any kind of prose writing welcome! Zoë and Louise will be on hand to help you hone characters and structure, develop style, shift blocks and think about next steps.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with L.D. Lapinski
Thursday 4 Dec
Join KICKFLIP author LD Lapinski to find out how comics and graphic novels are created and published. Get to grips with the script to illustration process, and learn how anyone can be a comics creator, no experience required!
Read more and book your place. -
2572 Online: Moniack in a Month – Travel Writing with Miranda France
Tuesday 25 Nov - Thursday 18 Dec
Online
Learn how to look at and describe worlds both strange and familiar and how to shape this into a story that others will want to read. Through texts and images, interviews, conversation and written exercises, you’ll think about different approaches to describing nature, cities, cultures and people, both for books and shorter texts.
Read more and book your place. -
2548 Historical Fiction: The Cathedral of Mist with Andrew Miller and Lucy Jago, Guest Reader Jenny Brown
Monday 24 Nov - Saturday 29 Nov
Fully Booked
For writers with a special interest in historical fiction, the week will be a chance to start new projects or push on with work in progress. Through workshops, discussions and tutorials, we’ll explore a type of storytelling that remains hugely popular with readers, that inhabits genre but also transcends it.
Read more and book your place. -
2547 Poetry: Collaborating with the Wild World with Jen Hadfield and Niall Campbell, Guest Reader Suzannah V. Evans
Monday 17 Nov - Saturday 22 Nov
Fully Booked
Listening, inventing, collaborating with the wild world, this course dances on the so called boundary between us and all else … bringing what is outside into us – and drawing what is inside us out into the world. This course is aimed at writers of all stages who want to engage with both the natural world and the private world inside themselves.
Read more and book your place. -
2546 November Retreat
Monday 10 Nov - Saturday 15 Nov
A warm welcome and a well-stoked log fire await you on retreat at Moniack Mhor. Whether you want to work on your latest manuscript, play, or poems, this time is yours. Immerse yourself in your writing in a supportive environment, away from any distractions.
Read more and book your place. -
2545 Scots Tutored Retreat with Siobhan Miller and William Letford, Guest Reader Amanda Thomson
Monday 3 Nov - Saturday 8 Nov
This taucht retreat is for awbody wha’s ever wantit tae or wha’s a’ready warkin tae scrieve sangs, poems or stories in the Scots leid. Baird Siobhan Miller an makar Billy Letford will haud wan-tae-wan tutorials wi ye ower the week tae gie ye a haun creatin new wark in Scots.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café
Thursday 30 Oct
Join us for a free writing session! No need for experience, just bring along a playful mind and pen and paper! Drinks and snacks provided.
Read more and book your place. -
2592 Online Masterclass: Dialogue for Crime Writers with Liam McIlvanney
Monday 27 Oct
Online
Crime fiction is a dialogue-driven genre. This session introduces the key principles and techniques involved in crafting compelling dialogue in crime fiction.
Read more and book your place. -
2544 Late October Retreat
Monday 27 Oct - Saturday 1 Nov
Fully Booked
As the nights get longer and the leaves fall, cosy up at Moniack Mhor and get some focused writing time. There will be company if you want it, hearty meals in the evening, but most of all, time and space to concentrate on your project without any distractions.
Read more and book your place. -
2591 Online Masterclass: Story Structure for Crime Writers with Liam McIlvanney
Monday 20 Oct
Online
How do you fit the various elements of a crime novel into a coherent narrative structure? This session provides practice in identifying and deploying the key structural components of crime narrative.
Read more and book your place. -
2570 Online: Moniack in a Month – Poetry with Purpose with Joelle Taylor
Tuesday 7 Oct - Thursday 30 Oct
Online Fully Booked
A poem is never just a poem. Join Joelle Taylor to consider how we write poetry that can be practically applied. Write new material, read widely, discuss freely and imagine a future as a professional writer and poet.
There are two full-fee bursaries available for this course for UK-based writers who experience marginalisation.
Read more and book your place. -
2590 Online Masterclass: Writing Audio Drama with Katie Hims
Monday 6 Oct
Online
In this class we’ll talk about the possibilities that audio drama offers you the writer, listen to extracts of plays and do an exercise in acoustics and sound effects. Includes a short Q&A.
Read more and book your place. -
2541 Early October Retreat
Monday 6 Oct - Saturday 11 Oct
Fully Booked
As the colours turn and the nights begin to draw in, join us at Moniack Mhor for an uninterrupted week of writing. There will be roaring fires, company in the evenings, and plenty of delicious food to fuel those literary fires.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Cecilia Knapp
Thursday 2 Oct
Join Cecilia Knapp and explore how to grow and know your characters and allow them to live on the page. Expect fun, imaginative exercises in this low pressure and explorative environment.
Read more and book your place. -
2540 Fiction: Finding the Light with Michael Donkor and Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Guest Reader Cecilia Knapp
Monday 29 Sep - Saturday 4 Oct
Fully Booked
Join us for a glorious week of serious play and playful seriousness on the page. We invite new writers, and perhaps those who have taken some time away from their writing, for a generative week with us, a chance to produce lots of exciting new material.
Read more and book your place. -
FIRST STAGES – Workshop in Edinburgh
Monday 22 Sep
Join us for the Edinburgh workshop of the FIRST STAGES programme at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on 22nd September!
Read more and book your place. -
2539 Life Writing with Salena Godden and Louisa Young, Guest Reader Michel Faber (Postponed from June/July)
Monday 22 Sep - Saturday 27 Sep
Fully Booked
This is an exciting course with award-winning authors Salena Godden and Louisa Young, for writers who are exploring writing about or from their own life experiences, at any stage of their project.
Read more and book your place. -
2589 Online Masterclass: Introduction to Screenwriting with Rachelle Atalla
Thursday 18 Sep
Online
Join award-winning screenwriter and novelist Rachelle Atalla for a session exploring the key elements required in creating stories for screen.
Read more and book your place. -
2538 Crime Writing: From Where to Begin with Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Matt Wesolowski, Guest Reader Karen Sullivan
Monday 15 Sep - Saturday 20 Sep
In this immersive crime writing course, bestselling crime authors Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Matt Wesolowski will guide you through the roadblocks keeping you from finishing your novel. Through focused workshops, hands-on exercises, and personalised one-on-one sessions, you’ll gain the tools, insights, and confidence to move forward.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Roger Robinson
Thursday 11 Sep
This workshop will introduce you to the prosepoem and will take a look at the movements and histories of modern and contemporary prose poetry. There is also a creative component to this workshop, where we will write prose poems that will reflect and interrogate these movements in prose poetry.
Read more and book your place. -
2537 Poetry: For Resistance and Survival with Hannah Lavery and Harry Josephine Giles, Guest Reader Roger Robinson
Monday 8 Sep - Saturday 13 Sep
Fully Booked
In this course, we’ll inspire each to write politically, to try out techniques that challenge power, and to explore strategies of creative activism. We’ll look at the possibilities and pitfalls of methods like satire, witness, testimony and celebration, finding ways to write meaningfully for ourselves and our times.
Read more and book your place. -
2569 Online: Moniack in a Month – Historical Fiction with Victoria MacKenzie
Tuesday 2 Sep - Thursday 25 Sep
Online
Join historical novelist Victoria Mackenzie for a lively 4-week online course exploring the art of writing compelling and vivid historical fiction. Aimed at anyone interested in writing a historical novel, whether you’ve already completed a draft or just have the first spark of an idea.
Read more and book your place. -
2536 Songwriting: Things Found in Song with Boo Hewerdine and Yvonne Lyon, Guest Reader John Hegley
Monday 1 Sep - Saturday 6 Sep
Fully Booked
Delve into the world around you to imagine, create and hone songs. Drawing on the wonderfully random ephemera of life, you will look at elements such as form, melody and lyric to explore what makes a powerful song.
Read more and book your place. -
2535 Nature Writing: The Wild Into Words with Mark Cocker and Karen Lloyd, Guests from Aigas Field Centre
Monday 25 Aug - Saturday 30 Aug
Fully Booked
The aim of this course is to explore nature and wildlife, as well as the way we use language and the ethics of writing about a world we have so diminished. Central to the week is understanding how direct observation and internalising experience can be processed into high-quality poetry or prose.
Read more and book your place. -
FIRST STAGES – Workshop in Glasgow
Wednesday 20 Aug
Join us for the first of two workshops of the FIRST STAGES programme on 20th August at Glad Café!
Read more and book your place. -
2588 Online Songs Masterclass with Boo Hewerdine: Session 2 – Get Your Song Studio Ready
Thursday 14 Aug
Online
In this masterclass, Boo Hewerdine will critique a selection of your pre-submitted songs to examine what makes a song studio ready.
Read more and book your place. -
2533 Mid-August Retreat – Week 2 of 2
Monday 11 Aug - Saturday 16 Aug
Fully Booked
In this second of two August retreat weeks, keep your writing flowing in the long summer days. Write by an evening fire in our stone circle, or in the cool shade of the stone walled living room surrounded by flowers cut from the gardens, and nourish your self and your words.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Heather Parry
Thursday 7 Aug
Join author Heather Parry for a session all about how to manage low-creativity periods and how to get your writing brain going again.
Read more and book your place. -
FIRST STAGES – Workshop in London
Monday 4 Aug
Join us for the London workshop of the FIRST STAGES programme on 4th August at Green Note!
Read more and book your place. -
2532 Early August Retreat – Week 1 of 2
Monday 4 Aug - Saturday 9 Aug
Fully Booked
Summer is upon us, and Moniack’s gardens and the fields around us are bursting with life. Bring this rich energy to your writing practice with dedicated writing time on this first of two August retreat weeks.
Read more and book your place. -
FIRST STAGES – Workshop at Belladrum
Thursday 31 Jul
Join us for the second workshop of the FIRST STAGES programme on 31st July at Belladrum Festival!
Read more and book your place. -
FIRST STAGES – Workshop in Inverness
Wednesday 30 Jul
Join us for the first workshop of the FIRST STAGES programme on 30th July at Eden Court in Inverness.
Read more and book your place. -
2568 Online: Moniack in a Month – Building Fictional Worlds with Liz Hyder
Tuesday 29 Jul - Thursday 21 Aug
Online
Join award-winning novelist Liz Hyder online for a month to explore the joyful art of harnessing your imagination to build fictional worlds.
Read more and book your place. -
2587 Online Songs Masterclass with Boo Hewerdine: Session 1 – What Makes a Song Work?
Tuesday 29 Jul
Online
Join Boo Hewerdine to examine the reasons why a song may or may not work. Boo will take both a well-known song and one of his own songs and look at lyrics, melody, chord progressions and the editing process.
Read more and book your place. -
2531 Poetry: Vital Ingredients with John Glenday and Jen Hadfield, Guest Reader Kit Fan
Monday 28 Jul - Saturday 2 Aug
Limited Places Available
Aimed at writers at all stages in their careers who are keen to put some spice back into their writing and live a healthy, sustainable life as a poet. We’ll use workshops, discussions, examples and ladlefuls of useful tips to guide you through a sequence of dos and donts that will help revitalise your writing and enrich your poems with a longer shelf life.
Read more and book your place. -
2530 Late July Retreat
Monday 21 Jul - Saturday 26 Jul
Fully Booked
Surrounded by breathtaking views and the company of fellow writers, find the focus and time you need to bring your words to life.
Read more and book your place. -
2573 Online: A Year of Writing with Elizabeth Reeder – Season 4
Wednesday 16 Jul - Wednesday 24 Sep
Online
Join Elizabeth Reeder online as you work on your long-form fiction or creative non-fiction project. This course offers an open, supportive, dedicated space for you to write a work-in-progress in the company of other writers, with Elizabeth building and holding a kind and supportive frame within which we can do our best work. Includes craft sessions, writing spaces, group feedback, one-to-one tutorials and the chance to share your work with your group.
Read more and book your place. -
2529 Fiction: Make Real Progress with Jessie Greengrass and Kevin MacNeil, Guest Reader Lesley Glaister
Monday 14 Jul - Saturday 19 Jul
Fully Booked
On this course, writers Kevin MacNeil and Jessie Greengrass will help you navigate through frequently encountered obstacles including pace, setting, and dialogue. They will show you how to strengthen your work’s foundations by considering meaning, purpose, and direction.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Heather Palmer
Thursday 10 Jul
Join Heather to explore the impact of setting, characters and tropes on romance and how we use it, get oriented on worldbuilding and its implications and start thinking about when (and if) to let your poor characters finally kiss.
Read more and book your place. -
2528 Early July Retreat
Monday 7 Jul - Saturday 12 Jul
Fully Booked
Bring your ideas and your writing materials for a week with like-minded writers and the chance to make some headway with your writing projects.
Read more and book your place. -
2586 Online Masterclass: Inhabiting your Fiction with Cynan Jones
Thursday 3 Jul
Online
This online masterclass will demonstrate how existing sentences can be interrogated for narrative opportunities you may not otherwise have considered and as starting points to enrich description and action so that you can create a more inhabited, encompassing story.
Read more and book your place. -
2527 Summer Retreat
Monday 30 Jun - Saturday 5 Jul
Fully Booked
Join us on for calm hours in the hills, with a group of fellow writers, beautiful surroundings and a continuous stream of cakes.
Read more and book your place. -
2526 Late June Retreat
Monday 23 Jun - Saturday 28 Jun
Fully Booked
Whether you’re up early or late to bed, your creativity will benefit from a wander through the woods or along the single-track roads. Let the natural environment around the centre inspire your writing.
Read more and book your place. -
Highland Book Prize Literary Afternoon Tea: Pam Brunton
Sunday 22 Jun
Join us up on the hill at Moniack Mhor for this special Literary Afternoon Tea event with Pam Brunton, who will read and discuss her Highland Book Prize Longlisted book Between Two Waters.
Read more and book your place. -
2593 Online Highland Book Prize Event: Carys Davies in conversation with Cynan Jones
Thursday 19 Jun
Online
In this special online event, Carys Davies will be in discussion with Cynan Jones, writer and panelist on this year’s Highand Book Prize judging team, about her Highland Book Prize Longlisted novel, Clear. The event will include readings from the book and discussion, and there will be a short Q&A with the audience.
Read more and book your place. -
2594 Online Highland Book Prize Event: Beyond with Colin Bramwell and Gerda Stevenson
Tuesday 17 Jun
Online
In this special Highland Book Prize 2024 longlist event, Colin Bramwell and Gerda Stevenson will read and discuss poems from Beyond, the last English-language collection by the late Aonghas MacNeacail. Includes a short audience Q&A.
Read more and book your place. -
2525 Midsummer Retreat
Monday 16 Jun - Saturday 21 Jun
Fully Booked
Immerse yourself in the bright hills of Moniack Mhor and embrace the energy of the summer solstice.
Read more and book your place. -
2524 Myth: Prose and Verse with Daniel Morden and Catherine Fisher, Guest Reader Dimitra Fimi
Monday 9 Jun - Saturday 14 Jun
Fully Booked
A course exploring Norse and Celtic myth, with a sprinkling of Arthurian legend, and the ways of weaving them into modern tales, novels and poems.
Read more and book your place. -
2523 Non-Fiction: Essay Writing with Jen Stout and Peter Ross, Guest Reader Kathleen Jamie
Monday 2 Jun - Saturday 7 Jun
Limited Places Available
This course will cover a range of techniques and issues, drawing upon examples of excellent non-fiction from across decades. Topics are likely to include: ways to structure; the ethics and challenges of writing about self and others; finding your voice; creating a sense of place.
Read more and book your place. -
Celebrating Creativity and Care: Festival 2025
Saturday 24 May
You are invited to join us for a festival of creativity in Inverness!
From 2022-2025, Moniack Mhor’s Creativity and Care Programme has worked to enhance the creative development opportunities for care experienced young people aged 14-30 across Scotland.
Join us between 12pm-8pm on the 24th May to view and experience just some of the images, music and words which have been developed thanks to the project.
Read more and book your place. -
2520 Tutored Retreat: Writing on Climate Change with Nick Drake and Nancy Campbell, Guest Readers Anna Selby and Genevieve Carver
Monday 12 May - Saturday 17 May
A tutored retreat for those engaged on work in progress responding to climate change, in any genre, who would value a concentrated period of time in which to write, to engage with feedback, and to enjoy focused, supportive conversations with tutors and fellow writers.
Read more and book your place. -
2585 Online Highland Book Prize Event: The Lost Voices of Orkney with Peter Marshall
Thursday 8 May
Online
How can we hear the voices of ordinary folk, when we are forced to rely on fragmentary sources seldom created with their perspectives in mind? Drawing from his work on Orkney – a place long considered peripheral to the ‘real’ history of Scotland and Britain – historian Peter Marshall seeks to answer that question in this 90-minute online event.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Eris Young
Thursday 8 May
Join Shoreline of Infinity Magazine’s fiction editor, Eris Young, for a sci-fi workshop, exploring what “science fiction” really is, and how to use science and tech to create conflict and shape character.
Read more and book your place. -
2564 Online: Moniack in a Month – Demystifying Poetry with Ella Frears
Wednesday 7 May - Friday 30 May
Online
In this course you’ll look carefully at different elements of poetry writing, demystifying things like line breaks, shape, rhythm, rhyme, voice, language, and form. You will write new poems – trying on these techniques, seeing how they feel and exploring what they can do for you and your work.
Read more and book your place. -
2519 May Retreat
Monday 5 May - Saturday 10 May
Fully Booked
With the arrival of milder temperatures, join us in the hills to reflect on your work and sharpen your focus on writing.
Read more and book your place. -
2518 Poetry: Animals, Beasts and Monsters with Pascale Petit and Gwyneth Lewis, Guest Reader Jay Griffiths
Monday 28 Apr - Saturday 3 May
Join Gwyneth and Pascale in writing as deeply as you dare into imagination’s bestiaries, during group workshops and bespoke individual sessions with award-winning poets who are pioneers of their own creaturely wilds.
Read more and book your place. -
2517 Fiction: Exposing the Heart of Your Story with Jacob Ross and Karen Campbell, Guest Reader Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Monday 21 Apr - Saturday 26 Apr
Limited Places Available
This course will enable you to find the heart of the story you’re currently writing, and get a sharper focus on where you’re going to take it.
Read more and book your place. -
2584 Online Masterclass: Intention – with A.L. Kennedy
Wednesday 9 Apr
Online
When we write, we may set out without a clear sense of direction, or we may begin before we are quite ready to write. It’s easy to lose our direction, or to never quite find it and therefore to lose momentum of projects that might otherwise succeed. Join A.L. Kennedy to explore how you can clarify who you are as a writer in this time and in this world. How best can you prepare yourself and your work so that you can write effectively in an organic and unified way?
Read more and book your place. -
2566 Online: A Year of Writing with Elizabeth Reeder – Season 3
Wednesday 9 Apr - Wednesday 2 Jul
Online
Join Elizabeth Reeder online as you work on your long-form fiction or creative non-fiction project. This course offers an open, supportive, dedicated space for you to write a work-in-progress in the company of other writers, with Elizabeth building and holding a kind and supportive frame within which we can do our best work. Includes craft sessions, writing spaces, group feedback, one-to-one tutorials and the chance to share your work with your group.
Read more and book your place. -
2563 Online: Moniack in a Month – Crime Fiction with Abir Mukherjee
Monday 7 Apr - Wednesday 30 Apr
Online
Unlock the secrets to writing compelling crime fiction in this engaging and intensive online course led by crime writer Abir Mukherjee. Perfect for new writers, this course will dive into all the essentials you’ll need to keep your readers on the edge of their seats.
Read more and book your place. -
2515 April Retreat
Monday 7 Apr - Saturday 12 Apr
Fully Booked
With spring in the air, and daffodils dotting the landscape with their beautiful yellow heads, take the time to inject new life and fresh energy into your writing.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Lucy Strange
Thursday 3 Apr
Writing spinechillers! Join Lucy Strange as we explore different ways of creating a spooky atmosphere and building tension in our gothic fiction and ghost stories.
Read more and book your place. -
2514 Early April Retreat
Monday 31 Mar - Saturday 5 Apr
Fully Booked
As the land around Moniack Mhor begins to burst with life, come and join us for a week and let your writing productivity flourish.
Read more and book your place. -
2513 Late March Retreat
Monday 24 Mar - Saturday 29 Mar
Put those extra hours of sunlight to excellent use and work on your ideas as spring comes to the Highlands.
Read more and book your place. -
2579 Online Guest Writer Event: Memoir – Amy Key in conversation with Chitra Ramaswamy
Thursday 20 Mar
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer Amy Key will read from her work and be in conversation with Chitra Ramaswamy, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Memoir. Includes a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Iona Lee
Thursday 20 Mar
In this workshop with poet and visual artist Iona Lee, participants will explore the intersections between illustration and poetry, looking at poets who have illustrated their own work, visual and concrete poetry, the book beautiful, and the poetic image.
Read more and book your place. -
2583 Online Masterclass: Neurodivergent Approaches to Repetition 2 – with Hannah Silva
Thursday 20 Mar
Online
How can repetition change us and our writing, transforming into new ideas, meanings and revelations? Do your thoughts loop? Do you replay dialogue over and over? Does your mind glitch on a particularly tasty word? How does this impact how you write? Through examples, exercises and exchange this session will unlock nooks in your writing minds.
Read more and book your place. -
2582 Online Masterclass: Neurodivergent Approaches to Repetition 1 – with Debris Stevenson
Tuesday 18 Mar
Online
Let’s repeat: sounds, words, movements, music. This session draws from Debris’ experience of a multi-sensory ‘polylogue’, a mind filled with conversation, smells, textures, dances, images and sounds. By the end of the session we will devise new writing tasks and techniques, processes and forms, drawn from observations of our individual minds.
Read more and book your place. -
2562 Online: Moniack in a Month – Memoir with Chitra Ramaswamy
Tuesday 4 Mar - Thursday 27 Mar
Online
Join author and journalist Chitra Ramaswamy online for a month to excavate the profoundly complex, generous, and rewarding process of writing about oneself. A 4-week online course, with guest writer, Amy Key.
Read more and book your place. -
2581 Online: Poetry Workshop – with Nalini Paul
Tuesday 25 Feb
Online
Join poet and nature-lover Nalini Paul in this two-hour online poetry workshop. You will engage in a range of inspiring writing exercises to get the ideas flowing, look at examples of nature poetry and find new ways of unlocking the ideas that might lie trapped within your mind, just waiting to spring onto the page (or screen).
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café
Thursday 20 Feb
Join us for a free writing session! No need for experience, just bring along a playful mind and pen and paper! Drinks and snacks provided.
Read more and book your place. -
Online Event: Co-chànan/Comhtheanga With Eoin P. Ó Murchú and Pàdraig MacAoidh
Wednesday 19 Feb
Online
Thig cruinn còmhla ri Pàdraig MacAoidh agus Eoin P. Ó Murchú is iad a’ leughadh is a’ deasbad na h-obrach cho-obrachail ùr aca ann an Gaeilge is Gàidhlig.
Bí in éineacht le Pàdraig MacAoidh agus Eoin P. Ó Murchú agus iad ag léamh agus ag plé a gcomhshaothair nua i nGaeilge agus i nGàidhlig.
Join Pàdraig MacAoidh and Eoin P. Ó Murchú as they read and discuss their new collaborative work in Gaeilge and Gàidhlig.
Read more and book your place. -
2508 Winter Retreat: Week 6 of 6
Monday 17 Feb - Saturday 22 Feb
Limited Places Available
Step away from your daily life and immersive yourself in the peaceful environment to dedicate time and space to your writing.
Read more and book your place. -
2580 Online: Editing Short Non-Fiction Masterclass – with Paul Fleckney
Wednesday 12 Feb
Online
Join Paul Fleckney, editor of The Guardian’s Country Diary column, for this 2-hour online masterclass exploring the principles of how you approach, edit and finalise a short piece of non-fiction. The focus will be on nature writing, but skills learned will be transferable to all non-fiction writing. Includes Q&A opportunities.
Read more and book your place. -
2507 Winter Retreat: Week 5 of 6
Monday 10 Feb - Saturday 15 Feb
Limited Places Available
Find the quiet and space you need to focus on your writing, accompanied by copious amounts of cake and a never-ending supply of hot drinks.
Read more and book your place. -
2506 Winter Retreat: Week 4 of 6
Monday 3 Feb - Saturday 8 Feb
Limited Places Available
Join us for an untutored retreat to place your writing at the forefront.
Read more and book your place. -
2505 Winter Retreat: Week 3 of 6
Monday 27 Jan - Saturday 1 Feb
Fully Booked
Immerse yourself in a week of undisturbed writing with fellow writers in a peaceful setting.
Read more and book your place. -
2504 Winter Retreat: Week 2 of 6
Monday 20 Jan - Saturday 25 Jan
Fully Booked
Settle into the calm of winter and focus entirely on your writing. This retreat offers a peaceful space to step back from daily life and dedicate uninterrupted time to your work.
Read more and book your place. -
2560 Online: Moniack in a Month – Writing the Gothic with Natasha Pulley
Thursday 16 Jan - Friday 7 Feb
Online Fully Booked
Join award-winning writer Natasha Pulley to delve deeper into what makes our spines tingle. A 4-week online writing course that will help you wrestle a great Gothic idea into a shape that feels like a story or even a novel.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Kirsty Logan
Thursday 16 Jan
Can we write horror AND romance in the same story? How do we make our readers’ hearts melt while also sending tingles down their spines? Join Kirsty for a lively and unexpected mash-up of genres.
Read more and book your place. -
2503 Winter Retreat: Week 1 of 6
Monday 13 Jan - Saturday 18 Jan
Limited Places Available
Start your year of writing with renewed energy fuelled by cake in front of cosy fires.
Read more and book your place. -
2561 Online: A Year of Writing with Elizabeth Reeder – Season 2
Wednesday 8 Jan - Wednesday 26 Mar
Online Fully Booked
Join Elizabeth Reeder online as you work on your long-form fiction or creative non-fiction project. This course offers an open, supportive, dedicated space for you to write a work-in-progress in the company of other writers, with Elizabeth building and holding a kind and supportive frame within which we can do our best work. Includes craft sessions, writing spaces, group feedback, one-to-one tutorials and the chance to share your work with your group.
Read more and book your place. -
2450 December Retreat
Monday 9 Dec - Saturday 14 Dec
Fully Booked
Winter can be a time of rest and reflection. This December, under a waxing moon, take a moment of stillness by the fireside. Just you and your words, cooried in by stone walls that have nurtured many a story.
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Young Writers’ Café with T.L. Huchu
Thursday 5 Dec
Join T.L. Huchu for a workshop on writing fantasy fiction. Learn about using short stories as a way to practice and build up your credentials. You will also explore elements of the craft such as plotting, worldbuilding, and the effective use of point of view.
Read more and book your place. -
2449 Tutored Retreat: Immerse Yourself in Your Writing with Zoë Strachan and Louise Welsh, Guest Reader Tendai Huchu
Monday 2 Dec - Saturday 7 Dec
Fully Booked
This week-long tutored retreat offers an opportunity to focus intensively on a work-in-progress: any kind of prose writing welcome!
Read more and book your place. -
2448 Writing for YA: Turning Ideas into Stories with Melvin Burgess and Emily Barr, Guest Reader Liz Flanagan
Monday 25 Nov - Saturday 30 Nov
This week is designed to help you with the entire process of writing for young people, from turning original ideas into full length story ideas, through structuring, polishing and editing your work to completion.
Read more and book your place. -
2447 Writing Climate – Open Form: Writing Towards the Great Turning with Monique Roffey and Owen Sheers, Guest Reader Charlie Hertzog-Young
Monday 18 Nov - Saturday 23 Nov
Fully Booked
In this open-form course we explore what ecologically informed and engaged writing looks like. And what, if anything, can our writing contribute to the challenge of what Joanna Macy calls ‘the Great Turning’ – a turning towards nature, an era of peace, justice and environmental restoration.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with L.D. Lapinski
Thursday 14 Nov
Join LD Lapinski for an introduction to world-building in fantasy fiction; creating maps and learning how the wider world influences character development.
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2446 Tutored Retreat Poetry: Reading Spaces with Nii Parkes and Hannah Lowe, Guest Reader Jacob Sam-La Rose
Monday 11 Nov - Saturday 16 Nov
Limited Places Available
During this week, we want to explore being more deliberate about the wordless element of poems – the spaces. What role do they play, what roles can they play, and how can we be intentional about our use of spaces in poetry – whether in terms of form, syntax or pace?
Read more and book your place. -
Moon Library with Viccy Adams
Wednesday 6 Nov
Join writer & researcher Viccy Adams in designing the first lending library on the Moon.
Read more and book your place. -
VERSES: RESIDENTIAL
Monday 4 Nov - Saturday 9 Nov
Join Jen Hadfield, and Luke Thompson from Guillemot Press, for a nourishing poetry writing week! This residential is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
Read more and book your place. -
2483 Online: Neurodivergent Writers Month with Rebecca Schiller
Friday 1 Nov - Friday 29 Nov
Online Fully Booked
Join Rebecca Schiller online with a small group of eight other neurodivergent writers for a supportive and creative month finding innovative and authentic ways to progress and shape your writing practice so that it works for you.
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2444 Creative Non-Fiction: Writing From Life with Adam Farrer and Miranda France, Guest Reader Alice Jolly
Monday 28 Oct - Saturday 2 Nov
Limited Places Available
Drawing on a range of examples, we’ll explore ways to write freely and imaginatively about your own and other other people’s experience.
Read more and book your place. -
2493 Online: Poetry Masterclass – with Gerda Stevenson
Thursday 24 Oct
Online
Join poet and writer Gerda Stevenson for this 2-hour online masterclass in which she will explore aspects such as sound, rhythm, research and redrafting to help you craft and shape your own poems. Includes writing exercises and a short Q&A.
Read more and book your place. -
2484 Online: Moniack in a Month – Preparing for Publication
Monday 7 Oct - Wednesday 30 Oct
Online Limited Places Available
Led by literary agent Jenny Brown with guests from across the book world, this month-long online course takes emerging writers through the essential steps to ready their first book for publication. The course is designed for writers who have completed a first draft, either of fiction (literary, commercial or genre) or narrative nonfiction. With guests Malachy Tallack, Francesca Main and Anna Frame.
Read more and book your place. -
2441 Songwriting: Connections with Boo Hewerdine and Hafdís Huld, Guest Reader Xan Tyler
Monday 7 Oct - Saturday 12 Oct
Join us for a week of creating new songs and connecting with other songwriters. This week will explore songwriting, as both individuals and also through the joy of collaboration, and the unexpected creative treasures that come from trying something new.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Douglas Maxwell
Thursday 3 Oct
Join Douglas for an introduction to playwriting. An informal and fun guide to the various skills a writer needs to bring their work to life on the stage.
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2440 Playwriting: Honing Your Voice with Penelope Skinner and Al Smith, Guest Reader Douglas Maxwell
Monday 30 Sep - Saturday 5 Oct
This course is aimed at new and developing writers; you’ll be discussing structure, form and voice and focusing on how to apply those concepts to your work.
Read more and book your place. -
2439 September Retreat
Monday 23 Sep - Saturday 28 Sep
Fully Booked
‘If I were a bird I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.’ Fly your writing to Moniack Mhor amid the glow of the changing season, as the hills and woodland above Loch Ness turn to bronze.
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Whole Day Young Writers’ Café with Cailean Steed
Saturday 21 Sep
A full day workshop to allow you to plan and work on a whole project
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2482 Online: A Year of Writing with Elizabeth Reeder – Season 1
Wednesday 18 Sep - Wednesday 18 Dec
Online
Join Elizabeth Reeder online as you work on your long-form fiction or creative non-fiction project. This course offers an open, supportive, dedicated space for you to write a work-in-progress in the company of other writers, with Elizabeth building and holding a kind and supportive frame within which we can do our best work. Includes craft sessions, writing spaces, group feedback, one-to-one tutorials and the chance to share your work with your group.
Read more and book your place. -
Voices of the World at Abriachan Hall, feat. The Bookshop Band
Thursday 12 Sep
Join us at Abriachan Hall for a magical evening of poetry and prose from across the world, woven together with acoustic music from The Bookshop Band. 8.00pm – 10.30pm. One complimentary drink on arrival included in ticket price, then BYOB!
Read more and book your place. -
Explore Creative Writing with Jenni Fagan and essa may ranapiri
Wednesday 11 Sep
Are you care experienced and aged 14-30? Join Scottish author Jenni Fagan and Aotearoan poet essa may ranapiri for a workshop exploring different forms of creative writing, followed by the chance to ask them questions about their writing life.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Kerry Andrew
Thursday 5 Sep
Join Kerry for a Young Writers’ Café about reinventing folk ballads and traditional stories into prose fiction for our contemporary times.
Read more and book your place. -
2486 Online Guest Writer Event: Poetry – Helen Mort in conversation with John Glenday
Wednesday 4 Sep
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer Helen Mort will read from her work and be in conversation with John Glenday, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Poetry. Includes a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
Highland Book Prize 2023 Award Ceremony – Cancelled – see below
Tuesday 3 Sep
Unfortunately, due to unavoidable circumstances we have had to take the decision to cancel the live event in Nairn this year. The winner for the 2023 Highland Book Prize will be announced on Wednesday 4th September on the Highland Book Prize website.
The good news is, that Nairn Book & Arts Festival have arranged for an enhanced author talk that same evening, with Highland Book Prize shortlisted author James Macdonald Lockhart to be interviewed by poet Peter Mackay, with music by clarsach player Cheyenne Brown.
Read more and book your place. -
2435 Late August Retreat
Monday 26 Aug - Saturday 31 Aug
Fully Booked
The fields around Moniack Mhor are rich and golden with the fullness of summer now, ready for harvest. Join us this August to gather your own words and reap the writing magic.
Read more and book your place. -
2481 Online: Moniack in a Month – Poetry with John Glenday
Thursday 22 Aug - Friday 13 Sep
Online
Join poet John Glenday online in a small group of 12 participants for an intensive month of workshops which will use examples, exercises, discussions and readings to create new poems and hone editing skills. In a step by step series of workshops we’ll learn how to draft, structure, revise and polish poems for maximum impact and effect. A 4-week online course, with guest writer Helen Mort.
Read more and book your place. -
2434 Poetry: Nature and Poetry with Alycia Pirmohamed and Genevieve Carver, Guest Reader Tim Tim Cheng
Monday 19 Aug - Saturday 24 Aug
Limited Places Available
How do we engage with the non-human world? How do our own personal histories intersect with our experiences in nature? In this course we will explore how environment, place and wildlife can inform our poetry.
Read more and book your place. -
NEW SONGS: RESIDENTIAL
Sunday 11 Aug - Friday 16 Aug
Join Boo Hewerdine and Michele Stodart for a songwriting and recording opportunity! This residential is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
Read more and book your place. -
2432 Life-Writing: Memoir and Memory with Ali Millar and Kat Lister, Guest Reader Dr Akira O’Connor
Monday 5 Aug - Saturday 10 Aug
Fully Booked
Navigate the Fallible Past: Kat Lister and Ali Millar will explore memoir and memory, and where the two intersect, tackling the big question – can a writer trust such a capricious source?
Read more and book your place. -
2491 Online: Fiction Masterclass – Embroidery with Helen Oyeyemi
Thursday 1 Aug
Online
Join fiction writer Helen Oyeyemi in her second masterclass, this one focusing on how supplying or omitting details affects the substance and flow of a narrative. Includes writing exercises and a short Q&A.
Read more and book your place. -
2431 Writing Parenthood with Lucy Caldwell and Kerri ní Dochartaigh
Monday 29 Jul - Saturday 3 Aug
Fully Booked
In this course, which can include childcare, we will explore what it means to write contemporary motherhood in fiction and non-fiction, in all of its blood, guts, despair, sublimity, and soul. There are options for attendance on this course.
Read more and book your place. -
2478 Online Guest Writer Event: Writing about Nature and Place – Noreen Masud in conversation with Malachy Tallack
Thursday 18 Jul
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer Noreen Masud will read from her work and be in conversation with Malachy Tallack, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Writing about Nature and Place. Includes a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
2429 July Retreat
Monday 15 Jul - Saturday 20 Jul
Fully Booked
July is when Moniack’s garden is full and heavy with raspberries! Take this time to nourish the fruit of your own writing – with some home-made scones topped with Kit’s raspberry jam to keep you going.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café
Thursday 11 Jul
Join us for a free writing session! No need for experience, just bring along a playful mind and pen and paper! Drinks and snacks provided.
Read more and book your place. -
THIS IS THE THING… : RESIDENTIAL
Sunday 7 Jul - Friday 12 Jul
Join Chris Thorpe and Tanuja Amarasuriya for a creative adventure in writing plays! This residential is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
Read more and book your place. -
2468 Online: Moniack in a Month – Writing about Nature and Place with Malachy Tallack
Wednesday 3 Jul - Friday 26 Jul
Online
Join award-winning writer Malachy Tallack and explore how to bring together rich detail and a strong narrative voice to create beautiful and compelling nature writing. A 4-week online course, with guest writer Noreen Masud.
Read more and book your place. -
2427 Tutored Retreat: Crime Writing with Helen Fitzgerald and Doug Johnstone, Guest Reader Karen Sullivan
Monday 1 Jul - Saturday 6 Jul
Limited Places Available
Are you working on a crime novel and want to make it sing? This intensive tutored retreat is an opportunity for writers of crime fiction to focus closely on their works-in-progress, finessing and polishing all aspects of their writing.
Read more and book your place. -
2492 Online: Crime Thriller Masterclass – with Leye Adenle
Thursday 27 Jun
Online
Join crime thriller writer Leye Adenle for this 2-hour online masterclass. Learn how to intricately weave sensory details into your crime and thriller stories, heightening tension and creating an immersive experience that keeps the reader locked in the fictive dream. Includes writing exercises and a short Q&A.
Read more and book your place. -
2426 Playwriting: Mechanics of Playwriting with Simon Stephens and Cordelia Lynn, Guest Reader Anoushka Warden
Monday 24 Jun - Saturday 29 Jun
Fully Booked
An active interrogation of the mechanics of playwriting, this course will creatively examine the use of dramatic action, character, location, narrative and structure in the making of a play.
Read more and book your place. -
2477 Online Guest Writer Event: The Passionate Essay – Luke Thompson in conversation with Jen Hadfield
Monday 17 Jun
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer and publisher Luke Thompson will read from his work and be in conversation with Jen Hadfield, poet, essay writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: The Passionate Essay. Includes a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
2425 Fiction: Starting to write Myth into Fiction with Joanne Harris and Louie Stowell, Guest Reader Kevin Crossley Holland
Monday 17 Jun - Saturday 22 Jun
Fully Booked
As humans, we are embedded in a web of shared stories, handed down through the generations. Join Joanne Harris and Louie Stowell to explore how themes and characters from myths and folklore can help you unlock your own story.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Heather Parry
Thursday 13 Jun
Join Heather Parry for an exploration of writing into the gothic genre, and how we can draw upon its long history in new, fresh and exciting ways.
Read more and book your place. -
2424 Poetry: Poetry Practice with Ann and Peter Sansom, Guest Reader Rachael Allen
Monday 10 Jun - Saturday 15 Jun
Fully Booked
Applications are invited for this poetry practice course. Taking classic and contemporary poems as model and stimulus, you will move your practice on, while finishing several poems in just one week.
Read more and book your place. -
2467 Online: Moniack in a Month – The Passionate Essay with Jen Hadfield
Friday 7 Jun - Saturday 29 Jun
Online Fully Booked
Join award-winning writer Jen Hadfield for an adventure in writing essays and lyrical non-fiction. A 4-week online course, with guest writer and publisher, Luke Thompson.
Read more and book your place. -
2480 Online: Moniack in a Month – Short Story with Cynan Jones
Tuesday 4 Jun - Friday 28 Jun
Online
Join writer Cynan Jones for a 4-week online short story course to discover tools and motivation to help you tackle a story head-on and develop your own piece of short fiction. Includes workshops, group drop-ins, two one-to-one tutorials and a chance to share your work.
Read more and book your place. -
2423 Early June Retreat
Monday 3 Jun - Saturday 8 Jun
Fully Booked
Summer starts to make itself known in the Scottish Highlands in June, as the days stretch towards the solstice. Make the most of extra daylight and stretch your metaphorical writer legs during our June retreat.
Read more and book your place. -
2421 May Retreat
Monday 20 May - Saturday 25 May
Limited Places Available
Clear air and the scent of pine drifting from the forest await you on our May writing retreat. This time is yours to focus on your writing away from the bustle of everyday life.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Building Community Evening Surgery
Friday 17 May
These sessions allow you to ask questions specific to your own community needs, and the ways in which you can align and support.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Building Community
Friday 17 May
As you look now towards the next stage of your career, how do you work with other writers and organisations? How do you access and co-create community?
Read more and book your place. -
2476 Online Guest Speaker Event: Speculative Fiction – Sorcha Rose in conversation with Rachelle Atalla
Thursday 16 May
Online
In this one-hour online industry-focused session delivered via Zoom, editor Sorcha Rose will break down the process of publishing speculative fiction, in discussion with writer and tutor Rachelle Atalla. Includes a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Post-Publication Evening Surgery
Thursday 16 May
This session focuses on your own writing journey and your expectations around the release of your book into the world and next steps.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Post-Publication
Thursday 16 May
Publication day is approaching; how do you navigate the highs and lows of the post-publication period?
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Working with Publishers Evening Surgery
Wednesday 15 May
In this session you can explore the questions specific to your own publishing journey.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Working with Publishers
Wednesday 15 May
You or your agent are now working with a publisher. In this session the panel will discuss what to expect during this stage of your book’s journey.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Querying Evening Surgery
Tuesday 14 May
Tailor your questions to your own circumstances for these 1-2-1s on the subject of querying and working with agents.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Querying
Tuesday 14 May
You’ve got your book into a good shape: how do you now go about getting it published? How do you work with an agent?
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Writing the Book Evening Surgery
Monday 13 May
In these short 1-2-1 sessions you can ask questions specific to your own writing project.
Read more and book your place. -
Life of a Book: Writing the Book
Monday 13 May
In this first session of the week, we look at the beginning state of any writer’s journey: turning your words into a book.
Read more and book your place. -
2466 Online: Moniack in a Month – Speculative Fiction with Rachelle Atalla
Wednesday 8 May - Thursday 30 May
Online
Join award-winning writer and screenwriter Rachelle Atalla, exploring the art, breadth and beauty of speculative fiction. 4-week online course, with guest speaker, editor Sorcha Rose
Read more and book your place. -
2419 Tutored Retreat: Writing and Walking with Linda Cracknell and Kapka Kassabova, Guest Reader Horatio Clare
Monday 6 May - Saturday 11 May
Place is an integral part of many writers’ prose practice, whether writing fiction or non-fiction. This retreat will give you time and space in the expansive, nurturing environment of Moniack Mhor alongside walking, writing, and reading.
Read more and book your place. -
2418 Fiction: Short Story Flow and Form with Tom Conaghan and Camilla Grudova, Guest Reader Jessie Greengrass
Monday 29 Apr - Saturday 4 May
Limited Places Available
In this inspirational week, we will look at elements of flavour, sense and surrealism in short fiction, and encourage flow in your writing to reconnect with creativity beyond any internalised expectations of form.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Keith Jarrett
Thursday 25 Apr
Join Keith in finding fascinating ways to write and perform poetry! We’ll be exploring how to employ sharp images to express ourselves, and how to bring them to life beyond the page.
Read more and book your place. -
2474 Online Guest Writer Event: Non-Fiction – Cal Flyn in conversation with Puja Changoiwala
Thursday 25 Apr
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer and journalist Cal Flyn will read from her work and be in conversation with Puja Changoiwala, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Non-Fiction. Includes a short time for audience questions.
Read more and book your place. -
2417 Poetry: Fling Open the Doors with Caroline Bird and Malika Booker, Guest Reader Keith Jarrett
Monday 22 Apr - Saturday 27 Apr
Fully Booked
This course is all about radical self-permission, flinging open the doors of ourselves, allowing our blank pages to yield words we didn’t even know we held inside our heads. Prepare to write an almost criminal amount of new poems.
Read more and book your place. -
2416 Mid-April Retreat
Monday 15 Apr - Saturday 20 Apr
Fully Booked
Whether you want to energise old work, make space for new work, or simply edit in quiet, you can immerse yourself and your writing in the energy of spring as the landscape around you begins to blossom.
Read more and book your place. -
2464 Online: Moniack in a Month – Non-Fiction: The Twelve-step Roadmap with Puja Changoiwala
Monday 8 Apr - Thursday 2 May
Online Limited Places Available
Conceive, craft and aim to publish your non-fiction stories with award-winning journalist and author, Puja Changoiwala. With guest writer, Cal Flyn.
Read more and book your place. -
2414 Spring Retreat – Week 3 of 3
Monday 1 Apr - Saturday 6 Apr
We are dedicating this time of year to the calm of retreats. Join us for the last in our three-week series of spring retreats to give your writing that extra push.
Read more and book your place. -
Club Artysans – Every Thursday
Thursday 28 Mar - Thursday 19 Dec
A free weekly meet up in Inverness for young people: explore different ways to express yourself through art forms and crafts, have some food, and meet other young people at Cafe Artysans
Read more and book your place. -
2413 Spring Retreat – Week 2 of 3
Monday 25 Mar - Saturday 30 Mar
Limited Places Available
As the days draw out, come to Moniack Mhor for a week of undisturbed writing time. Join us for this week only or stay longer for more dedicated writing time during our spring retreat series.
Read more and book your place. -
2490 Online: Fiction Masterclass – Tenses and Tension with Helen Oyeyemi
Friday 22 Mar
Online
In this two-hour masterclass led by author Helen Oyeyemi, you will discuss and complete writing exercises that address different approaches to maintaining an element of unpredictability in your fiction – whether that’s aimed at the reader or more for self-motivational purposes. Includes a short Q&A.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Jem Milton
Thursday 21 Mar
Join Jem for an interactive session of creativity and learning, where they share insights on storytelling and comics, and create a piece of art that is uniquely yours.
Read more and book your place. -
2412 Spring Retreat – Week 1 of 3
Monday 18 Mar - Saturday 23 Mar
Limited Places Available
Whilst the natural world wakes up and stretches, join us for an untutored retreat to place your writing at the forefront. Join us for this week only or stay longer for more dedicated writing time during our spring retreat series.
Read more and book your place. -
Poetry Live at Moniack Mhor: SHAEIRAT (شاعرات / poetesses)
Tuesday 12 Mar
Join us at Moniack Mhor for an evening of live poetry in the Strawbale Studio, with Soukaina Habiballah, Mouna Ouafik, and Sawsan Al Areeqe. This event is part of the Scottish tour of SHAEIRAT, which aims to give voice to marginalised female writers from the Middle East and North Africa.
Read more and book your place. -
2411 Mid-March Retreat
Monday 11 Mar - Saturday 16 Mar
See out the last of the winter light and take the time to nurture and expand your writing in this newly programmed March retreat. This retreat also includes an evening reading event, by the fireside in our off-grid Strawbale Studio, with visiting poets from Morocco and Yemen.
Read more and book your place. -
2463 Online: Moniack in Seven and a Half Weeks – Writing Audio Drama with Jessica Dromgoole
Wednesday 6 Mar - Friday 19 Apr
Online Fully Booked
Make your scripts fly with award-winning audio drama producer and director Jessica Dromgoole. A 7.5-week online course, with guest writers Sebastian Baczkiewicz and Katie Hims.
Read more and book your place. -
2471 Online Guest Writer Event: Fiction – Andrew Greig in conversation with Cynthia Rogerson
Thursday 15 Feb
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer Andrew Greig will read from his work and be in conversation with Cynthia Rogerson, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Fiction. Includes a short time for audience questions.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Kirsty Logan
Thursday 15 Feb
Join Kirsty for a fun and spooky exploration of how to write horror and supernatural stories.
Read more and book your place. -
2407 Historical Fiction with Margaret Elphinstone and Vicky MacKenzie, Guest Reader S.I. Martin
Monday 12 Feb - Saturday 17 Feb
Limited Places Available
Uncover the art of crafting vivid historical fiction – from meticulous research to imaginative leaps into the past.
Read more and book your place. -
2461 Online: Moniack in a Month – Fiction with Cynthia Rogerson
Wednesday 7 Feb - Thursday 29 Feb
Online Fully Booked
Get your fiction writing year off to a flying start with award-winning author Cynthia Rogerson. Suitable for complete beginners as well as any writer who feels they’ve lost their way. With guest reader Andrew Greig.
Read more and book your place. -
2472 Online Guest Writer Event: Short Fiction – Leone Ross in conversation with Yan Ge
Monday 5 Feb
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer Leone Ross will read from her work and be in conversation with Yan Ge, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Short Fiction. There will also be a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
2406 Fiction with Ross Raisin and Kim Sherwood, Guest Reader Ron Butlin
Monday 5 Feb - Saturday 10 Feb
Fully Booked
Navigate the final stretch of your novel-writing journey with expert guidance. Our intensive workshop series will equip you with the tools to overcome hurdles, refine your narrative, and reach the triumphant finish line.
Read more and book your place. -
2405 Late January Retreat
Monday 29 Jan - Saturday 3 Feb
Limited Places Available
Amidst snow-draped hills and crackling fireplaces, let the season’s chill invigorate your pen.
Read more and book your place. -
2404 Songwriting with Kathryn Williams and Dan Willson, Guest Reader Louis Abbott
Monday 22 Jan - Saturday 27 Jan
Fully Booked
Unleash your inner songwriter, find your voice, and connect through music in an immersive week of workshops, co-writing sessions, and inspiring performances for all levels of experience.
Read more and book your place. -
2470 Online Guest Writer Event: Poetry – Hollie McNish in conversation with Michael Pedersen
Wednesday 17 Jan
Online
In this one-hour online session delivered via Zoom, writer Hollie McNish will read from her work and be in conversation with Michael Pedersen, writer and tutor of Moniack in a Month: Poetry. Includes a short time for questions from our audience.
Read more and book your place. -
2403 January Retreat
Monday 15 Jan - Saturday 20 Jan
Fully Booked
Join us for a rejuvenating start to the new year, where words flow freely in the Highland air.
Read more and book your place. -
2462 Online: Moniack in a Month – Short Fiction with Yan Ge
Thursday 11 Jan - Thursday 8 Feb
Online Limited Places Available
Join award-winning bilingual writer Yan Ge online for a month to dive into stories from all over the world and explore the possibilities of short fiction. With guest reader, Leone Ross.
Read more and book your place. -
2460 Online: Moniack in a Month – Poetry with Michael Pedersen
Monday 8 Jan - Wednesday 31 Jan
Online Fully Booked
Get soppy, sentimental, gallus and gooey with poet Michael Pedersen, exploring love, life, grief and beasts. A 4-week online course, with guest reader Hollie McNish.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Cailean Steed
Thursday 14 Dec
Join Cailean as they help you craft the perfect thriller.
Read more and book your place. -
2350 Christmas Retreat
Monday 11 Dec - Saturday 16 Dec
Limited Places Available
Forget the festive rush, and come to Moniack Mhor for some writing instead. This could be the perfect gift to yourself – time, space, and the permission to write, with festive treats laid on!
Read more and book your place. -
2349 Tutored Retreat: Fiction with Amanda Smyth and Kevin MacNeil, Guest Reader Jenny Brown
Monday 4 Dec - Saturday 9 Dec
Fully Booked
This week-long tutored retreat offers an opportunity to focus intensively on a work-in-progress.
Read more and book your place. -
2348 Poetry with Helen Mort and John Glenday, Guest Reader Marjorie Lotfi
Monday 27 Nov - Saturday 2 Dec
30th Anniversary Fully Booked
Bringing it all together – now that your work has started appearing in magazines and journals, where do you go from here? This intensive tutored retreat will provide support and tailored advice to poets who are ready to put together a first publication.
Read more and book your place. -
2347 November Retreat
Monday 20 Nov - Saturday 25 Nov
Limited Places Available
A warm welcome and a well-stoked log fire await you at Moniack Mhor. Whether you want to work on your latest manuscript, play, or poems, this time is yours. Immerse yourself in your work in a supportive environment, away from any distractions.
Read more and book your place. -
2385 Online: Flash Fiction Workshop with Meg Pokrass
Tuesday 14 Nov
30th Anniversary Online Fully Booked
How do flash fiction writers create dramatic urgency and emotional truth in a few words? In this exercise-driven small-group workshop, Meg Pokrass will focus on what makes a flash story exceptional.
Read more and book your place. -
2346 Short Fiction with A.L. Kennedy and Sean Lusk, Guest Reader Bernard MacLaverty
Monday 13 Nov - Saturday 18 Nov
30th Anniversary Fully Booked
Writing that sings relies on a writer undertaking a number of interlinked processes. On this course, you’ll learn practical, dynamic ways to improve your drafts, lift the level of your prose, serve your voice and ask more from your stories.
Read more and book your place. -
Young Writers’ Café with Dan Willson
Thursday 9 Nov
Join Dan for the next Young Writers’ Cafe.
Read more and book your place. -
2345 Songwriting with Kris Drever and Michele Stodart, Guest Reader Withered Hand (Dan Willson)
Monday 6 Nov - Saturday 11 Nov
Limited Places Available
Dive into this creative week of songwriting, co-writing and explore the possibilities of telling a story through song, connecting words to music and sound, finding your inner voice and creativity.
Read more and book your place. -
Introduction to Creative Writing
Sunday 5 Nov
Join Joseph Elliott for an introduction to creative writing! This taster is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
Read more and book your place. -
2344 Life Writing with Amy Liptrot and Horatio Clare, Guest Reader Nancy Campbell
Monday 30 Oct - Saturday 4 Nov
Fully Booked
People, Memory and Truth: learn how to write dazzling non-fiction which matters and moves. Tutors Horatio Clare and Amy Liptrot will cover a wide spectrum of techniques that will apply to journalism, memoir, biography, travel and nature writing.
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2369 Online: Moniack in Six Weeks – Nature Writing with Mark Cocker
Wednesday 25 Oct - Friday 1 Dec
Online Fully Booked
Join multi-award-winning author Mark Cocker online for six weeks exploring the essentials of nature and non-fiction writing
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SOUND AND VISION- RESIDENTIAL
Monday 16 Oct - Friday 20 Oct
Join Graeme Roger, Dave Martin and Ross Carbarns and explore photography, film, sound and projection! This taster is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
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2384 Online: Historical Fiction Masterclass with Sean Lusk
Thursday 12 Oct
30th Anniversary Online
In this historical fiction masterclass, Sean will cover how to do your research, how to write real historical characters in new ways, how to invent credible new characters to walk alongside them and discuss how to make language and tone convincing yet fresh.
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Young Writers’ Café with Jem Milton
Thursday 12 Oct
Join Jem for an interactive journey where they demystify the comic-making process.
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MAKING COMICS
Wednesday 11 Oct
Join Jem Milton for a FREE comic making workshop! This taster is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
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2341 October Retreat
Monday 9 Oct - Saturday 14 Oct
Fully Booked
Steep yourself in the rich Highland autumn, and focus on your work in our relaxed and supportive setting. Enjoy space and time to write alongside seasonal food, crisp air, and the company of fellow writers over coffee and cake – perfect for enriching your writing practice.
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2340 NEW – Early October Retreat
Monday 2 Oct - Saturday 7 Oct
Fully Booked
With high demand for our untutored retreats, we have fitted in an extra week of writing space this autumn. Come along to relax in our beautiful surroundings and focus on your writing while we look after you.
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ROLEPLAYING GAMES
Saturday 30 Sep - Sunday 1 Oct
Join John Moley, Richmond Clements and Rachel Humphries for a FREE gaming day! This taster is offered as part of the Creativity and Care Programme for care experienced young people aged 14-30.
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2339 End of September Retreat
Monday 25 Sep - Saturday 30 Sep
Fully Booked
As the weather begins to turn, let Moniack Mhor be the backdrop to your latest writing project. Have a wander round the garden for a leg stretch, say hello to the Highland cows next door, and look out for the kites circling in the sky!
Read more and book your place.
