Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 3rd Nov - Sat 8th Nov, 2025
All Day
Location
Moniack Mhor, Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire , IV4 7HT
Lilt an scrieve: coorse fur new an emerging Scots scrievers an bairds
Hiv ye aye kent that ye wantit tae scrieve in Scots? Dae ye hear muisic in aw its wirds an rhymes? 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. The lave o the time will be yours tae explore whit ye can dae wi the Scots leid, readin Scots buiks in Moniack Mhor’s leebraries, an communin wi ither coorse participants wha are scrievin in Scots an aw.
Ye’ll be jined mid-week by scriever Amanda Thomson wha’ll read fae her wark an blether tae aw by the fire.
Wha’s it fur?
Onybody new tae or a’ready scrievin sangs or poems or stories in Scots.
Can a git help tae come?
Aye! Creative Scotland are fundin twa places on this coorse for sang-scrievers an twa places for makars or scrievers a’ready warkin in Scots an wha are keen tae lear an develop mair skeels. This funding includes ony access support an traivel expenses anaw.
If ye want tae apply for wan o thir funded places, email us on awards@moniackmhor.org.uk an tell us why ye wid like tae jine this taucht retreat, an if ye are mair interestit in sang-scrievin, or scrievin poems or stories. Please gie us a swatch o ony wark ye’ve a’ready daen an aw, eg up to three poems or sangs, 500 wirds o prose etc.
Please send yer application sae suin as ye can. Submission date extended – we will now accept applications up to 18th August. We’ll lat ye ken aboot the ootcome o yer application by the stert o September or afore.
If ye’ve ony questions afore appleeing, email us on awards@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Tutors
Siobhan Miller is one of Scotland’s foremost singers, renowned for her unique vocal style and evocative songwriting. A four-time BBC Alba Scots Singer of the Year and 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner, she tours worldwide and has released five solo albums to critical acclaim.
She is a regular performer at major festivals including Celtic Connections, where she has featured in flagship projects such as the Transatlantic Sessions. Siobhan’s television appearances include BBC Alba’s Scottish Songbook, Hogmanay Live, and a role in the US/UK drama Outlander. Her international work includes a season on Broadway, a month-long residency in Boston for WGBH’s A Celtic Christmas, and tours across Europe, North America, and Australia, sharing her distinctive voice and songs with audiences around the globe.
William Letford published his first collection of poetry while working as a roofer. Since then, his work has been adapted into film, projected onto buildings, carved into monuments, adapted for the stage, cast out over the radio, and performed by orchestras. He has helped restore a medieval village in mountains of northern Italy, taught English in Japan, and been invited to perform in Iraq, South Korea, Lebanon, Australia, Germany, India, Poland, and many more countries.
Guest Reader
Amanda Thomson is a Scottish artist and writer whose makes work about our connections to the natural environment and the ways in which we feel we belong. Her first book, A Scots Dictionary of Nature, is a compendium of found words about nature, found in old 19th Century Scots Language dictionaries. Belonging, Natural Histories of Place, Identity and Home was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, 2023. Boundary Layers, her film-essay about nature’s reclamation of Ravenscraig, once Europe’s largest steelwork, was part of A Fragile Correspondence, Scotland’s exhibition in the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Her website is www.passingplace.com
Fees
The full fee for this course is £725. This includes your accommodation in a single room with shared bathroom, all meals, hot drinks and snacks from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning, and your tuition. For more information about the format and practicalities of our courses, tutored courses, and retreats, please visit our About the Residential Courses & Retreats page..
A limited number of en-suite rooms are available, which can be booked in advance for a £50 surcharge. We will also reserve an en-suite room for anyone who may need it due to a medical condition. This will be offered out as an upgrade nearer the course start date if it is not needed.
A limited number of Twin Room places are available at a discounted price of £675 per person. When booking a Twin Room place, please tell us in the comments box which gender you are and which gender(s) you are comfortable sharing a room with. This information will remain confidential.
A small single room with a skylight is available at a discounted price of £700. Please note this room does not have an ordinary window, only a small skylight.
A deposit is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The balance payment of £575 is due six weeks before the course begins. Refunds are not always available – please read our Terms & Conditions for full details about our cancellation policy. If you would like to pay the full amount in advance, please email us on info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Bursaries are always available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments. If you have any problems paying online, or wish to discuss paying in instalments or applying for financial help, or would simply like assistance, please contact us by emailing info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements, for example a ground floor bedroom and / or access to a step-free accessible shower room. We also reserve one en-suite bedroom per course for anyone who may need this due to a medical condition. For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.