From Little Story Seekers to Speakeasy evenings, Creative Writing classes to Manga, Teachers as Writers to Young Writers and Playwrights to Publishing, it’s all happening at The Writers’ Block! Check out our events listing.

The Writers’ Block aims to encourage the creative writer in us all. In December novelist Wyl Menmuir brought us one of his favourite activities for getting under the skin of his characters in the planning stages of a story. It works for characters of all ages.

The task begins like this: Write a list of ten secret New Year’s resolutions for your character. Make them as specific as possible. Dig deep and…

Full activity details are in New Years Resolutions

If you are inspired by the exercise, please let us know, or publish and submit your writing online to The Story Republic Library.

The Writers’ Block is an imaginative and customised space in the heart of Cornwall College in Pool dedicated to creative writing and literature.  Our ambition is to become the Centre for Writing in Cornwall.

We currently run:

• programmes for reluctant writers with schools
• special projects for targeted groups of young people and adults
• an early years’ story sharing Little Story Seekers,
• holiday workshops, young writers and illustrators groups
• a Speakeasy for emerging writers
• a memory café
• writer events and a mini festival Ideas from the Attic

 

The ambition and programme is growing …

 

This is where we need your help. 

We are a small team with big ideas and are looking for a small group of volunteers who have a passion for creative writing and working with young people and the community.

These are the different roles which we envisage will grow as we develop.

• Supporting writer-led sessions with young people (you would need both teaching and writing experience to do this)
• Supporting individuals with reading and writing (in the future)
• Helping at events
• Advocacy and publicity

 

Commitment

At the moment this could be quite sporadic and is more likely to be one-off sessions or maybe over a 5 week period of once a week.  It is unlikely to be on a weekly or monthly basis.

We shall have our first introductory meeting on: Tuesday 18^th September from 5-7pm

Our first event with volunteers will a Fun Palace on Saturday 6^th October from 10-3pm.

There will be other opportunities if you cannot make these dates.

 

How do I find out more?

Visit www.thestoryrepublic.co.uk/the-writers-block  or www.keap.org.uk

 

Contact Amanda Harris, amanda.harris@keap.org.uk  07712331421 if you would be interested in volunteering with us in the future.

KEAP and book printers TJ International are delighted to launch their newest publication Let the Adventure Begin… An anthology of short stories by children on June 27^th at The Writers’ Block in Cornwall College Camborne to coincide with National Writing Day.

Children from Crowan, Blackwater, Fowey and St Mewan Schools along with the Virtual Schools and The Young Writers’ Group have all been attending sessions at The Writers’ Block.  All of the sessions have been led by professional writers Wyl Menmuir, Rebecca Gregson and Jane Pugh with the aim to foster a love of writing through encouraging children’s imaginations, developing their confidence as writers and giving them time to create and write.

“The stories and poems in this anthology come straight from the young writers’ notebooks and reflect the stage at which they are now in their writing (and not yet where they aspire to be).  They are a part of a learning process to encourage an enthusiasm for writing which we hope will develop into a love of language and storytelling.” Amanda Harris, director of KEAP and The Writers’ Block.

The stories are of epic journeys, terrifying battles and terrible encounters with beasts and aliens.  Some are very funny, others poignant and many quite surreal.  There is descriptive writing where the writer is evidently taking delight in manipulating language and creating an effect for the reader.  They are all different.

The Writers’ Block is a place of wonder and imagination in which to create, shape and share stories and creative writing. Transformed, by artists and carpenters, from two disused classrooms, it is a unique space of inspiration and ingenuity.

“Before, I wasn’t very confident which meant I didn’t enjoy it as much but now I’ve gained confidence and I really enjoy writing.” Pupil from The Writers’ Block.

One of our aims is to give a platform for children’s writing to give them a sense of a wider audience.  TJ International has given immeasurable support by printing this book.  Each child will be given a copy at the launch event.

TJ are proud to collaborate with KEAP on this exciting new anthology. Supporting literacy at the grass-roots level in Cornwall is something we have always been passionate about. We hope that seeing their stories in print will serve to nurture creative writing talent in the future. Hannah Vaughan, TJ International

For further information www.thestoryrepublic/the-writers-block

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve had the absolute pleasure and excitement of collaborating with TJ International to publish The Writers’ Block Anthology.  TJ International caught up with Amanda Harris, our Director at KEAP, to discuss the publication:

First of all, tell us about the Writers’ Block and what it does for students in Cornwall.

The Writers’ Block is a space which has been created as a place dedicated to support creative writing in all different forms. Two empty classrooms at Cornwall College Camborne have been transformed by artists and craftspeople into a space which  ignites the imagination and is a focused place for people to write.  We run programmes for schools, early years, holiday workshops, sessions for special groups and adult sessions. We increasingly run literature inspired events at The Writers’ Block.

The bedrock of The Writers’ Block is school children and our focus on reluctant writers.

How did the idea for the Writers’ Block Anthology come about?

One the key motivators for writing is having an audience for your work. When Hannah Vaughan, from TJ International, suggested that they could print some of the stories which have been generated in The Writers’ Block, we leapt at the chance. What could be more motivating than seeing you work in print?

Why do you think it’s important to get students, particularly those reluctant to writing, engaging with stories?

I firmly believe that if you have a story to tell, one that you have belief in, that you care about, then you will make the effort to write it to the best of your ability. Some children feel that they can’t write, that they have no imagination, they don’t feel good enough, so they give up. Our aim is to unlock their imaginations and give them the confidence to try and then share their stories. When they come to The Writers’ Block, the children are writers. We want them to leave with this sense of self-belief from which their teacher can really help them with the more formal aspects of writing.

Why did you decide to turn the stories into a physical book?

What could be better than a book! So not only is your work in there but there are more than 60 other pieces of writing to read! The children can keep it for ever and also share with their family and friends. I can feel the pride already! It also gives us the chance to do a book launch. I just wish we could have included all the children who attended sessions here, however, it would have been quite a tome… We are also overjoyed to use an illustration by Bex Bourne, a professional illustrator, on the cover which captures some of the energy of the writing on the inside covers.

If people are interested in buying a copy of the Writers’ Block Anthology, how much are they and where can they order them from?

Each young writer is being given a copy.  Further copies are available priced £6 plus p&p.  Please email helen.reynolds@keap.org.uk or call on 07771 981094.

TJ and KEAP launch Writers’ Block Anthology

 

• ’40 part Motet’ by Janet Cardiff, a wonderful sound piece installed at Richmond Chapel in Penzance – http://groundwork.art/programme/janet-cardiff/ You can find out more about the piece and hear from the artist and a short clip of it here – http://www.tate.org.uk/art/videos/tateshots/janet-cardiffs-forty-part-motet . The work is on display until the 27 August, open every day except Sunday.

 

• ‘Passage for Par’ by Rosemary Lee. Lee has been commissioned by Groundwork to create a unique performance work with local performers on Par Beach on the 22nd – 24th June at low tide – http://groundwork.art/programme/rosemary-lee/

 

• ‘Bella, Maia and Nick (From nothing to something to something else, part 1)’ is again a newly commissioned art work by Manon de Boer. The artist worked with young musicians, filming them over a number of days at Porthmeor Studio in St Ives to reach a point where they become less aware of the camera’s presence recording their experiments with music as a group. http://groundwork.art/programme/manon-de-boer-bella-maia-and-nick/This film is showing until 8 July open Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays.

 

• There will also be a new film installed at CAST in Helston – the Groundwork programme hub – http://groundwork.art/programme/francis-alys/it is an accessible and moving work by international artist Francis Alÿs showing young people calling over the ruins of the town of Ani using bird callers to communicate with each other. This film is showing until 8 July and is open Tuesday to Sunday.

 

For information about Groundwork, and to join the mailing list, visit groundwork.art.

Visit the CAST (the Cornubian Arts & Science Trust) website here: c-a-s-t.org.uk.

Follow Groundwork on Twitter @groundworkart and on Instagram @groundwork.art

Follow CAST on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram @CASTcornwall

Creative Kernow – Cultivator Programme

Job Description for the post of Creative Business and Marketing Advisor -Museums and Public Galleries 0.6 FTE

Cultivator is an innovative project providing an integrated programme of skills and business development support for Small to Medium Enterprises in Cornwall’s creative industries. It is funded by the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, Arts Council England and Cornwall Council.

The lead partner and the employer for this post is Creative Kernow http://www.creativekernow.org.uk/ one of Cornwall’s leading creative sector organisations; the project is managed as part of the work of Creative Kernow’s well-respected and long-established Creative Skills initiative.

Creative Kernow runs a number of projects in Cornwall apart from Creative Skills, with the key ones being Krowji, the creative workspace cluster in Redruth; the Carn to Cove rural touring scheme; the Cornwall 365 cultural tourism project and the FEAST community arts programme. The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee.

Cultivator partner organisations are Cornwall College, Real Ideas Organisation (RIO), Business West, the Cornwall Museums Partnership (CMP) and Plymouth University.

The project delivers creative specific Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG); mentoring; sector relevant training; a co-investment grants programme; internships and other activities with SMEs that enable students, graduates and non-graduates to gain industry relevant experience and skills. It works alongside the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (C&IoS) Growth Hub and generic business support provision to deliver bespoke and highly specialist coaching, mentoring and targeted investment needed to build capacity and maximise the growth potential of the creative industries.

This is now the midpoint of the Cultivator project, which currently has an end date of September 2019. From the experience gained during the first year of working with the museum clients, a need has been identified for a Creative Business and Marketing Advisor to provide dedicated to support to the museums and public galleries across all aspects of business support, but with a specific focus on marketing.

Job Description

There are five Creative Business Advisors at the heart of the project, each with a dedicated specialist area and as a team working across the whole of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The role of the Museums and Public Galleries Creative Business and Marketing Advisor will be to:

• Be the lead point of contact for museums and galleries sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly;
• Act as a dedicated sector specialist and champion who will develop and maintain close working relationships with local agencies, networks and individuals as appropriate, brokering opportunities for the sector in Cornwall and IOS with a focus on the development of all aspects of business support with a specific focus on marketing across the museums.
• Provide expert marketing support for museums and galleries, helping museums to extend their audiences and thereby help them grow
• Develop schemes and access support for museum and gallery staff at all levels of professional practice in relation to marketing, in liaison with Cornwall Museums Partnership
• Provide hands on support for museums and galleries to help them increase and diversify their audiences and increase their income streams, including support to exploit digital technologies to help museums and galleries maximise their impact and reach.

This job description is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will also be required to carry out any other duties which may reasonably be required of you in accordance with the needs of the project. You will also be required to be flexible and adaptable with respect to your role.

1. Delivery

• Undertake Development Needs Analysis (DNA) sessions as necessary on a one to one basis with users of the service
• Provide sector relevant information and guidance in relation to all forms of business support and marketing
• Keep up to date with the full range of business support provision locally and nationally
• Promote and develop opportunities for museums and galleries to network and trade locally through attendance at appropriate business events
• Develop and maintain working relationships with the C&IoS Growth Hub connectors team; Oxford Innovation; YTKO and Unlocking Innovation Potential
• Provide relevant and up to date sector specific marketing advice e.g. funding opportunities; knowledge of relevant sector development organisations regionally and nationally
• Track and monitor museum beneficiaries at intervals as required
• Develop all activities in line with the Cornwall Museums Strategy

2. Administration

• Assist administrative team and Project Manager in maintaining systems and procedures for the initial IAG and DNA services
• Maintain data collection for Cultivator, in accordance with ESIF regulations, to include DNA records, beneficiary timesheets
• Assist the administrative team in maintaining ESIF eligibility records
• Provide regular reports to the Project Manager and Director on project progress against target and timescales agreed in the project action plan

3. Finance

• Assist the Creative Kernow finance team with the monitoring requirements of funders
• Provide the Creative Kernow finance team with financial information as require

4. Other

• Provide reports for Creative Kernow board meetings and the Cultivator Project Advisory Group or working groups which may be instituted from time to time
• Attend general staff and team meetings
• Other duties as may be required by the Cultivator Project Manager or Director
• Work closely with the Cornwall Museums Partnership team to ensure an integrated approach to marketing support services for museums and galleries across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Person Specification

Please note that only candidates who can demonstrate that they can meet all the essential criteria will be shortlisted. 

Skills/Experience

Essential

• Proven experience of providing business support to SMEs
• Proven experience of providing marketing support to SMEs
• Proven knowledge of how creative industries microbusinesses and SMEs operate and the criteria for business success
• Proven knowledge of development and execution of all aspects of marketing plans
• Understanding of the use of all social media platforms in relation to marketing
• Knowledge of the range of business functions such as marketing, financial, operational and management, and how they are inter-related in a small business (i.e. a generalist’s perspective)
• Competent level of computer literacy in use of Windows, Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint
• Proven ability to use communications technology effectively across a range of platforms
• Ability to produce accurate and well-presented written documents
• Ability to conduct meetings
• Proven experience of dealing effectively with customer inquiries
• Ability to communicate one to one effectively and with empathy
• Ability to use appropriate questioning and listening skills to gather information
• Full valid driving licence and access to a vehicle for business use

Desirable

• Proven knowledge of Cornwall’s Creative Industries sector
• Proven knowledge of the Museums and Galleries sector
• Trained in life coaching or counselling skills

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Flexible, adaptable, able to work on own initiative within a small team
• Excellent interpersonal communication and customer service skills, including an effective telephone manner
• Very well organised with excellent time management skills; reliable and with the ability to self-motivate
• Committed to equal opportunities
• Able to work to tight deadlines

Organisational structure

The Creative Business and Marketing Advisor reports to the Project Manager and Cultivator Director

Key conditions of work

Contract

Permanent contract (please note that the funding for this project is expected to run until the end of September 2019)

Pay

£31,500 pro rata (£18,900 on 0.6 FTE basis)

Pensions                               

Creative Kernow will automatically enrol you into The People’s Pension on 1st November 2016 if, on that date, you are: aged at least 22 but you are under State Pension age earning more that £10,000 a year (£833 per month).

If you don’t meet these criteria on 1st November but you do meet them at a later date, we will automatically enrol you into the scheme then.

If you are eligible to join, Creative Kernow will contribute 1% of your salary until 30th September 2017, 2% for the next 12 months and 3% from 1st October 2018.  More details about the scheme are available on request.

Holidays                                4 weeks a year rising to 5 weeks over 5 years plus bank holidays (pro rata)

Hours                                     22.5 hours per week

There is some degree of flexitime, but the post-holder will normally be required to work 5 days per week from 10am – 4pm as core hours.  From time to time staff will be required to work unsociable hours.  A TOIL system operates rather than payment of overtime, this is negotiable with the Project Manager.

Place of work                     

The Cultivator office at Krowji, West Park, Redruth TR15 3AJ. The role will involve attendance at meetings or events elsewhere.

Probationary period          There will be a four month probationary period

Equality and Diversity

Creative Kernow is committed to equality of opportunity in employment practices and the provision of services and expects that its policy will be supported by everyone in the organisation.

In line with our Flexible Working Policy, this post is open for applicants who wish to apply as a job-share partnership.  Both candidates should complete an application form and state that they wish to be considered together.

 

For an informal discussion about the post, please feel free to call Jane Sutherland at the office on 01209 313200.

Please contact Cultivator for the application which will need to be returned by email to enquiries@cultivatorcornwall.org.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 6^th June 2018.

 

Ideas from the Attic…a look back on all that happened.

A festival of ideas, where they come from and how they are developed, inspired by director, designer, theatre maker, visionary and artistic director of Wildworks, Bill Mitchell, took place in April. The impact and development it had on many peoples thoughts, minds and creative practices is immeasurable. 

Enjoy the photos and feedback that follows.

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– Just the most inspirational event I have had the pleasure of attending. Process, objects, ideas, talking, sharing and moving too.

– Amazing opportunity to think outside the box (no pun intended!). It made my brain fizz in a way it hasn’t for quite a while.

– I’ve been hugely inspired by the substance and the spirit of this whole weekend, the generous – but firm! – encouragement to play with objects, ideas, images and words to draw out stories and find connections. Thank you!

– Really exciting weekend. Taking writing off the page and making it a multimedia process. It gave me new creative processes for my writing.

– So glad I came. So many resonances in Bill’s remarkable work – and so many interesting and affirming conversations with like-minded folk. Thank you. I wish I had known him

Many thanks to Photographer Neal Megaw for the festival photos.

The North Cornwall Book Festival opens July 1st and its parent organisation Endelienta are run almost entirely by volunteers. We are looking for new people to join our friendly, welcoming team of organisers. If you would like to help us run our vibrant arts programme and hugely successful book festival, we would love to hear from you. We’ve listed below some of the areas where we need help. To know more, without any obligation, please contact on operations@ncornbookfest.org or talk to any committee member.

NCBF Website management
Populating the website with the new programme and all event and ticketing details.

Social Media (NCBF)
Setting up a facebook event for each book festival session, managing facebook & twitter and running ongoing social media publicity campaigns.

Publicity and marketing (NCBF and/or Endelienta)
Marketing and publicity to local, regional and national publications, radio, online publications, specialist interest groups, peer organisations and mailing lists.

Print production & distribution (NCBF)
Co-ordinating print production – preparing copy, liaising with designers and printers.
Overseeing distribution team for distribution of fliers, posters and brochures across the region.

Box Office (NCBF and/or Endelienta)
Managing / processing online bookings, e mail communications, box office phone bookings & enquiries. Helping operate box office at events.

Administration (NCBF)
Organising / booking authors’ accommodation and travel; invoicing & payment.
Liaising with publishers on publicity material, book cover images, free copies etc.

Volunteer co-ordination (NCBF)
Drawing up volunteer rotas  & liaison with volunteers in lead-up to festival, & overseeing during Festival.

Front of House / Concert co-ordination (Endelienta)
Supporting the FOH manager in all operational aspects of the concert programme

Site Crew (NCBF and/or Endelienta)
Assisting in the setting up and operation of the Festival site (marquees, furniture, signage, banners etc.)
Setting up for / clearing concerts. Car park supervision.

Fundraising (NCBF and/or Endelienta)
Researching and submitting applications to grant-giving trusts and bodies.
Developing sponsorship package and seeking sponsors.

Casual / seasonal (NCBF or Endelienta)
Endelienta Front of house evening staff, box office, stewarding, bar, car park.
NCBF volunteer teams – stewarding, driving, author support, bar, café, car park.

Find out more about us at www.ncornbookfest.org and www.endelienta.org.uk or by following us on Facebook or Twitter.