Here is the latest newsletter with details of upcoming workshops:
Upcoming Workshops and Submission OpportunitiesDates for your diary
Welcome to a roundup of the upcoming classes, courses and submission opportunities available at WestWord and The Mindful Writer. WorkshopsThe Healing Narrative: Transforming Personal Pain Through StorySaturday 11th October 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM BST Discover how to write about difficult experiences in ways that promote healing for both writer and reader. This compassionate workshop provides frameworks for approaching challenging material with mindfulness, establishing healthy boundaries, and crafting narratives that transform personal struggles into universal insights. Good for fiction and memoir writers. Flash Fiction FundamentalsSunday 12th October 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM BST Join accomplished flash fiction writer Sally Curtis for this workshop designed specifically for beginners. This engaging session covers essential elements including story arc versus vignette, interpreting themes creatively, character development, trusting your reader, crafting effective titles, and creating impactful endings. A supportive environment where beginners can build confidence and skills. Mindful Writing MarathonSunday 19th October 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM BST Carve out space to write in a supportive atmosphere. Alternating sprints of writing and listening to others read aloud is a proven invigorator of creativity. Visual Storytelling: Cinematic Techniques for Flash FictionSaturday 25th October 2025 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM BST Make your flash fiction leap off the page like scenes from a film! In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore how the visual language of cinema can transform your short pieces into vivid, unforgettable experiences. Perfect for writers who want to harness the power of visual storytelling to create stories that feels as immersive and compelling as your favourite films. Mindfulness for Neurodivergent WritersSunday 9th November 2025 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM GMT Many conventional writing systems and productivity methods are built for neurotypical brains so we’re setting out to explore mindfulness in a way that is designed with neurodivergent minds in mind, including flexible, movement friendly, curiosity based practices that meet you where and how you are. Join neurodivergent writer, Elly Marie, as she encourages you to find ways to make your mindfulness and writing practices work better for you. The Art of Micro FictionSunday 9th November 2025 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM GMT Microfiction is storytelling stripped to its core—where every word carries the weight of paragraphs. Join Autumn Bettinger as she examines how great microfiction writers achieve maximum emotional impact through precise word choice, strategic omission, and powerful implications. Go on to learn techniques for compressing time, building instant tension, and crafting endings that resonate so you can create your own powerful stories in under 100 words. Friday FlashingEvery Friday 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM BST Join Debbi Voisey for focused flash fiction development that will sharpen every aspect of your writing. Each session features a reading, associated writing prompts and a chance to take your flash writing to the next level. These sessions are included in a WestWord membership or you can pay as you go. DeadlinesOur Christmas Countdown comp is open for entries! Every year we search for the best seasonal stories that go beyond the clichés. Whether it’s Christmas tales, winter solstice reflections, or New Year’s transformations, seasonal stories have an enduring appeal. They connect us to shared experiences, mark the passage of time, and often carry profound emotional associations. So send us your best stories (up to 1000 words) by the 26th October. The winning stories will be published in December - one a day starting 12th December - and in true advent calendar style the prizes will be revealed when the story is published. Entry fee: £8 The current WestWord theme is EMBER. This is the perfect theme for delving into those moments that linger between something alive and ferocious and something cold and finished. A firefighter douses the last flame, a woman lays rest to a painful memory, a child’s feeling of safety is reignited after trauma, there are so many avenues you could take. Still need ideas? Check out this helpful craft post for inspiration, then send us your smouldering stories by 31st October. Accepting short stories up to 3000 words, flash fictions up to 1000 words, and micro fictions up to 350 words. The WestWord Prize has just opened for entries. Flash fiction extraordinaire, Kathryn Aldridge-Morris, is this year’s judge. The deadline for this competition is 31st March 2026 so there’s plenty of time to let ideas percolate and chisel them into something spectacular. Entry fee: £10. First Prize: £400 and publication. Shortlisted stories will also be published. Rolling deadlinesFolklore Flash Flash Focus Short Story Spotlight CoursesMindful Story Circle This is not your typical book club. Devised with the intention of approaching literature as a healing practice, the Mindful Story Circle invites you to join Amanda each month as she guides you through mindful reading. Each month you’ll receive a short story, exploration of how the author creates authentic voice, emotional truth, and compassionate storytelling, a gentle prompt designed to help you discover your own authentic voice through the themes we’re exploring, access to a dedicated space to chat and share thoughts, and a 90-minute gathering on the last Sunday of each month. Compassionate Storytelling This six-week workshop will teach you how to write with true compassion whether you’re crafting fiction, exploring memoir, or writing your present-moment life. You will learn to deftly challenge assumptions without attacking people who hold them, explore how to deal with seemingly impossible conflicts, model empathy, and how to plant seeds of hope within your narrative. A Year of Mindful Writing Applications for 2026’s year-long programme of mindful writing are now open. Learn to write from a place of presence, compassion, and authentic connection rather than fear, judgment, or competition. The Mindful Mentoring Program Are you looking for something to help transform your relationship with your writing craft, your story, and who you are as a writer? Over six months of intensive, personalised guidance, you’ll develop a stronger manuscript, a deeper connection to your authentic voice, a sustainable writing practice, and the confidence to tell the stories that matter most to you. Quantum Flash This six-week course is designed for flash fiction writers ready to experiment with narrative structures inspired by science and spirituality. Expect six fun and inspiring weeks, where you’ll explore concepts from quantum mechanics, consciousness research, and ancient wisdom traditions as creative constraints for pushing flash fiction into uncharted territory.
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