Faber & Faber

Course begins on 5 October 2010

Faber and Faber Ltd.
Bloomsbury House
74-77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA

Price: £3,500

Becoming a Poet 2010: a practical workshop-based course which covers all aspects of poetry-writing from improving your technical skills to putting together a first collection.

Becoming a Poet 2010 is a six-month course from the Faber Academy. Beginning in October 2010, students will attend weekly evening workshops designed to develop an appreciation of the best poetry as a source for writing, to hone your practical skills, and to develop your editing skills.

In addition there will be six full-day sessions on one Saturday every month. Most sessions will be led by the Course Directors, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott. There will also be guest seminars led by well-known poets and publishers to provide a unique insight into the publishing industry and access to established poets.

Becoming a Poet 2010 is an intensive course aimed at new or experienced writers who aim to publish a first collection of poetry. You will be expected to devote as much time as possible to reading the work of other writers, writing new poems and editing existing ones so that by the end of the course you should be in a better position to assemble a strong body of work which you might consider submitting to key poetry journals and publishers. Equally, students should finish the course with a greater and more rounded enjoyment of the pleasures of reading poetry as well as a fuller appreciation of poetic technique and composition.

Individual feedback will be given by the Course Directors and students will be expected to peer review each other’s work on a regular basis. There will be opportunities for students to discuss ‘next steps’ with the Course Directors and with the guest speakers. At the end of the course all students will be expected to give a short reading at the Faber offices before a select audience.

The course will be selective.

Course Programme

All classes will take place at the Faber offices:

Faber and Faber Ltd.
Bloomsbury House
74-77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA

The course consists of 24 two hour evening sessions and 6 full day sessions. Evening sessions will take place on Tuesdays from 7.00pm-9.00pm. Full-day sessions will take place on Saturdays from 10.00am-5.00pm.

NOTE: There is a two-week Christmas break between sessions 14 and 15.

The subject matter of sessions as listed below is a guide only. The exact course content will be finalized according to the experience and interests of the group and guest speaker availability. The detail of the course content is at the discretion of the Course Directors and the Faber Academy.

NB: Please note that this programme is subject to change.

How to Apply

There are 30 places (maximum) available on Becoming a Poet 2010.

Applicants should write a letter of application and return it to c/o Becky Fincham at the Faber Academy, Bloomsbury House, 74-77 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DA or email it to becky.fincham@faber.co.uk no later than Friday 16 July 2010. The letter should state briefly your writing experience and why you wish to attend this Faber Academy writing course.

In addition, you should include:

1. A sample of your poetry [3-5 poems. Maximum 5 pages of A4 (point size 12)]. Please do not send your only copy as this will not be returned.

2. A stamped addressed postcard if you wish your application to be acknowledged.

3. A stamped addressed envelope for receipt of the results of your application.


The Faber and Faber Fellowship

Up to two places on the course may be allocated free of charge. This place will be chosen at the discretion of the Course Director and the Faber Academy and will be based on merit and not financial circumstances.

Course Directors

Daljit Nagra was born and raised in West London then Sheffield, and currently lives in Harrow. His poem Look We Have Coming to Dover! won the Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem, this was also the title of his first collection which won the 2007 Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the 2008 South Bank Show/Arts Council Decibel Award and was shortlisted for several prizes including the Costa Poetry Award.

Jo Shapcott was born in London. Poems from her three award-winning collections, Electroplating the Baby (1988), Phrase Book (1992) and My Life Asleep (1998) are gathered in a selected poems, Her Book (2000). She has won a number of literary prizes including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Collection, the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the National Poetry Competition (twice). Tender Taxes, her versions of Rilke, was published in 2001. Her latest collection, Of Mutability, was published in 2010 and has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection.

Disclaimer

The Course Directors and Faber and Faber take no responsibility for lost or damaged applications and no correspondence will be entered into with unsuccessful applicants, although they may be invited to apply for future courses.

Successful applicants will be asked to pay a non-refundable deposit towards the course fees of £1,000 by 13 August 2010. The balance of the course fee, a further £2,500, will be payable in 4 further installments of £625 on 28 September, 28 October, 28 November and 28 December 2010 respectively. Once the deposit has been paid students will be liable to pay the entire course fee. No refunds will be given to students who miss sessions or drop out of the course.  

The subject matter of course sessions is subject to change due to the level of experience and interests of the group and availability of guest speakers. The content of the programme is determined at the discretion of the Course Directors and the Faber Academy.

Although the Faber Academy is run by Faber and Faber publishers, admission to the course does not guarantee publication by them or any other publisher.