SOLD OUT - Six-week writing course in Sherborne

Perhaps you’ve been working for months on a writing project, and you’d like the chance to see it with fresh eyes. Or maybe you've been meaning to put pen to paper for an age and now seems like a good time. Why not join bestselling novelist Joanna Quinn for a six-week creative writing course in Sherborne, Dorset?

We’ll be meeting one evening a week (Oct 6, 14, 20, 27, Nov 3, 10)  in the lovely Cafe D'Urberville in the heart of historic Sherborne, from 6pm -8pm, to do writing exercises to improve our skills, alongside sharing our work and discussing it with others in a supportive environment. The course aims to provide inspiration, encouragement, technical guidance and feedback, as well as being an opportunity to develop a regular writing practice as we move into the colder months.

It doesn’t matter if you are writing prose, poetry, memoir - or if you aren’t sure yet what you want to write. If you are keen to become a better creative writer, we would love to have you join us. Places are limited (mainly to make sure the group stays a reasonable size) and there is a discount if you pay for the full six weeks in advance. Any questions, please drop Joanna a line at hello@hopeandanchorwriting.com

About Joanna:

Joanna Quinn was born in London and grew up in Dorset, where her first novel The Whalebone Theatre is set. 

The Whalebone Theatre was published in 2022 and was an instant bestseller in the UK and the US. The novel was a 'Read With Jenna' pick and was chosen by HM Queen Camilla for her book club The Reading Room. It was shortlisted for Best Debut Fiction at the British Book Awards, The Authors' Club Best First Novel, The Society of Authors McKitterick Prize and The Winston Graham Prize for Historical Fiction. It was a Book of the Year in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Times. It has been sold into 14 territories worldwide.

Joanna has a background in journalism and communications. She is an occasional book reviewer for The Guardian and also teaches creative writing, running classes and workshops both at universities and on writing retreats. She lives in Dorset.

About Cafe D'Urbervillle:

Cafe D'Urberville is "a cosy nook of Dorset serving award winning coffee, homemade bakes, high vibes lunch and speciality cocktails. A place to meet friends for those lovely long lunches, a takeaway treat with a difference or an event space to host special celebrations. Our hospitality has even gone so far as to earn us the title of Best UK Café, as crowned by the esteemed Muddy Stilettos."

Parking & Accessibility:

The D'Urberville building dates back to 1658, and while beautiful, is unfortunately not the most accessible. The event space we are using is located on the second floor, which requires climbing 30 or so stairs. 

Cafe D'Urberville does not have onsite parking, but is in the centre of Sherborne and you will find ample car parking nearby. Both the Culverhayes Car Park and the Old Market Car Park are a five minute walk from the cafe. The cafe is also just a five minute walk from Sherborne Railway Station which is on the main line between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.

Travel Information

Sherborne is a picturesque town situated on the Dorset and Somerset border, with a range of medieval buildings and historic sites to discover, including an Abbey and two castles! Cafe D'Urberville is in the town centre and there are many options for travelling to Sherborne by railway, coach or road. The cafe is just a five minute walk from Sherborne Railway Station which is on the main line between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.

South Western Railway operates a direct service taking about 2 hours and 15 minutes from London Waterloo to Sherborne. There is a direct service from Exeter, with other locations in the South West such as Plymouth and Torquay requiring at least one change at Exeter St. Davids station. 

National Express coaches stop at Yeovil Bus Station which is less than 5 miles from Sherborne. Direct coach services from London Hammersmith take around 2 hours and 45 minutes.  When you arrive at Yeovil, you can either travel from Yeovil to Sherborne by taxi or take a local bus. To plan your bus journey, visit the Traveline website. 

If you are travelling by road, Sherborne is situated on the A30 between Shaftesbury and Yeovil, 10 miles south of the A303 at Wincanton. There are no motorways in Dorset, however the nearest motorways to Sherborne are at the M3 from London via the South East, the M4 from London via Oxfordshire and the M5 from Birmingham. Most of the car parks are open 24 hours and some offer free overnight parking from 6pm until 8am. 

If you are driving an electric vehicle, there are three chargepoints at Old Market Yard car park, two chargepoints at Coldharbour car park and another two chargepoints at Culverhayes car park. Some of the hotels and self catering accommodation in Sherborne also offer EV charging for their guests. You can view the charging station locations on the Zapmap website or App.

For more information, go to the Visit Dorset page about Sherborne.