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Why a fiction writing course on a Greek Island?

There is a precedent. On Skiros in the Sporades they have been offering Creative Writing Courses for decades. Hugo Williams was once a tutor there and they still have top writers leading their courses.

My course is unique inasmuch as you are embedded right in the middle of Merihas, not situated in a self-contained reclusive mansion in the country as with many other residential courses where you only see other students. You eat in all the cafes and restaurants where I usually eat and get to know all the folk pictured within these pages as friends.

I designed the course to be hard work in the mornings and then we balance that by spending the afternoons visiting various places on the island and some light work/study in the evenings. Kythnos is not polluted by commercial tourism and many of the places you’ll visit are not found in the pages of travel guides.

If you’re looking for a well-structured writing course combined with an authentic, exotic holiday, then this is it. Read more…

John Murray

Why learn from me, John Murray?

I’ve published 10 critically acclaimed novels and a collection of stories. A story in Pleasure won the Dylan Thomas Award.  Jazz Etc. was long-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize, and Murphy’s Favourite Channels was novel of the week in the Daily Telegraph. On its reissue in 2004, my 1993 satirical extravaganza Radio Activity – A Cumbrian Tale in Five Emissions was hailed by Adam Mars-Jones on Radio 4 as a neglected classic.

I’ve been teaching fiction writing for over 25 years. I taught at Madingley Hall, Cambridge University from 1995 to 2007 and for the Arvon Foundation at Totleigh Barton and Lumb Bank from 1989 to 2007. I was also a lecturer in Creative Writing at the Carlisle College of Art and Design, now the University of Cumbria, from 1994 to 1997.

I devised the Cumbrian Fiction Surgery scheme which took place in 2002 and 2005 and selected and mentored Penrith writer Clare Sambrook Read more…

Testimonials

"John Murray critiqued a late draft of my first novel, Hide & Seek. Working from John’s criticisms I made radical changes, slashed 8,000 words, re-imagined characters, saw what worked and did more of it. Hide & Seek, published in 2005, translated into a dozen languages, got great reviews, became a New York Times editor‘s choice. John’s fiction surgeries are an education in writing." - www.claresambrook.com
Clare SambrookNovelist and Winner 2010 Paul Foot Award and Bevins Prize for Outstanding Investigative Reporting​
In June 2014 I took part in a week's fiction writing week with John Murray of Writing in Kythnos. This was a wonderful experience. As someone whose writing has mainly been in the genre of poetry I wanted to develop my short stories and get feedback on a novel in progress. John's attention to the work was meticulous. He read my prose with great care and attention, giving me feedback which was both insightful and encouraging. I have come away fired up to complete this work to the best of my ability. The course combines workshops with tutorials and all the activities were meaningful and carefully structured. The course is combined with social activities such as trips to beautiful beaches, that only someone who knows the island intimately would be au fait with. As a resident of the island John knows many local people and therefore you are able to experience Kythnos society in a way you never would as a fleeting tourist
Pauline HughesCullercoats near Newcastle, UK
"I've just come back from a week in Greece working with Booker longlisted novelist John Murray, and can thoroughly recommend both the teaching and the beautiful island of Kythnos, about which John is an expert. John's teaching is acute, sensitive and tailored to your needs. The island is one of the most attractive in the Cyclades, making it the perfect working holiday retreat."
Nick Le MesurierMA in Creative Writing
“I had such a wonderful time with you on Kythnos, the course and island life were inspiring!”
KateArtist and Writer from the Midlands, UK
"Though a journalist for more than 40 years, it took just a few days for John Murray to significantly improve my writing. The improvement had nothing to do with sharing John's somewhat blissful lifestyle on Kythnos but it made the long trip from Australia even more worth it. Lessons are conducted in relaxed fashion but with sharp critical analysis to dent even the biggest ego. Afternoons involved trips to other parts of the island, even more idyllic than the home base at Merihas. Food and drink was of the highest standard at all these places. Thoroughly recommended."
Frank WrightCottesloe, Australia, (21-28 April 2014)
"I want to send you enormous thanks for an incredibly creative, intellectually stimulating course, and delightful afternoons of island magic, with dramatic landscape, clear blue sea and delicious Greek food.  Your comments on my work were incisive and very helpful. Now I know where I'm going with my writing, and after your course I feel more confident about it. In the next few days I'll do some editing as you suggested, and send the stories off."
Linda Redshaw(September 2014)

Our Patrons

Maddy Prior

Kitty Fitzgerald

Clare Sambrook

Patrick McCabe

DJ Taylor

Peter Mortimer

Rick Kemp

Richard Zimler

John Schad

Alan Dent

William Palmer

Adam Mars-Jones

David Almond

Christopher Burns