Notes on Nature: Call-Out for Writers 

Literature Wales is pleased to announce a call-out to attend a residential nature writing course for women of colour. 

The call-out invites Wales-based individuals of colour who identify as women, or of a marginalised gender, to a free nature-writing residential course during the autumn of 2023.  

Notes on Nature will be tutored by Durre Shahwar and Nasia Sarwar-Skuse and will take place at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre Monday 25 – Friday 29 September 2023. 

The deadline for expressions of interest is 5.00 pm on Monday 31 July 2023.  

The course will focus mainly on the personal essay and will encourage participants to consider what nature means to them, to explore their relationship with the natural world (in an urban or rural landscape) and to discover how our connections with nature can heal and support individual and community well-being.  

The course is suitable for a range of individuals, from complete beginners to mid-career writers. Participants are not expected to have extensive knowledge of the environment and the climate as the tutors are primarily looking for writers with a desire to recount personal experiences relating to the themes. 

Durre Shahwar and Nasia Sarwar-Skuse are the co-editors of upcoming anthology, Gathering (404 Ink), which is partially funded by the Books Council of Wales (Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru). Gathering brings together essays by women of colour across the UK in writing about their relationships with nature, including neurodiversity, mental health, academia, colonialism, whiteness, music, hiking and more. The anthology will be published in February 2024. 

Every participant on the course will have different experiences of nature, and a different take on what nature means to them. The course aims to celebrate diverse voices and fresh perspectives and help the participants claim their space in nature and nature writing.  

This opportunity is for Wales-based individuals of colour who identify as women or of a marginalised gender. Applicants must be over the age of 18. 

Further information about the course and the simple application process can be found on the Notes on Nature course page here, including the full call-out, frequently asked questions and details on how to apply. All documents are available as large print and dyslexia-friendly documents on our downloads page.