Seminars
Participants are taught in small seminar groups of up to 12 students, and receive two one-on-one tutorials with their tutor.
Sunday
Seminar 1: Life in all its glory: we explore the myriad potential story sources real life offers and consider which inspire us and serve us best as writers. We set individual goals for the week.
Seminar 2: Transforming memories into stories: we explore how creative structure can both unlock and shape memories into fiction, essay, memoir.
Monday
Seminar 3: Workshopping and crafting memory drafts.
Seminar 4: Transforming anecdote into story: we learn how to embellish anecdotes to draw the best from them. Tobias Wolff, (Rebecca Wells)
Tuesday
Seminar 5: Workshopping and crafting anecdote drafts
Seminar 6: Using current affairs as a story prompt – we investigate global, national and local news for potential inspiration. George Alagiah.
Wednesday
Seminar 7: Workshopping and crafting current affairs drafts.
Seminar 8: Diving into history: our own and the wider world – using primary and secondary historical sources as inspiration.
Thursday
Seminar 9: Extracts from a wide range of sources, possibly Charles Lamb, Joyce Carol Oates, Simon Schama, Tara Westover.
Seminar 10: Workshopping material from the diving into history session.
Friday
Seminar 11: Merging two inspiration sources: a practical session where we blend two of the forms studied above to create a new base for inspiration.
Seminar 12: Workshopping the merger drafts.
Programme timetable
The daily timetable will normally be as follows:
Saturdays
14.00–16.30 - Registration
16.30–17.00 - Orientation meeting
17.00–17.30 - Classroom orientation for tutor and students
17.30–18.00 - Drinks reception
18.00–20.00 - Welcome dinner
Sundays – Fridays
09.00–10.30 - Seminar
10.30–11.00 - Tea/coffee break
11.00–12.30 - Seminar
12.30–13.30 - Lunch
13.30–18.00 - Afternoons are free for tutorials, individual study, course-related field trips or exploring the many places of interest in and around Oxford.
18.00–19.00 - Dinner (There is a formal gala dinner every Friday to close each week of the programme)
A range of optional social events will be offered throughout the summer school. These are likely to include: a quiz night, visit to historic pubs in Oxford, visit to Christ Church for Evensong and after-dinner talks and discussions.