The nice people over at Ty Newydd want to know:

Can you help us?

We need to know what you think of Tŷ Newydd.

We need to know if you have ever heard of Tŷ Newydd.

Tŷ Newydd is the National Writers’ Centre for Wales and holds creative writing courses for people from all over the world. It is currently closed while work is being done on the house but before we reopen in 2006 we want to know exactly what people would like to see in a residential creative writing centre. We would like to hear the opinions of all sorts of people who are interested in writing.

We are particularly interested in listening to :

those who have never been to Tŷ Newydd
those who have never heard of Tŷ Newydd
our regular course attenders
people who have been on one or two courses and who would like to return
people who have been to other centres e.g. one of the Arvon centres
people who currently improve their writing by evening classes, writers’ groups, correspondence courses etc


We will be holding a series of get-togethers – basically a discussion/ideas forum, mixed with some creative writing. There will be coffee of course and a free glass of wine in the evening sessions.

If you are able to help us by attending one of the sessions below, either at Hay Festival or Cardiff, Liverpool or Mold, let us know. Numbers will be limited to 12 in most cases.

If you have friends or colleagues who could help do let them know (these sessions will be in English but Welsh language discussions are also planned)

Contact us on 01766 522 811 or post@tynewydd.org

Tŷ Newydd, Llanystumdwy, Cricieth, Gwynedd, LL52 0LW

If you would like any further information ask to speak to Sian Northey or Sally Baker. We look forward to hearing from you.

Where and when

When Where Writer Who it’s aimed at

May 31st, 2 p.m. Hay Festival – Literature in Wales stand Jim Perrin If you have been to an Arvon centre or have been to Tŷ Newydd but not returned.
June 2nd, 10 a.m. Hay Festival – Literature in Wales stand Paul Henry Regulars or those who definitely plan to return
June 15th, 7:30 p.m. Glyn Jones Centre, WMC, Cardiff Mark Charlton * If you have never been to Tŷ Newydd
June 15th, 7.30 p.m. Glyn Jones Centre, WMC, Cardiff Paul Henry under 25s
Date and venue to be arranged Liverpool Gladys Mary Coles If you have never been to Tŷ Newydd
Date and venue to be arranged Mold Gladys Mary Coles If you have never been to Tŷ Newydd


*this session will focus mainly on discussion rather than writing

Sadly I've just moved out of Wales so I won't really be able to help on this occasion but I'd like to say that Ty Newydd is a fabulous place to go. I went on a Welsh language writing course there a few years ago with a group from my university. They are really friendly, the food is fabulous and the atmosphere is unique. Maybe it was because I was hanging out with a load of Welsh poets who drank too much red wine that night, but it's like the air is loaded with all the inspiration of everyone who's ever been there. I'd love the opportunity to go back and would say that if you do get the chance to go and you're not too sensitive to ghostly goings on (it could have just been me) then wing your way over to Gogledd Cymru.

Anna,

I have said a few things about Ty Newydd on another thread. All I want to say here is that I and others have given Ty Newydd a lot of feed-back, one way or another, which to date has not been acknowledged and, as far as I can tell, not acted on. There are many good things about their courses, to be sure, but I have to say they do seem somewhat impervious to change!

Terry

Thanks guys. I was just passing on a request for info from Ty Newydd back in May, but I think I'll send them an e to this thread anyway.

Ty Newydd response:

'Dear Anna,
Thank you and for drawing our attention to the discussion.
Terry by the way should have received an email regarding the comments he kindly passed on to us. I'll try and contact him again today.'

Two days ago I received an email from Sally Baker, Director of Ty Newydd. It expresses an open-minded attitude to change which, given they have an excellent setting already, bodes well for future Ty Newydd courses. This is an extract from the email:

"We are very grateful to you for your comments. They are exactly the sort of comments that we need. This closure year [for rennovations] is our opportunity to take stock of what we do and to examine what we are trying to achieve. I absolutely agree that we need to check that we are not doing things in a particular way because we have always done them that way. Times have indeed changed and we need to make sure that we have moved forward and are providing what is needed.

"Publishing has also changed and in fact in recent years we have always had some courses on the programme which included an element of editing, marketing etc. Other courses, like the one you attended, have concentrated solely on the writing. I think we do not give enough information about the individual courses. Participants should have a better idea of what to expect. People have different expectations and we need to make sure that they are on a course that is suitable to them. I also am much happier when tutors submit a timetable. Some tutors, however, like to meet the students first and establish what they want from the course. I am only happy with this if the tutors are experienced and I am confident that they know what they are doing.

"We still have some focus groups arranged and then once we have feedback from those we will be sitting down to do some soul searching about the courses when we re-open. We have a real opportunity here to improve on what we offer. We will most definitely be taking on board what you have said and I may well come back to you for further comments, if you don't mind. We are very grateful to you for the trouble you have taken already."

Terry