Some of the people who come on Partnership Courses are from disadvantaged and socially deprived backgrounds and have never considered themselves to be writers, let alone engaged with the power of the written word. The experience of coming on an Arvon course at one of our houses  can be life changing for them – not only for the writing, but also for the chance to step away from their daily  lives, give them time to reflect and to use their imaginations, living as a close knit writing community deep in the UK countryside..

Some even go on to become published writers, showing how  Arvon encourages and find new voices from all walks of life. For example, Jade Amoli Jackson, who came on a Partnership Course with Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture at the Arvon Centre at Totleigh Barton, in 2007 won the decibel Penguin Prize for new writers from African, Caribbean and Asian backgrounds. She is one of the UK’s brightest new literary stars being published in a Penguin anthology – New Voices from a Diverse Culture.

If you are interested in bringing a group to Arvon in Partnership in 2008/9 and beyond, please contact Kerry Watson, Lead Programmer for Partnerships, k.watson@arvonfoundation.org or ring 01588 640658.