Courses and Workshops

If you would like to learn more about the craft of writing or illustrating, you may want to consider some of the courses available in Ireland.

Note: SCBWI Ireland is not affiliated with any of these courses. From time to time, we do run workshops and retreats for our members; for more information about these, keep an eye on our Events page.

The following list is not exhaustive, and you will need to check whether the course you are interested in is being run this semester (or year!)

ILLUSTRATORS

Write and Illustrate a Picture Book
(with illustrator/author Adrienne Geoghegan)

This course is suitable for aspiring, beginners, or emerging children’s writers/illustrators, and those with a love of children’s literature and art and enthusiasm to learn more.

Illustration Boot Camp
(with illustrator/author Adrienne Geoghegan)

This course will especially appeal to those who wish to spend time on personal illustration projects, to those who want to build a strong illustration portfolio, and to visual art practitioners who have an interest in pursuing a career in illustration, either part or full time.

Graphic Design Courses
(Dublin Institute of Design)

Not specific to book illustrators, but a good way to hone elements of your craft. Dublin Institute of Design’s Certificate and Diploma course provides students with the latest skills and techniques used by professional graphic designers.

WRITERS

Ask About Writing

Ask About Writing is run for distance learning courses, which include creative writing. Each is a ten-week course, which includes ten assignments with feedback from a personal tutor.

Belfast Metropolitan College

Belfast Metropolitan College offer a variety of creative writing courses and workshops available at different venues.

Big Smoke Writing Factory

Big Smoke Writing Factory offers a range of on-site courses and workshops including a Beginning to Write class for those just starting off, and a variety of specialist workshops for those interested in writing fiction, poetry, novels, children’s and young adult fiction, memoir, or work for the stage and screen.

Creative Writing Ink

Creative Writing Ink offers online creative writing classes to writers around the world together with editing and critique services.

Dingle Writing Courses

Dingle Writing courses offer a range of courses including children’s fiction, poetry, fiction, or starting to write. These are available for emerging or established writers.

Force 12

Force 12 is a creative writing weekend held in Belmullet, Co. Mayo in June, and attended by over 80 writers from groups throughout the country. The weekend features workshops and readings by both published and unpublished writers, local tours and music.

Golden Egg

Led by Imogen Cooper, previously Head of Fiction for Chicken House Publishing, and based at her house near Bath, England, Golden Egg provides talks, workshops, and one-to-one editorial support. Golden Egg caters for writers who wish to submit their work to agents and publishers. Golden Egg works closely with Barry Cunningham at Chicken House Publishing, and has strong links with other companies.

Independent College

This evening course in Dublin offers a Diploma in Creative Writing.

Irish Writers’ Centre

The Irish Writers’ Centre provides a wide range of courses for writers at all levels and stages of development (aspiring, emerging, and mid-career) facilitated by experienced creative writing tutors and high-profile writers.

Kilroy College

Kilroy College is based in Dublin and offers a creative writing distance learning course aimed at people who wish to develop this special skill with confidence.

North West Regional College

North West Regional College offers creative writing courses in Derry.

Oscar Wilde Centre

The Oscar Wilde Centre is the home of the Trinity College Dublin M.Phil in Creative Writing. The course is intended for students who are seriously committed to writing, are practising, or prospective writers, and who wish to develop their writing within the framework of a university course and in the context of an Irish literary milieu.

Patrick Kavanagh Centre

The Patrick Kavanagh Centre hosts an annual creative writing weekend. The weekend is intended for beginners and those already in the process of writing who want to develop their writing and gain valuable feedback on their work.

Queens University Belfast

QUB offer an MA in Creative Writing for students who want to continue their specialisation in either prose, poetry, or drama. The study of a chosen genre is augmented by additional, non-assessed modules on life writing, short story, poetic form, and the poetics of translation.

University College Dublin

UCD offers an MA in Creative Writing.

South Eastern Regional College

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) has a range of creative courses available at different venues.

University College Galway

UCG offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in creative writing.

Writer’s Digest University (online)

Writer’s Digest is offering the Fundamentals of Writing for Children online course, which starts October 6, 2011 for 12 weeks. Does not cover picture books but books (fiction and nonfiction) for ages 5 to 15.

If you would like to recommend a course for illustrators or writers, we welcome your feedback.