The first of my cowshed classes—long-haul writing workshops held here in my Burradoo cowshed—finished at the end of May. It seemed to me a great success, and everyone in the class of eight made wonderful progress with their writing. Apart from that, and the weather, which was kind to us, the highlight each session was, without question, the lunches, prepared by Maree, my wife—a good writer, a good friend, and a terrific chef.

Click on “Cowshed Gallery” to see some pictures taken at the last session. They give you an idea of the setting, the mood and the mode.

The classes cater for writers of every level, but especially those with some writing experience and a manuscript in progress or in waiting. We had memoirists, poets, novelists, and essayists in the first class, and I welcome just such a mix in each class. 

We meet in the cowshed every second Saturday for three months. The idea is to help writers advance their skills and, if they have one, to advance and deepen a manuscript in the making. I throw in some tips and readings and lead the conversation; along with my fellow cowshedders, I also offer constructive responses to participants’ work on their manuscripts and writing exercises I set each session. But the larger part of my job is to create an atmosphere of trust and courage, openness and creativity in which people, including me, can deepen their writing craft and get some terrific writing done.

You can read some comments from cowshedders in"Testimonials" (under “Teaching").

I hope to run at least two cowshed classes each year. Watch my website for dates

I’m also developing a poetry workshop to be run in part on online and in part here in the shed. Again, watch this space.