Writers Inc at Docklow Manor - example itinerary

Day 1: Arrive at Docklow Manor around 4pm, in time for tea and cake. Around our kitchen table we will get to know each other while discussing your writing projects and ambitions.

Guests will settle into their rooms, make themselves comfortable, then reconvene for drinks and dinner. Jane is a wonderful cook; we can promise you food for the soul at our writers’ gatherings, as well as food for thought.  

Day 2: After breakfast, we will tailor the itinerary depending on the particular interests of our guests. That might be Jane hosting a morning session on fiction-writing, offering valuable tips and answering questions on the novel-writing process. For anyone more interested in non-fiction and journalism, Brian can advise on the skills he has picked up over 35 years as an award-winning journalist and author.

Lunch in our kitchen or in fine weather, the Victorian conservatory or garden.

In the afternoon, you are welcome to stay at home and write - one of us will be available to chat to, or to offer advice - or you can venture forth to explore this beautiful, unspoilt part of England. We can take you on one of our favourite walks or leave you to discover the delights of the Marches by yourselves; nearby Leominster, Ludlow and Ledbury all have tremendous charm. And if wild swimming is your thing, Jane will be happy to introduce you to her favourite lake for a dip. 

Over afternoon tea, and/or later over dinner, we will talk more with you about books and writing, or anything else that evolves, because none of this is prescribed; we just want to encourage convivial, free-flowing conversation.

Day 3:  After a leisurely breakfast, we will host a joint session on what you might call the sharp end of publishing: how to find a literary agent, the pleasures and pitfalls of the publishing process, how much you might expect to earn, and even the possibilities of selling screen rights to a TV or film production company (as Jane did with her acclaimed novel Mix Tape). 

Following a light lunch, over which we will answer any more questions you might have, we will say goodbye – but will remain available by email over the weeks and months ahead, if you need support in your writing endeavours.