Maggie O'Farrell

Dates: 15 – 20 November 2024

Writing Masterclass

One of Britain’s most acclaimed and popular contemporary authors, the author of nine novels, Maggie O'Farrell is the winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 for her No 1 Sunday Times bestselling novel Hamnet. Her acclaimed first novel, After You’d Gone, won the Betty Trask Award, and her novel The Hand That First Held Mine won the 2010 Costa Novel Award. Her memoir I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death was a No 1 Sunday Times bestseller. She has twice been shortlisted since for the Costa Novel Award: for Instructions for a Heatwave and This Must Be The Place. Hamnet also won the fiction prize at the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award. Her latest novel, The Marriage Portrait, was shortlisted for the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction. Maggie O’Farrell was born in Northern Ireland and lives in Edinburgh.

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Upcoming Masterclasses

Schedule

Friday

Welcome!
Participants arrive in Marrakech
After settling in, meet the Silk Road Slippers Team and fellow participants for the first of many conversations about the art of writing. Embark on lifelong creative connections with fellow writers at a friendly and relaxed dinner amid the honeyed Moorish arches of our magical venue.
Famed for its paradisiacal gardens tended to by a passionate ethnobotanist, the name Jnane Tamsna means Big Garden and dinner is prepared using the freshest ingredients largely sourced on their 22 hectares of landscaped grounds.
Saturday

STORY & STRUCTURE - Unpack the principles of storytelling; learn how to structure your work and create a compelling narrative.
CHARACTER & VOICE - Learn how to find your voice, how to create and grow your characters, and write dialogue.
CREATIVE PRACTICE - Use this time for writing practice, nurture your imagination on the grounds of Jnane Tamsna, or take a trip to the city.
Sunday

FIND YOUR VOICE with Maggie O’Farrell. Maggie explains her process and shares how to find your creative style.
DRAFTING & REDRAFTING - Conquer the fear of the blank page. Learn to revise and refine as you redraft. As Ernest Hemingway said ‘writing is rewriting’.
CREATIVE PRACTICE - Use this time for writing practice, nurture your imagination on the grounds of Jnane Tamsna, or take a short trip to the city.
Celebratory Dinner with Maggie O’Farrell - A reading by Maggie will be followed by an elegant candlelit dinner at Jnane Tamsna with the whole team.
Monday

A CRUCIAL ELEMENT with Maggie O’Farrell and the Silk Road Slippers Team. Maggie will discuss an element she considers essential to her work. This may include Character, Dialogue, Sense of Place, Language, Research, or any other aspect of writing, to be determined by Maggie.
EXPLORE THE MEDINA with the Silk Road Slippers Team. We take you to lunch in an enchanting rooftop venue, to stimulate all your senses.
This is a wonderful opportunity to explore Marrakech’s medina, founded 1070-72, one of the most wondrous places on earth. It is filled with stunning monuments including the sublime Madrassa Ben Youssef, mosaics, ornate courtyards, and secret gardens. Covered spice, textile and leather souks line the maze of cobbled lanes leading to the fabled Jemaa el-Fnaa square, which teems with snake charmers, dancers and street food vendors.
Tuesday

Guided walk at Jnane Tamsna - a tour through the beautiful organic gardens with ethnobotanist Gary Martin.
PERSONAL FEEDBACK SESSIONS - Each participant will have a one-on-one session with a member of the Silk Road Slippers team. This is a unique opportunity to discuss your personal progress and future aspirations, to get tailored advice on how to achieve them, and to get advice on how to find an agent and publisher.
FINAL SESSION - with the Silk Road Slippers team.
Farewell Dinner at Jnane Tamsna with the Silk Road Slippers team
Wednesday

Participants depart for the next step on their writing journey!