Arvon

Who we are

For over fifty years Arvon has been the UK’s home of creative writing. We have four houses, in Devon, Shropshire, Yorkshire, and our virtual house Arvon at Home. Our courses and retreats, led by highly acclaimed writers, span poetry to playwriting, song to screenplay, fact to fiction, starting to finishing – and we offer grants to help with course fees for those who need it. Generations of writers have been inspired by their experience at Arvon. Each year, over 40 of our courses are with vulnerable groups and schools, from young people who have experienced bullying to adults recovering from an addiction. We also work closely with teachers to support their professional development. To ensure our doors stay open to all, we rely on donations from charitable trusts and individuals.

We offer a home for creative writing, where anyone, regardless of writing experience, can step away from their normal routine, immerse themselves in the creative process, be inspired by experienced writers and release their imaginative potential.

Our culture and values

ARVON VALUES

We believe creative writing can change lives for the better. Creative writing allows us to harness our imagination and find our voice. It creates new possibilities, new ideas, new futures. It unlocks our potential, our empathy and our hope. And we’re keen to share this opportunity for transformation with as many people as possible.

INCLUSIVE: Everyone is creative. We make spaces that are open to all, where anyone, regardless of writing experience, feels welcome and included as part of a community of writers.

INSPIRING: Step away from the routine, be inspired by writers and our beautiful places and release your imaginative potential. Arvon is a place for contemplation, challenge and going beyond what you thought you were capable of achieving.

SUPPORTIVE: Creative writing is a craft that can be learnt, through guidance from experts, and through the peer support that comes from creative friendships with fellow writers. At Arvon, writers teach writers, and everyone encourages each other to become a better writer.

TRANSFORMATIVE: Immersing yourself in creative writing nourishes the imagination, can deepen the connection to self and to the world, and can lead to dramatic change and progress.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Arvon was founded on a belief in the power of the imagination and the benefits of creative writing, and it continues to be driven by a conviction that these benefits should be available to everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances. As our founder John Moat said, an Arvon writing house should be a ‘Freehouse of the Imagination’, which is not owned by anyone, but belongs to everyone who passes through it. It is central to our mission that we work towards equality of access, opportunity and participation in all our programmes.

For so many people in our society, equality has not yet been realised. Disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, Black people and other people of colour, people from working class backgrounds or who live on low incomes: all face numerous and interconnected barriers to participation including (perhaps especially) in the arts. As a charity we seek to place diversity and inclusion at the heart of our strategy, our evaluation and our programming, underpinned by a determination that no barrier, whatsoever, shall exist to the inclusion of all: that our houses, both physical and virtual, will be accessible and welcoming to everyone, spaces in which there will be no actual or perceived impediment to participation.

For more information, please see https://www.arvon.org/about/equality-and-diversity/