The Writers’ Lab in Skyros island, Greece, offers writers, thinkers and dabblers the opportunity to learn from distinguished authors, share the joys and struggles of the creative process, discover their strengths and polish their skills. In an idyllic environment, far away from the demands and routines dictated by a busy life, course participants can navigate beyond old boundaries and emerge with pieces of writing to be proud of.

Indeed, participants have gone on to publish books or to stage plays started, developed or completed in Skyros.

Courses are open to novices with a secret passion for writing as much as to writers who have a book under their belt. The tutors enjoy helping people at any stage of development – so do come with work in progress or just an empty page.

The Skyros Writers’ Lab has built up an excellent reputation over the years. Steven Berkoff, Rachel Billington, Margaret Drabble, Hanif Kureishi, Alison Lurie, Hilary Mantel, D M Thomas, Sue Townsend, Marina Warner, Hugo Williams and many others have graced the place over the years and given hundreds of people the benefit of their passion and experience.

Courses convene for up to three hours every morning. They may include group and individual exercises, feedback sessions, varying scenic locations and always camaraderie and fun. Their pace and content are determined by the participants themselves.

The Writers’ Lab is housed in Atsitsa in the first three sessions and then at the Skyros Village Centre. Writers are welcome to join in either Centre’s activities, including early morning yoga, and to be an integral part of all community events.

‘Intellectual rigour, spiritual encounters and good old-fashioned rioting in the evening’.
Angela Neustatter, The Times

This year’s facilitators include James Kelman, winner of the Booker prize for his novel How Late it was, How Late, and several other Booker prize nominees such as Romesh Gunesekera, Andrew Miller, Christopher Hope and Michele Roberts.

On the programme there are also many other distinguished writers. Alan Jenkins, a poet and an editor of The Times Literary Supplement, is one of them. So is Crysse Morrison, Julia Bell, Monique Roffey, Nicholas Blincoe, Rachel Cusk and Charles Palliser.

All the Skyros writing tutors combine experience and passion for their work and will give their course participants the best guidance new writers can expect.