Arvon
Lumb Bank blue sky and green hilly landscape
  • “Thank you for your energetic, insightful, inspiring tutoring this week in Devon on the Arvon course. I was so impressed with your ability to hear, hold, help and reflect every one of us.” —participant

    “The combination of your deeply perceptive questions, your refusal to allow excuses and your gentle encouragement awoke something inside me that I never knew was there.” —participant

    “I wanted to thank you deeply for the most wonderful week. I cannot tell you (except I am) how much it did for me, and is continuing to do. One of those perfect pockets of time.” —participant

    RESIDENTIAL WEEK OF CREATIVE WRITING + COACHING
    Elise Valmorbida + Richard Beecham
    Arvon, Shropshire
    6–11 July 2026
    —booking now!

    Creative Writing + Coaching week
    Elise Valmorbida and Julia Forster, + guest John-Paul Flintoff, 2025

    Narrative Non-fiction week
    Elise Valmorbida and John-Paul Flintoff, + guest Francesca Ramsey, 2024

    Starting to Write – Fiction/Non-fiction week
    Elise Valmorbida and John-Paul Flintoff, + guest Luan Goldie, 2022

    Live guest reading + Q&A [online] December 2021

    Non-fiction [online] week
    Elise Valmorbida and Tobias Jones, 2021

    Non-fiction [online] week
    The FIRST-EVER non-residential version of an Arvon week, developed and delivered by Elise Valmorbida and John-Paul Flintoff, May 2020

    Creative Writing + Wellbeing week
    Elise Valmorbida and Vanessa King, + guest Beth Kempton, 2019

    Popular Non-Fiction week
    Elise Valmorbida and Emily Robertson, + guest Oliver Kamm, 2018 

    Suitcase Stories week (Fiction, Non-Fiction & Life Writing) 
    Elise developed the idea of 'Suitcase Stories' with Nick Barlay, before proposing it as a course to Arvon. She taught with Nick at Lumb Bank in 2013 (guest Haifa Zangana), with Aaamer Hussein at Totleigh Barton in 2015 (guest Anne Aylor), and again with Aamer at Lumb Bank in 2017 (guest Fadia Faqir). 

    © 2026 Elise Valmorbida