Cheshire West and Chester Council’s library service has secured funding to run a series of free creative writing workshops for adults at libraries across the borough this winter.

A grant of £3,971 has been awarded by the Arts Council England’s National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts programme.

The Write Time Write Place project is a series of eight-week adult creative writing courses taking place in libraries from October to December 2017.

The one and half hour sessions will take place during the daytime and will focus on such areas as inspiration, characterisation, settings and plotting stories, revising and editing.

Following on from the workshops, participants will be encouraged to finish their stories and submit them for a Write Time Write Place anthology, which will be professionally published and each course member given a copy. Cheshire West and Chester Libraries will also keep copies for their lending collection.

Participants will also be given the opportunity to read extracts from their stories at an event at Storyhouse for World Book Day 2018.

Write Now Write Place is the brainchild of Charles Lea, a local writer and principal of literacy project company Read Now Write Now. The first set of workshops will start in October at Storyhouse, Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Winsford Libraries.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Cabinet member for communities and wellbeing, said: “We are delighted that Cheshire West and Chester’s libraries have been successful in obtaining funding from the Arts Council. These workshops will inspire and empower people across the borough with their creative writing. These budding writers will also see their work published in a special anthology.”

Jane Beardsworth, Director North, Arts Council England, said: “As the national development agency for libraries we are very supportive of the use of libraries as creative spaces and this project is an excellent example of such activity.

“I’m sure everyone who takes part in these creative writing workshops will greatly benefit and I’m pleased that we have supported the project through our Grants for the Arts programme.”

The dates and venues of the workshops are as follows:

Chester Library at Storyhouse, Hunter Street, Chester - Monday 10-11.30am starting October 30

Ellesmere Port Library, Civic Way, Ellesmere Port - Monday 1-2.30pm starting October 30

Northwich Library, Witton Street, Northwich - Friday 10-11.30am starting November 3

Winsford Library, High Street, Winsford - Friday 1-2.30pm starting November 3

For more information on all these events call into your local library or visit www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/libraries.

To book email: charles@readnowwritenow.org.uk or telephone Charles Lea on 07966 154133.