Workshop a ballroom scene from a buffet of romantasy ingredients! Enchanted blades concealed in corsetry. Politically fraught partner-pairings. First touch, ghostly dance cards, poisonous music. Balls often mark a midpoint in a 3-Act story structure: let's explore why it gives us so many tools to send a main character reeling. 

Your Workshop Leader

Hannah Kelly is a fantasy writer & illustrator. In 2019 she won the Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Prize for her speculative fiction and she is currently writing her YA Fantasy series for Victoria Hobbs at A.M.Heath. Arthur Rackham, Brian Froud and Alan Lee are her constant inspiration for worldbuilding. 

About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Braid Room

 Tickets: £20.50/ £18.50 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The event will be take place in-person. Workshops are not recorded. Workshops are not included In a weekend pass.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events, and for information about TICKETS.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

How do you write a paradox; high stakes cosy fiction? Join Helen Comerford, author of cosy, romantic, apocalyptic YA fiction, for an exploration of story problems and raising the stakes. Focus in on the comforting world of cosy fiction and develop your own story problems to bring your narrative to life.

Your Workshop Leader

Helen Comerford writes funny and fantastical tales, with diverse casts of characters, for children and young adults. She is fuelled by a love of all things super-powered, feminism, and chocolate raisins. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking around the Welsh countryside with her dog, Cocoa. She is represented by Christabel McKinley at David Higham Associates.

About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Braid Room

 Tickets: £20.50/ £18.50 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The event will be take place in-person. Workshops are not recorded. Workshops are not included In a weekend pass.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events, and for information about TICKETS.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

Are you single, and wondering what seductive spellwork might help you meet the right person? Are you in a relationship, and seeking to spice things up? Are you embroiled in the delicious pain of longing, and casting about for a cure?

This practical workshop introduces you to some basic principles of spellwork, and some specific rituals to help you move toward your loves, boost self-confidence, and navigate desire. You don’t need to have any prior experience, and don’t need to be ‘a witch’ – all are very welcome, and there won’t be any satanic pacts (I promise).

 You’ll leave with copies of the rituals, and one spell to take home.

 Your Workshop Leader

Dr Alice Tarbuck is a writer, author of A Spell In The Wild, and The Modern Craft. Her work on witchcraft has been featured in Nasty Women and The Dangerous Women Project, and she has spoken on witchcraft at Scottish PEN, Wigtown Book Festival, Freedom TV and the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre. 

About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Braid Room

 Tickets: £20.50/ £18.50 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The event will be take place in-person. Workshops are not recorded. Workshops are not included In a weekend pass.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events, and for information about TICKETS.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.

The characters have been Yearning. Will they, won't they? And when they finally do get intimate, how much do you show on the page? Writing romance requires many layers: lust, love, and all the complex emotions in between. Intimacy can transform a good relationship dynamic into a ship with which your readers are genuinely engaged.

So how do you tap into a reader's imagination and create tension between characters, without it coming across awkward or cringy? Is this connection purely physical, or something else? 

Regardless of how much you reveal, your sex scenes should serve your story. Handled well, intimacy can expose your characters’ deepest needs and insecurities. 

From 'closed door' or 'fade-to-black' all the way through to 'open door' sex scenes, this workshop will help you find and develop your authentic voice in a way your readers will truly believe.

Your Workshop Leader

Katalina Watt is the author of instant Sunday Times Bestselling novel Saltswept (2026, Hodderscape). They were selected for a 2025 Literature Matters Award from Royal Society of Literature, and AIR Literature UNESCO 2024 Writer in Residence for Konstkollektivet in Sweden. They were a finalist for 2023 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine as founding Audio Director for khōréō. They are a Writing Coach at The Novelry and represented by Christabel McKinley at David Higham Associates.

About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Braid Room

 Tickets: £20.50/ £18.50 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The event will be take place in-person. Workshops are not recorded. Workshops are not included In a weekend pass.

Find out more about ACCESS to our events, and for information about TICKETS.

Any other questions? Check out our FAQ.