From The Guardian on Saturday:
"• Faber's move into creative writing coaching, first revealed here, was initially confined to intensive weekend courses. Now the publisher has advanced into evening-class territory, inviting applications before November 28 for a six-month course on fiction-writing starting in February and led by Louise Doughty, the novelist, 2008 Booker judge, UEA course alumna and author of the self-help book for authors A Novel in a Year. Faber's website (faber.co.uk) sets out the first programme, combining weekly evening workshops with six full-day sessions on Saturdays - the aim is to draw writers with jobs or family commitments that prevent them doing a university MA in creative writing. They will, however, need to stump up £3,500, although one place, decided "solely on literary merit", will be free. Will that person be popular with his or her course-mates? Quite possibly not. - John Dugdale"
Interesting.
poetjude | November 21, 2008 - 15:54
Lots of Universities offer part time or even distance learning MAs at around £3,000 so this seems like exceptionally poor value if you don't even get a recognised qualification.
jude
bukharinwasmyfa... | November 21, 2008 - 18:06
Well, it's an exciting departure from the idea of publishers finding good books to publish and selling them to readers.
emma2004 | November 25, 2008 - 20:45
I read that in the Guardian too. I hope the one free place goes to someone with genuine financial hardship and serious talent, whose writing we can look forward to enjoying in the future as a result of this opportunity.
There was also a cracking article in that Guardian by Jeanette Winterson about T.S.Eliot...she has a real knack of reminding us about the true value of the arts and of late her journalism seems less self-conscious and more universal in its scope.