Writers Retreat

As part of the process to open Portland and Tout Quarry up to further creative influences, writer and former stone-carving student, Georgie Codd, will be running the first ever Tout Retreat in February 2018, with eight additional writers expected to attend. Attendees include a poet, scriptwriters, PhD students and authors, all successful graduates of the world-renowned postgraduate Creative Writing school of the University of East Anglia, who applied to the scheme seeking time and space to produce fresh work.

Since its inaugural year in 1970 UEA’s postgraduate writing programmes have been at the forefront of modern literature, nurturing the careers of countless successful writers, including Booker Prize-winning author Anne Enright, and Kazuo Ishiguro, recent recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is expected that Tout's relationship with this influential school will help “spread the word” about the quarry's arts outreach programmes within the wider writing community.

By inviting a new generation of talented writers to experience the landscape, energy and community of Portland, Tout will be one step closer to becoming a hub for the wider artistic community, fulfilling the wishes of Dorset’s most famous resident, Thomas Hardy, who called on writers and artists to flock to the area. During the retreat, and alongside their personal projects, attendees will all be producing short creative pieces inspired by their reflections on the Tout environment. These will then be available to PSQT to further build up creative interest around the isle.

In exchange, PSQT is providing affordable accommodation for the attending writers – a boon to those on lower incomes – and will be offering opportunities for attendees to participate in communal activities during the five-day experience, including a journey through Tout Quarry itself, beginning at the landmark Memory Stones.

Though the project is still early stages, it is hoped that the success of this inaugural retreat will lead to further retreats being run for promising writers, with a potential to expand the scope beyond UEA to other talented creatives, with a particular focus on London-based writers (thus strengthening Portland’s links with the capital), and those undergoing financial hardship.