Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre

I had mimicked residencies before, moving my desk in a different corner of my flat for “writing days away from home”, fulfilling pet-sitting and flat-sitting duties for friends, but this was my first catered residency. I was able to attend thanks to the generosity of the Jessie Kesson Fellowship, which I was awarded in 2026. This meant that my travel expenses and accommodation were covered, and that I received a weekly stipend to write. As a freelancer, the latter was a prerequisite for me to afford taking time off from paid work, as well as from chasing invoices and new projects. If you asked me again what a writing residency is today, then I would tell you that the ground zero for a writing residency is to switch gear. Writing doesn’t fit around life anymore; life gravitates around your writing, for the time being.

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Thank you so much to our 2026 Jessie Kesson Fellow Margaux Vialleron for such a beautiful reflection (and photos) on their month-long residency back in March! Read it in full on our blog here: https://www.moniackmhor.org.uk/becoming-jessie-kesson-fellow/

🏔️ We are very excited to announce the Write Highlands Bursary!

This bursary offers fully-funded non-residential places on some of our upcoming tutored courses. It is for writers who live in the Highland Council area and may face barriers in taking part in the artform.

One place is available on each of these courses:

Lifewriting, tutored by Karen McLeod and Jarred McGinnis, guest reader Jackie Kay
🗓️ 13 – 18 July

Fiction: Starting Out, tutored by Kirsty Gunn and Kevin MacNeil, guest reader Duncan McLean
🗓️ 17 – 22 August

The Sonic World of Poems, tutored by Hanif Abdurraqib and Jen Hadfield, guest reader Rachel Sermanni
🗓️ 14 – 19 September

➡️ Apply by filling out the form here: https://forms.office.com/e/8LtwJL245v

All writers living in the Highland Council area are eligible to apply; you do not need to be a published writer. This bursary covers the course costs only; unfortunately, we are unable to cover travel costs.

Only a couple of spaces left on our Mid June Retreat next week! This one was a late addition to our calendar due to some programming changes, so it is a rare opportunity to gather inspiration and write in the Scottish Highlands – our creative writing retreats are normally sold out long in advance! ☀️

Secure your spot here:

2625 Mid June Retreat at Moniack Mhor Enjoy the long, sunny days of the Highland summer and let them fuel your creative inspiration on this writing retreat.

Mysterious, dreich, atmospheric, bleak... The weather has been very on-theme for our Crime writing course with Caro Ramsay and Michael J Malone this week! The perfect conditions for creating chilling villains and twisty plots. (The sun has made an appearance, too... one or two times) 🌫️

Are you a travel and/or nature writer? Our upcoming tutored course is the one for you!

Bring the essence of place into your writing in Non-Fiction: Writing Place, our upcoming tutored creative writing course with Horatio Clare & Monisha Rajesh, with guest reader Cal Flyn!

🗓️ 7–12 September
📍 Moniack Mhor, Scottish Highlands
➡️ suitable for beginners and established writers alike

This course will immerse you in our local landscape – from heaths and forests to lochs and Highland rivers. You'll explore how observation and place-based approaches can influence and enrich your non-fiction work during two site visits.

Horatio and Monisha will also introduce you to a range of writing techniques during workshops. You’ll have time to practise imagining places and spaces by drawing inspiration from what surrounds you and get feedback on your work in a one-to-one session with your tutors.

Mid-week, we’ll be joined by author and journalist Cal Flyn for an evening reading and insight into her work.

Book your spot here:

2637 Non-fiction: Writing Place with Horatio Clare and Monisha Rajesh, guest reader Cal Flyn - Moniack Mhor This course will immerse you in our local landscape to help you explore how observation and place-based approaches can influence and enrich your non-fiction work.

🔔 Everybody gather in... it's lunch time!

If you've ever been to Moniack Mhor, you'll know that food is an *essential* part of staying here (in fact, compliments about food pop up all the time in our feedback forms, something we are very proud of). It's not just to keep everyone fuelled for writing, though, but also a way to build community. Everyone is split into cooking teams that take turn in preparing dinners through the week using seasonal ingredients – a great way to get to know your fellow writers and perhaps even brainstorm ideas together.

The nutritious lunches are lovingly prepared by our team. Whenever we can, we use what grows in the garden (which is mostly herbs at this time of the year but more home-grown veg will come later in the summer!). It was baked potatoes with a variety of toppings on the menu this time – our compliments to the chef Alice 🍽️

Oh, and we haven't even mentioned the homemade cakes yet... we'll leave that for another time 🍰

Did we whet your appetite? Book a course here: https://www.moniackmhor.org.uk/courses/

Apply now for our new exciting partnership project!

Vacancies - Fèis Rois We are currently recruiting for a Project Manager and 3 x Artists in Residence for The Dingwall Collective.

Please welcome the newest addition to our garden... a new polytunnel! 🪏

It was very kindly donated to us by our lovely Centre Assistant (and head florist) Alice (pictured here), who got it from a local artist – a true hand-me-down! It is a very exciting step for Moniack, as it will allow us to grow even more of our food and extend the growing season 🌱

Our gardener Kit has already planted lots of seeds, like kale, lettuce and tomatoes. We can't wait to watch them grow (and taste them when they are ready)! 🍅

🚨 Final call 🚨

There are only a handful of places available on these courses and retreats – book now so you don't miss out!

The summer at Moniack Mhor is shaping up to be very exciting, with a number of untutored retreats (for those who want to focus fully on their writing) and tutored courses (for those looking for some guidance in a specific genre).

Book here: https://www.moniackmhor.org.uk/courses/

Who grows where? 🧐

Ross (one of our interns) has been teaching Elliot (our Centre Manager + newly appointed Environmental Lead) how to do a biodiversity survey using a makeshift quadrat made from old broom handles! They spent a day looking at different parts of the garden to better understand which plants grow where – something that will feed into our environmental strategy 🌱