Our Events
Check back regularly for new events as we update the list almost every week.
NOTE: All times are UK time unless otherwise specified.
Are you a Lapidus member who is running an event? Complete the form below to submit your event for inclusion on our website and e-newsletter.
- The Bothies, Scampston Hall, North Yorkshire, YO17 8NG
- From £15.00
- 24/01/2025
Writing for Wellbeing workshop for women, held in the beautiful grounds of Scampston Hall, North Yorkshire. Coffee and tea on arrival. All proceeds go to the volunteer-run charity The Bothies. Punctual start at 11 am. Workshop finishes at 12:30 pm. Booking essential. Please contact me for any further information.
- Roupell Street London SE1 8SP
- From £18.00
- 25/01/2025
A new year. A new start.
At our first Lapidus London meeting of 2025, we’ll offer some writing prompts to help kickstart your imagination about individual or group creative projects you might want to begin, develop, or finish in 2025.
We’ll then introduce some journaling tools and exercises to help you turn your plans into reality, along with the opportunity to ask for feedback from a ready-made focus group of your peers.
As the date is Robert Burns’s 266th birthday, we will have some Scottish breakfast tea and themed snacks from north of the border to celebrate.
Our warm-up writing prompts will also be drawn from some of the Ploughman Poet’s poems.
Book early to avoid disappointment.
- Online via Zoom
- From £35.00
- 28/01/2025
If your body could speak, what would it say? Have you ever had a conversation with it on the page?
In this workshop, we’ll explore ways to connect with our bodies and hear their voices through writing. Kate will also share learnings from her MSc research on mind-body writing and reflections on how they still shape her life all these years later.
As part of the workshop:
- We’ll explore activities to help us connect with our bodies through writing
- We’ll take some time for relaxation and reflection
- Kate will share her research findings, their impact and additional learnings 10 years on
Like the sound of the workshop but can’t make this date? You can find out more and register your interest via the link below
- Online via Zoom
- From £200.00
- 31/01/2025
An invitation to women who would like to step out of the busy noise of modern life for 5 weekly sessions and take a hint from winter in the northern hemisphere and to root down into stillness and rest.
Join us as we set out on a creative and reflective ‘journey’ to the self and to new stories, through reflective writing and shared reading of carefully chosen poems.
These courses (see also the Flourish programme) have helped many women rescue and revive a sense of self as they negotiate so many common experiences: hormonal change, changes in independence and dependence, loss, grief, isolation, empty nests, divorce, retirement, loss of income – to name but a few.
Nourish will help us to claim new stories of fulfilment and self-expression, in a supportive small community, through challenging times, to help us heal and move on, to nuture our own needs and desire, and to find a restorative centre of calm.
In this 5-week programme of 2.5-hour workshops, we will look at our stories through the lenses of the seasons and of the cycles of life. We will share readings and discussions and have plenty of time to write in response to these. Sessions will take place on Fridays 31st Jan–7th March, 10am–12.30pm GMT. No session on 21st February.
Come and share and reclaim your own story in these safe and inspirational workshops.
Facilitated by Pam Winter and Kate Oldfield.
- Lapidus Member Event Only
- Online via Zoom
- From £0.00
- 01/02/2025
From Rumi to Rami: Bibliotherapy Practices in Türkiye
Presenter: Güssün Güneş
Saturday 1st February, 10:00am-11:15am.
From Rumi to Rami: Bibliotherapy Practices in Türkiye” is a presentation that explores bibliotherapy practices in Türkiye through the focus on poetry therapy. From the timeless works of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi to contemporary Turkish poets, it examines the richness of Turkish literature and its impact on the mental well-being of society. The presentation also delves into the bibliotherapy initiatives of Rami Library, one of Türkiye’s most prominent libraries, and their contributions to societal healing. This presentation promises to be an inspiring journey for those interested in discovering the transformative power of literature and library services in human lives.
About the Presenter
Güssün Güneş is an academician at the national and international levels in the fields of information and document management, medical librarianship, health informatics, and bibliotherapy. Güneş, who took her first step into the world of information with her undergraduate education at Istanbul University, completed her academic journey with a doctoral study at Marmara University. She began her professional career as a librarian and lecturer at the Faculty of Nursing, Koç University, where she contributed to the development of health sciences libraries. Since 2012, she has been successfully continuing both her academic career and administrative duties at Marmara University. Specializing in areas such as health literacy, digital libraries, metadata systems, and bibliotherapy, Güneş works on the effective use of information systems for medical and health sciences publishing. Through her academic publications, conference papers, and projects, she contributes to the development of information services in the health field.
Güneş is also prominent as an educator. She teaches courses on information organization, research methods in health sciences, museum studies, digital librarianship, at various universities. With both her academic and professional work, she leads projects that emphasize the impact of information management on public health, adopting an interdisciplinary approach. Offering a broad range of knowledge and experience from information management and the history of culture, and medical and academic publishing, Güneş continues her solution-oriented work in the fields of health, librarianship, preservation, and information and document management at both national and international levels.
Event Recording
Passcode: !4Wn.#o.
About the Lapidus Living Research Community
The Lapidus Living Research Community (LLRC) meets on the first Saturday of every month via Zoom to discuss all things research, with a focus on qualitative arts-based research practices, theory and methods.
All Lapidus members are welcome, regardless of research experience. FREE AND NO TICKETS REQUIRED. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
- Online via Zoom
- From £20.00
- 16/02/2025
This workshop will be a sort of love letter to your future self, and a look at just who you imagine that person will be: senior, elder, older, golden, wise, retiree, crone… We’ll explore our beliefs and received ideas about aging, and see if we might write our way into a fresh perspective on that part of life’s journey. As always, there will be some guided exercises to keep your lungs happy and your body attentive. All ages are welcome – it’s never too early (or too late!) to think about who you want to become.
With Elaine Konopka, writer and somatic practitioner
Sunday, February 16th, 2025
4 – 5:30 pm
20€
- Online via Zoom
- From £250.00
- 18/02/2025
Ultreia! is a 6-week book writing intensive. It is for people who know what they want to write and seek guidance coming to the page.
Ultreia is a pilgrim word. It means ‘keep moving forward’. This program is modelled on the principles of pilgrimage. Show up, keep going!
Ultreia! offers guidance, encouragement and support to:
* imagine your book
* plan your book
* structure your book
* write your book.
Ultreia! is for anyone who wants to write:
* a memoir
* a professional handbook sharing your expertise
* your family or community history
* the wisdom you’ve learned through life’s experiences
* that novel you dreamed or never dreamed you could write.
Details:
* small group, live facilitator, 8 places only
* Tuesdays 18 February-25 March, 4pm UK/Ireland time
* £250. This program is being offered at a reduced price to celebrate me being in the northern hemisphere!
Ultreia! is facilitated by Dr Stephanie Dale, who has been running online writing programs since 2016. For more information, testimonials and a gallery of published writers who began their writing journey with this program, visit https://stephaniedale.com.au/
For bookings contact me directly via email.
- Online via Zoom
- From £35.00
- 22/02/2025
This playful three hour workshop will help you explore ways of writing creatively to enhance your well being. Focussing on writing for fun, relaxation and self care you’ll be responding to objects, images, memories and textures. Writer, facilitator and psychotherapist Sue Mayfield will help you observe, invent and imagine. Prior to the event you’ll receive a packet of materials by post. Across the morning there’ll be prompts, guided thinking, simple techniques and lots of space to write silently in the presence of like-minded others. You may prefer to keep what you write to yourself but if you’d like to share it, there’ll be opportunities to receive respectful listening and gentle feedback.
The workshop is suitable for both experienced writers and complete beginners.
The cost is £40 (or £35 Early Bird if booked before 31/1/25)
Please email mail@suemayfield.co.uk to book
- Online via Zoom
- From £16.00
- 22/02/2025
We all believe in the capacity of expressive writing to help people heal, grow and change. But how do we connect our work to the people who could benefit from it? How do we define our target audiences, bring our services to their attention, and persuade them to sign up for our courses?
This online creative workshop on ‘Marketing with Soul’ for Lapidus London members and guests will offer some thought-provoking writing games and exercises to help stimulate your imagination and broaden and sharpen your marketing techniques and strategies, so you can reach more people with greater impact.
It will be led by Lapidus London’s co-coordinator, Jon Sayers, a former brand writer and advertising creative director. Jon has taught creative advertising workshops internationally, and is on the faculty of the Therapeutic Writing Institute for whom he teaches the annual marketing module.
Book early to avoid disappointment.
- Online via Zoom
- From £25.00
- 28/02/2025
A series of monthly workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The title theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
We will use carefully selected poems as a springboard for writing, reflection and conversations.
The workshops are for anyone who wants additional resources, in these unsettling times. It is for those who enjoy creativity, journalling, writing for personal or professional development.
No prior knowledge of poetry or expressive writing is required; you simply need to be willing to share, reflect and experiment with words in a supportive environment.
Facilitated by Charmaine Pollard
- The Bothies, Scampston Hall, North Yorkshire, YO17 8NG
- From £15.00
- 28/02/2025
This workshop is one of many held every few weeks in the conservatory of the beautiful grounds of Scampston Hall, North Yorkshire. Teas and coffees on arrival followed by a Writing for Wellbeing event with a variety of themes which are announced for the month via the events page of the website – No prior knowledge is required.
The workshop runs from 11.00 until 12.30. There is a café on site if required afterwards. Booking is required as numbers are limited. All proceeds are donated to the Heritage and Learning volunteer-led charity The Bothies. Payment details sent out on booking.
- Lapidus Member Event Only
- Online via Zoom
- From £0.00
- 01/03/2025
Using Family Systems Theory in Biblio-Poetry Therapy work
Presenter: Berit Kaschan
Saturday 1st March, 10:00am-11:15am.
Session Outline Coming Soon!
About the Presenter
Coming Soon!
Zoom Link
Coming Soon!
About the Lapidus Living Research Community
The Lapidus Living Research Community (LLRC) meets on the first Saturday of every month via Zoom to discuss all things research, with a focus on qualitative arts-based research practices, theory and methods.
All Lapidus members are welcome, regardless of research experience. FREE AND NO TICKETS REQUIRED. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
- City Lit College: 9 Kean Street, London, WC2B 4AY (within 5 minutes walking distance of our main Keeley Street site).
- From £229.00
- 02/03/2025
Learn how to introduce therapeutic writing into your work, to help people improve their health and wellbeing.
What will we cover?
This course offers insights into poetry therapy and therapeutic writing at an introductory level. The course will explore the use of poems and expressive writing as a tool for self-discovery, creativity and personal development.
Using our own experiences, we will reflect upon this process, and be introduced to some basic knowledge of poetry therapy.
Who is the course for?
This course will be of interest to writers of all kinds, medical and healthcare professionals, counsellors, therapists, social workers, librarians, academics, teachers, and service providers in a variety of health and therapeutic environments.
FEES:
Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £149.00
- Online via Zoom
- From £30.00
- 07/03/2025
Practical strategies for freelance creatives to set sustainable day rates, price workshops, understand their true worth, and confidently advocate for fair pay.
Do you find it a struggle to earn a sustainable living as a freelance writing for wellbeing facilitator?
Perhaps you find it hard to know what an appropriate day rate is when commissioned to deliver projects?
Or maybe you worry what to charge when you develop and market your own workshops?
If this rings true, you are not alone. Many freelance creatives struggle to charge realistic day rates that enable them to earn a sustainable living. Despite unions and professional bodies recommending minimum rates of pay, recent reports reveal that freelance creatives – including writing for wellbeing practitioners – are consistently paid below recommended rates of pay.
About the Workshop
- Friday 7th March 2025, 10am – 12noon UK time
- Online on Zoom (Zoom link will be emailed in advance of the event)
- Cost: £30 (this includes a special discount of £15 for Lapidus members)
- Capacity: Limited to 25 attendees.
- Please note: you must be a member of Lapidus International to purchase a ticket for this event.
- Purchase your ticket here.
This interactive online workshop will give you:
- Practical strategies for setting sustainable day rates,
- Tools to help you price workshops so that you can earn a living from your work,
- Guidance on confidently advocating for fair pay.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to calculate the day rate you need to survive financially.
- Key factors to include when determining your day rate.
- How your day rate translates to an annual income.
- How to compare your day rate to national recommendations.
- How to translate your day rate into appropriate pricing for workshops.
- Greater confidence in articulating the value of your work.
- Strategies for negotiating sustainable day rates and advocating for fair and sustainable pay in line with your skills and experience.
What You’ll Get:
All participants will receive a comprehensive set of handouts to support their practice:
- Valuing Your Worth Workbook: Tools to calculate and negotiate your ideal day rate.
- Artist’s Overhead Calculator: Helps you factor in essential costs.
- Artist’s Time Tracker: A tool to account for unpaid time.
- Worth it or Not Checklist: A checklist to evaluate unpaid or lower-paying opportunities.
- Nationally Recommended Rates of Pay: A summary of current rates across art forms.
Who is this workshop for:
This workshop is aimed at freelance creatives and artists, including writing-for-wellbeing facilitators and writers working in a participatory contexts including education, health, community and other settings. It is not aimed at writers who earn a living through publication.
What past participants have said:
“A much-needed course! A relief to be in a space with others who are grappling with the same issues and to be supported through a pragmatic ‘to do’ list! The ‘rates’ table was very useful. Thank you for gathering this information in one place.” – Heidi Wilson, Dance Practitioner
“It was so validating to not feel alone and to hear others say similar things to what I’ve been feeling. The tools were brilliant, and I loved how they made it feel more boundaried and formal. I usually only hear money talked about in a woolly and vague way in the arts, and it was very helpful and inspiring to discuss it openly and clearly.” – Bonnie, Artist
“I really liked Jane’s approach. It felt warm, supportive and down to earth. I felt she empowered me to be braver to act in my own interests, and, thanks to the tools she set out for us, I left feeling much more capable!” – Caroline, Musician
About the Facilitator:
The workshop will be led by Jane Willis, a Creative Health Consultant, Therapeutic Writing Facilitator, Coach and Mentor.
With 30 years of experience at the intersection of arts, health, and academia, Jane supports creative health professionals to practice sustainably and deliver lasting impact.
Founder of Vital Arts, the arts programme at Barts Health NHS Trust (1994), and arts and health consultancy Willis Newson (2001), Jane has led award-winning creative health programs and co-developed key sector resources, including the Creative Health Quality Framework, online evaluation resource Creative and Credible, and The Creative Health Impact Framework.
Jane has an MA(Oxon) in English Literature, and an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes, and alongside her sector development work, runs reflective and therapeutic writing workshops.
Find out more about Jane here.
Image credit: What do I need folded booklet by Polly Barnes; Photo: Hannah Jones.
- Online via Zoom
- From £225.00
- 13/03/2025
Are you frustrated with traditional evaluation methods?
Do you feel your evaluation tools don’t reflect the creative nature of your work?
Are you finding it hard to engage participants in evaluation?
Do you get poor response rates from questionnaires?
Over the course of three interactive workshops, we will look at ways in which we can better harness creativity to generate appropriate, relevant, meaningful evaluations.
From this course, I will take away:
“confidence that I can translate my other practice into evaluation.”
“using different mediums to elicit effective responses to evaluation”
April 2024 Creative Evaluation training participants
You will discover how to evaluate in ways that are enjoyable and rewarding for participants; that generate improved response rates; and deliver richer and more meaningful data.
On this course, I enjoyed:
“Discussing our collective challenges”
“hearing other people’s creative ways of thinking about evaluation”
April 2024 Creative Evaluation training participants
Working collaboratively, we will co-produce creative solutions to real-world scenarios. Sharing ideas and practice, we will explore ways in which creativity can reinvigorate existing evaluation methods including questionnaires, focus groups, feedback and monitoring.
After this course, I’m now thinking:
“Be more colourful and give the human story.”
“How can I use creative approaches at all stages of evaluation[?]”
April 2024 Creative Evaluation training participants
The full cost is £225 for three workshops and all handouts.
A £75 discount is available for freelancers and self-funding individuals. Please email support@janewillis.co.uk for a coupon code.
Find out more and book here:
https://www.janewillis.co.uk/creative-evaluation-training
- Online via Zoom
- From £25.00
- 21/03/2025
A series of monthly workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The title theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
We will use carefully selected poems as a springboard for writing, reflection and conversations.
The workshops are for anyone who wants additional resources, in these unsettling times. It is for those who enjoy creativity, journalling, writing for personal or professional development.
No prior knowledge of poetry or expressive writing is required; you simply need to be willing to share, reflect and experiment with words in a supportive environment.
Facilitated by Charmaine Pollard
- Aberglasney Gardens, Llangathen, Carmarthen SA32 8QH
- From £50.00
- 22/03/2025
This workshop combines the beauty of spring’s renewal with the therapeutic power of writing, offering a sanctuary for personal growth and reflection.
Infused with the vibrant energy of the season, encouraging participants to draw inspiration from the blossoming world around them.
Together, we’ll explore themes of renewal, growth, and transformation, tapping into the natural cycles that mirror our personal journeys.
Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just beginning your writing journey
Join us and let your words bloom this spring
- Online via Zoom
- From £96.00
- 27/03/2025
Most people think of the tarot as just a tool for divination, but this ancient symbols system is much more than that; it’s a complete pictorial exploration of what it is to be human.
Stories are about people – their hopes and dreams, their problems and challenges, their relationships with themselves, other people and their environments. In these workshops, we’ll be using the tarot cards as a starting point for developing characters and discovering their stories.
A course of 6 workshops, total cost £96.
- Lapidus Member Event Only
- Online via Zoom
- From £0.00
- 05/04/2025
Sonic Nature: Sensing the Garden of Wales. Future Wales Research Fellowship
Presenter: Cheryl Beer
Saturday 5th April, 10:00am-11:15am.
Session Outline Coming Soon!
About the Presenter
Coming Soon!
Zoom Link
Coming Soon!
About the Lapidus Living Research Community
The Lapidus Living Research Community (LLRC) meets on the first Saturday of every month via Zoom to discuss all things research, with a focus on qualitative arts-based research practices, theory and methods.
All Lapidus members are welcome, regardless of research experience. FREE AND NO TICKETS REQUIRED. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
- Online via Zoom
- From £160.00
- 14/05/2025
An online reflective journal programme to support connection, creativity, insight and expression.
Four monthly small-group workshops designed to help you:
– Pause and reflect in a supportive, trauma-informed space.
– Reconnect with your voice, creativity, and inner wisdom.
– Gain clarity and feel better equipped to tackle life’s challenges.
– Discover tools to develop a sustainable and rewarding journal practice.
Workshop Dates:
Friday 14th February, 10am–12noon
Friday 21st March, 10am–12noon
Friday 25th April, 10am–12noon
Friday 16th May, 10am–12noon
Each session offers a nurturing environment where you’ll explore creative prompts, share insights with a small group (if you choose), and build confidence in your writing practice.
Programme Details
Duration: Four 2-hour live online workshops.
Cost: £160 for the full programme (or pay a £60 deposit to secure your spot then two subsequent monthly payments of £50).
Includes:
– PDF handouts with writing prompts and resources.
– A supportive, closed group with no pre-recorded content.
– Encouragement to write with weekly journal prompts emailed to you
– Ongoing support and encouragement through Voxer between sessions
Spaces are limited to 8 participants.
- Online via Zoom
- From £25.00
- 16/05/2025
A series of monthly workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The title theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
We will use carefully selected poems as a springboard for writing, reflection and conversations.
The workshops are for anyone who wants additional resources, in these unsettling times. It is for those who enjoy creativity, journalling, writing for personal or professional development.
No prior knowledge of poetry or expressive writing is required; you simply need to be willing to share, reflect and experiment with words in a supportive environment.
Facilitated by Charmaine Pollard