Lapidus News

Join us on the 22nd August for our Finding Courage Writing Festival.

As before we'll be running this event through our Zoom -  it's open for anyone to attend (up to a certain amount, so don't forget to sign up to save your space!)

This event will be 'Pay What You Want'. Want to support Lapidus in what we do and help us run more events like this? Consider donating a small amount through the link below. Don't have the cash to spare? Not a problem. Join in anyway!

Thinking of running a writing group? Already organise workshops but want to enhance them? Here are a few top tips from our community.

If you are a facilitator or attendee of a creative writing for wellbeing group - currently or pre-COVID- we would like to hear from you!

Lapidus International is working with Professor Tony Wall at the University of Chester on a new research project that looks at the changes in provision of creative writing for wellbeing groups in England during COVID-19.

Therapeutic Writing with the Five Senses

 Saturday, July 11th, 11.00am – 12.30pm

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE PUT ON THE WAITING LIST.

Our awareness seems to have been heightened in recent months and a hyper-sensitivity to our encounter with our environment has been described by many. 

As we seek to hold a fragile balance in uncertain times, the use of our five senses may be significant and supportive. This online workshop is designed to for enjoyment, using verbal expression and writing as we focus on our interaction with the world and explore our emotions in relation to our sensory experiences.

Research Matters

A Lapidus Discussion Panel

 Saturday, June 27, 1.00pm – 2.00pm

We became aware at last year’s Creative Bridges conference that there were many Lapidus members who were interested to know about ways to research their practice and/or how to go about to publishing their research.

This event offers you an opportunity to ask the questions you may have about some of the panels’ experiences of practising and publishing research related to the field of writing as a therapeutic practice, which we hope will be a starting point for further learning and discussion.  

*Look up*

A few years ago, on a trip to London, I met a woman named Clare. She runs a project called Urban Curiosity. We ordered lattes and deliciously buttery breakfast treats, and I asked her, “What’s this project all about?”

It’s pretty simple. Mainly, she leads people on walking tours throughout the city of London. People wander through different neighborhoods, and through beautiful green parks, noticing the trees, noticing the sky, the clouds, the pets, the people. The only rule is that you have to put away your phone. No photos. No videos. No texting. Just walk.

“I want to inspire people to look up, not down,” Clare told me.

I remember feeling a rush of energy in my body, almost like my skin was tingling, when Clare said those words. I remember thinking, “Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes.”

I watched a short film about a man who set up a high-powered telescope on a random sidewalk in Los Angeles and invited strangers to peek inside and look at the moon. It’s incredible how each person—all ages, all kinds of people—react in the same way. “Oh my god. Wow. Just…oh my God.” The filmmaker concludes this tiny, 3-minute film by saying:

“We should look up more often.”

Imagine if we looked up into the sky, and into people’s eyes, as often as we look down at our phones. Imagine the difference it would make. We would all walk around shimmering, awestruck, grateful, just one big collective WOW.

At least once a week, I have one of those weary, frazzled moments when my to-do list feels never-ending…when my inbox feels frighteningly full…when the quarterly reports come in and the book sales aren’t as high as I thought they would be…when I feel very small and very insignificant. Those are the moments when I feel tempted to dive into a digital device to escape and numb out. Instead, next time, I will try to remind myself:

“Look up.”

The answer I’m seeking is not down on my laptop screen, or my phone. It’s up. It’s out there. It’s above and beyond. In the trees, the sky, and the stars.

9th May, 3pm to 5pm

EDIT: THIS EVENT HAS NOW SOLD OUT.

Please contact Richard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be notified first about the date of the next event.

Are you looking for support with aspects of your work? Lapidus wants to help creative practitioners to feel confident and upskill themselves. Therefore, we are running our first online coaching circle using the simple model of an Active Learning Set. Share wisdom with colleagues about all sorts of practice issues: you bring them, we help you to resolve them!

16th May at 11:00am to 12:30pm

EDIT: THIS EVENT HAS NOW SOLD OUT.

Please contact Richard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be notified first about the date of the next event.

Are you thinking about taking your events online? Are you unsure about which system to use, or best practice when it comes to running a workshop? 

Lapidus Coordinator Richard Axtell is offering a one-and-a-half-hour workshop giving you the chance to explore your options when it comes to online events and to ask any questions you might have.

This workshop will cover:

•    - The different kinds of online events you can run – webinar, workshop, live video, etc.
•    - Setting up your online space – what control you have, and how to make the most of it.
•    - Best practice – how long should a workshop be? How many people should attend?

The Lapidus International Research and Innovation Community Journal is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal.

Our aim is to foster debate that can support the growing acknowledgement of the written and spoken word in supporting mental and physical health and wellbeing.

We publish articles, essays and reviews by academics, writers and clinical and cultural practitioners from diverse perspectives who use writing in any number of different contexts to this effect.

With the start if this new month, we are happy to announce our plans to change Lapidus International's name to a new, improved name: Writey Alrighty.

"We think it's a really cool name," says the chair of Lapidus, Barbara Bloomfield. "It really says what we believe in: that if you write, you'll feel alright." 

You may pick up some ideas for your own personal writing or if you run writing for well being groups yourself.

St Leonards on Sea, Saturday 14th March

This will be a two-part session.

Part One, starting at 10am, will be Clowning Around with Words, led by Hazel Ettridge.
Hazel writes: There's a lovely quote from Winnie the Pooh, which hopefully sums up what we'll be doing in the first half of the next meeting. "When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it."
Clowns and Bears of Very Little Brain have a lot in common!

Part Two, after the break, will be Playfulness Rebellion, led by Felicity Stephen and Nicky Torode. Felicity and Nicky write: “We’ll be inviting you to engage in active play through a mime/guessing game, to recall and reflect on a playful moment from your life and to work together to iinvent ways to bring more play into your lives through a Playfulness Rebellion…. And, of course, some writing! There’ll also be an opportunity for each of us to share something playful we may have incorporated in our own recent writing for wellbeing sessions.”