This very excellent photo of a book held against sunlight was taken by Netherlands photographer Marc van Agteren. See more of his photos at www.shotsbyme.com. The photo sums up summer reading, so we asked Arvon staff what books they were reading this summer. Here’s what some of them said:

Cynthia Rogerson (Moniack Mhor) is reading Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Ariane Koek (Arvon London) is reading Young Hearts Crying by Richard Yates 

Emma Johnson (Arvon London) is reading Alis by Naomi Rich

Rachel Humphries (Moniack Mhor) is reading Under the Skin by Michel Faber

Kerry Watson (the Hurst) is reading London Orbital by Iain Sinclair 

Philip Cowell (Arvon London) is reading Land’s End by Michael Cunningham 

Pauline Smith (Totleigh Barton) is reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

Julia Wheadon (Totleigh Barton) is reading Ancestor Stones by Aminatta Forna

Stephen May (Lumb Bank) is reading Marilyn and Me by Shanta Everington

Nick Murza (Arvon London) is reading Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

First course of the year and everything you could ever want on a course at Lumb is coming to pass. Unnaturally Mediterranean weather, lovely, lovely tutors (Mark Illis and Louise Doughty), inspiring guest reading from double Carnegie medal winner Berlie Doherty (celebrating the twenty-fifth year since publishing her first book) and best of all an interesting , hard-working and delightful collection of emerging writers.

And then today we got a message from someone who was on our journalism course back in September telling us that a piece he began here has just won him Computer Science Writer of the Year.

Vindication for everything that we do here.

Stephen May, Centre Director, Lumb Bank

A fresh new year at Lumb Bank – this photo was taken on a mobile phone by Ilona, Lumb Bank’s administrator. 

The Ted Hughes Arvon Centre at Lumb Bank has been undergoing revamping and renewal which was put to the sternest possible test when Castlegreen School from Sunderland became the first visitors of 2007. Both public bathrooms have been replaced and all communal areas have been completed re-decorated. We have replaced the carpets in the library, on the stairs and along the landing and the place is looking very smart indeed. Certainly the students from Castlegreen appreciated our new fixtures and fittings. They were there working on performance based poetry with Luke Wright and Lemn Sissay with Clare Shaw as the mid-week guest. The work was, as ever on an Arvon course, extraordinary with all the students making a huge leap forward in their writing.  This was especially pleasing as many of the group had had significant behavioural and emotional difficulties prior to coming to the course. Meanwhile Luke Wright’s campaign to become the next poet laureate continues apace…

Bookings continue to stream in with a quarter of the places for 2007 now gone and two courses completely full. If you want to come to Lumb Bank this year you’ll need to get your skates on…

Best wishes

Stephen, Caron and Ilona

We’re looking for Arvon Friends to share their experiences of the Arvon courses they have been on. Have you ever been on an Arvon writing course? Which writing house did you visit? How was your journey there and back? How did you feel on the Monday night as you met your fellow writers for the week? What was unexpected? Did you experience any writing epiphanies? What did you cook and did people like your meal? Who were your tutors and your mid-week guest reader? What kind of weather did you have, what colour were the skies? What inspired you most when you were there (and what didn’t?) With Arvon’s fortieth birthday coming up next year (our first course, with Ted Hughes as guest reader, was in 1968) we’re going to collect as many stories about Arvon experiences as possible. Add your experience by clicking on Comments…