Workshops

Sophie Buchaillard is a practice-based educator and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy who believes in the power of writing to heal and bring communities together.

Sophie has collaborated with a broad spectrum of partners to deliver inclusive workshops on the themes of community building, inclusion, creative growth, well-being, trauma-recovery and sustainable living.

Currently, she runs a monthly workshop in Penarth Library (see calendar) and bespoke, themed, workshops on aspects of writing.

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  • I love to collaborate with artists and organisations, to develop creative responses centred around the role creative writing can play in reframing perspectives, healing trauma and bringing communities together.

    Sophie Buchaillard

  • Working with an author like Sophie has been invaluable, bringing professional insight, encouragement, and a fresh energy that has inspired new and returning library users alike.

    Jordan Forse, Libraries and Cultural Services Manager

  • Since 2023, the Creative Writing Classes in Penarth have transformed the library into a vibrant hub of storytelling, connection, and creativity.

    Jordan Forse, Libraries and Cultural Services Manager

  • The participants get to write, explore, be expressive, share and create. Sophie guides, encourages, teaches which leaves them eager for more.

    Rhodri Matthews, Senior Librarian

  • These sessions go beyond writing—they empower individuals, support wellbeing, and foster inclusion. Led by Sophie, participants find their voices, share their experiences, and build confidence, creating a ripple effect that strengthens our wider community.

    Jordan Forse, Libraries and Cultural Services Manager

  • Sophie' classes are a warm and encouraging environment in which she provides the knowledge and skillset to thrive in creative writing. I highly recommend her classes for anyone whether they be toying with the idea of writing or fully published.

    Anna Skibniewski-Ball, workshop participant

Passed partnerships

Get in touch and look at  Literature Wales Inspiring Communities Fund if you need help with funding your idea.

 A few examples of past partnerships:

  • In 2024, I partnered with the MakerSpace and Penarth Library to deliver writing workshops inviting women to explore their experience of the menopause in an inclusive space; with Creative Cardiff to deliver a Travel Writing Masterclass looking at reinventing the genre for the 21st century; with Reclaim the Frame and Chapter Arts Centre to explore the impact of climate change on small communities, through shared conversations and writing prompts, in response to a viewing of the film Banel & Adama by director Ramata-Toulaye Sy.

  • In 2023, I partnered with Literature Wales and Penarth Library Makerspace to deliver a series of workshops on Writing Parenthood, and give new parents the tools to co-produce a collection of zines (DIY magazines) in which participants collated their individual and collective responses in images and words (Based on an original idea by Harriet Bradshaw); with Reclaim the Frame and Chapter Arts Centre to explore cultural identity/ dual heritage / multi-identities / language and what happens when we reconnect to a past heritage, through shared conversations and writing prompts, in response to a viewing of the film Past Lives by Celine Song; and with the National Museum Wales (Cardiff) and Cardiff University’s research group Image Works, to deliver a workshop on imagined and introspective travels, in response to the exhibition Sea Horizon/Môrwelion by the artist Gary Fabian Miller.