Ella Risbridger is a writer and editor. Her bestselling debut, Midnight Chicken (& Other Recipes Worth Living For) (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019), was a Sunday Times Book of the Year, and won the Guild of Food Writers General Cookbook of the Year Award. Her most recent cookbook, The Year of Miracles (recipes about love + grief + growing things) (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022), has been longlisted for the Andre Simon Awards, is a Waterstones Best Book of 2022; and was praised by Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, Diana Henry, and many more. The book is coincidentally partly set in Cricieth, the town down the road from Tŷ Newydd. She also writes children's books; poetry anthologies; and journalism, including for the Observer, the Financial Times, and Vogue. Her books have been translated into multiple languages, including Russian and Chinese. She lives in London with three thousand books and a cat.
Word of Mouth: Food, feelings and family
On this residential course, you’ll explore food writing in all its many forms – from memoir to manual, from poetry to plays, fiction, graphic novels and beyond. Writing about food isn’t ever just writing about food: it’s writing about life. What we eat is never just what we eat: it’s who we are. Over the course of the sessions, you’ll learn to shape your narratives and touch upon different topics such as who we cook for and who we eat with, what we cook and where we shop and how we come together (or apart) at the kitchen table. Whether you are interested in a traditional recipe-led cookbook, or something more experimental, you’ll work with the tutors to shape your stories.
As award-winning authors of both fiction and memoir, and the co-editors of ‘The Dinner Table’ (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023) an anthology of food writing, Ella and Kate will bring their experience, care and passion for new, exciting, creative work. All you’ll need are some essential ingredients: yourself, your stories, your recipes, and your memories. What you’ll take away is writing that makes people hungry, and a deeper appreciation of all the complicated flavours of life. Let’s write. Let’s eat.
Bursaries
One £250 bursary space is available for this course. To apply, please complete this application form
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 6 August 2025.
For further information about the support available, please visit our Financial Assistance page: https://tynewydd.wales/courses-retreats/financial-support/
Tutors
Ella Risbridger
Kate Young
Kate Young is a writer and cook. Her award-winning Little Library Cookbooks – The Little Library Cookbook (Head of Zeus, 2017), The Little Library Year (Anima, 2019), The Little Library Christmas (Anima, 2020), and The Little Library Parties (Apollo, 2022)) feature food inspired by beloved works of literature. Her debut novel Experienced, a queer romcom set in Bristol, sold in a seven-way auction and will be published by Fourth Estate in 2024. She has written for various publications, including The Guardian, and The Times; is a contributor to food magazines such as Waitrose Magazine, Delicious and Sainsbury’s Magazine; and has advised on features for the Financial Times, and The Telegraph. After a sunny Australian childhood spent indoors reading books she moved to London, which suited her much better. She now lives in the English countryside.
Guest Reader
Nina Mingya Powles (Digital)
Nina Mingya Powles is a writer and poet from New Zealand, currently living in London. She is the author of several books of poetry and creative nonfiction including Slipstitch (Guillemot Press, 2024), Magnolia 木蘭 (Nine Arches, 2020), Small Bodies of Water (Canongate, 2021) and Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai (The Emma Press, 2020). She writes a monthly substack on food and memory titled Crispy Noodles.