Have you always wanted to write but don’t know where to start? Now here's your chance as new creative writing workshops are coming to Shire Hall.

Writer Louisa Adjoa Parker, will be running workshops for new writers at the recently-opened Historic Courthouse Museum.

The workshops are part of a new literature project, For the Love of Words, which was set up by Louisa and is funded by Arts Council England, as well as Take Art and South Somerset District Council.

For the Love of Words has two aims: Louisa will be developing her own work with the help of two mentors, Jacob Ross and Pascale Petit, and delivering writing workshops in prisons, libraries, schools and the community across the South West. She hopes to inspire local people to ‘develop a love of words, and the confidence to believe they can write’.

Louisa, who is of Ghanaian and English heritage, lived in west Dorset until recently and now lives in south Somerset.

She has had two poetry collections published by Cinnamon Press. As well as poetry she writes fiction, articles and black history. Her work has been published and performed widely.

She said: "I started writing to talk about my experience of being dual heritage in the west country – something my white friends couldn’t relate to. I also wrote about other aspects of ‘difference’, and I am passionate about representing diverse voices through my work. I am also passionate about telling stories from the rural south west – and the people who live in this beautiful part of the UK – as we aren’t often represented in literature."

Louisa is keen to work with people from marginalised backgrounds, as she believes everyone has the right to engage with literature.

She added: "Everyone has a story to tell – often the people who’ve been through the most difficult experiences can write the most beautiful and heartfelt pieces."

Shire Hall’s events and exhibitions manager, Harriet Still said: "Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum opened its doors on May 1. It is wonderful to see it being explored and experienced by so many people. Everyone has a different story that they bring to their understanding of the building and its past.

"We are really excited to be hosting Louisa’s workshop, encouraging and supporting creativity and storytelling in people from all backgrounds and with different levels of writing experience. It will be one of the first workshops to be hosted here and we hope it will be the first of many."

Louisa’s informal workshops, which are aimed at over 16s, will explore themes of identity, belonging, home and place, and will encourage participants to draw on personal experience to create poems, stories and life writing.

She said: "My sessions are about telling stories from the heart, so you don’t need a big vocabulary or to know all the grammatical terms. All you need to bring is yourself, something to write with, and the desire to write."

The sessions will take place at Shire Hall on Tuesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 24, from 6pm until 8pm.

To book a place at one or both of the sessions or to find out further information email louisaparker3@hotmail.com