Writing Courses & Workshops Online & in London
Be inspired to write, and learn how to get published at the college where Andrea Levy, Malorie Blackman, Anna Burns, and other celebrated authors studied. Read our success stories to see what's possible for you as a writer.
Learn from published authors
Whether you're just starting out or ready to publish your first book, the benefits of our writing courses include expert tuition from a published author and feedback on your work as you develop your writing skills. There will also be opportunities to participate in group discussions and activities with fellow students.
Unheard Voices Scholarship
City Lit’s Malorie Blackman Scholarships for 'Unheard Voices' provide three annual awards to fund one year’s study within the Creative Writing department at City Lit. Learn more >
See what it's like be part a City Lit online creative writing course.
- Japanese beginners: holiday kit
Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Hisaka BuntingMake the most of your visit to Japan with this short, intensive course. This Holiday Kit will provide you with all the language you need to communicate in the most common holiday situations and to have a friendly chat with the locals!Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Picture book writing Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lou KuenzlerWould you like to write a picture book text for young children? This course is designed for children's writers and for illustrators wishing to write their own stories; a starter course to develop both your ideas and your technique.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £60.00 - Joke writing Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate SmurthwaiteUncover the workings of the classic one-liner, practise joke writing and find out what makes a good joke. Learn how to refine and develop your own writing skills for stand up, comedy writing and pleasure. - The geology beneath British landscapes Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Charles ClarkeBritain encompasses a fascinating variety of beautiful landscapes, from the lakes and hills of the north-west to the flatlands of East Anglia. This course gives you a practical introduction to the unique geology beneath these areas, covering main rock types and geological periods. - Animating still life weekend Course start date: Sat 24 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephanie GriffithsUsing the professional application DragonFrame to capture stop motion and a range of stop motion techniques and processes you will create an exciting and surprising animation. This weekend course will introduce you to some of the techniques of internationally celebrated animators such as Jan Svankmajer and Paul Bush.
Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £179.00 - Write a short story in a weekend Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vicky GrutTurn your great idea into a short story on this fun practical course. You'll be introduced to some key fiction writing techniques and encouraged to draft a short story from beginning to end. Suitable for beginners who are comfortable learning at a fast pace.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £60.00 - Train the TrainerCourse start date: Sat 25 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Trevor England'Train the Trainer' is a practical 2 day course designed to help you gain ideas for effective facilitation and managing groups. It is suitable if you are thinking of becoming a trainer and want to gain confidence in planning and facilitating the training, or if you are an experienced trainer and want to refresh your practice. You will leave with some tools and techniques that will ensure your training is engaging and productive for your learners. On day 2 you will have the opportunity to deliver a short micro-training or interactive presentation. You are required to attend both days of this course.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £129.00 - Craft focus: how to edit your novel Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah LeipcigerOnce your story is on the page, the editing process begins. Where do you start and what skills do you need? This course guides learners through the editing of a story or manuscript, exploring approaches to making line edits, improving narrative structure and more. - Japanese Facial Massage: a CPD workshop Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Kean Street Wellbeing Centre
Tutors: Janet WhiteheadLearn a facial massage that combines acupressure and oil massage to give you a natural facelift. It will relax and tone facial muscles, promote blood circulation and bring vitality or 'Ki' energy to the face, leaving you with a glowing complexion. It is also beneficial for jaw and facial pain.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £229.00 - Deep tissue massage: a CPD workshop Course start date: Sat 27 Sep 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Kean Street Wellbeing Centre
Tutors: Mark WoollardExpand your skills to apply deep tissue massage techniques with confidence. Learn how to relieve fatigue, muscle tension, and improve flexibility.
This is for therapists who hold a Level 3 qualification in massage.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £249.00 Concession £249.00 - Portrait painting: two session pose Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesDevelop a portrait from life: a structured course to build skills towards making a convincing portrait where the model keeps the same pose over 2 sessions to enable a sustained piece of work.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Printmaking weekend: Collagraph techniques Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rosey PrinceMake and print a collagraph exploiting texture and colour using readily available and simple materials with a low environmental impact. The handmade matrix is deceptively simple to construct, the printed results often richer and more detailed than expected when run through the press. All welcome.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Character voices (intensive)Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah English, Bryan RomaineCharacter voices aren’t just for cartoons. Learn the tools and techniques you need to create new and unique character voices or to accurately imitate a historical or contemporary voice for animation, stage and screen. This course will be delivered in the media studio.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £125.00 - Earth's six major mass extinctions: an introduction Course start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Charles ClarkeAn introductory course which gives a long-term perspective to extinction events throughout earth’s history, reminding us of the fragility of the planet's ecosystems. While we currently see the very real effects of climate change on the planet for humans, we may forget that many biological organisms have not survived in earlier extreme conditions. Looking back over the last 450 million years of earth’s history we will go beyond the extinction of the dinosaurs to mass extinctions that were even more devastating. - Life painting weekend: expressionist approaches Course start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonExplore and develop a personal expressive response to life drawing and painting using a variety of techniques working from the life model. Explore mark-making, rich colour and dramatic contrast to explore and experiment with expressive and dynamic drawing and painting techniques, in response to examples of Expressionist artists styles and approaches.
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