History, culture & writing

Explore History, Culture & Writing

Explore our extraordinary range of History, Culture and Writing courses and lectures. We offer both introductory and specialist in-depth courses to suit all levels of interest and experience, from ‘How to read a film’ and World literature, to Creative non-fiction writing courses and American history and Politics courses.

Our tutors are experts in their fields and experienced educators; many have published, teach in universities or share their expertise in the media. Tutors share their knowledge and passion through presentations, readings, interactive discussion and exercises, analysis, and other activities.

Many students return to take more courses, telling us they enjoy being part of our City Lit Learning community.

Our popular courses often sell out quickly, so we invite you to browse and book your place now.

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of courses allowing you to choose between online and in-person learning. All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

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  1. Write your screenplay: from idea to first draft
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 25 Mar 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Clive Ford
    A good screenplay starts with a good story but it also needs structure, good characters and interesting twists. This is a course for writers who have an idea they think is ready to go. We’ll look at the best ways to grab the viewers’ attention from the off, and at the end of the course you’ll get a chance to pitch your ideas.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
  2. Ways into playwriting: a taster
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 8 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Nicole Acquah
    Explore the fundamental techniques of writing for the stage in this introductory online course. Get to grips with dialogue, character, story and structure, and start work on your own play.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    80% of 100
  3. The art of the dissertation
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 22 Apr 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Anne Wilson
    Are you approaching your dissertation year at undergraduate level? On this workshop you will receive expert guidance on how to structure and write your dissertation project to a high academic standard.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  4. Writing and rewriting fairytales
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 22 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Helen Cox
    Once upon a time there was a City Lit workshop all about writing fairytales. The quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  5. Picture book writing
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 13 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online (other locations are available)

    Tutors:  Lou Kuenzler
    Would 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.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £50.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  6. How to get an agent
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 20 May 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Neil Arksey
    This workshop, designed for authors who have finished their manuscript, offers practical advice on finding and approaching a literary agent.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  7. 'The Freedom of our Crimes': the poetry of World War 2 across Europe
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 20 May 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Peter Brennan
    Reading and considering responses to the war from poets representing several combatant nations, we shall discover just how impressive and various were their evocations of this terrible and many-faceted conflict.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
  8. How to write a book about your expert knowledge
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 27 May 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Lorna V
    This crash course aims to demystify the publishing process and help you formulate the first steps to writing your book, whether you’re an academic, a business expert or anyone else with specific professional expertise.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
  9. Writing the Oulipo: a taster
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 10 Jun 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Terry Freedman
    Does your writing need a boost of inspiration? How about counter-intuitively imposing constraints on yourself? Learn about the ideas of the French Oulipo movement and see what happens when you experiment with interesting – and challenging – limitations!



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  10. Self-publishing: a taster
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 17 Jun 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Helen Cox
    Want to keep full creative control of your writing project? Learn more about self-publishing and how to give your book (poetry, fiction or non-fiction) the best chance of achieving high sales.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  11. Writing eco-poetry: a taster
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 17 Jun 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Westcott
    How might poets write about the natural world today, and what is an eco-poem?



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
  12. Writing the family
    ONLINE, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 24 Jun 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Nick Barlay
    Tackle the challenges of writing about family life in this thought-provoking workshop about how to craft personal stories into an engaging narrative.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100

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