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.
- Friday lates: the art of the frame
Course start date: Fri 10 Oct 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveEvery picture tells a story, but what about the frame around it? Find out how picture frames can tell us more about the artworks they surround. - Introduction to contemporary art: ideas and originsCourse start date: Mon 13 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierEver wondered what's going on in the mind of contemporary artists? This course explores the ideas and historical background behind some of today’s most intriguing works, from Conceptualism and Video to Body Art and Installation.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Using your voice for audio books and talking newspapersCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David ThorpeWould you like to narrate audio books? Are you interested in community work such as talking newspapers for the blind? Explore vocal skills and techniques required in these areas and identify what style works for you. This course will be delivered in the college.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £104.00 - Literary translation in practice (French into English)Course start date: Mon 13 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Trista SelousDo you enjoy reading in French and writing in English? Are you interested in the similarities and differences between the two cultures? Come and join this interactive translation course.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £149.00 - Making it Modern: A Survey of 20th century poetryCourse start date: Mon 13 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Suzannah V. EvansWhat makes a poet modern? What is the different between modern poetry and modernist poetry? How has modern poetry informed the work of poets writing today? Come and explore the exciting range of poetry written in the twentieth century in a supportive and energising group context.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - Picture book writing: advanced Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andrew WealeWould you like to workshop, edit and polish your picture book texts for young children? This course is designed for advanced picture book writers wishing to hone their skills and improve their own stories.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £100.00 - Working with adults who stammer: a course for speech and language therapists Course start date: Mon 13 Oct 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Carolyn Cheasman, Vivien Grant-JonesDesigned for speech and language therapists, this four-day interactive workshop will cover assessment and selection, stammering modification, interiorised stammering, cluttering, acquired stammering and an introduction to mindfulness. Opportunity to practise teaching techniques to clients included.
Note: this course runs on these days: October 13-15; and a final follow-up day on March 30..Full fee £599.00 Senior fee £599.00 Concession £599.00 - Teatime Talks: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, imagined portraitsCourse start date: Tue 14 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronOne of the most absorbing contemporary artists working in the UK today, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye paints startling ‘portraits’ of characters entirely derived from her imagination. Discover aspects of her artistic process and the ideas and themes behind her paintings on this course.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Develop your confidence in writing: grammar, punctuation, expression (level 1-2) Course start date: Fri 2 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Would you like to be more confident in the way you write whether emails or reports at work or messages to friends? Do you want to work on how you form sentences, understand grammar and use punctuation so your writing is more creative? Do you want to learn how to create meaning in your writing?. This course will help you be more secure in your professional, academic or creative writing skills and help you improve some of your weak areas around forming and punctuating sentences with appropriate grammatical form. You will develop your confidence in the most essential areas of writing including different sentence structures, writing paragraphs, using punctuation effectively, using active and passive voices and proofreading.
You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name).
This course is FREE if you are employed and on a low wage or you are claiming benefits. For more information Click here
Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £90.00 - Literary translation in practice (Portuguese into English)Course start date: Tue 14 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christina BaumDo you enjoy reading in Portuguese and writing in English? Are you interested in the similarities and differences between English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking cultures? Do you have a particular interest and/or background in literature, especially literature in other languages? Would you like to see if you have a special knack for translation, perhaps with a view to doing it professionally? Come and join this interactive translation course to hone your translation skills. - Art and War: Art at the Imperial War MuseumCourse start date: Wed 15 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowThe IWM opened in 1920 and moved to its current London site in 1936, with the intention of recording military action in which the United Kingdom was and has been involved since WW1. The museum has an exciting new thematic display of its extensive art collection. Explore how artists respond to conflict both in the past and today.
Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - French 3 lower: conversationCourse start date: Wed 15 Oct 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michel WillameCome and practise your intermediate spoken French and develop your language skills in these topical discussion classes. Based on recordings from French television, radio news and newspaper articles.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £103.00 - Spanish 4/5: cuentistas españoles y latinoamericanosCourse start date: Wed 15 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Óscar Salgado SuárezEste curso es para aquellos estudiantes que han estudiado unos cinco años de español y desean obtener un conocimiento más profundo de la lengua y cultura del mundo hispanohablante. En este módulo se leerá y analizará un libro dentro de su contexto histórico.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - French 5 taster: mosaïquesCourse start date: Thu 16 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anais Perdaems
Come and join this lively taster which will offer you an opportunity to try out this course format before enrolling.
Etude de la langue à travers la littérature, les chansons, les films, les informations télévisées, les coupures de presse, et diverses activités créatives orales et écrites.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £19.00 - Seeing inside paintingsCourse start date: Thu 16 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caroline RaeDiscover the secrets of the Old Masters and learn how they created their wonderful effects in this introductory course on painters and painting. We will consider the physical history and scientific examination of artworks in relation to aspects including forgeries, hidden paintings and conservation/ restoration.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00
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