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.
- Accents: Standard English level 2Course start date: Tue 13 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jonathan MulquinThis intermediate course is focused on studying the sounds and rhythms of Standard English in connected speech. What are the rules when putting sounds together when speaking fluently? How do these sounds create the accent and its rhythm?
This course is not for speakers of other languages who should take English Pronunciation courses instead. Although it is a follow-on course, it is also a complete course in itself.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £90.00 - Symphonies in productionCourse start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pauline GreeneStudy symphonies coming up in the 2026–27 season, we will discuss their composition, context and style, and then hear a selection ofmusical examples. NB Break week: 30 May 2027.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Beethoven's ViennaCourse start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Katy HamiltonLudwig van Beethoven’s music has come to stand for the greatest and best-known aspects of the Western classical tradition. But who was he? And what exactly did he do? Come and discover more about this most famous Viennese composer.
Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - Music theory: grade 6Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarha MooreDevelop your understanding of musical language by learning to write four-part harmony, harmonise and write diatonic melodies, modulate, and analyse scores (harmony, melodic decoration, phrase structure, performance instructions, stylistic implications). Break weeks: 18 Feb and 1, 8, 18 April. - Level 6 in BSLCourse start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma IliffeIdeal if you have achieved your level 3 or level 4 in BSL, depending on your BSL skills, and are ready to progress to Level 6. This course is suitable for you if you want to continue to develop your skills up to the appropriate standard at level 6 in BSL. This course will enable you to understand and use complex BSL in a range of work and social situations. By the end of the course you will need to achieve all 6 assessments to gain a qualification at level 6.Full fee £1,949.00 Senior fee £1,949.00 Concession £1,949.00 - Iconography and iconology: secrets of the old masters revealed
Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoEver wondered whether there’s a hidden meaning behind paintings? Discover why there are signs and symbols in paintings and how to find and interpret their meanings, in paintings from medieval to Baroque and beyond.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Grammar in practice: upper intermediate (level 1-2) Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Unsure when to use present perfect or past perfect? Is reported speech still causing you problems? Do you need to practise your conditionals? Join this course and put your grammar into practice in speaking, writing, reading and listening. Gain confidence in using grammar effectively through high level and engaging tasks
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 £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £75.00 - Experimental filmmaking: stage 2Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Monika KitaThis practical course is designed for those who have some previous experience in film in a fine art context or for those who have attended an experimental filmmaking course before.
During the course, you will push the boundaries of mainstream cinema and experiment with various techniques to express your artistic vision.Full fee £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00 - Advanced writing for children: editing your novel - part 1 Course start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Penny JoelsonLearn how to edit a children’s/YA novel as a whole and chapter by chapter, looking at the ‘bigger picture’ and using the skills you learn to edit your own novel during the course.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £209.00 Concession £105.00 - Collage and mixed media: book artsCourse start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth FranklinAn exciting short experimental course working with found books and individual book constructions to explore and combine a variety of creative techniques. Including collage, drawing, painting, mono-printing and paper as interventions into the pages of a book to create unexpectedly beautiful or powerful new work.Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Jewellery: stone setting IICourse start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rae DuncanAlready mastered the basics of mount-making and stone-setting but want to improve further? Develop your skills exploring the intricacies of claw and collet settings with the guidance of an experienced tutor.Full fee £419.00 Senior fee £335.00 Concession £272.00 - Exploring Bach's cantatasCourse start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Edward BreenExperience the enjoyment of Bach’s church cantatas through study of selected examples and exploration of both music and biography. Break week : 19 Feb 2026.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £188.00 - City Lit contemporary collage projects 2Course start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
City Lit contemporary collage projects 1 initiates a year-long set of collage and mixed media projects designed to experiment with and examine the interplay between the two and three dimensions. You will work with a wide range of materials, on and off the wall, extending our pictorial practice into the realm of collage, painting, drawing, assemblage, bricolage, decoupage, photomontage, small scale constructions, printing and text within the context of mixed media.
Note* the course is designed in a way to enable students to either complete all three courses over the year or to come in at any stage in no particular order.Full fee £839.00 Senior fee £671.00 Concession £545.00 - Communication skills: developing your writing, speaking and digital skills through creating a radio programme (ESOL level 1-2) Course start date: Thu 8 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Do you want to develop your writing and speaking skills? Would you also like to improve your digital skills? On this course you will work on writing, enacting and recording short radio programmes about news items, arts, hobbies, and other areas of interest. By doing this, you will improve your communication skills including emphasising meaning, choosing the right words, speaking and writing concisely with the right tone and creating emotions. You will also focus on your pronunciation and fluency. You will work on how to edit and put together a programme. We hope we can distribute your programme to friendly listeners!
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 £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £70.00 - Portraits 3Course start date: Fri 16 Jan 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Aimed at more experienced students: take your existing knowledge of poraiture further and build your understanding of the genre. Undertake practical projects which enable you to develop a more personal approach to the character and identity of your subject. This course ideally follows Portrait 2.Full fee £479.00 Senior fee £383.00 Concession £311.00
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