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 >
- Advanced painting: practice and discourseCourse start date: Mon 6 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Clare Barton-Harvey, Michael Harding, Stuart Jones, Mario Lautier Vella, Joe Richardson, Benjamin Senior, Ian TucknottDevelop your painting in greater depth on this advanced course, working with a team of artist-tutors and a committed network of peer-practitioners, across a set of projects focusing on a range of contemporary themes, processes, and debates. The course is intended for experienced painters with a positive and enquiring attitude to the practices and discourses of painting in its various forms, and a commitment to peer-dialogue and critical discussion. Focused and intensive studio-based weekend projects (once per month), are interspersed with weekly online tutorials, feedback, discussion and seminars.Full fee £2,649.00 Senior fee £2,119.00 Concession £1,854.00 - Advanced graphic designCourse start date: Mon 6 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrew McCartenThis course will help you improve your skills in graphic design and visual communications in their broadest sense, for delivery or publication in print and online, working with text, image, layout, medium and message across a range of physical and digital media and formats.
It is ideal for anyone who has already completed our City Lit graphics course, and for anyone wishing to build a more extensive and professional portfolio of graphics work, whilst developing a deeper understanding of the connection between text, image, message and media.
Confirmed industry specialist guests: Lydia Thornley, Designer, Creative Director and Reportage Illustrator and award winning film producer/director Mark Craig, maker of the film “The Last Man On The Moon”.Full fee £2,549.00 Senior fee £2,039.00 Concession £1,784.00 - Contemporary practice: personal projectCourse start date: Tue 7 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Ian TucknottOn this course you will develop your creativity, your personal artistic understanding, and a body of contemporary art work at an advanced level through the experimental exploration of a personal project. The course is facilitated by practicing artists and theorists, who will support you through guided critical and creative research, experimental workshops, critical studies, studio practice and tutorials. - Advanced children's book illustration: professional practiceCourse start date: Tue 7 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tim Ellis, Zehra Hicks, Dee ShulmanInterested in a career in Children’s Book Illustration, or advancing your practice to the next level? With the guidance and support of your tutors, you will have the opportunity to engage with experienced industry professionals, and develop your practice and personal visual vocabulary to a professional standard.
Visitors on previous years have included:
- Davinia Andrew-Lynch, Curtis Browne Agency
- Helen Chapman, Art director Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, Little Tiger Press, DK & Penguin
- Rebecca Garrill Art Director Andersen Press
- Margaret Hope, art director MacMillan Books
- Anne McNeill, Editorial director Random House and Penguin books
- Rachel Petty, former editorial director Macmillan Children's Books, currently author/illustrator agent at the Blair Partnership
- Arabella Stein, Managing Director, Bright Agency
- Millie Van Grutten RCW Literary Agency. - Extended drawing for artists and makersCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Annie Attridge, Clare Barton-Harvey, Ruth Brison, Tony Hull, Claire Hynds, Monika Kita, Ute Kreyman, Mario Lautier Vella, Faith VincentA multi-disciplinary course that will help broaden your skills and experience. Record, imagine, visualise, transform,
narrate and develop through a series of practical projects. This exciting course is designed to help you place drawing at the centre of your chosen artistic discipline.
This course requires a pre-enrolment application. Please click 'Start Assessment' on the right-hand side of this page to start your application.Full fee £2,349.00 Senior fee £1,879.00 Concession £1,644.00 - Pre level 6 in BSLCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma IliffeThis course is the language development part of the Level 6 in BSL Studies. Ideal for you if you have passed level 3 in BSL or Level 4 in BSL - depending on your BSL skills. This course is suitable for you if you want to continue to develop your skills up to the appropriate standard for progression to the Level 6 in BSL. - French 4/5: Les accents francophonesCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
If you are fluent in French but still unable to distinguish between different accents from within France and across the French speaking world, this course will help you familiarise yourself with the main features of different accents and help you improve your speaking skills.
Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - The City of London: the Square MileCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Hazel BakerExplore the City’s development from Roman and medieval times through to the Tudors and Stuarts. This course will consist of 8 guided walks starting with Roman London.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - The Healing Power of Dionysian celebrationsCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Maria ContosNietzsche in his book ‘The death of tragedy’ claims that by not experiencing Dionysian festivals in the modern world, we have lost the capacity to truly affirm life.
This session is part of the 2024 Mental Wealth Festival hosted by City Lit and partners.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £19.00 - Ruling Russia: Tsars, Revolutions, Civil War , and the Triumph of Lenin (1860-1924)Course start date: Tue 13 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Zoe QuinnThis course explores the transformative period of Russian history from 1860 to 1924, encompassing the autocratic rule of the Tsars, the revolutionary upheavals of 1905 and 1917, the chaos of the civil war, and the consolidation of the Bolshevik regime. Students will examine key events, figures, and ideologies that shaped modern Russia, delving into the complexities of political, social, and economic changes during this era.
Please note: this course includes much of the material covered in previous Russian Revolution courses at the City Lit. Moreover this course is taught at an introductory level. Tutor: Zoe Quinn.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Celebrate through singing Welsh songsCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Clare WhiteheadEnergise yourself singing and connecting with others in the Welsh language. You do not need to speak Welsh.
This session is part of the 2024 Mental Wealth Festival hosted by City Lit and partners.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £19.00 - German 3: Konversation und GrammatikCourse start date: Wed 8 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anna RiolandLearn German in the heart of London. Come and improve your speaking and some grammar in this intermediate German course. This course is fortnightly.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00 - English dialogue: speaking, listening, pronunciation, performance (level 1-2)Course start date: Thu 9 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Do you want to sound ‘more English’ when you speak? Do you want the chance to experiment with becoming expressive in English, playing with how you sound when you speak different dialogues? On this course, you will work on different dialogues from everyday speech and well known plays. And you will also create your own! The chance to work on how to perform and enact this speech will enable you to focus on how to link and ‘chunk’ words, develop your rhythm and stress, work on your fluency and ensure that the meaning of what you are saying becomes expressed. You will also be working with ‘real’ language, not the sometimes artificial language of English course books. Although you will be performing the texts, you do not need to be an actor, just willing to give it a go. By writing your own dialogues, you will also develop your writing skills so by the end of the course you can write and perform together with your classmates your own 5 minute play!.
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 - Italian 4/5: Storia della pittura italiana: Il MedioevoCourse start date: Thu 9 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ottavia CastellinaThe history of Western art cannot be understood without an understanding of the importance of Italian art. This short course, delivered in Italian, will introduce you to some of the major figures in the history of Italian art. The first module of 5 lessons will cover Medieval painting in Italy and each lesson will be devoted to a particular artist who is representative of their time. The course will be delivered online.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Old English literatureCourse start date: Wed 7 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Stephen PollingtonRead and analyse the language of some works in the Old English literature. This course is suitable for those students who have completed the level 1 and level 2 courses.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00
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