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.
- Love and marriage in Renaissance art
Course start date: Tue 18 Nov 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonGain a new perspective on the Renaissance by exploring the material culture of love, marriage, and childbirth in Renaissance Italy. Join us for a fascinating dive into the world of the Renaissance family.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Lunchtime Lecture: Caravaggio - murderer or genius Course start date: Thu 20 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveCaravaggio’s reputation as an artist was for many years tainted by his criminal record, but for his contemporaries he was an influential innovator. We’ll explore his life, the development of his style and the events that tainted his reputation.
Full fee £14.00 Senior fee £11.00 Concession £9.00 - Drawing and mindfulness: introductionCourse start date: Fri 21 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyExplore how mindfulness can enrich drawing and give you more creative freedom. This course offers a great introduction to mindful drawing or ways to explore it more deeply. A practical drawing course from observation, and the imagination.
Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Realism and Genre: British Cinema in the 1960sCourse start date: Sat 22 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyDuring the 1960s British cinema re-established itself as a leading producer of films, including realist dramas such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), and action and adventure fantasies with the highly popular James Bond films. This course explores these developments through a range of critical approaches and considers the way in which they contributed to a revitalised British cinema.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Writing great child characters Course start date: Sat 29 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieWrite your way to compelling and convincing child characters that truly connect with your readers, in this fun, interactive course.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Welsh pronunciation workshopCourse start date: Sat 29 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jack Pulman-SlaterUnderstand how to produce the sounds of Welsh with increased accuracy, confidence and intelligibility on this practical and popular online course.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - The music of Brazil: from samba through bossa novaCourse start date: Sat 29 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Claudia CerbinoDiscover the rich cultural and geographical diversity which have influenced Brazilian popular music and learn about the wide variety of Brazil's musical styles both past and present.In English with some Portuguese.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £39.00 - Interactions between the Mediterranean world and Anglo-Saxon EnglandCourse start date: Fri 5 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Stephen Pollington.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Drawing and mindfulness: releasing the judging mindCourse start date: Sat 6 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyExplore a range of perspectives and practical exercises for letting-go of the limiting effects of the judging mind, whilst connecting to drawing in refreshing and inspiring ways. The ideas and mindfulness skills are transferrable to all creative disciplines.
Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £89.00 - Studying Film: A TasterCourse start date: Sun 7 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyThis taster of forthcoming film courses at City Lit in 2026 offers you the chance to think about which ones to take while also providing an opportunity to explore some of the key areas in film studies more generally.
Learn how to evaluate and discuss films while enjoying a working example of a City Lit film studies class.
We will view clips from a wide variety of films, exploring themes and technique in British, European and modern American cinema. There will be a chance to review term two film courses at City Lit (January - July 2026).Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Lunchtime lecture: William Blake, a life of innocence and experienceCourse start date: Wed 10 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the art of William Blake from a political perspective, looking at his social and cultural context as a working-class artist working in a rapidly changing world.
Full fee £14.00 Senior fee £11.00 Concession £9.00 - Adoring the Christ Child in art: images of the very generous Magi Course start date: Thu 11 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThe images of the Adoration of the Magi will be taken from medieval illuminated manuscripts, as well as panel paintings done for churches and chapels and fresco cycles. Artists covered include Italian artists such as Duccio, Giotto, Botticelli, Fra Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Gentile da Fabriano, and northern Renaissance artists including Gossaert and Breughel.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Music history bookclub: The Great PassionCourse start date: Fri 12 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Edward BreenThe music history book club meets towards the end of each term to discuss novels and biographies with musical themes and references relevant to the music history programme.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £19.00 - History of ideas: the invention of ChristmasCourse start date: Sat 13 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Angela PlattBeginning around the middle of the 19th century, a ‘new Christmas’ came into the fore; a reinvented Christmas, if you will. Why did this Christmas shift as it did – to produce the modern celebration many people still enjoy today? In this course, the stories of those groups and individuals who impacted this ‘reinvention of Christmas’ will be shared.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Lipreading and managing hearing loss: improvers module 2Course start date: Mon 12 Jan 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Nicola HicksDevelop your lipreading skills and strategies for face-to-face communication and keep up-to-date with relevant equipment and services. This course is suitable if you have completed improvers module 1.
This course will be taught in spoken English and not in sign language.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £110.00 Concession £85.00
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