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 >
- Early music ensembleCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Layil BarrAn ensemble for musicians interested in learning the skills of playing consort music in different instrumental combinations (broken consort). It will be a journey exploring the variety of sound combinations in 17th century repertoire. Break week: 26 May 2025.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £160.00 - Workplace communication skills: how to get a better job (ESOL entry 3-level 1)Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Are you looking for a new or better job? Do you feel nervous in interviews? Would you like to learn the English you need to impress an employer? This course will help you with the language you need to do well in interviews, to feel calm and relaxed. You will work on predicting the types of questions an employer will ask you and you will practise answering them. You will work on your pronunciation including stress and you will role play different situations that take place in an interview.
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 £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £25.00 - Recorders: return to playingCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Layil BarrDiscover the joy of this delightful instrument. Learn the basics of fingering and articulation to play melodies both in unison and in ensemble. Please bring your own descant and/or treble. Break week: 26 May 2025.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £125.00 - Painting: oil techniques and mediumsCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sisetta ZapponeOil paint is a medium with a long historical tradition, capable of heavy impasto effects and delicate transparent colour films. Working practically, in the studio, this course will expand your understanding of approaches to building a variety of surfaces in your paint working with mediums and expanding your use of texture and glazing This course is for all levels – both beginners and more experienced painters.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Drawing: colour pastel techniquesCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ro SylvesterExplore the versatility and rich colours of this beautiful drawing and painting medium. Through practical exercises, discover its potential to create a variety of surface effects and its suitability for sketching and outdoor colour work.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Poetry from the EdgeCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laurie SmithSome poets began their writing lives, and sometimes lived much of them, outside the 'normal' modern urban lives which most of us experience. They have lived at the margins and despite - or perhaps because of - their geographic, political or emotional isolation, they have become major poets. We will look at how each has achieved national and international success with their poetry. Poets include C P Cavafy, Stevie Smith, Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney and Bob Dylan.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Spanish 2 lower: module 2Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Gracia ChinchillaContinue improving your elementary Spanish on this communicative course, taught in Spanish with the emphasis on speaking and listening. Suitable if you have completed 'Spanish 2 lower: module 1' or equivalent. Based on units 6-10 of 'Ele Actual A2 (libro del alumno)' and exercise book (SM Publishers).
Please do not buy the book until after the first session, as if you transfer to another level you might use a different book.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinemaCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonThis course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - A Very British History of MigrationCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkTaking a critical historical approach, this course with Dr. McGuirk charts how migration has shaped British politics, law, culture and society – and helped transform popular ideas about what it means to be British today.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Drawing 2Course start date: Sun 29 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ute KreymanBuild your confidence in tackling more personal, complex drawings. Further explore observational drawing and visual language. Develop your drawing skills by working with different approaches and exploring a range of artists' drawing process.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Spanish 3 conversationCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Roberto GallegoRevise, consolidate and improve your listening and speaking skills on this lively course, which will help you communicate more confidently in daily life situations. Ideal if you have an intermediate level of Spanish, are doing 'Spanish 3 lower', 'Spanish 3 upper' or have an equivalent level (B1 level).Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00 - 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 - Writing for magazinesCourse start date: Wed 7 May 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Laura SilvermanGet inspired to write on this practical course for freelance journalists and bloggers. Learn to carry out research, interview people, pitch and publish stories, and build your presence on social media.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Spanish 2 upper: module 3Course start date: Fri 2 May 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adriana Itriago GavidiaFurther improve your Spanish with the emphasis on listening, speaking, and acquiring a greater understanding of grammar. You should have completed 'Spanish 2 upper: module 2' or equivalent. Based on 'Aula Internacional A2 Plus, (Difusión Publishers).
Please do not buy the book until after the first session, as if you transfer to another level you might use a different book.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00
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