Writing Courses & Workshops
At City Lit, we offer a supportive and inspiring environment where you can enhance your writing and gain confidence. Our courses are designed to help you find your voice, sharpen your writing skills, and take your work to the next level. Whether you're writing short stories, poetry, or working on a novel, you'll receive expert guidance and feedback from experienced tutors.
Learn from Published Authors
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.
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.
- Writing flash fiction: getting started
Course start date: Sun 26 Jul 2026 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lucy PopescuA sideways glance: succinct, powerful. This short workshop, on the essential components of flash fiction and micro fiction, will teach you to tell a complete story in very few words.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Micropoetry: small poems, big ideas Course start date: Fri 31 Jul 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Timothy FoxExplore the emerging art form of micropoetry in this fun but informative day workshop. Compose your own poetry and learn how to make every word on the page count.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing haiku poetry Course start date: Sat 1 Aug 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghLearn how to write haikus that resonate, move and entertain on this fun day workshop.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Creative writing for funCourse start date: Mon 14 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Indulge your creativity in this relaxed and playful course through a variety of creative writing exercises and games.
Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £155.00 - Travel writing Course start date: Wed 16 Sep 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Susan GrossmanMake travelling pay. Learn how to get a commission, finance a trip and put your adventures into words, led by practical exercises and expert industry guidance.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Writing fantasy stories Course start date: Wed 23 Sep 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Victoria M. AdamsBuild fantastical worlds, fill them with compelling characters and learn how to structure innovative plotlines in this perfect introduction for those with a passion for fantasy.
Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £279.00 Concession £181.00 - The 60 minute writer Course start date: Fri 25 Sep 2026 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lawrence BradbyFit creative writing into your busy day: a relaxed, informal rolling programme for writers of all levels of experience who enjoy being thrown new ideas and experimenting with poetry and prose.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £103.00 - Queer poetics: new approaches to your poems Course start date: Sat 3 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Toby CampionFrom a rich, global history of queer poetry, learn new techniques to challenge your writing practice and create fresh, bold poems.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Writing science fiction Course start date: Tue 6 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: KR MoorheadLearn how to build futuristic worlds and set them to explore thought-provoking concepts in this course on writing science fiction.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Haiku for wellbeingCourse start date: Wed 7 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghWriting Haiku poems can provide a peaceful distraction from life's challenges by focusing on creative writing. Composing Haiku can produce a feeling of achievement, and help you to get in touch with the natural world and show us our place within it. This workshop is part of the 2025 Mental Wealth Festival hosted by City Lit and partners.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £5.00 Concession £5.00 - Creative writing: finding flowCourse start date: Sat 10 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sharmila ChauhanDiscover a holistic, whole-body approach to writing that will help deepen your connection to your creativity.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Writing and rewriting fairytales Course start date: Tue 20 Oct 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Victoria M. AdamsOnce upon a time there was a City Lit workshop all about writing fairytales. The quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Writing romance Course start date: Wed 28 Oct 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anna RichardsIt is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer in possession of a single pen can compose an unforgettable romance novel. This six-week course will guide students through the plotting of modern romance stories.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Writing magical realism Course start date: Sun 1 Nov 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lucy PopescuLearn how fantasy and reality can meet in this interactive workshop on writing magical realism.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Writing the family Course start date: Sat 14 Nov 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nick BarlayA thought-provoking workshop designed to tackle the challenges of writing about family life in creative non-fiction projects, and offer guidance on shaping personal stories into coherent, engaging narratives.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00
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