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.
- The 60 minute writer
Course start date: Sat 16 May 2026 (and 7 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rosie FioreFit 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 £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00 - Writing about music Course start date: Sat 23 May 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Liam KonemannLearn how to write journalistically about music, from reviews to interviews, in this intensive one-day course.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - How to write romantasy Course start date: Sat 23 May 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tori BovalinoLearn the fundamentals of writing in the romantasy genre, drawing from romance and fantasy fiction to craft spectacular, spicy worlds.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - How to get an agent Course start date: Tue 26 May 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Neil ArkseyThis intensive workshop offers students insider, need-to-know information on securing a literary agent.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing blackout poetryCourse start date: Sat 30 May 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WestcottSometimes a poem is shaped by stripping words away. This fun day workshop explores the emerging form of black out poetry. Learn how to find hidden poems in texts such as newspaper articles, advertisements and letters.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing about art Course start date: Sat 6 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas McMullanLearn how to write journalistically about visual art, from exhibition reviews to features, in this intensive one-day course.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Queer poetics: new approaches to your poems Course start date: Sun 7 Jun 2026 (and 1 other date)
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 £40.00 - Creative writing using constraints Course start date: Sat 13 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Terry FreedmanDoes your writing need a boost of inspiration? While it may seem counter-intuitive, setting creative constraints can be a way to free your imagination. Learn about the ideas of the French Oulipo movement and see what happens when you experiment with interesting – and challenging – limitations.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing about politics Course start date: Sat 20 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Erica BuistWhether you’re looking for a role at a newspaper or want to pitch freelance pieces, this one-day course will cover the basics of writing journalistically about politics.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Creative writing: finding flowCourse start date: Sat 27 Jun 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 £40.00 - Writing about film Course start date: Sat 4 Jul 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Colin CrummyLearn how to write journalistically about film, from features to reviews, in this intensive one-day course.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing opinion Course start date: Sat 4 Jul 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Erica BuistLearn how to approach writing a column, whether for a newspaper, magazine or your own platform.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing eco-poetry Course start date: Sat 4 Jul 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WestcottHow might poets write about the natural world today, and what is an eco-poem?Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Beat writer’s block Course start date: Sat 11 Jul 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate SmurthwaiteA one day course for anyone who has started a project and lost their way, run out of momentum or found themselves staring at a blank page and wondering where the fun of writing went!
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Writing and rewriting fairytales Course start date: Sun 19 Jul 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Eleanor PennyOnce 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 £40.00
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