The Creative Writing Programme
@creativewritinguk.bsky.social
Whether you want to write a novel, poetry, short story or memoir, our part-time, two-year degree-level programmes make that aspiration a reality. We offer creative writing courses in-person in south-east and England and online.
A huge congratulations to our students and alumni who shared their work at our spring reading last night at Kemptown Bookshop on inspirations as diverse as greek mythology, doppelgangers, the NHS and laundrettes. bit.ly/4pp2pDB
November 21, 2025 at 3:23 PM
A huge congratulations to our students and alumni who shared their work at our spring reading last night at Kemptown Bookshop on inspirations as diverse as greek mythology, doppelgangers, the NHS and laundrettes. bit.ly/4pp2pDB
Our courses start this week so it feels appropriate to share this quote from the inspirational Stephen King. Whether you’re a returning second year, or starting on a course, welcome and welcome back. We’re so excited to be teaching again after the long summer break. #backtoschool2025📚✏️
October 6, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Our courses start this week so it feels appropriate to share this quote from the inspirational Stephen King. Whether you’re a returning second year, or starting on a course, welcome and welcome back. We’re so excited to be teaching again after the long summer break. #backtoschool2025📚✏️
Philippa Groom, a graduate of our Life Writing Programme, is one of ten winners of this year's prestigious Fish Publishing Memoir Prize with an extract from her memoir, My Hummingbird Heart. bit.ly/4gOPCqP
September 29, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Philippa Groom, a graduate of our Life Writing Programme, is one of ten winners of this year's prestigious Fish Publishing Memoir Prize with an extract from her memoir, My Hummingbird Heart. bit.ly/4gOPCqP
Do you worry about not writing everyday? Don't. Novelist Elaine Chiew says instead of beating yourself up, it’s better to ‘visit’ your work. Open up your story, read your words, spend time with your characters. Think ‘care and nurture’ not output. bit.ly/4mfYUx7
September 18, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Do you worry about not writing everyday? Don't. Novelist Elaine Chiew says instead of beating yourself up, it’s better to ‘visit’ your work. Open up your story, read your words, spend time with your characters. Think ‘care and nurture’ not output. bit.ly/4mfYUx7
Congratulations to Advanced Poetry Workshop alumni Lucy Heuschen whose debut poetry collection came out recently. Lucy was a student of John McCullough
bit.ly/47Gpqw8
bit.ly/47Gpqw8
September 16, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Congratulations to Advanced Poetry Workshop alumni Lucy Heuschen whose debut poetry collection came out recently. Lucy was a student of John McCullough
bit.ly/47Gpqw8
bit.ly/47Gpqw8
Do you have a novel or collection of short stories in progress? Are you looking for a critical and supportive environment where you can meet regularly and hone your work? There are just two places left in each group - maximum group size is nine writers. bit.ly/46afzMz
September 10, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Do you have a novel or collection of short stories in progress? Are you looking for a critical and supportive environment where you can meet regularly and hone your work? There are just two places left in each group - maximum group size is nine writers. bit.ly/46afzMz
The Creative Writing Programme can take you from having no writing experience to having a first draft of a novel. You can study online or at venues across the south-east. It starts next month - why not follow in Lisa Fransson's footsteps and sign up? bit.ly/4kVTjfj
September 9, 2025 at 9:17 AM
The Creative Writing Programme can take you from having no writing experience to having a first draft of a novel. You can study online or at venues across the south-east. It starts next month - why not follow in Lisa Fransson's footsteps and sign up? bit.ly/4kVTjfj
Well done to Dorian Nightingale whose poetry pamphlet Songs from Last Imaginations has been published by Flight of the Dragonfly Press. Dorian is an alumni of the Creative Writing Programme where he studied with Rosie Chard and John McCullough. bit.ly/484voaa @secretsoliloquies.bsky.social
September 8, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Well done to Dorian Nightingale whose poetry pamphlet Songs from Last Imaginations has been published by Flight of the Dragonfly Press. Dorian is an alumni of the Creative Writing Programme where he studied with Rosie Chard and John McCullough. bit.ly/484voaa @secretsoliloquies.bsky.social
Congratulations to student Ieuan Goodwin who was shortlisted for The Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers with his short story Lily. Ieuan finished the 2-yr creative writing course in July and was taught by Rosie Chard and Ruth Figgest in Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton.
August 23, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Congratulations to student Ieuan Goodwin who was shortlisted for The Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers with his short story Lily. Ieuan finished the 2-yr creative writing course in July and was taught by Rosie Chard and Ruth Figgest in Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton.
A short story by alumna Lisa Fransson has been included in an anthology of stories to bring hope in dark times. Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s famous poem, the stories included in HOPE: The Thing With Feathers have a feather motif and a hopeful ending. bit.ly/3Hwcdeu
August 11, 2025 at 12:37 PM
A short story by alumna Lisa Fransson has been included in an anthology of stories to bring hope in dark times. Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s famous poem, the stories included in HOPE: The Thing With Feathers have a feather motif and a hopeful ending. bit.ly/3Hwcdeu
Congratulations to our life writing tutor Katy Massey for winning the ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger for All Us Sinners. Her book is set in Leeds in 1977, at a time when sex workers are being murdered by a serial killer they are calling the 'Ripper' bit.ly/3UOrEln
August 7, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Congratulations to our life writing tutor Katy Massey for winning the ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger for All Us Sinners. Her book is set in Leeds in 1977, at a time when sex workers are being murdered by a serial killer they are calling the 'Ripper' bit.ly/3UOrEln
Our Tuesday morning programme in Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton is now full so we’ve introduced a new day-time course on Wednesday mornings at the Jubilee Library in Brighton starting in October. Find out more www.creativewritingprogramme.org.uk/our-courses-...
August 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Our Tuesday morning programme in Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton is now full so we’ve introduced a new day-time course on Wednesday mornings at the Jubilee Library in Brighton starting in October. Find out more www.creativewritingprogramme.org.uk/our-courses-...
Have you always dreamed of writing a novel? Our 2-yr Creative Writing Programme will take you from having no experience to a first draft of a novel or short story collection. Why not come along to our next taster session on 8 July to see if it's for you? bit.ly/4k3Y0E8
July 2, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Have you always dreamed of writing a novel? Our 2-yr Creative Writing Programme will take you from having no experience to a first draft of a novel or short story collection. Why not come along to our next taster session on 8 July to see if it's for you? bit.ly/4k3Y0E8
It’s a difficult question. Strong visual imagination, ability to observe, curiosity? Some writers have a natural ear for dialogue. Others have the ability to put the subtlest of thoughts into words. But writing is not about the practical skills. bit.ly/4egTLCE
June 25, 2025 at 3:58 PM
It’s a difficult question. Strong visual imagination, ability to observe, curiosity? Some writers have a natural ear for dialogue. Others have the ability to put the subtlest of thoughts into words. But writing is not about the practical skills. bit.ly/4egTLCE
Congratulations to Carole Aubree-Dumont, alumni of the Creative Writing Programme, who won the Emerging Authors prize at the Brighton Book Festival today with her memoir Dumb. She's pictured with student Tee Mukumbira who was named runner up and lead judge Dorothy Koomson.
June 19, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Congratulations to Carole Aubree-Dumont, alumni of the Creative Writing Programme, who won the Emerging Authors prize at the Brighton Book Festival today with her memoir Dumb. She's pictured with student Tee Mukumbira who was named runner up and lead judge Dorothy Koomson.
We're thrilled to welcome Julia Crouch, the author of 10 novels, as a tutor. She didn’t write prose until her mid-40s but went on to coin the term domestic noir to describe her own sub-genre of psychological thriller. Find out about her writing journey bit.ly/4n1G8eA
June 16, 2025 at 10:41 AM
We're thrilled to welcome Julia Crouch, the author of 10 novels, as a tutor. She didn’t write prose until her mid-40s but went on to coin the term domestic noir to describe her own sub-genre of psychological thriller. Find out about her writing journey bit.ly/4n1G8eA
Huge congratulations to our students and alumni who shared their work at our summer reading last Thursday. Erin Martin, Alan Bonner, Karen Antoni, Tatenda Mukumbira, Janie Reynolds and Julie Ridlington read poetry, prose, memoir and fiction. bit.ly/43OaOqU
June 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Huge congratulations to our students and alumni who shared their work at our summer reading last Thursday. Erin Martin, Alan Bonner, Karen Antoni, Tatenda Mukumbira, Janie Reynolds and Julie Ridlington read poetry, prose, memoir and fiction. bit.ly/43OaOqU
Congratulations to Holly Winter Hughes whose collection How to Leave a Body has been published by Verve. Holly twice attended JohnMcCullough poetry workshops and says ‘without John's inspiration, guidance and knowledge this book wouldn't exist.’ bit.ly/4kVTjfj
June 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Congratulations to Holly Winter Hughes whose collection How to Leave a Body has been published by Verve. Holly twice attended JohnMcCullough poetry workshops and says ‘without John's inspiration, guidance and knowledge this book wouldn't exist.’ bit.ly/4kVTjfj
Life Writing is any writing based on lived experience – personal or researched – and has a narrator who is not an imagined construct – biography, autobiography, memoir, diaries, letters and travel writing. It often focuses on identity, memory and emotions. bit.ly/3T48K9a
June 1, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Life Writing is any writing based on lived experience – personal or researched – and has a narrator who is not an imagined construct – biography, autobiography, memoir, diaries, letters and travel writing. It often focuses on identity, memory and emotions. bit.ly/3T48K9a
Happy publication day to RJ Barron whose second novel A Cold Wind Blows is published today! Rob took the Creative Writing Programme from 2022 to 2024. Here he talks about his writing life and offers some top writing tips to new (and not so new) writers. bit.ly/4jvUZuW
May 30, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Happy publication day to RJ Barron whose second novel A Cold Wind Blows is published today! Rob took the Creative Writing Programme from 2022 to 2024. Here he talks about his writing life and offers some top writing tips to new (and not so new) writers. bit.ly/4jvUZuW
If you’re a writer and you’ve got a book and you want to get it published, then you need to come to Publishing Day online on Saturday 31st May to find out how. bit.ly/43rTUhz
May 27, 2025 at 7:46 AM
If you’re a writer and you’ve got a book and you want to get it published, then you need to come to Publishing Day online on Saturday 31st May to find out how. bit.ly/43rTUhz
'Don’t get it right, get it written. I still recite that to myself whenever I get stuck.' That's bestselling author and tutor Beth Miller's best piece of advice she's been given about writing. Here she talks more about her writing life. bit.ly/4kyh7pw
May 21, 2025 at 10:38 AM
'Don’t get it right, get it written. I still recite that to myself whenever I get stuck.' That's bestselling author and tutor Beth Miller's best piece of advice she's been given about writing. Here she talks more about her writing life. bit.ly/4kyh7pw
If you’ve always dreamed of writing a novel, or collection of short stories, and live in Eastbourne, then why not sign up for a taster session for the Creative Writing Programme on Thursday 3rd July or Thursday 11th September to see if it’s for you? bit.ly/3S935yj
May 16, 2025 at 11:39 AM
If you’ve always dreamed of writing a novel, or collection of short stories, and live in Eastbourne, then why not sign up for a taster session for the Creative Writing Programme on Thursday 3rd July or Thursday 11th September to see if it’s for you? bit.ly/3S935yj
It feels like there's never been a more important time for the arts – just as the arts is under threat like never before.
May 10, 2025 at 10:07 AM
It feels like there's never been a more important time for the arts – just as the arts is under threat like never before.
Congratulations to Clare Finan for securing representation with Jennifer Thompson at Nordleyset Literary Agency for her book The Lobsterman. She started writing the novel on the Creative Writing Programme in 2018. Fingers crossed for Clare as she goes out on submission.
May 8, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Congratulations to Clare Finan for securing representation with Jennifer Thompson at Nordleyset Literary Agency for her book The Lobsterman. She started writing the novel on the Creative Writing Programme in 2018. Fingers crossed for Clare as she goes out on submission.