Courses & Workshops
Writing courses and workshops are a great way to get started, build your skills, keep momentum and join a community of writers. Aside from those we provide at Creative Future, below are other offerings elsewhere we know to be high quality. Some are online and others face-to-face; some are...
Writing Groups
Joining a peer group of writers is an ideal way to keep your work going, get feedback and positive support. It’s invaluable and we really recommend it. Directories Here are some websites that collate writing groups (mostly face-to-face but some online). It’s also worth searching online for...
Other Writing Organisations & Support
Creative Future is one of many organisations working locally, regionally and nationally in the UK to support writers at all stages of their journey. Each of these provides a wide range of workshops, support, festivals, resources and opportunities. We're only able to help so many people in so many...
Submitting Your Writing To Magazines
Getting your work out there and published (whether in print or online) is a hugely important step for a writer. It's daunting and competitive, but the validation and knowing people are reading your work is hugely rewarding. It's also an essential step in building a track record as...
Poetry Competitions
Entering competitions is a big and valuable first step for poets, as it builds your track record and gets your work out there, putting you on the path to pamphlet or collection publication. There are loads of poetry competitions looking for new and exciting work. Some are free...
Short Story Competitions
Entering competitions is a big and valuable first step, as it builds your track record and gets your work out there, putting you on the path to book-length publication. There are loads of competitions looking for new and exciting work. Some are free to enter; others charge fees....
What is Creative Non-Fiction?
What is Creative Non-Fiction? Also known as narrative non-fiction, it generally means describing or telling a true story, events or experiences—and doing so creatively in a narrative way, or through literary or even poetic description. It usually recounts and reflects on a personal narrative, event or experience. Good...
From Page To Publication
The journey from putting those first words down on the page to becoming a published author can be a long and sometimes difficult one, particularly for people from underrepresented backgrounds. We’ve interviewed a range of past Writers’ Award winners about their paths from page to publication at our...
Meet the Writer
Our ‘Meet the Artist/Writer’ events showcased writers and artists from under-represented backgrounds and how they got their work ‘out there’. Penny Pepper Penny Pepper is a writer, poet and well-known rights activist. Her memoir First In The World Somewhere is published on 7 September by award-winning publishers Unbound. In 2018...
One-To-One Support
We are often approached by people seeking one-to-one, dedicated support with mentoring, their manuscript, and other major ways of advancing their writing career. As much as we’d like to, we don’t have the resources or capacity to help everyone, and there are other schemes and programmes out there...
Prose Book Competitions
Finished your book? Amazing. You can either start looking for a literary agent to represent your book to publishers, or try another route and enter it into a competition. These are especially good for collections of short stories, as not many agents or publishers are keen on them...
How to Get a Literary Agent
For fiction and creative non-fiction writers, getting a literary agent is a necessary step in getting your book out there with a mainstream publisher. It isn't the only way however--you can also enter book competitions, self-publish or approach independent presses. (It's also worth noting that generally, poets don't...
Submitting Your Book To Independent Publishers
Finished a book? Amazing, well done! There are a couple of different routes to get it out there: Submit it to poetry or novel/short story collection competitions For fiction and creative non-fiction, send it to literary agents--have a look at our How to Pitch to a Literary Agent...
Meet the Poetry Publishers
What are poetry publishers looking for and how do you approach them? These panels have been held at our Writers’ Days at the Southbank Centre as part of the London Literature Festival and provide great insights. 2024: Featuring Isy Mead (Poetry School), Fahad Al-Amoudi (Penguin Press), Amy Acre...
