The Creative Writing Programme

Meet the tutor: ruth figgest — The CWP Ruth is a novelist and short story writer. She was born in Oxford and grew up in the US. Her short stories have been short listed and commended for the Bridport Prize several times and in 2013 her sho...

RuthFiggest says one of the most challenging aspects of writing is to trust that your subconscious knows what it’s doing. A tutor on our #Eastbourne writing course, Ruth is the author of a novel and several short stories. Read more about her writing life. bit.ly/4rvmH08

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📚✏️

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

Congratulations to Advanced Poetry Workshop alumni Lucy Heuschen whose debut poetry collection came out recently. Lucy was a student of John McCullough
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five minutes with Lisa lintott — The CWP Lisa Lintott completed the Life Writing Programme in 2016-2018 and has since written an award-winning play and screenplay. She is currently editing her first novel. Here she talks about her writing li...

Congratulations to Life Writing Programme alumna Lisa Lintott whose play Going for Gold has won numerous awards and been commissioned by Radio 4 where it will be aired soon. She's now writing a novel!

Find out more about her writing life and her top tips to writers starting out. bit.ly/4nmPYab

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

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

writing tips from Laura wilkinson — The CWP Laura Wilkinson is a tutor on the two-year Creative Writing Programme in Brighton and runs the Advanced Writing Workshops . She has published seven novels for adults (two under a pseudonym) a...

Worried about writer's bottom? Author and creative writing tutor Laura Wilkinson has the answer. Check out her top writing tips #WritingCommunity bit.ly/47gWg6E @laurawauthor.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.

New novel from Beth Miller — The CWP Congratulations to Dr Beth Miller whose seventh novel The Friendship Lis t is published tod ay by Bookouture . The Frie ndship List is an utterly emotional and unforgettable page-turne...

Congratulations to Beth Miller whose seventh novel The Friendship List is published today by @bookouture.bsky.social The Friendship List is an utterly emotional and unforgettable page-turner about love and friendship. bit.ly/4fH804x

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

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-...

Five Minutes With Life writing alumna Carole Aubree-Dumont — The CWP Life Writing Programme alumna Carole Aubree-Dumont won the Emerging Authors prize at this year’s Brighton Book Festival with a reading from her memoir Dumb. Here she talks about her writing journey. ...

Your story matters. No one else can write it but you. You never know who might read your words and see themselves in them. Connection is key, especially in the fracturing times we are living. www.creativewritingprogramme.org.uk/inspiration/...

mick jackson’s top writing tips — The CWP Mick Jackson’s first novel, The Underground Man , was shortlisted for The Booker Prize. He has since published a further three novels and three collections of stories, all with Faber and Faber. ...

Kickstart your writing summer with these top writing tips from Booker Prize shortlisted author Mick Jackson, who teaches on the Brighton-based Creative Writing Programme. bit.ly/4kt3Bmm

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

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

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

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

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

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.