THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAMME

In-person in Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells or online October 2025-July 2027.

Two-years. One morning, or one evening a week for 25 weeks per year.

The Creative Writing Programme has been carefully designed to develop your understanding of the craft of writing, to provide you with the support and structure you need to push your skills to another level and to complete a planned writing project. Your course tutors will teach you the writing techniques you need to complete your work, offer you focused written feedback and help you set realistic deadlines.

The online version has been developed to allow writers who live outside of the UK or who cannot travel to our programme centres to benefit from this prestigious university-level writing programme.

Overview

In your first year you will reflect on the sources and themes of your own writing:

develop a greater understanding of your own creativity and the creative process
learn how to create dynamic fictional characters
discover ways of enhancing the dramatic impact of your fiction and explore the different ways in which stories can be told.

In the second year the focus will shift from short scenes to longer narratives. You will:

develop your understanding of plot, story structure and the ‘world of the story’
explore the complex relationship between characters, narrators and readers
discover the importance of theme, conflict and dramatic tension and gain further insights into language, technique and style.

Throughout the course you will deepen your understanding of the function and role of character as you move from short character sketches to multi-character scenes, to the complex interaction and character development of longer narratives.

You will hone your critical and editing skills and develop your eye for a good story. In the writing workshops, you will share, discuss and evaluate your work with the other writers in your writing group.

By the end the programme you will have developed a substantial body of work and have either finished your writing project or be in a position to bring it to completion.

What this creative writing course will do for you

This programme will help you:

develop your confidence and ability as a writer
organise and manage your work
evolve a strong individual style.

It is an ideal programme for writers who want to write a novel, a collection of short stories or a challenging piece of prose and are looking for structure, encouragement and feedback to help them achieve this.

All you will need to bring to the programme is your imagination, a love of reading, a passion to write and the determination to succeed.

"This is an excellent course with a robust content that takes you through the whole book writing process over two years. I had no idea if I could write a novel when I started but by the end I had a tangible draft - now I'm a published author! I would recommend this course to anyone."

Jane Crittenden, author of Worlds Apart and Summer Ever After

What is required of me?

Over the two years you will need to organise a minimum of twelve hours per week for classes and additional reading and writing time.

You will need to have access to a computer with email and an internet connection as the programme uses an online learning site to allow students to keep in touch outside of the taught sessions. For the online programme, your computer must have a built-in camera as the workshops are held on Zoom.
For writers joining the online programme from outside the UK a good grasp of the English language is essential as all the discussions and writing on the course will be in English.

How our creative writing courses work

The programme follows a structure of four creative writing courses over two years. Weekly seminars of 2.5 hours include a mix of practical writing exercises, discussions, group work, tutor-led feedback and taught sessions.

You will work closely with two of our experienced tutors, who will meet you for one-to-one tutorials. You can also take additional one-day masterclasses with visiting writers if you choose. You’ll have the opportunity to read your work – and hear from your peers – at termly online and in-person student and alumni reading evenings held both online and at Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton.

Once you have enrolled you will be taken to your course page on our website. When your course starts your tutor will add course outlines, supporting seminar notes, writing exercises and a Writers’ Forum where you can chat with other writers in your group.

The in-person programmes are taught at Kemptown Bookshop in Brighton, Worthing Library, the Amelia Scott in Tunbridge Wells and at Towner Eastbourne. The online programme is taught on Zoom.

We’re running taster sessions from April to September so you can see if the programme is for you. Find out more and book your place here.

Key Information

Programme length: Two years.

Maximum group size: 15

Venues and times

Tuesday 10-12:30pm in-person, Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton

Tuesday 10-12:30pm online (the online session starts and ends 15 minutes before and ends these times to allow for informal chats and for any questions to be answered by your tutor.)

Tuesday 6:30-9pm in-person, Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton

Tuesday 6:30-9pm online (the online session starts and ends 15 minutes before and ends these times to allow for informal chats and for any questions to be answered by your tutor.)

Thursday 6:30-9pm in-person, Towner Eastbourne

Friday 10-12:30pm in-person, Worthing Library

Saturday 10-12:30pm in-person, The Amelia Scott, Tunbridge Wells

Term dates

Autumn term: Monday 6th October – Friday 19th December (Half term 27th October to 31st October)

Spring term: Monday 5th January – Friday 20th March (Half term 16th-20th February)

Summer term: Monday 20th April – Friday 22nd May

2026-7 term dates will be provided later in spring 2026.

Entry requirements:

No formal qualifications required. All you need to bring to the programme is your imagination, a love of reading, a passion to write, a commitment to your writing group and the determination to succeed.

We’re running taster sessions from April to September so you can see if the programme is for you. Find out more and book your place here.

Fee:

Fee: £1,249.17 + VAT (total £1,499) per year

The fees include:

Two-year programme. 25 weeks of taught classes per year. Pitched at degree level
Three one-to-one tutorials with an experienced tutor over two years
Four one-day weekend masterclasses over two years
Publishing Day and meeting with an agent at the end of the course
Five student and alumni readings/ social events across the year (small fee applies for refreshments for the in-person events)

A 10% deposit (£149.99) is paid at the start of the first year by way of deposit for the second year. This is then taken off the second year’s fees.

Students can also pay in instalments: £949.49 (half the course fees plus the second year deposit plus £50 admin fee) at the start of the autumn term and then £749.50 at the start of the spring term in January. The second year course fees will then be £1,350 including VAT.

Enrolment

To enrol: click on the preferred course below.

Tuesdays 10-12:30pm: Brighton

Payment in Full

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Tuesdays 10-12:30pm: Brighton

Payment in Two Instalments

Pay Here

Tuesdays 6:30-9pm: Brighton

Payment in Full

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Tuesdays 6:30-9pm: Brighton