In this five week course, Tom Cox, using the experience he has gained as the author of eleven non fiction books, several newspaper columns, one novel and one collection of short stories, will guide you through the inner landscape of life writing. Who are the master life writers, and why? What are the pitfalls of…

These workshops are free and have been designed for Exeter locals and residents to explore their local heritage; they are being led by Jojo Spinks at Interwoven Productions CIC. These sessions run on Wednesday afternoons from 13th October – 10th November 2021, 2 -4 pm. Please note, sessions on 3rd and 10th November will run…

Want to write stories but not sure how to start and keep going? Or maybe you have got stuck with your writing? Come and join a small, friendly, and supportive group where we will explore free writing and exercises as a way into creating compelling characters and stories that will resonate with your readers. Open…

In this three-hour masterclass you will have the chance to dive into memoir writing with author Nikesh Shukla. This masterclass will explore techniques to address personal heritage and identity in your writing. Nikesh’s recent memoir Brown Baby has been described as ‘fizzing with humanity, life and light’, written addressed to his daughter, Brown Baby explores…

Poet Caleb Parkin will lead you through approaches which – on the surface – remove choice (this year’s National Poetry Day theme). Using decks of cards, dice, random word generators and more, we’ll be inspired by a selection of poems on the theme of Choice. Writing in response, we’ll using these tools and toys to…

Over the course of two sessions (Thursday 15th and  Tuesday 27th July), Quay Words writer-in-residence and playwright Naomi Westerman teaches a friendly and inclusive workshop on nature writing for performance. This workshop will involve taking a short walk in nature (the walk will be fully disabled accessible), followed by a discussion of various techniques to…

Advice from an expert on editing and publishing your creative non-fiction and nature writing. In this Quay Words Summer masterclass, we are pleased to continue our nature season with a workshop and one-to-one mentoring from Adrian Cooper, the publisher and editorial director of Little Toller Books. Little Toller was started in 2008 with a singular purpose…

Exeter Custom House, with its setting on the quayside by the River Exe, overlooked by the wild landscape of Dartmoor, is the perfect place to discover real and imagined natural worlds. On this course spread over five weeks, you will embark on outer and inner journeys, finding fresh ways to write about the places and…

Saturday 8th May – 5th June 2021 on five Saturday mornings, 11am-1pm. Intriguing, engaging and a little bit mysterious, short stories are windows into other lives and worlds – but what goes into making a great short story? During five informative and inspiring sessions, we’ll look at the essential elements all short stories share and…

Philip Marsden will be conducting a masterclass in the travel book which he believes can combine all the best elements of literature. The journey-tale lies at the heart of many of the great stories – myths, novels and memoirs. Whatever your particular interests, a journey has an enormous capacity to reveal and entertain, and travel…