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Word Up
Musings from The Writers Workshop associates and its members
The Writers Workshop’s Weird Weekend
The Writers Workshop's Weird Weekend is happening Friday October 31 to Sunday November 2. Join us for a celebration of the weird and wonderful, strange and spooky, mystical and mythical! Read about the programme here.
Rewriting Social Care - Book Launch October 2nd
Celebrate the publication of Writers Workshop member Bryony Shannon’s new book on October 2! It promises to be a fun and informative conversation with Beverley Ward about the importance of language and the transition from blog to book.
Blood Is Thicker Than Alcohol: Book launch with Tracey Ford
The Writers Workshop is pleased to support longtime member Tracey Ford for the launch of her memoir, Blood Is Thicker Than Alcohol, at Sheffield Cathedral on Thursday September 25. Find out more about Tracey’s book in our interview!
Writers’ Toolkit Returns …
Amanda Marple’s popular Writers Toolkit series is back, this time with a new programme of sessions to help us be more productive writers. Designed with neurodivergent writers in mind, Amanda explains how EVERY writer can benefit from this series, however your brain is wired.
New year, new ideas: an introduction to Story Starters
Are you a writer who waits for inspiration to strike? Or do you prefer to go looking for it? If your New Year’s resolution is to be more proactive and productive in 2025, perhaps Story Starters is just the ticket! Find out more about it in this post.
Making the leap into the writer’s life
Writer Iqbal Hussain joins us for the first Sounds About Write of 2025. In this blog, Iqbal tells us about his brave decision to become a full-time writer following the publication of his debut novel, Northern Boy, in June 2024.
Moon Muse: a monthly writing meetup starting in January
Moonwrite is a new monthly meetup, starting in January, using the Moon as a muse to inspire creative writing. Session facilitator Coco Lone Neal tells us more about it in this blog post.
Write yourself wise: new workshops for 2025
Welcoming new associate Emma Garrard! Emma is launching a new monthly workshop in 2025 that will invite you to ‘Write Yourself Wise’. Find out more in this blog post!
Stage not page: check out our new spoken word poetry meetup
One of our apprentice associates, Chivonne Head, is setting up a new Spoken Word Poetry Meetup. The first meetup is coming up on December 1st, so we asked her what our members can expect.
It’s all about connection: writing romance with Anna O’Steele
Anna O’Steele, writing as Anna Mansell, has published several novels, How to Mend a Broken Heart, The Lost Wife, I Wanted to Tell You, Her Best Friend’s Secret, The Man I Loved Before, and What We Leave Behind. Her most recent release, writing as Lottie Brook, is Cheap Dates (HarperCollins). We’re delighted she’s running a writing romance workshop in November, so we asked her to tell us more about her writing.
Complete Fabrication Short Story Challenge … is it right for you?
The second Complete Fabrication Short Story Challenge is coming soon. If you’re looking for a new way to develop your short-story skills, could this course be what you need?
An optimist and a realist: Gavin Extence on being a novelist
New associate at the Writers Workshop Gavin Extence shares with us what got him started and keeps him going as a novelist, as well as what our members can expect from his new novel-writing classes … plus a few tips for Novel Slam hopefuls this Friday!
Magic and lore: world-building in fantasy fiction
Jools’s workshop on October 17th will focus on world-building in fantasy fiction. We asked Jools to tell us a bit more about what world-building is and what makes an engaging fantasy world.
Summer of Submission: Writing a standout short story
The Sheffield Short Story Competition 2024 is now open, and you’ve got till September 30th to enter. Our very own Beverley Ward, one of the judges last year, gives her thoughts about what makes a good entry.
Summer of Submission is back!
It’s summer, so it must be time to submit! If you’ve got some writing to share with the world, we’re here to help you. Find out more here.
Travel writing for beginners
In our July programme, Clare Jenkins is offering an introduction to travel writing. Even if you’re not travelling far this summer, why not use your holiday as inspiration to write? Find out about Clare’s class and her approach to travel writing in this blog post.
Pen Pushers: ‘A fantastic form of escapism and creativity’
The Writers Workshop is excited to launch PEN PUSHERS, a workplace initiative that supports employees’ wellbeing and their employers’ community engagement programmes while also raising money for the Writers Workshop. Do you know a company that might be interested? Read on!
Write the sentences, not just the story
Developing Style is a new series of craft classes starting Saturday, April 20th, led by professional editor Lorna Partington. Here's what she has to say about the series and the first class.