Tagged: Writing
As a centre for literature, literacy and free expression, writing is fundamental to what we do. Many of our resident and associate organisations work with writers in all sorts of ways, from creative writing courses for budding poets to campaigns to free incarcerated journalists. This page catalogues all of our blog posts and forthcoming events related to writing, including our weekly Writers' Room series, interviewing writers of all stripes about their work and their craft.
if there's something you'd like to see on the writing blog, get in touch. You can reach us on Twitter @freewordcentre or email info@freewordonline.com
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Writers’ Room: Ece Temelkuran
The Turkish novelist and journalist speaks to our Translator in Residence about why Anna Karenina is more real than Margaret Thatcher, and why a writer's best friend is a waiter who asks no questions.
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The Week in Ideas, 3rd May 2013
What's it like to leave the internet? What do writers make of their first books? How can you escape Google? We round up some of our favourite thoughts from the week gone by.
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Surrealist Poetry from Ronnie McGrath
Ronnie McGrath joins us on May 9th for the Caribbean Literary Salon, in conversation with Kerry Young and Kevin LeGendre about his time in Jamaica and how it has influenced his writing. In the next few days we'll be publishing an interview we did with Ronnie, but in the meantime, here he is reading a short piece of his…
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Writers’ Room: Kerry Young
This week we speak to novelist Kerry Young about capturing the colour and history of Jamaica in her two novels 'Pao' and 'Gloria'. We find out why she wrote both novels entirely in longhand, and hear why feedback - even from people you don't like - is always important.
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Islington Word Festival 2013 Programme Announced
Last year's Islington Word Festival was a great success, and we're delighted it's returned for another year. Spanning all of next month, the festival is packed with events exploring reading, writing, and free expression all across our local London borough, including contributions from our Translators in Residence showcasing their work with local schools. There'll also be…
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Writers’ Room: Inua Ellams on Spoken Word
The award-winning poet, performer and artist talks to us about spoken word cliches, the joy of libraries, and being prepared to write in outer space.
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Writers’ Room: Mei Matsuoka on Children’s Books
Writer and illustrator Mei Matsuoka is the author of 'Footprints in the Snow' and many other books for children. She's also a tutor on Arvon's 'Writing for Children' course. We spoke to her about the unique challenges of writing for a young audience, the differences between English and Japanese storytelling, and why people are wrong to think degrees in the arts "are a cop-out".
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Writers’ Room: Perihan Mağden
Turkish author, poet and journalist Perihan Mağden talks to our Translator in Residence Canan Marasligil about the trials of journalism, giving a voice to the unheard, and having her book 'murdered' by a translator.
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Writers’ Room: Audrey Niffenegger
The author of 'The Time Traveller's Wife' talks to us about the future of books, inventing rules for time travel, and the ballet adaptation of her story 'The Raven Girl', which opens at the Royal Opera House in May.
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Writers’ Room: Stephanie Saulter on Sci-Fi
The author of 'Gemsigns' takes literary snobs to task with a passionate defence of science-fiction, and explains how she managed to fit writing a debut novel into the rest of her life.
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Writers’ Room: Neel Mukherjee
Comic books, fountain pens, and the importance of a good editor. Novelist Neel Mukherjee talks to us about his craft.
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10 Writers on Writing
Next week we'll be launching Writers' Room, a weekly series talking to writers about their craft. In the meantime, we've collected together some of our favourite nuggets of advice shared by writers who've crossed our path, and some gathered from those we've admired from afar. Read, enjoy, and let us know what you think.
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The Week in Ideas
Stephen Fry, Gillian Slovo and Tom Stoppard renew calls for libel reform; Google Glass threatens our privacy, and the world celebrates International Women's Day. We round-up of some of our favourite moments from the week gone by in literature, literacy and free expression.
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Writers’ Room: Nick Harkaway
Last Tuesday's Kitschies Awards saw Nick Harkaway's novel "Angelmaker" win the coveted Red Tentacle for being the most "intelligent, progressive and entertaining" novel containing elements of the speculative or fantastic. We caught up with Nick to ask about the novel, what he thinks of the 'genre fiction' label, and the future of literature itself.
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Writers’ Room: David Varela on Games
David Varela has worked with some of the UK’s top games companies including Mind Candy, nDreams, Six to Start and Sony PlayStation, and is one of the tutors on Arvon's "Writing For Games" course. We sat down with him to ask what challenges face games writers, demolish some preconceptions about games, and hear his advice for aspiring writers.
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Writers’ Room: Mark Haddon
The author of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' joins us later this month to launch English PEN's new pamphlet of prize-winning work from their Writing in Prisons programme. We spoke to him about his experience running workshops behind bars, getting inmates to write for the first time, and asked what one piece of advice he'd give to aspiring writers.
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Writers’ Room: Matt Haig
Every Thursday we speak to someone close to Free Word with a story to tell. Matt Haig is writer and journalist, author of books for adults and children including The Dead Fathers Club and Shadow Forest. Currently Booktrust’s online Writer in Residence, Matt spoke to us about writing for children, writing for adults, and why he thinks e-books are championing reading for pleasure.
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Writers’ Room: Jacob Ross
Every Thursday we speak to someone close to Free Word with a story to tell. Today Jacob Ross, the author of 'Pynter Bender', spoke to us about the snobbery around creative writing courses, and being a writer in a less patient world.
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Words in the Mirror
Ollie Brock, one of Free Word's new Translators in Residence, explains why he's chosen to start his residency with a discussion of 'untranslatable' words.
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Season’s Greetings from Free Word
Free Word will be closed for the Christmas period from Friday 21st December until re-opening on Wednesday 2nd January. But don't worry: we've plenty of excitement planned for the new year. Mary Kuper's exhibition of beautifully illustrated etymologies, Word Origins, continues in the main hall until February 15th, available to all for free on weekdays from 9am…
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Upcoming Event: TLC Masterclass: How Genre Works
A study of the major genres and their essential elements
Sat 25 May, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Free Word Lecture Theatre
The Literary Consultancy presents a series of three unique, full-day classes to give you an overview of narrative structure in the two most popular literary forms, the short story and novel, and to provide clarity about why and how genre fiction works. Clarity about your chosen form is important for a writer: these classes can make you feel more…
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Upcoming Event: 26 Presents Tessa Ross, Controller of Film Four, on Writing for Film
Wed 5 Jun 2013
6:15pmFree Word Lecture Theatre
Tessa Ross is a behind-the-screens legend. In her role as Controller of Film Four, Tessa is the driving force behind gems such as Slumdog Millionaire, Billy Elliott, The Last King of Scotland, In Bruges, and Seven Psychopaths. In February 2013, she was identified as one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by Woman's Hour on…
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Upcoming Event: The Literary Conference 2013
Writing in a Digital Age
Fri 7 Jun - Sat 8 Jun 2013
Free Word Lecture Theatre
The Literary Consultancy (TLC) is proud to announce the much-anticipated return of its cutting-edge conference for writers working at all levels. Audrey Niffenegger will deliver the keynote speech at TLC's second digital conference, with more than 30 writers, journalists, publishers and digital pioneers participating over two days. Partnering with "Book Hackday" and BookFlower, TLC will be inviting new…
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Upcoming Event: A Creative Writing Course in an Evening
Wed 12 Jun 2013
6:00pmThe Sassoon Beer Board Room
The 'Creative Writing Course in an Evening' is a two-hour NAW event that offers insights into the skills needed to write and re-write effective texts. There will be one event each month through 2013. The first hour is the unique NAW Masterclass with NAW Director Richard Beard. The NAW Masterclass is an innovative public edit that answers the need…
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Upcoming Event: Poets and Pamphlets
Karen McCarthy Woolf helps poets pull their pamphlets into shape.
Sat 6 July, 11:00am - 5:00pm
The Albany
Karen McCarthy Woolf helps you pull your pamphlet into shape. Publishing a pamphlet of your work is an important step for a poet. In this workshop, using examples from the publishing world and from her own work, Karen will lead you through the process of pulling together a pamphlet of your own. You’ll look at how to…
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Upcoming Event: Going Live
Spread the Word presents a workshop on the art of performing.
Sat 13 Jul, 11:00am - 5:00pm
The Albany
Ever felt a sense of panic when asked to read something out? Read on… Writers – we are all different. Some of us are born to perform our work in front of a room full of strangers. Others can think of nothing worse than having to present our own work in public. Whether you write poetry or prose,…
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Past Event: European Literature Night 2013
An evening with some of Europe's brightest literary talent, including Turkish journalist and author Ece Temelkuran.
Wed 15 May 2013
6:30pmBritish Library
Gathering voices from across the continent together at the British Library, European Literature Night 2013 features a wealth of prose that is as wide as the continent itself. There are the personal family stories, from the comedic Catalonian tale of four brothers who have never known each other to an Austrian exposure of generational estrangement, from an ancient Belgian family mystery…
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Past Event: Creative Writing Course in an Evening
A two hour insight into writing and re-writing from the National Academy of Writing
Tue 14 May 2013
6:00pmThe Sassoon Beer Board Room
The 'Creative Writing Course in an Evening' is a two-hour NAW event that offers insights into the skills needed to write and re-write effective texts. There will be one event each month through 2013. The first hour is the unique NAW Masterclass with NAW Director Richard Beard. The NAW Masterclass is an innovative public edit that answers the need…
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Past Event: The Caribbean Literary Salon
Kevin Le Gendre in conversation with Kerry Young and Ronnie McGrath.
Thu 9 May 2013
7:15pmFree Word Lecture Theatre
May is the month in which the English managed to drive the Spanish from Jamaica in 1655, and at the Caribbean Literary Salon, we welcome, this May, two writers from the island, hosted by Kevin Le Gendre (Guyana/Grenada). Returning to read from her new novel, Gloria, is Kerry Young (Jamaica), author of the Costa First Novel and Commonwealth Book…
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Past Event: An Evening with Matt Haig
Tue 7 May 2013
6:30pmFree Word Lecture Theatre
Matt Haig, Booktrust’s online writer in residence, will be launching his new novel, the excellent and touching The Humans, a novel about an alien on a secret mission to Earth, where he encounters life, love and peanut butter sandwiches. Join us in celebrating the launch of Matt’s book by watching him in conversation with an author …
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Past Event: TLC Masterclass: How the Novel Works
What archetypal structures under lie all novels? Does your story suit the form you've chosen?
Sat 27 Apr, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Free Word Lecture Theatre
The Literary Consultancy presents a series of three unique, full-day classes to give you an overview of narrative structure in the two most popular literary forms, the short story and novel, and to provide clarity about why and how genre fiction works. Clarity about your chosen form is important for a writer: these classes can make you feel more…
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Past Event: Britain and Beyond
A festival of events exploring migration and national identity at Literaturhaus Salzburg.
Wed 24 Apr - Fri 26 Apr
Literaturhaus Salzburg
All history is the history of migration. We are all where we are because our ancestors came from somewhere else. And yet nothing is as disturbing to national societies as the movement of people. Immigration has alays been a contentious issue. On the one hand there are those who believe that it leads to a loss in national culture and…
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Past Event: A Creative Writing Course in an Evening
A two hour insight into writing and re-writing from the National Academy of Writing
Wed 17 Apr, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
The Sassoon Beer Board Room
The 'Creative Writing Course in an Evening' is a two-hour National Academy of Writing event that offers insights into the skills needed to write and re-write effective texts. The first hour is the unique NAW Masterclass with NAW Director Richard Beard. The NAW Masterclass is an innovative public edit that answers the need to learn about craft in…
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Past Event: Spread the Word Writing Prize
Launch event and panel discussion
Tue 16 Apr 2013
7:00pmFree Word Lecture Theatre
‘I am part of all that I have met.’ (Alfred Tennyson) Community, Ritual and Writing As a writer, how do you think about and define community? In a time when we’re told we’re all in it together, how flexible is the idea of community? In what ways has the digital revolution changed our…
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Past Event: Travel Writing Evening Class
Thu, 7pm, from Apr 4 - Apr 25
The Astor Room
Do you want to be a travel writer? Then why not come along to the four-week travel writing evening class starting at Free Word on Thursday April 4th? The classes will help participants to write travel features and sell them to newspapers, magazines and websites. The travel writing courses are led by Peter Carty. Peter's approach is short, focussed…
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Past Event: Writing Our Own Stories: The Role of Narrative in Personal Development
Mon 25 Mar 2013
7:30pmFree Word Lecture Theatre
‘I am a part of all that I have met’, said Tennyson’s Ulysses. We are the stories we tell about ourselves – the way we interpret our past is central to our identity. Particularly, we can understand trauma as a story of catastrophe, or as a story of overcoming. People who have suffered – and caused …
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Past Event: TLC Masterclass: How the Short Story Works
An exploration of the defining features of the modern short story
Sat 23 Mar, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Free Word Lecture Theatre
The Literary Consultancy presents a series of three unique, full-day classes to give you an overview of narrative structure in the two most popular literary forms, the short story and novel, and to provide clarity about why and how genre fiction works. Clarity about your chosen form is important for a writer: these classes can make you feel more…
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Past Event: A Creative Writing Course in an Evening
A two hour insight into writing and re-writing from the National Academy of Writing
Tue 12 Mar, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
The Sassoon Beer Board Room
The 'Creative Writing Course in an Evening' is a two-hour NAW event that offers insights into the skills needed to write and re-write effective texts. The first hour is the unique National Academy of Writing Masterclass with NAW Director Richard Beard. The NAW Masterclass is an innovative public edit that answers the need to learn about craft in…