
Emerging Literary Translators Showcase 2021
Join us to celebrate ten years of the Emerging Literary Translators Mentorship programme, championing new literary translators into English, and experience fresh work from the finest new literary translators working today. Established in 2010 by Daniel Hahn, the Emerging Literary Translators programme aims to develop successive new cohorts of literary translators into English, particularly for […]
4 - 5pm BST
Free - please register in advance

Meet the World: Coastlines and waterways
With Lynn Buckle (Dublin, Ireland), Vahni Capildeo (Edinburgh, Scotland), Valur Gunnarsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) and Patrick Barkham (Norwich, England). Join us to hear more about how three of our UNESCO writers have spent their virtual residency exploring waterways and coastlands, creating connections between Norwich and their own UNESCO cities of literature. Lynn Buckle is interested in […]
7 - 8pm BST
Free - booking required

Derek Owusu, Abi Daré, Okechukwu Nzelu
Cúirt International Festival of Literature. In partnership with the Desmond Elliott Prize and the National Centre for Writing. This event showcases the shortlisted writers for the 2020 Desmond Elliott prize for new fiction, featuring some of the most exciting and challenging writing talent from across the UK and Ireland. Crossing all manner of borders and […]
11am - 12pm
Pay what you can

Start Writing Crime Fiction
12-week online writing course begins Tuesday 4 May. Crime fiction is the biggest-selling genre in the UK and this course will help you to incorporate its building blocks into your own writing. Join Nicola Upson or Femi Kayode to explore the genre’s themes and appeal, looking at creating credible worlds and characters, developing […]
12 weeks
Online
£475

Writing Fiction: Next Steps – limited availability
24-week course begins Tuesday 4 May. Join Megan Bradbury (‘an extraordinary talent’ – John Boyne) for a six-month, in-depth online writing course. Designed in partnership with the University of East Anglia, you will receive one-to-one feedback on your writing and complete practical exercises in plot, character, dialogue, description and editing – all working towards a […]
24 weeks
Online
£945

Start Writing Fiction – limited availability
12-week online writing course begins Tuesday 4 May. The course is the perfect introduction to writing fiction for new writers and anyone wanting to write more regularly. Over 12 weeks of inspirational teaching, exercises and assignments you will receive personalised feedback on your work and learn how to write short stories. Classes are capped […]
12 weeks
Online
£475

Start Writing Poetry – limited availability
12-week online writing course begins Tuesday 4 May. Join us on a journey into the transformative world of poetry. You’ll read inspiring poets, explore how poems take shape, and begin to create and share your own work with a friendly supportive group. Classes are capped at 15 places to ensure a high-quality experience. Book […]
12 weeks
Online
£475

An Introduction to the Memoir
12-week online writing course begins Tuesday 4 May. Do you want to tell your own story? Life stories have resonance for others and are a gift to be shared. In this course, led by award-winning writer Lucy Hughes-Hallett, you’ll gain the confidence to write your own story, develop an understanding of how memoirs are […]
12 weeks
Online
£475

Start Writing Creative Non-Fiction
. 12-week online writing course begins Tuesday 4 May. Discover the core techniques for writing a non-fiction book, be it a biography, a memoir, reportage or another of the many flourishing forms within this exciting field of writing. Whether you have started to write and would like help moving forward or simply have an idea […]
12 weeks
Online
£475

An Introduction to Scriptwriting – limited availability
. 12-week online writing course begins Tuesday 4 May. This course is an all-encompassing introduction to scriptwriting and is designed for writers who are just starting to explore scripts. You will learn the mechanisms of working across a variety of script forms: TV, film, theatre and radio. You’ll discover ways to generate ideas and turn […]
12 weeks
Online
£475

Provenance
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. In this vivid and emotional immersive play, acclaimed novelist Ayòbámi Adébáyò tells the compelling story of twins separated by death. Follow the journey of the sacred ibeji artefact […]
21 - 21 May, various times
Free - please register in advance

Virtual Book Club Discussion: A Rising Man
Join us and share your passion for reading! Every two months we will meet virtually over tea and biscuits to discuss some of the best works in contemporary literature. We’ll explore short stories, novels, non-fiction, poetry, and works in translation, making these informal and friendly sessions the perfect way to meet like-minded readers and to […]
5.30 - 7pm BST
Free - booking required

Tombland – Jay Bernard and Mwen
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Tune in for an immersive and unusual online experience which blurs the boundaries between words, music and place. At the end of 2020, Sunday Times Award-winning […]
Experience any time
Free - please register in advance

Weather With You – Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Abir Mukherjee, Derek Owusu
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Three writers reflect on the atmospheric pressure of the year they’ve just had in Weather With You – a series of written commissions and podcasts that […]
24 - 26 May (one commission each day)
Free - please register in advance

Virtual Book Club Discussion: A Rising Man
Join us and share your passion for reading! Every two months we will meet virtually over tea and biscuits to discuss some of the best works in contemporary literature. We’ll explore short stories, novels, non-fiction, poetry, and works in translation, making these informal and friendly sessions the perfect way to meet like-minded readers and to […]
5.30 - 7pm BST
Free - booking required

Looking, Large and Small
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Explore the magic of the natural world, up close, with Looking, Large and Small: an online seasonal pack of observations, illustrations and exercises brought to you by nature […]
Experience any time
Free - please register in advance

Behind ‘Weather With You’ – event with Abir Mukherjee & Derek Owusu
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Abir Mukherjee and Derek Owusu reflect on the atmospheric pressure of the year they’ve just had in Weather With You: a discussion which takes stock of our unique […]
6 - 7pm BST
Free - please register in advance

The Group
Taking place on Friday 28, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 Mat at 9pm BST each evening (20-30 mins per act) Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. What’s real? Who’s there? What do you […]
60-90 mins (20-30 mins per act)
Free - please register in advance

Page Against the Machine
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Join us for a special virtual Page Against the Machine, in partnership with The Book Hive! Pick a book, grab a cool drink and turn off your phone for […]
12noon - 1.30pm BST
£2 (donation made to The Plantation Garden on arrival)

Behind ‘Tombland’ – event with Jay Bernard and Mwen
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Discover the process behind Tombland: a fragmentary digital soundscape which blurs the boundaries between words, music and place. At the end of 2020, Sunday Times Award-winning […]
5 - 6pm BST
Free - please register in advance

Behind ‘Provenance’ – with Ayòbámi Adébáyò
Booking will open shortly for NCW Supporters’ Circle members. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Discover the journey behind the making of Provenance: a vivid and immersive play involving live acting, digital screens and the fabulous storytelling skills of acclaimed novelist Ayòbámi Adébáyò. Part of Future & Form. Produced by Mutiny […]
7 - 8pm BST
Free - please register in advance

Behind ‘Looking, Large and Small’ – event with Rowan Hisayo Buchanan & Jessica J. Lee
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. Join nature writer and environmental historian Jessica J. Lee and novelist and illustrator Rowan Hisayo Buchanan for a peek behind the hedge at the process of creating Looking, […]
11am - 12noon BST
Free - please register in advance

Harriet Martineau Lecture – Ellah P. Wakatama & Julian Knox
Priority Booking for this event is now open for NCW Supporters’ Circle – click here to find out more. Public and online booking will open on Thursday 15 April. The Harriet Martineau Lecture celebrates the legacy of a remarkable, world-changing woman by inviting globally-renowned radical speakers to respond to her life and work. This year we welcome […]
7 - 8pm BST
Free - please register in advance

BCLT Summer School (19 – 24 July 2021)
Delivered by the British Centre for Literary Translation in partnership with the National Centre for Writing The renowned Literary Translation Summer School (19 – 24 July 2021) brings together writers and translators from around the world for a unique and intensive one-week programme of hands-on literary translation and creative writing practice. The programme also includes panel […]
9.30am - 5.30pm BST
£275 (bursaries available)

Writing Poetry: Next Steps – returns in 2022
Be the first to know This course will return in the future. To join the notification list for this course please email info@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk Award-winning poet Helen Ivory will be your guide through this next level course, designed for poets keen to push themselves further. Through experimentation, challenge and feedback, you will produce new work and […]
24 weeks
Online
£900