Non-Fiction Writing Courses Non-Fiction Writing Courses Non-Fiction Writing Courses

Non-Fiction Writing Courses

Our creative non-fiction courses offer an inspiring and supportive environment for memoirists and life writers.

Our non-fiction writing courses: an overview

Our non-fiction courses are offered online and in-person and will give you all the tools you need for your project: how to research, how to select and shape story material, how to edit and where to take things next.

Our online non-fiction courses include five-day events, month-long self-paced courses and longer, more advanced options.

Your tutor – themselves an experienced memoirist or narrative non-fiction writer – will offer their own expertise as well as creating a sensitive, respectful and energising space for the group to share and develop their projects with each other.

Who are these courses for?

Aspiring memoirists

Always wanted to write an autobiography? Start here – with introductory and intermediate courses available to help, you'll learn how to best begin putting your story on the page.

Life Writers

Whether the life you want to document is yours or someone else's, our courses will show you how to collect and organise your material into the most compelling narrative shape.

Fiction writers moving genre

You have some experience with fictional narratives, but telling a life story is something different. Learn how to apply the skills you already have and gain new ones to help with a creative non-fiction project.

Non-Fiction Writing Courses (2)

Non-fiction

Writing Lives

Life writing is perhaps the most exciting and broadest literary genre of our times – spend a week discovering how you can work within the form to tell your story of a life.

Level

i
Improving

What do these levels mean?

Location

i
London

Length

i
1-5 days

Tutors

Richard Skinner

Start Date

Monday 12 Aug 2024

£595
Book Now

13 spaces left

Details
Non-fiction

Start Your Memoir

Life writing is perhaps the most exciting and broadest literary genre of our times – spend a week discovering how you can work within the form to tell your story of a life.

Level

i
Starting out

What do these levels mean?

Location

i
London

Length

i
1-5 days

Tutors

Patti Miller

Start Date

Monday 09 Sep 2024

£595
Book Now

14 spaces left

Details

Non-Fiction Tutors

Our non-fiction writing courses are led by acclaimed memoirists and authors, each experienced in helping writers get to the heart of their non-fiction project.

julia-blackburn-tutor

Julia Blackburn

Julia Blackburn was born in London in 1948, the daughter of the poet Thomas Blackburn and the painter Rosalie de Meric. Her first book...

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Julia Blackburn
miranda-doyle-tutor-crop

Miranda Doyle

Miranda Doyle's family come from the tiny island of Coney in Sligo Bay. She grew up in Edinburgh alongside three brothers and...

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Miranda Doyle
katherine-angel-tutor

Katherine Angel

Katherine Angel is the author of Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again (Verso, 2021), Daddy Issues (Peninsula Press, 2019), and...

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Katherine Angel
philip-marsden-tutor

Philip Marsden

Philip Marsden is the award-winning author of a number of works of travel, history and fiction, including The Bronski House...

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Philip Marsden

The whole experience was fabulous and exceeded my expectations... [it] opened my eyes and my book came to life. This course was a wonderful experience and I will never forget it and always be grateful for it.

[it] opened my eyes and my book came to life. This course was a wonderful experience and I will never forget it and always be grateful for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main types of non-fiction?

There are many types of non-fiction writing, including histories, academic texts, journalism and self-help. Most of our courses focus on memoir and life-writing, though some, like our Fiction Skills: Reseach online course, cover more general skills to aid non-fiction writing.

How experienced do I need to be to take these courses?

You don’t need to have written any non-fiction before to take the majority of these courses. You’ll find a level guide on each of the individual course pages to indicate whether it’s suitable for beginners or if a little more experience is required.

Can't find the right course?

Manuscript Assessment

Get comprehensive editorial feedback on your manuscript from our experienced readers – whether it’s still a work-in-progress or you’re preparing to submit to literary agents.

Find out more

Mentoring

We offer a range of mentoring options if you’d prefer to work one-on-one with an established writer to help you shape your project and realise your writing ambitions.

Find out more

Browse the Reading Room

From author interviews and writing tips to creative writing exercises and reading lists, we've got everything you need to get started – and to keep going.