


Show and Tell: Writing for Newspapers, Magazines and Online Media
Transform your passions and experiences into compelling first-person essays, opinion pieces, and columns under the guidance of acclaimed journalist Sarfraz Manzoor.
Level
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Location
Length
- Start Date
- Time
- Thursdays, 19.00–21.00
Places available
£1095
£1095
£300 / month for 2 months and a £495.00 deposit
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Write about your passions at Faber
How do you get the world – or more specifically a newspaper editor – to let you write about your personal obsession? Why should anyone care about your music taste, your relationship with your parents or your thoughts on the latest must-see Netflix drama?
The critical skill of any writer is to create a compelling story, with a distinct voice and revealing insights – and these are especially important when writing in a competitive and demanding non-fiction environment.
In this course, Sarfraz Manzoor will show you how to write about yourself so that others will care. He will show how to relate deeply personal experiences, interests and opinions so they hint at larger themes: how to transform the specific into the universal.
Over twelve carefully structured weeks, Sarfraz Manzoor will show you how to transmute your opinions and experiences into a multitude of short-form pieces for newspapers, magazines and online publications – as well as supporting you to find your journalistic voice and to develop your relationship with commissioning editors.


Is this the right course for me?
This course is intended for anyone who is serious about writing short-form essays, opinion pieces or columns. You may be an emerging journalist wanting to sharpen your skills, an author interested in writing for media publications, or already producing reviews, podcasts or travel writing and want to hone your craft and learn about the industry.
You will be expected to put what you’re learning into practice through writing every week – and sharing what you’ve written with your classmates and Sarfraz for feedback.
As well as insights from Sarfraz and expert guest tutors, you’ll get a taste of what a realistic career writing for newspapers, magazines and online publications looks like – as well as joining a group of supportive writers who are on the journey with you.
‘The job of the artist is to get your audience to care about your obsessions.’ – Martin Scorsese
Being a writer in today’s world involves mastering various types of composition. You might be a novelist, a memoirist or a poet – or just starting out – but knowing how to write about your personal experience for a range of publications can add an invaluable string to your bow and skill in your portfolio.
Maybe you want to translate your personal passions, interests and opinions into an additional income stream – or maybe you’re just keen to learn how to make a reader care about your store of personal experience, memory and opinion.
This course will take you through the basics into a deeper understanding of the various genres today’s jobbing writer will encounter – each approach adding something to a general toolset of writerly skills. Special industry guests will complement Sarfaz’s extensive experience to provide a thorough grounding in approaching, pitching and selling your pieces into today’s media landscape.


Weekly sessions will run 19:00–21:00 on Thursdays, in Faber’s headquarters at The Bindery, near Farringdon Station.

Course Programme
Session 1
Thursday 24 April, 19:00–21:00
Introduction and Understanding the...
Session 2
1 May, 19:00–21:00
Basic Skills
First-...
Session 3
8 May, 19:00-21:00
What to Write About
...
Tutor

Sarfraz Manzoor
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist, screenwriter, broadcaster and playwright whose work over the last thirty years has often been based on and inspired by his life...
More About This TutorLocation
The Bindery
51 Hatton Garden
London EC1N 8HN
How to get here
Faber’s office, The Bindery, is well connected by public transport, with Farringdon Station just five minutes’ walk away, and stops for several bus routes in the area too. If you’re coming from outside of London, the office is a short bus or taxi journey from Kings Cross, Euston and St Pancras stations.
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