This is a course for anyone interested in life writing. Whether you’re looking at ways to record fading memories or want to learn how to write compellingly about personal experience. From 11 am to 1 pm over five consecutive Saturdays, our interactive workshops will be instructive and inspirational, with something for beginners as well as…

Join us as we welcome author Luke Jennings to Exeter Custom House. He’ll be talking about his smash hit novels, the creation of the ‘criminally good’ assassin Villanelle, exploring the dynamic between Villanelle and Eve and telling us about how his novels became the critically acclaimed BBC series, Killing Eve. Get your tickets now or you’ll be… ‘sorry…

They may look serious in these pictures, but the first Quay Words Winter reading at Exeter Custom House promises an uplifting treat on a dark winter’s early evening.  We invite you to join acclaimed novelist and poet Joe Dunthorne and Devon’s own much-celebrated performance poet, Matt Harvey for an evening of positivity through poetry. Banish the blues of the…

We mark National Poetry Day with poet Sara-Jane Arbury, who will introduce and perform a sequence, or renga, of haiku. The haiku were all contributed by members of the public who visited historic locations around the city as part of the recent Exeter Heritage Open Days. As writer-in-residence for Exeter Heritage Open Days, Sara-Jane invited…

A chance to meet Poet Sara-Jane Arbury at various venues throughout the City and even use your impressions of the history around you to create a haiku. A haiku is a short poem 3 lines long and made up of no more than 17 syllables. You could even post it to social media with the hashtag #heritagehaiku Other venues…

Join Louisa Adjoa Parker, the first ever Quay Words writer-in-residence at Exeter Custom House, in conversation with Helen Chaloner, CEO of Literature Works. Hear about the work Louisa did during her Quay Words residency, and listen to some of the work that was produced in response to the historical building and quayside, including lesser known…

Join us at our Small and Independent Presses marketplace for a chance to network with regional and national small and independent presses covering a range of specialisms. Come and get to know the people behind the presses and find out more about the diverse work they are doing. This event is a free drop in.

During our small and independent presses marketplace, Double Elephant’s George Barron will be on hand to help you screen print your own Quay Words on to a souvenir book bag or bookmark. Double Elephant Print Workshop is a fine art printmaking studio based in Exeter, which works with beginner to professional artists across Devon. We…

The event is a partnership with The Literary Consultancy. In this free session, held in association with The Literary Consultancy, meet professional editor James Magniac. James will be talking about the role of the editor, how critical feedback can help develop your writing, and will be workshopping key editing questions to help you get to grips with…

Patrick Gale, Cornish novelist and author of the International Emmy-winning Man in an Orange Shirt, talks about and reads from his latest bestseller, Take Nothing With You, a sad-funny comedy of resilience and survival. Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight in 1962. He studied at Winchester College and New College, Oxford. In…