Join us at Quay Words to welcome acclaimed poet Roger Robinson and award-winning author and photographer Johny Pitts as they ask: What is it like to be black in Britain today, particularly if you live outside of the urban, metropolitan centres? Roger and Johny joined forces to explore this issue in their stunning new book, Home Is…

Join acclaimed poet Elizabeth-Jane Burnett for an eco-poetry workshop at Exeter Custom House. Expect a nourishing take on writing in the rhythms of nature ahead of the Sunday full moon. Elizabeth-Jane Burnett is an author and academic whose creative and critical work has a largely environmental focus. Publications include poetry collections Of Sea (2021) and…

In association with Artemis Storytelling The White Bear King is the perfect wintery romance. Storyteller and writer Sally Pomme Clayton and singer and composer Helen Chadwick weave together words and songs, images and sounds, to conjure the eternal quest for love.  They take you on a snowy journey through a dark, Scandinavian fairytale with a…

Autumn writer-in-residence Alice Albinia will teach this workshop on narrative non-fiction. Drawing on the season theme of ‘heritage’, Alice will explore with participants how the writing of memoir, life writing or history can become expansive and novelistic. About Alice  Alice Albinia is the award-winning author of twinned works of fiction and non-fiction. Her non-fiction book Empires of…

Our current writer-in-residence Alice Albinia will read from her recent novel Cwen and her upcoming non-fiction work The Britannias, followed by a conversation and Q&A  chaired by Beth Howell, Collections & Research Assistant at the Devon and Exeter Institution and PhD Candidate at University of Exeter. You can also save a seat here to watch…

The Islands of Women Collective — writer-in-residence Alice, artists Rose Gibbs and Léonie Hampton — collaborated with musician Piers Lewin (Full of Noises) on a short art film, Zenae, edited by Martin Hampton with sound editing by Sam Britton. The film winds together, among other things, Piers’ music, with quotations and research from Alice’s books. Here they screen Zenae, the fruit of…

Part of the Health and Resilience Project Join us for a workshop focused on creativity and wellbeing with poet and performer Harula Ladd. Harula will lead you through creative exercises, and support you to write poetry during this 3-hour workshop. We’ll be thinking about themes of health, wellbeing and resilience in our writing as well…

We’re pleased to welcome Anthony Joseph back to Quay Words after his fantastic outdoor set in 2021. Anthony will be reading from his new poetry collection Sonnets for Albert. SHORTLISTED FOR THE FORWARD PRIZE FOR BEST COLLECTION 2022 With Sonnets for Albert, Anthony Joseph returns to the autobiographical material explored in his earlier collection Bird Head Son….

Online via Zoom Saturdays 29th October – 26th November, 11.30 am – 1.30 pm.  £100 full/ £50 concession Write your own brand of middle-grade fiction with children’s author Jane Elson. In this five-week course, Jane will lead you through creative games and exercises to feed your imagination. The course will explore how to build characters,…

A day of Masterclasses and conversation with memoirist Cathy Rentzenbrink and publisher Francesca Main Do you have a life writing project that needs attention? Perhaps you need some technical help, are nervous about committing life to the page, or curious about navigating the industry in general? Join bestselling writer Cathy Rentzenbrink and publisher Francesca Main for an intensive…