Raw Writing

Writing for Children aged 8-12 (Adult Course)
2025-09-18 10:30 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
The last decade has marked a new Renaissance in children’s fiction. In an era of unprecedented multi-media competition, learning how to write books that capture and keep a child’s attention is more important than ever. On this course, you will delve deep into the history of children’s fiction; learning how it has changed, and how writers have adapted to cater to new audiences. You will have the opportunity to learn how to create compelling characters, propulsive plots, dynamic dialogue, and wondrous worlds.
The books we read as children stay with us all our lives. Whether you grew up reading C.S. Lewis and Enid Blyton, or J.K. Rowling and Katherine Rundell, there is a radiant universe of innovative imagination to explore. To aid you in this journey, you will also have the opportunity to share your writing with a group of like-minded peers for constructive feedback.
Adam Shackleton is a writer with a keen interest in developing creative talent. He holds a BA Honours in English Literature and an MA with Distinction, both from the University of Exeter. Adam was awarded a Dean’s Commendation for the quality of his written work; earning a distinction in every module of his Masters course.
He read his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge, and went on to teach for a decade in the United Kingdom and internationally, specialising in reading and writing.
Adam has completed numerous creative writing courses with Curtis Brown and Raw Writing. He has also been published in his role as a commentator on politics and social affairs.
Adam is currently working on a commission for a charity to write a middle-grade novel and a picture book for younger readers. He looks forward to publishing both in 2026 to coincide with the charity’s anniversary celebrations.
Part-payment plans can be arranged if you’d like to pay in three instalments:
August 5th – £300
October 5th £300
December 5th £300
Please contact carla@rawwriting.co.uk if you’d like to arrange this.

Exeter Phoenix

SESSION DATES:
Thursdays 10.30-12.00

September: 18th, 25th
October: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd
November: 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
December: 4th, 11th, 18th
January: 16th, 23rd, 30th
February: 6th, 13th

Write Your Memoir – Beginners Course
2025-09-18 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Memoir is no longer the preserve of the rich and famous. We can all write about our lives.

Have you been thinking about writing your memoir for some time? Have you made a start but are now struggling to make progress? Would you like to receive warm support, guidance and inspiration so that you can make headway with your memoir?
Join me on this six-month course where you’ll learn all the key components of memoir writing. Through the study of published memoirs and writing exercises, you’ll learn how to develop your ideas and improve and experiment with your writing style. You’ll find the right structure for your memoir and there will be no holding you back!
Places are limited to eight so everyone (and their memoirs) are given a lot of attention.
The course outline and recommended reading will be sent once you’ve booked your place. If you’d like to have a chat first, don’t hesitate to email carla@rawwriting.co.uk or call me on 07474 116771.
Part-payment plans can be arranged if you’d like to pay in three instalments.
August 5th – £300
October 5th £300
December 5th £300
Please contact carla@rawwriting.co.uk if you’d like to arrange this.
SESSION DATES
Thursdays: 14.00-15.30
September: 18th, 25th
October: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd
November: 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
December: 4th, 11th, 18th
January: 15th, 22nd, 29th
February: 5th, 12th
Exeter Phoenix

Writing Sci-fi, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction
2025-09-18 19:00 - 20:30 | ZOOM
With Nick Hunt, author of Red Smoking Mirror, Outlandish and Where the Wild Winds Are
This course is an introduction to writing imaginative and speculative fiction – from sci-fi and fantasy to alternate history. You will learn techniques for world-building and peopling different realities; imagining utopias, dystopias and possible futures; how to write strong characters and structure your storyline; and how to make the worlds you create vivid and alive.
Following in the footsteps of writers like Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood, we will examine how speculative writing plays a deeply subversive role, destabilising ‘the way things are’ and allowing our imagination to break free of its bindings. Imagining different pasts, and futures, enables different presents.
The course will combine teaching and reading – with inspirations ranging from China Miéville, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Octavia E. Butler to Alan Garner and William Golding – with writing exercises, group discussions, feedback and structured writing time. By the end of the six weeks, you will have completed a solid beginning to a new story, or deepened and expanded a work already in progress. Whether you are a published author or a curious beginner, all you need is something to write on and your imagination.
Nick Hunt is the author of Red Smoking Mirror (Swift Press, 2021), an alternate history set in 16th-century Mexico, which was a finalist for the Edward Stanford Viking Award for Fiction with a Sense of Place. His non-fiction books include Outlandish, Where the Wild Winds Are and Walking the Woods and the Water.
He has taught writing courses at the Arvon Foundation, the University of Bristol, Schumacher College and other institutions. He also works as an editor and a writing mentor. In September 2025 he will start a two-year placement as a Royal Literary Fellow at the University of Bristol.
Thursdays
18th, 25th Sept,
2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd Oct
19.00-20.30
Zoom

Introduction to Screenwriting
2025-09-19 10:30 - 12:00 | ZOOM
Have you got an idea for a Film, TV drama or animation?
Have you ever wondered how TV dramas get made and what goes into distilling drama into compelling, revealing moments?
If you’re curious and would like to explore some of the key elements to writing drama for the screen, then sign up for this Introduction to Screenwriting course.
I’ll cover structure, character, dialogue and plot twists and get you started with fun and creative exercises.
We’ll look at the plethora of amazing TV that’s out there and dig into close readings of scripts to see how and why they’re working.
Stories are for everyone and never is that truer than in TV. If you have an interest in any of the above, I’d love to work with you and help develop your ideas!

Clare Sumi is a British Japanese scriptwriter for TV & Film. As a core writer for Hollyoaks for two years, she wrote multiple episodes. She was also a finalist in Film London’s Microwave with her film Glowed Up. It went on to be awarded two rounds of BFI Development Funding and is currently under option with Grama Films. Her work has also been featured on the stage as part of a series of shorts for Dim Sum Nights by New Earth Theatre. This won the Audience Choice award and toured nationally across the UK. She’s an alumnus of the Royal Court Studio Group & Unheard Voices Programme. Prior to this she worked for nearly a decade in Kids & Family Entertainment. As Lead Creative for KidZania London, she led the activity design and fitout of a three-quarter sized city for kids. She’s also been a creative consultant for Wonderbly. Clare studied English Literature & Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, and received a distinction in MA Text and Performance from Kings College and RADA

Fridays 10.30-12
19th, 26th September,
3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th Oct
Zoom

Advanced Write Your Novel Course
2025-09-19 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
This is an advanced course suitable for those who have taken the six-month novel course with Raw Writing or a comparable course.
Part-payment plans can be arranged if you’d like to pay in three instalments.
August 5th – £300
October 5th £300
December 5th £300
Please contact carla@rawwriting.co.uk if you’d like to arrange this.

Exeter Phoenix
SESSION DATES

FRIDAYS 14.00-15.30

September: 19th, 26th
October: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
November: 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
December: 5th, 12th, 19th
January: 16th, 23rd, 30th
February: 6th, 13th

Writing Crime Fiction
2025-09-19 14:00 - 15:30 | ZOOM
With its criminals, cops, and everything in between, crime fiction is this country’s best-selling genre. But what makes it so popular? And why?
What sets it apart from any other genre? And more importantly, how can you write it?
This will be a course that covers character, dialogue, landscape and dramatic narrative. It will also involve group workshops with the writers presenting their works in progress for analysis and critique. It will also work as a writing support group, encouraging the writers to talk to each other and celebrate/commiserate on how their work is going. Celebrate, obviously.
I will be there to guide and structure the writers’ work, giving critiques and holding workshops, utilising writing tools and exercises to keep the work coming along and the writers unblocked. We will also look at editing and reediting to make sure the finished work is in the best possible form by the end of the course.
The end result should be at least a sizeable chunk of a novel, if not a completed one, ready to take further.

Martyn Waites was an actor before becoming a writer. He has been nominated for every major British crime fiction award and has written over twenty novels including the critically acclaimed Joe Donovan series, Born Under Punches which won the Grand Prix du Roman Etranger and The White Room which was a Guardian best book of the year. His next novel, The Other People, will be coming out in April, under the new name CB Everett.

FRIDAYS 14.00-15.30
September: 19th, 26th
October: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
November: 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
December: 5th, 12th, 19th
January: 16th, 23rd, 30th
February: 6th, 13th

£900 or can pay in three instalments via Klarna at checkout

Poetry: Reading It and Writing It!
2025-11-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
3 MONTH COURSE

November: 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
December: 2nd, 9th

10.30-12
In this course, we will read poets of the twentieth century, including the modernist poet T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land , 1922) and move towards some important poets of the mid-century, the period of Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, and Sylvia Plath.
MORE INFORMATION
Participants will be given the contents of each session in advance, so you will have time to prepare; and there will be suggestions for extension reading for those who wish to build on what we have read together. Texts of shorter poems will be provided but editions will also be recommended so you can bring your own copies if you wish. Longer poems will be set as homework to give us time to discuss them in class.
We are all aiming to be better readers and better writers. The aim of this course is to help with those goals!

Raw Writing Challenge for January
2026-01-01 08:00 - 2026-01-31 08:00 | Online / Email
Are you looking for writing inspiration to kick off 2026?
Do you want to become a better writer?
Do you want to establish a regular writing practice?
Do you want to join a writing community and enjoy a weekly Zoom get-together where you can discuss your writing week?
If the answer to any of the above questions is ‘YES!’ then please sign up for the Raw Writing January 31 Day Challenge.
This is how it works:
You’ll receive your first Raw Writing prompt on Thursday 1st January.
You’ll be encouraged to set a timer for five minutes and then just write!
There’s no pressure to go beyond five minutes, although if you want to write for longer, go for it.
You’ll continue to receive a Raw Writing prompt every morning in January.
Raw Writing will host optional live Zoom sessions each week (Sunday 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th, 17.00-18.00) so you can come along and discuss your writing week with everyone else who signed up.
When you write regularly, you get better at it. But sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. The more we encourage ourselves to view the world differently, think in new ways and create a discipline, five minutes at a time, the more inspired we’ll feel.
Some of the best writing I’ve produced has been in response to writing prompts that initially made me feel deflated, annoyed, or uncomfortable!
This Raw Writing January Challenge gives you the opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and experiment with your writing.
You will build a great portfolio of writing that you can then come back to and develop further.
It is just £30. This is a one-off payment for 31 days of writing prompts and the chance to attend four live Zoom sessions.
If you’d like to take part but find cost is a barrier, there are some funded places available.
I would love you to be part of this Raw Writing challenge and take your writing to the next level!

Introduction to Screenwriting
2026-01-09 10:30 - 12:00 | ZOOM
Have you got an idea for a Film, TV drama or animation?
Have you ever wondered how TV dramas get made and what goes into distilling drama into compelling, revealing moments?
If you’re curious and would like to explore some of the key elements to writing drama for the screen, then sign up for this Introduction to Screenwriting course.
I’ll cover structure, character, dialogue and plot twists and get you started with fun and creative exercises.
We’ll look at the plethora of amazing TV that’s out there and dig into close readings of scripts to see how and why they’re working.
Stories are for everyone and never is that truer than in TV. If you have an interest in any of the above, I’d love to work with you and help develop your ideas!
Clare Sumi is a British Japanese scriptwriter for TV & Film. As a core writer for Hollyoaks for two years, she wrote multiple episodes. She was also a finalist in Film London’s Microwave with her film Glowed Up. It went on to be awarded two rounds of BFI Development Funding and is currently under option with Grama Films. Her work has also been featured on the stage as part of a series of shorts for Dim Sum Nights by New Earth Theatre. This won the Audience Choice award and toured nationally across the UK. She’s an alumnus of the Royal Court Studio Group & Unheard Voices Programme. Prior to this she worked for nearly a decade in Kids & Family Entertainment. As Lead Creative for KidZania London, she led the activity design and fitout of a three-quarter sized city for kids. She’s also been a creative consultant for Wonderbly. Clare studied English Literature & Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, and received a distinction in MA Text and Performance from Kings College and RADA

Fridays 10.30-12
Starting from the 9th / 16th / 23rd / 30th Jan
Zoom

Raw Writing Pick and Mix Course
2026-01-10 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Experiment with different forms, including the short story, mindful writing and memoir. This four-week course has been designed so you can try out a variety of types of writing and have a great time while doing so!
Carla Jenkins is the founder of Raw Writing and an award-winning writer and teacher. Her debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024. Her second novel is due for publication in the summer of 2027.
10.30-12 Saturday 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st January

Raw Writing Pick and Mix Course
2026-01-10 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Experiment with different forms, including the short story, mindful writing and memoir. This four-week course has been designed so you can try out a variety of types of writing and have a great time while doing so!
Carla Jenkins is the founder of Raw Writing and an award-winning writer and teacher. Her debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024. Her second novel is due for publication in the summer of 2027.
14.00-15.30 Saturday 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st January

Raw Writing Pick and Mix Course
2026-01-10 16:00 - 17:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Experiment with different forms, including the short story, mindful writing and memoir. This four-week course has been designed so you can try out a variety of types of writing and have a great time while doing so!
Carla Jenkins is the founder of Raw Writing and an award-winning writer and teacher. Her debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024. Her second novel is due for publication in the summer of 2027.
16.00-17.30 Saturday 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st January

Introduction to Poetry
2026-01-12 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
14.00-15.30 Monday January 12th, 19th, 26th and 2nd Feb
From ancient epic to modern lyrics, humans have expressed their most important experiences in the form of poems. So reading and writing poetry expands our understanding of different times and cultures and helps us think about what it means to be human. This introductory course will give you the keys to understanding and appreciating poems from different times and places. We’ll look at how poets use sound, form and imagery to create meaning, and exercise our own skills of interpretation and imagination. Introduction to Poetry is designed above all to enhance your confidence and enjoyment as a reader of poems and provide ideas which will help you in your own writing. No experience necessary, nervous readers especially welcome!
Malcolm Hebron has a doctorate in English Literature from Oxford and, for many years, taught at Winchester College. He has written academic books and articles and is the author of How to Read a Poem (Connell Guides).

Introduction to Poetry - Zoom
2026-01-12 17:30 - 19:00 | ZOOM
17.30-19.00 Monday January 12th, 19th, 26th and 2nd Feb
From ancient epic to modern lyrics, humans have expressed their most important experiences in the form of poems. So reading and writing poetry expands our understanding of different times and cultures and helps us think about what it means to be human. This introductory course will give you the keys to understanding and appreciating poems from different times and places. We’ll look at how poets use sound, form and imagery to create meaning, and exercise our own skills of interpretation and imagination. Introduction to Poetry is designed above all to enhance your confidence and enjoyment as a reader of poems and provide ideas which will help you in your own writing. No experience necessary, nervous readers especially welcome!
Malcolm Hebron has a doctorate in English Literature from Oxford and, for many years, taught at Winchester College. He has written academic books and articles and is the author of How to Read a Poem (Connell Guides).

Introduction to Writing for Children (Adult Course)
2026-01-12 17:30 - 19:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
17.30-19.00 Monday 12th, 19th, 26th January and 2nd Feb
Why write for children? There are many reasons, but one of the most profound is undoubtedly the one espoused by C.S. Lewis, author of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’:
‘Where the children’s story is simply the right form for what the author has to say, then of course readers who want to hear that will read the story or re-read it, at any age.’
Children’s fiction is boundless. A quick visit to your local bookshop or library will reveal the vast range of people, places, and situations encapsulated in children’s books. Adventure can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. Wherever your imagination takes you is where you’ll find a story.
Furthermore, your story is for everyone. No matter how young or old, your book can be read and enjoyed. That is why children’s books dominate lists of the nation’s favourite books, and this is an opportunity every writer should relish. The children’s author writes with a range of readers in mind: the child reading under their sheets late at night, the parent reading a bedtime story, the teacher seeking to zest up the curriculum with an exciting historical narrative.
This can feel intimidating. Who can compete with the likes of Roald Dahl, JK Rowling, Michael Morpurgo, and Katherine Rundell? The answer is simple: you can. Every great author started with an idea and a blank piece of paper. If you have both of these things, you, too, can write the next great children’s classic.
ABOUT THE TUTOR
Adam Shackleton is a writer with a keen interest in developing creative talent. He holds a BA Honours in English Literature and an MA with Distinction, both from the University of Exeter. Adam was awarded a Dean’s Commendation for the quality of his written work, earning a distinction in every module of his Master’s course.
He read his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge, and went on to teach for a decade in the United Kingdom and internationally, specialising in reading and writing. Adam has completed numerous creative writing courses with Curtis Brown and Raw Writing. He has also been published in his role as a commentator on politics and social affairs. Adam is currently working on a commission for a charity to write a middle-grade novel and a picture book for younger readers. He looks forward to publishing both in 2026 to coincide with the charity’s anniversary celebrations.

Introduction to Comedy Writing - Zoom
2026-01-12 19:00 - 20:30 | ZOOM
Monday 12th 19th, 26th Jan and 2nd Feb 19.00-20.30
Comedy is one of the most powerful tools in a writer’s toolkit, but have you ever stopped to think about what it actually is that makes something funny? How do you know if your writing is going to make people laugh? Where’s the line between comic and tragic characters, and, most importantly, can comedy even be taught? (Let’s hope so.)
While good comedy can feel effortless, there’s plenty of hard work going on behind the scenes to make it look that way. This course will give you an introduction to some of the basic techniques of comedy writing, from creating relatable yet flawed characters to getting to grips with punchlines and…
…wait for it…
…timing.
(I’ll get my coat.)
Jo Middleton is the author of three comedy novels, having been first approached by Penguin in 2019 on the back of her comedy lifestyle and parenting blog. She hosted the comedy podcast It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere with friend and fellow comic writer Gill Sims and was the host of Gill’s two-month theatre tour – Tits, Gits and Little Sh*ts – in 2022

Poetry: Reading It and Writing It!
2026-01-13 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
3 MONTH COURSE

January: 13th, 20th, 27th
February: 3rd, 10th, 17th

10.30-12
In this course, we follow modern poetry from the late twentieth century to today. We’ll also be able to see how contemporary poetry has been shaped and influenced by the past, while reflecting its own time.
MORE INFORMATION
Participants will be given the contents of each session in advance, so you will have time to prepare; and there will be suggestions for extension reading for those who wish to build on what we have read together. Texts of shorter poems will be provided but editions will also be recommended so you can bring your own copies if you wish. Longer poems will be set as homework to give us time to discuss them in class.
We are all aiming to be better readers and better writers. The aim of this course is to help with those goals!

Introduction to Comedy Writing
2026-01-14 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
10.30-12 Wednesday 14th, 21st, 28th January and 4th Feb
Comedy is one of the most powerful tools in a writer’s toolkit, but have you ever stopped to think about what it actually is that makes something funny? How do you know if your writing is going to make people laugh? Where’s the line between comic and tragic characters, and, most importantly, can comedy even be taught? (Let’s hope so.)
While good comedy can feel effortless, there’s plenty of hard work going on behind the scenes to make it look that way. This course will give you an introduction to some of the basic techniques of comedy writing, from creating relatable yet flawed characters to getting to grips with punchlines and…
…wait for it…
…timing.
(I’ll get my coat.)
Jo Middleton is the author of three comedy novels, having been first approached by Penguin in 2019 on the back of her comedy lifestyle and parenting blog. She hosted the comedy podcast It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere with friend and fellow comic writer Gill Sims and was the host of Gill’s two-month theatre tour – Tits, Gits and Little Sh*ts – in 2022

Introduction to Playwriting
2026-01-14 14:00 - 16:00
This exciting six-week course gives writers the opportunity to learn different approaches to playwriting whilst preparing their own short play, which will be performed by actors at the Exeter Barnfield Theatre on the evening of the final week (details to be confirmed).
Session Dates
Wednesdays, 2pm – 4pm
Wed 14 Jan
Wed 21 Jan
Wed 28 Jan
Wed 04 Feb
Wed 11 Feb
TBC

Introduction to Horror Fiction
2026-01-14 17:30 - 19:00 | ZOOM
What makes us shiver? What makes our skin crawl? What, more to the point, makes the reader shiver? It’s not just about ghosts, demonic possession, serial killers, pleasure-seeking immortals with pins stuck in their heads, weird little unblinking kids with posh accents, and unknowable amoral beings from the voids between the stars (though those things are part of horror, to be sure). Horror is everywhere. Sometimes subtle, sometimes not. Sometimes the monsters are, well, monsters. And sometimes the ‘monsters’ are a cruel father, a cruel system, a cruel situation.
Why are two stories, both set pretty much in a single room (Stephen King’s ‘1408’, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, published in 1892) so unsettling, so freaky? Why do they linger?
With a focus on short stories, this four-week course will look at just what horror fiction is, and how to write the best horror fiction we can.
Wednesdays
17.30-19.00 14th,21st,28th Jan, 4th Feb

Writing Poetry: Reinvigorate your Practice
2026-01-15 17:30 - 19:00 | ZOOM
A series of generative workshops that are geared towards writers looking either to start writing poetry or reinvigorate their practice. The sessions will include writing exercises, readings, and critique.
Thursday 15th, 22nd, 29th Jan and 6th Feb 17:30 – 19:00.

Poetry Now! with Malcolm Hebron (Tuesdays 10.30-12)
2026-03-10 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
In this eight-week course between March > May, we’ll explore the contemporary poetry scene in the UK, Ireland and America.
The diversity of voices at work today is exciting, at times overwhelming. We’ll sample writing from the T S Eliot and Forward Prizes, scan the poetry magazines and podcasts and sharpen our reading and writing skills as we tune into new voices, styles and forms.
Does modern poetry deserve its reputation for difficulty? Who is telling us stories in verse that we need to listen to?
Authors are yet to be decided but possible names include; Anne Carson, Vidyan Ravinthiran, Ada Limón, Karen Solie, Isabelle Baafi, Jorie Graham, Catherine-Esther Cowie, Jason Allen-Paisant.
Suitable for beginners. Newcomers to Raw Writing courses very welcome!
Tuesdays 10.30-12.00;
March* -10th, 17th, 24th
April* – 14th, 21st 28th
May* – 5th, 12th
*(no sessions 31st March, and 7th April).

The Contemporary Short Story Competition Ready Course with Carla Jenkins
2026-03-13 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
13th, 20th, 27th March (no sessions 3rd and 10th April ) 17th, 24th April 1st, 8th, 15th May
Fridays 14.00-15.30
Entering writing competitions is great fun and brilliant for building up your writer’s CV if you get placed. Join this eight-week course where, at the end of it, you’ll have a 2000 word short story that you can be proud of, and is competition ready.
We’ll be closely analysing stories by Zadie Smith, Kevin Barry, Yiyun Li and Clare Keegan (among other twenty-first-century greats) and also exploring how using real-life material can enrich our writing.
The course will include two workshopping sessions where you’ll be given feedback from Carla Jenkins and the rest of the attendees, and you will also give feedback on their short stories. Guidance and support will be given on how to do this.
You’ll be expected to do a lot of reading and writing in between sessions, and a full course outline and reading list will be sent once you’ve signed up. Places are limited to eight so everyone (and their stories) are given a lot of attention.
Free entry into the Raw Writing Short Story Writing Competition (worth £15). The deadline will be in June, the word count will be 2000, and the prize will be a mentoring package (six sessions) with a published writer, a place on a six-month Raw Writing course, and publication in the Raw Writing Anthology.

Introduction to Memoir
2026-05-01 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Fridays 14.00-15.30
Friday 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd May & 5th, 12th, 19th 26th June
Thinking about writing your memoir but unsure where to begin? Join me for an eight-week course designed to give you a strong foundation and the confidence to find your voice and get it on the page. Whether you’re full of memories or starting with a blank notebook, you’ll be guided step-by-step to shape your experiences into honest, raw writing.
Course tutor: Carla’s debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024, and her second novel, Touched, is due for publication in April 2027. In 2019, Carla did a Master’s in Creative Writing at Exeter University and loved it. She missed it so much when it was over that she decided to set up Raw Writing, to recreate all those wonderful aspects of the MA and give to others what was one of the best experiences she’d ever had. Raw Writing enables people to learn about writing, improve their writing, and be part of a writing community.

Introduction to the Novel (Saturdays)
2026-05-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Saturdays 10.30-12.00
Saturday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd May & 6th, 13th, 20th 27th June
Do you dream of writing a novel? Do you have some great ideas, but are not sure where to start? Join me on an inspirational eight-week course where we will look at character, plot, setting and dialogue. This course provides a solid foundation that will help you start writing your novel and gain confidence in finding your voice.
Course tutor: Adam Shackleton is a writer with a keen interest in developing creative talent. He holds a Master’s in Education, and read his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge. He then taught for a decade in the United Kingdom and internationally, specialising in reading and writing. Adam is currently working on a commission for a charity to write a middle-grade novel and a picture book for younger readers. He looks forward to publishing both in 2026 to coincide with the charity’s anniversary celebrations.

Write for Life
2026-05-02 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Saturdays 14.00-15.30
Saturday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd May & 6th, 13th, 20th 27th June
Let’s celebrate the power of words and have fun being creative, because when we invest in our creativity, it positively impacts every area of our lives. This course has been designed for complete beginners and for those with some experience. Come and have fun playing with words. Let’s take the pressure off and just write for pleasure! Each week, there’ll be a range of stimulating prompts and optional writing activities for you to complete in between sessions.
Course tutor: Carla’s debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024, and her second novel, Touched, is due for publication in April 2027. In 2019, Carla did a Master’s in Creative Writing at Exeter University and loved it. She missed it so much when it was over that she decided to set up Raw Writing, to recreate all those wonderful aspects of the MA and give to others what was one of the best experiences she’d ever had. Raw Writing enables people to learn about writing, improve their writing, and be part of a writing community.

Introduction to the Novel (Tuesdays)
2026-05-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Tuesdays 19.00-20.30
Tuesdays 5th, 12th, 19th May & 2nd, 9th, 16th 23rd, 30th June
Do you dream of writing a novel? Do you have some great ideas, but are not sure where to start? Join me on an inspirational eight-week course where we will look at character, plot, setting and dialogue. This course provides a solid foundation that will help you start writing your novel and gain confidence in finding your voice.
Course tutor: Adam Shackleton is a writer with a keen interest in developing creative talent. He holds a Master’s in Education, and read his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge. He then taught for a decade in the United Kingdom and internationally, specialising in reading and writing. Adam is currently working on a commission for a charity to write a middle-grade novel and a picture book for younger readers. He looks forward to publishing both in 2026 to coincide with the charity’s anniversary celebrations.

Introduction to Memoir (Online)
2026-05-05 19:00 - 20:30 | ZOOM
Online Zoom £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Tuesdays, 19.00-20.30
Tuesdays 5th, 12th, 19th, 23rd May & 2nd, 9th, 18th 23rd, 30th June
Thinking about writing your memoir but unsure where to begin? Join me for an eight-week course designed to give you a strong foundation and the confidence to find your voice and get it on the page. Whether you’re full of memories or starting with a blank notebook, you’ll be guided step-by-step to shape your experiences into honest, raw writing.
Course tutor: Carla’s debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024, and her second novel, Touched, is due for publication in April 2027. In 2019, Carla did a Master’s in Creative Writing at Exeter University and loved it. She missed it so much when it was over that she decided to set up Raw Writing, to recreate all those wonderful aspects of the MA and give to others what was one of the best experiences she’d ever had. Raw Writing enables people to learn about writing, improve their writing, and be part of a writing community.

Writers Workshop (8-week Wednesday course), with Adam Shackleton
2026-05-06 | Exeter Library, Library, Castle St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3PQ, United Kingdom
Exeter Library
£285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
10.30-12 or 14:00-15:30
May 6th, 13th, 20th
June 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
July 1st

Are you looking for feedback on your writing?
Are you keen to become a more analytical reader?
Are you eager to spend time discussing your work with others; developing your writer’s toolkit alongside a group of like-minded peers?
If so, the Raw Writing Writers Workshop might be right for you! Now in its fifth iteration, the Writers Workshop has successfully helped many aspiring writers develop their writing skills in order to analyse their own work with a critical eye.
Over this eight-week course, you will have the opportunity to present your work for feedback, while also analysing the writing of your peers. Cultivating the ability to read closely the work of others and give thoughtful, considered feedback is an essential skill for any aspiring writer. On the Writers Workshop, we will help you hone this skill; bringing the strengths you take from reading the work of others to your own projects.
As part of the Writers Workshop, you will have the opportunity to share up to 2,500 words from your current writing project twice with the group.
Each time you submit, you will have 45 minutes dedicated to discussing the fundamental aspects of your submission:
•⁠ ⁠Plot,
•⁠ ⁠characterisation,
•⁠ ⁠voice,
•⁠ ⁠dialogue,
•⁠ ⁠description,
•⁠ ⁠and point-of-view.
It is frustratingly easy to allow life’s myriad wants and needs to interfere with our writing ambitions. By joining this course, we hope you will be able to gift yourself the permission to write and to read. At Raw Writing, you will be joining a team of dynamic creatives; each eager to share their story with a group of like-minded individuals.

Introduction to Shakespeare
2026-05-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Wednesday 6th, 13th, 20th May 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June, 1st July
Introduction to Shakespeare has one simple aim: to help you experience Shakespeare with confidence, understanding and above all enjoyment. Our most famous writer is available in so many forms – on stage or screen, the radio or the page – but where to start? We will discover Shakespeare through performance, by diving into scenes and speeches (and poems) and reading them aloud. We’ll look at technical terms – soliloquy, tragedy, blank verse, sonnet – but we’ll also ask bigger questions: how is this relevant today? How can Shakespeare help me with my life? Ideal for beginners, and
for those who have some experience but would like to refresh and extend their knowledge of the bard of Avon!
Course tutor: Malcolm Hebron studied English at Oxford University, where he took a doctorate in medieval studies. For thirty years he taught English literature at Winchester College, which involved teaching Shakespeare every year up to A Level. His publications include Key Concepts in Renaissance Literature, which covers the history and world of Shakespeare’s time.
