City Writes is City, University of London’s termly writing event, showcasing the best of City Short Courses writing talent.

Hosted by longstanding short courses tutor, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, and into its fifth year, City Writes provides an opportunity for the best new writers from the City Short Courses community to read an extract of their work, sharing the stage with one of our published alumni or tutors reading from their new or award-winning publication

Enter our City Writes Competition

For an exciting opportunity to read alongside our published guest speaker at the City Writes event, short course writing students and alumni are invited to take part in the City Writes termly writing competition.

To be considered, applicants must submit 1,000 word of fiction writing (we also accept creative non-fiction, such as memoir or travel writing, and though we do accept young adult, we don’t currently accept children’s fiction) on any subject. Competition and submission guidelines can be found here.

The next City Writes event will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 15th December 2021.

This term’s guest alumnus is Ciaran Thiapar. Ciaran’s book Cut Short: Youth Violence, Loss and Hope in the City, was published by Viking UK (Penguin) in June 2021 to great critical acclaim. Exploring the lives of different characters involved in Britain’s youth violence epidemic, the book includes interviews and research that reveal a society fracturing along lines of race, class and postcode. Candice Carty-Williams calls it ‘A devastating and beautifully-drawn tribute to the young boys that the media turns into statistics of knife crime’.

As a youth worker in schools, youth clubs and prisons, Ciaran completed the Narrative Non-Fiction Short Course at City in 2016 in an attempt to tell stories about his work on the ground. Alongside completing mentoring and workshop facilitation with young people, he writes regularly for publications such as British GQ and The Guardian, usually about youth culture, race politics and rap music in the UK.

For your chance to join Ciaran on the online stage, all you need to do is send us 1,000 words of your best creative writing (fiction or non-fiction, YA but sadly no poetry or children’s fiction) by Friday 19th November 2021. Full submission details are below.

If you want to register for the event on Wednesday 15th December, you can do so here.

If you have any questions about City Writes, please email Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone.

Past guest speakers have included:

Imogen Hermes Gowar signing books at the City Writes event

 

 

 

  • Emma Claire Sweeney, author of Owl Song at Dawn and Visiting Lecturer at City Short Courses
  • Luiza Sauma, author of Everything You Ever Wanted and City Short Courses alumna 
  • Greg Keen, author of Soho Dead, and City’s Novel Studio alumnus
  • Imogen Hermes Gowar , author of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock and City Short Courses alumna
  • C. G. Menon, author of Skin Deep and short courses alumna
  • Cherry Potts, author of The Dowry Blade, publisher and Visiting Lecturer at City Short Courses
  • Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange and City’s Novel Studio alumna
  • Anna Mazzola, author of The Unseeing and The Story Keeper and City’s Novel Studio alumna
  • Rosamund Davies, editor of Story Cities and City’s Novel Studio alumna, with other alumni published in the flash collection: Evleen Mann, Maire Malone, Jayne Buxton and the publisher and Visiting Lecturer, Cherry Potts.
  • Shahrukh Husain, author, screenwriter, editor of e.g. Virago’s The Book of Witches, and Novel Studio alumna
  • Deepa Anappara, author of Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line and City Novel Studio alumna
  • Kiare Ladner, author of Nightshift and City Novel Studio alumna
  • Alex Morall, author of Helen and the Grandbees and City short courses alumna

City Writes Competition Submission Guidelines 

City Writes is City Short Courses most prestigious writing event. For the opportunity to read your work alongside our published guest speakers at our spring event, past and present students email their 1000 word fiction or creative non-fiction story or extract to Rebekah.lattin-rawstrone.2@city.ac.uk.

  • Your story doesn’t need to follow a theme, it just needs to be the best 1000 words you can send us.
  • Your email should state your name, the title of your story/extract and the name of the City Creative Writing Short Course you took or are taking.
  • Your story should be attached as a word (doc. Or docx.) rich text or pdf document and should not include your name to allow us to judge the stories anonymously.

Please do not submit more than one story per term. Multiple submissions will not be read.

You will be informed of the outcome of your submission by the end of week nine of teaching. No comments or feedback will be given on unsuccessful submissions.

Thank you and good luck!