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 sixth 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.

This term our published alumna at our City Writes Spring 2023 online event on Wednesday 29th March at 7pm  will be Hannah Begbie.

A Novel Studio alumna, Hannah Begbie is the author of two award-winning novels, Mother and Blurred Lines, both published by HarperCollins. For your chance to join Hannah on the virtual stage, you need only send in your best 1,000 words of creative fiction or nonfiction (no young children’s fiction or poetry please) by midnight on March 3rd to rebekah.lattin-rawstrone.2@city.ac.uk . You can find full submission details here.

There is no theme, just your most sparkling prose, and the competition is open to all current students and alumni of Creative Writing short courses at City. If your piece is chosen, you will be asked to read your work at our City Writes Spring 2023 event at 7pm on Wednesday 29th March on Zoom. You will be reading alongside the fantastic Hannah to a supportive audience of students, alumni, friends and a few industry members. Don’t miss your chance, submit now!

Full submission details can be found here.

For those of you keen to sign up in advance, you can register for the event here.

Past guest speakers have included:

Deepa Anappara, City Writes guest and author of acclaimed novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

  • 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
  • Ciaran Thapar, author of Cut Short and City Short Courses alumnus
  • Michael Mann, author of Ghostcloud and City Short Courses alumnus
  • Simon Culleton, author of Shadows of Fathers, and Attiya Khan, author of Ten Steps to You, both Short Courses alumni
  • Elizabeth Chakrabarty, author of Lessons in Love and Other Crimes, Novel Studio 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!