Welcome to
New Writing South
We're here for anyone who loves to write
What we do
The Creative Writing Programmme
Courses in creative writing, creative non-fiction, dramatic writing, and poetry
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Join NWS Friends
You’ll become part of our vibrant community of writers and you’ll be supporting us to nurture diverse talent across the region
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Celebrating Our Stories: Hear Us Out
Get involved in this festival of verbatim theatre
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Whether you’re a published writer or just taking your tentative first steps, New Writing South is here to support you

News & Features

Read about our latest activities and events. Sign up to our monthly newsletter to get our latest news direct to your inbox

Apply to be part of The Writers’ Place Poets development programme 2020

Apply for this development programme aimed at poets living or working in southeast England, Deadline: 20 July 2020.
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Hear us Out: an update from Dinos Aristidou, Artistic Director

We entered this strange and challenging time just at the point in the project when we were about to starting preparing our 6 satellite performances...
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Alinah Azadeh introduces ‘We See You Now’ – A Vision of Radical Hope

Alinah Azadeh introduces her audio work, 'We See You Now' and discusses her writing journey, from visual artist to novelist – and the intersections between identity, writing practice and well-being.
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Support for writers

Find out how we can support you via personal mentoring, 1–1 Writers’ Surgeries, and manuscript reads. Due to the impact of Covid-19, sessions will take place via Zoom, email or other online platform.

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Mentoring

A personal mentor offers expertise and experience to emerging writers looking to take their work to a higher level or during a time of growth in your career. One of our team will work with you to help you find exactly the right mentor for you and you will be fully supported by New Writing South throughout.

Find out more about Mentoring
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1–1 Writers’ Surgeries

Our 1 – 1 Writers’ Surgeries are a professional development service that helps you to look at where you are, define your goals, and plan a route to fulfilling them. It’s like a 1 – 1 sat nav for writers. We are able to offer 1 – 1 Writers’ Surgeries at a greatly reduced cost during the coronavirus lockdown period.

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Script Reads

Writers normally only get one shot at attracting the attention of a company or producer, so it’s essential that your script is as good as it can possibly be. Our competitive script reading service provides an opportunity to get professional and objective feedback on your script prior to sending it out into the world.

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Creative Writing Programme

We offer some of the best quality training you’ll find to take your writing to the next level. We are the home of the Creative Writing Programme, one of the leading writing courses in southeast England. Enrolment is now open for courses starting in Autumn 2019.

Writing Poetry – Brighton

25 September 2020 - 28 May 2021
The Writers' Place, Brighton

This course will look at a range of poetic techniques such as compression, imagery, texture, line breaks, traditional forms, rhyme and metre. Throughout the course we will consider the value of poetry in the contemporary world and our relationships with it.
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Creative Writing Programme – Brighton

28 September 2020 - 24 May 2021
The Writers' Place, Brighton

The Creative Writing Programme has been carefully designed to develop your understanding of the craft of writing, to provide you with the support and structure you need to push your skills to another level and to complete a planned writing project.
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Creative Writing Programme – Brighton (Year 2)

28 September 2020 - 24 May 2021
The Writers' Place, Brighton

In the second year the focus will shift from short scenes to longer narratives: you will develop your understanding of plot, story structure and the ‘world of the story’; explore the complex relationship between characters, narrators and readers; discover the importance of theme, conflict and dramatic tension and gain further insights into language, technique and style.
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Be part of a community

Writing can be a lonely business. Join our lively community of writers and find the support,  guidance and training you need. 

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Services for Writers

We offer awards and bursaries; a script reading service; coaching and mentoring; meet-ups; and other ways to create the space you need to write.

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TLC Free Reads

Writers on low incomes can get access to a professional critique from the UK’s leading literary agency, The Literary Consultancy – an invaluable opportunity in your creative journey

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Become a NWS Friend

You’ll not only become part of our vibrant community of writers, but you’ll be supporting us to develop writers’ careers and enable fresh, diverse talent to flourish

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Latest opportunities

We regularly post news of awards, competitions, workshops and retreats offered by organisations from around the region. See all opportunities

The Phil Fox Award for Playwriting

Application Deadline:
16 June 2020 5:00 pm

The Phil Fox Award for Playwriting invites playwrights with any level of experience from across the UK to submit full-length scripts about issues related to addiction. The competition winner will receive a £6,000 commission from OETC to continue developing the winning script or to develop a new script about issues related to addiction. They will also receive mentoring […]
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Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition 2020

Application Deadline:
16 July 2020 5:00 pm

The 2020 Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition is open for entries Entry closes at 5.00pm, British Summer Time on Thursday 16th July. Judge: Liz Berry Liz Berry was born in the Black Country and now lives in Birmingham. She has received a Somerset Maugham Award, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and Forward Prize for Best Collection […]
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The Robert Graves Poetry Prize 2020

Application Deadline:
17 July 2020 11:59 pm

Submissions are now open for the Robert Graves Poetry Prize, a collaboration between the University of Roehampton and Wimbledon BookFest.  The prize is judged by the literary agent, Peter Straus and Professor Paul O’Prey, former assistant to Robert Graves. £1,000 will be awarded to the winning entrant £100 will be awarded to two runner ups. Entries must be unpublished, […]
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Writer in Residence, Izabela Morska

In September 2019 we were delighted to welcome Izabela Morska, one of Poland’s leading literary voices, as New Writing South’s first International Writer in Residence, supported by the British Council and in partnership with West Dean College of Arts and Conservation.