The SOUTH LONDON WRITING SCHOOL was formed as a response to the need for in person, creative writing courses, south of the river. Offering an antidote to the data-driven digital age, the aim is to nurture creativity and community through writing, playfulness and the love of books.
Founded by award-winning author and performer, Karen McLeod, the school's programme will offer courses throughout the year, tutored by industry professionals and published London-based writers and performers.
The mix of six week courses and monthly Sunday Masterclasses are designed to help you discover what you are interested in writing about, and in which form and genre.
The structure of the six week creative writing courses will introduce elements of craft, while equally encouraging the development/discovery of your voice. They are highly practical and the tutor will offer feedback, encouragement, reading lists, writing tips and a unique & personal insight into their writing lives. When appropriate this will include information around their experience of the publishing and arts industries. Instruction given is highly supportive, sometimes playful, and always encouraging to aid everyone in building upon a solid and creative future.
The monthly Sunday Masterclasses will be led by industry professionals on subjects such as Writing for TV, Writing Funny Prose, Memoir Writing, Story Surgery, Poetry, Graphic Novels, First Lines, Short Stories and more…
The Founder
Karen McLeod, is a writer, performer and creative writing tutor and writer-in-residence at Bookseller Crow. She has been running writing writing courses at The Bookseller Crow and nationwide for the last 13 years and teaches writing with the Arvon Foundation, National Centre for Writing in Norwich, Scotland's National Writing Centre and Polari LGBTQ+ salon.
Her debut novel, In Search of the Missing Eyelash, was published by Jonathan Cape and won the Betty Trask Award and was translated widely. In 2024 it was celebrated as a ‘lesbian classic’ by being republished by Muswell Press.
She wrote In Search of the Missing Eyelash in hotel rooms across the globe while working as cabin crew. Coming full circle, her memoir, Lifting Off (Muswell Press, 2024) is about the years she worked, and subsequently went into free-fall, as cabin crew. It was longlisted for the Polari Prize 2025.
Join Karen's Substack The Short Tall Letter here
Follow her on instagram here