Julia Bell

Everyone has a story, but turning a life into a piece of writing someone else wants to read is a different matter. In this two-hour workshop, Professor of New Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, Julia Bell guides you through the craft of writing about your own life - how to find the decisive moments, how to shape memory into a scene, and how to turn a situation into a story. Drawing on the techniques behind her memoir-in-verse Hymnal, her new book on the process of writing Between the Lines (Simon & Schuster, 2026), and her bestselling Creative Writing Coursebook, the session combines short writing exercises, close reading, and practical guidance on voice, structure, and the ethics of writing about real people. Bring a notebook and a willingness to write. Suitable for beginners as well as those already working on a longer project.