Are you a writer looking to develop your craft? Do you want to understand more about the publishing process from the people who know it best, such as editors and literary agents?
We’re delighted to be partnering with the Open University to offer this online conference which runs across two evenings. You will get the chance to hear from poets and fiction authors who will each share their top writing tips, help develop your craft, and offer guidance on how to ensure your work is ready for publication (as well as insight into their own publishing journeys).
Our line-up has been purpose-built to provide a range of guidance on the writing craft across both fiction and poetry, as well as insight into the world of publishing. A panel of literary agents and publishers will end the conference by shedding light on the process of getting your work published, and answering your questions.
A particular focus of this event is form and voice, and how to use both to your advantage when writing fiction and poetry. We hope that the inspiration, information and writing advice on offer will encourage you to return to your work-in-progress with renewed optimism.
Agenda:
Wednesday 4th December
6.00pm - 7.00pm: Seminar - Fiction and Poetry with K Patrick
7.00pm: Comfort break
7:15pm - 8:15pm: Seminar - Fiction with Rita Bullwinkel
Thursday 5th December
6.00pm - 7.00pm: Seminar - Fiction and Poetry with Dean Atta
7.00pm: Comfort break
7:15pm - 8:15pm: Literary Agents and Publishers Panel
A Slack channel will be made available in the lead-up to the event, as well as throughout the live sessions. This is a space for attendees to discuss topics raised, ask questions, and network with your writing peers.
Find out about our speakers below!
Rita Bullwinkel is the author of Headshot and Belly Up, a story collection that won the Believer Book Award. She is a 2022 recipient of a Whiting Award, the editor of McSweeney's Quarterly, a contributing editor at NOON, the creator of Oral Florist, and a Picador Guest Professor of Literature at Leipzig University in Germany, where she teaches courses on creative writing, zines, and the uses of invented and foreign languages as tools for world building.
Headshot photo credit Jenna Garrett
K Patrick is a writer based in Scotland. Their poetry has appeared in Poetry Review, Granta and Five Dials, and was shortlisted for The White Review Poet’s Prize in 2021, the same year that K was also shortlisted for The White Review’s Short Story Prize. In 2023 they were shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award.
Their debut novel, Mrs S, published by Fourth Estate (UK) and Europa (US) was selected as an Observer Best Debut of the Year, and K was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelists for 2023. Their debut poetry collection, Three Births, was published by Granta Poetry this March.
Dean Atta is an award-winning Black British author and poet from London with Greek Cypriot and Jamaican heritage. He is a Malika’s Poetry Kitchen member, National Poetry Day ambassador, and LGBT+ History Month patron. The Independent on Sunday listed Dean as one of the most influential LGBTQIA+ people in the UK, and his books have been praised by Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah, and Malorie Blackman.
Dean’s debut poetry collection, I Am Nobody’s Nigger (The Westbourne Press, 2013), was on the shortlist for the Polari First Book Prize. His debut young-adult novel in verse, The Black Flamingo (Hodder Children’s Books, 2019), won the American Library Association’s Stonewall Book Award. His first picture book, Confetti, was published by Hachette Children’s Group in January 2024, and his first work of adult non-fiction, Person Unlimited, was published by Canongate in July 2024.
I’m an Agent and the Managing Director at Eve White Literary Agency. I joined the company in 2017 and began to grow my list of clients in 2018. I have an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London.
I read widely across fiction and nonfiction. The books I love might challenge me with their ideas and style, but they might also be a simple story beautifully told. I do this job because of the variety, the excitement, and the potential it offers. I take pride in building strong, long-lasting relationships with my clients and publishing colleagues alike.
I was shortlisted as British Book Awards Literary Agent of the Year in 2022.
Jessie Goetzinger-Hall is an Assistant Editor at Headline Fiction, a division of Hachette UK. She has worked with authors including Alex Hay, Maggie O’Farrell, Dorothy Koomson, Maggie Stiefvater, Martina Cole and Bolu Babalola – and is looking to commission outstanding commercial fiction, focusing on conversation-starting reading group novels, glossy crime-thriller, and books with a light magical twist. Previously, she has worked at literary agency Mushens Entertainment and Irish arts magazine The Moth, and as a juror for the British Fantasy Awards 2022.
Aaron Kent is an award-winning poet and publisher from Cornwall, though he currently lives in Wales with his wife, Emma and their two young children. Aaron is a working-class writer, and particularly wants to advocate for more working-class voices in literature. He had several poetry pamphlets published, his debut collection, Angels the Size of Houses, is available from Shearsman Books, and his 2nd collection, The Working Classic, is available with the87press.
He has had work published in Poetry London, Poetry Wales, The Rialto, Prototype, The North, The Scores, Wild Court, Blackbox Manifold, Butchers Dog, BAX (2020), and Prelude among others.
Aaron's poems have been translated into Hungarian, Cymraeg (Welsh), Spanish. German, Persian, Cornish (Kernewek), French, and Latvian.
Study for an MA in Creative Writing with The Open University
Launched in 2016, our two-year Master’s Level course is taught by practising writers and is entirely online, giving students across the world access to workshops, forums and our acclaimed course materials. One of the most exciting aspects of the MA is its flexibility and the way it explores the relationship between genres, offering four distinct strands – fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and scriptwriting.
The OU’s Creative Writing modules and qualifications have attracted over 50,000 students since 2003, and our course materials have been praised by publishers, leading authors, and teachers in other universities.
For more information about the MA in Creative Writing, click here. For more information on how Creative Writing is taught at the OU and our undergraduate modules, follow this link. If you are interested in studying for our BA (Hons) English Literature and Creative Writing or BA (hons) Arts and Humanities (Creative Writing) see our Undergraduate degrees.
The conference fee of £45 (incl. VAT) is payable in full online. Please note, all timings for the conference are UK Time.
Payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on events@writersandartists.co.uk so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
This is an online event. Joining instructions and full guidance will be provided by the W&A Team a week before the event start-date.
If this event is Sold Out, please look out for more How to Get Published conferences by visiting our Events homepage. If you would like to be added to the waiting list for this particular event, please email events@writersandartists.co.uk and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
To view our event refund and cancellation policy, please click here.
Open University student discount:
All Open University students receive a significant discount on attending the conference. Open University students will find details about the OU discount code on their module website.
Accessible to All
It’s of real importance to Writers & Artists that our events and courses remain accessible to all.
- This is an online course presented via Zoom video-conferencing software. Joining instructions and full guidance will be provided before the course start-date.
- This event will include written text and visuals, both during and in the form of handouts from the sessions. Please contact us in advance so that we can make arrangements to be sure all documents appear in a format that works for you.
- A recording of each session will be circulated to participants and remain available to view for a time-limited period.
- If you’d like to attend but have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, then please email AccessWA@bloomsbury.com
