Creative Non-Fiction Writing Course – Jericho Writers
Jericho Writers
Box 321, 266 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DL, United Kingdom
UK: +44 (0)330 043 0150
US: +1 (646) 974 9060

Creative Non-Fiction

Define your idea and find your own voice to communicate your story with this Creative Non-Fiction course with author, journalist, and publisher Sam Jordison.

Creative Non-Fiction Writing Course

This creative non-fiction course will help you learn the techniques and strategies to develop a quality work of non-fiction. It provides an insight into the art of writing non-fiction – from life writing and creative non-fiction, to humour and popular reference via journalism and criticism.

The course will focus on how to apply techniques that cover research, interviewing, and creating a structure within which to place your writing. There is an inspiring reading list which can provide fertile ground for ideas and examples of the techniques you will learn. Overall, this course will help you develop, test and really work through your ideas, and show you how to hone in on your subject, write your manuscript and nail your pitch. 

Places on the 2022 course dates are out now.

This course at a glance:


A Six-Week Course

Running four times in 2022

Online Learning

Weekly online tutorials

Small Class Sizes

For personal tutor attention

Why Choose This Course?

Weekly Tutorials

All course content including tutorials, exercises, tasks, and reading lists, is uploaded to the course platform on the same day each week.

Feedback On Your Work

Each week, you’ll be set a task to be completed by the following week. Your tutors and peers will then give you feedback on your writing.

A Community of Writers

Each course has 12 students that engage in discussion and peer-feedback every week. Students tend to form strong and lasting bonds, which means the exchange of ideas, friendship and support lasts beyond the course itself.

Lifelong Access

Once you’re enrolled, you’ll have full access to all that content permanently. So there’s plenty of time to fit the course around your everyday life.

Key Information

Date: This course runs four times in 2022

Duration: 6 weeks

Price: £365 (10% discount for members)

Entry: Book your place now

Location: Online

Course Tutor: Sam Jordison


Sam Jordison is a publisher, author and journalist. He is the co-director of the award-winning Galley Beggar Press, publishers of Lucy Ellmann’s ‘Ducks, Newburyport’ and Alex Pheby’s ‘Mordew’. He has written more than a dozen non-fiction titles including the bestselling ‘Crap Towns’ series and ‘Enemies Of The People’, a commentary on the folks who brought us Brexit and Trump. He writes regularly about books for The Guardian, as well as numerous national and international newspapers.

sam-jordison

Course Syllabus

Week 1 – Getting off to a flying start

We’ll begin to find a way into our writing and make sure we aren’t daunted by that blank first page. We’ll look at ways to test our concepts and make sure we know where they’re heading, looking closely at a few other writers and ways they can give us useful models.

Outcome: You’ll make the vital first steps to working out where you’re heading – and how to get there.

Week 2 – Effective communication

Who will read your book and why? We’ll discuss different audiences and different ways to reach them – and why it’s okay if you just want to write for yourself.

Outcome: You’ll have a clearer idea of who you are writing for and why – and how to pitch it to them.

Week 3 – Making progress: moving things forward

We’ll find out how to spin a really good yarn because good storytelling is as important in non-fiction as fiction.

Outcome: You’ll have ideas about when to show, when to tell and how to do both. You’ll also learn good journalistic techniques for passing on facts quickly – and making those facts interesting.

Week 4 –Making it talk

Just as in fiction, dialogue and drama are crucial to many forms of non-fiction – and the rules are very similar. We’ll study those rules – and when to break them. We’ll also look at how to carry out and use your research.

Outcome: You’ll have techniques to produce really effective dialogue, gripping drama, and to harness your research.

Week 5 – Making it real: sensory responses

How do you bring alive landscapes, objects, memories, different times and places? We’ll look at close observation of and sensory responses to the world around us and within ourselves.

Outcome: You’ll discover new ways of being creative with non-fiction, putting flesh on bare bones and when your own imagination can help you tell your story.

Week 6 – Wrapping up, and tying a nice bow

We’ll assess our work and achievements over the past six weeks – and also to think about how to take things even further.

Outcome: You’ll learn about the fine art of editing and redrafting, how to keep going when the going gets tough and what do when you get to the end. You’ll also get ideas about how best to pitch your work and put together a professional submission pack.

We’ve helped hundreds of writers get published

I am deeply indebted to my Jericho Writers editor, who has now been with me since 2013 and seen my writing evolve across three manuscripts.

Peter Papathanasiou

Author, ‘Son of Mine’
Quotation Mark Quotation Mark
Quotation Mark Quotation Mark

Creative Non-Fiction Course

£365.00

Creative Non-Fiction

Frequently asked
questions

1

How many hours work per week should I be putting in?

We suggest putting in two hours a week if you can, but obviously the more hours you put in the more you’ll get out. You’ll want to read the tutorials, do the exercises, and contribute to peer-feedback.

2

Is this course for UK writers only?

No, we work with writers from all around the world. It’s open internationally for writers from all over the world, and all online calls will take place at Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 

3

How many students will be on the course?

Twelve total students. Many go on to becoming lifelong friends.

4

Will it be possible to ask questions during the course?

Yes. You’ll be working on your own novel throughout the course, and getting plenty of feedback and opportunities for questions .

5

I can’t afford this course, is there something I can do?

We recommend taking a look at our bursary page here. We often have bursaries for under-represented writers and we have a free slot on each Self-Edit your novel course.

6

I have paid for the course and can’t join, can I get a refund?

If you wish to be refunded on the course, they are entitled to a refund up to 28 days before the course starts, but note that an administration fee could be charged. After this, no refund is possible. This will not be possible once a course has already started. To avoid loss, we strongly advise customers to ensure they are able to take the course on the dates advertised, and that they are comfortable undertaking this online. Should a customer wish to transfer their place to the next scheduled course, please note this is only possible if places remain, and an administration fee could be charged.