🎉 See who is joining us for our 30th celebration! 📅 Date: Wednesday 26 November 2025 🕖 Time: 7pm until late 📍 Venue: The Department Store, Brixton, SW9 8FR Tickets: £10

What would the world look like from the POV of rivers, street signs or mosquitos? Join Saskia as she leads a workshop on 'Writing the more-than-human.' ️🗓️ ️Tuesday 2 Dec, 6.30pm 📍Deptford Lounge 🎟️ £9* (concession prices available)- book : www.tickettailor.com/events/sprea... Request access.

📣 FREE feedback sessions for mystery, romance and horror writers! We are partnering with @colwillandpeddle to offer up to 8 free, short feedback sessions to underrepresented writers. D/L 2nd Dec, 5pm More info: tinyurl.com/2p5kc8v2

October has been full of successes for our programme and award alumni. Check out their achievements 🏆 You can read more about each writer via the 'News' section on our website. Head to our instagram to see the post!

APPLICATIONS CLOSED: #LondonWritersAwards 2026 Thank you to all those who have taken the time to submit an application. We have received a record number of applications and cannot wait to start reading all the exciting submissions.

We’re turning 30 and you’re invited! 🎉 Join us for an unforgettable evening of celebration, conversation and performances. 📅 Date: Wednesday 26 November 2025 🕖 Time: 7pm until late 📍 Venue: The Department Store, Brixton, SW9 8FR Tickets: £10

👀 ✨ Short Story Preview Read commissioned piece ‘Family Heart Troubles’ by Leone Ross (@leoneross.bsky.social) in the Mouth Mek Fi Nyam Anthology. The anthology is available to collect from Lewisham borough Libraries this October, and a digital version: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/read-the-mou...

Open Call 📣 #DeptfordLiteratureFestival 2026 Are you an artist or organisation based in Deptford/Lewisham*? We are looking for people with exciting ideas to shape our 2026 programme. 🔗 More info : tinyurl.com/4mjm3b67 Deadline: Monday 1 December, 10am

Save the date 📅 #DeptfordLiteratureFestival The festival is back on Saturday 28th March 2026. Look out for our open call this week, to find out how you can get involved. Full programme to be announced early in the new year. 📸: Kashif Haque

🚨4 days left to submit to #LondonWritersAwards 2026! Have a look at what our agent judges are looking for. ⏰ Applications for the #LondonWritersAwards close at 5pm on Thursday 30 October – happy writing!

Something spooky this way comes... 🕯️ Join Alan Gray for ‘Vacant Possession: Creating a Haunted World Without Any Ghosts’, a creative workshop featuring extracts from Dan Chaon, Andrew Michael Hurley, Shirley Jackson 👻 🗓️ Tue 28 Oct, 6.30pm | 📍 Deptford Lounge 🎟️ £9* (concs) – tinyurl.com/b34pcw7t

📣 10 days left to apply #LondonWritersAwards! ⏰ Applications for the #LondonWritersAwards close at 5pm on Thursday 30 October – happy writing! 📹 Featured in video - Daniel Culpan (current #LondonWritersAwards cohort)

🤗 Sharing is caring. Do you have a writer friend who should apply to the London Writers Awards? 📩 Share this post with them. ⏰ Applications for the #LondonWritersAwards close at 5pm on Thursday 30 October – happy writing! 📹 Featured in video - @laila_obeidat current #LondonWritersAwards cohort

Join Melissa as she leads a workshop about strategies employed by authors to represent sex in literature, which will provide prompts for a final collaborative poem! ✍️ This workshop is part of the Writers Salon with @cripticarts.bsky.social. 📅 Mon 3 Nov, 6.30pm 📍Online 🎟️FREE - tinyurl.com/ypzu34cj

Meet @newlands.bsky.social - #LondonWritersAwards judge, alumni and author of Only Here, Only Now. ✨ Get an insight into his writing process and top tips for applicants. Blog: 🔗 www.spreadtheword.org.uk/qa-with-2026... ⏰ Applications for the #LondonWritersAwards close: 5pm, Thursday 30 October

👀 ✨ Mouth Mek Fi Nyam Anthology is out – get a sneak peak of Jacqueline Codrington’s poem ‘Disrespect.’ The anthology is available to collect from all Lewisham borough Libraries from 19 October, and a digital version here: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/read-the-mou...

#WorldMentalHealthDay 🧠 🌎 @societyofauthors.bsky.social have created the ‘Author Care: A Toolkit for Authors’ - a free digital resource to help writers navigate working and wellbeing. This is accessible via the Society of Author’s website. #WorldMentalHealthDay #AuthorCare #MentalHealthAwareness

✍️ 5 short stories that shaped me ... with Gurnaik Johal. To read the full blog head to our website. Gurnaik will be leading a Short Story Round Table on Tuesday 14th October at The Albany. 🎟️ Final tickets - Link in bio 🔗

✨ Meet the 30th Anniversary LGBTQI+ Emerging Writer Commission Winners - Aislinn Evans, Conan Tan and Finn Brown. www.spreadtheword.org.uk/announcing-t...

Meet Alexandra Sheppard – 2026 #LondonWritersAwards YA/ children’s book judge. Author of Oh My Gods, Friendship Never Ends and Alyssa & The Spell Garden. ✨ Head on to our instagram to hear what she’ll be looking for 👀 ⏰ Applications for the #LondonWritersAwards close at 5pm, Thursday 30 October.

Meet Ashani Lewis - #LondonWritersAwards alumni and author of Winter Animals and Everest. ✨ On our website she shares her top 5 influential books – read here: tinyurl.com/h3zseea8 🔗 ⏰ Applications for the #LondonWritersAwards close at 5pm on Thursday 30 October – happy writing!

⏰ Free Reads Deadline – Tuesday 7th October There’s still time to apply! Open to all London-based writers on low income, Free Reads offers you the chance to receive professional, 1:1 feedback on your manuscript with an editor. Learn more: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/free-reads-2...

🌳 Need a new approach to how you write setting? Join Thảo Tô as she leads workshop ‘Sit in It, Sit with It: Setting as a Character in Your Writing.’ 🗓️ Tuesday 4 November, 6.30pm 📍Online 🎟️£8* (concession prices available) - book: www.tickettailor.com/events/sprea... Access available

👀 ✨ Mouth Mek Fi Nyam Anthology is out – get a sneak peak of Sharon Marshall’s poem ‘Everyting Have Its Use, after Jacob Sam-La Rose.’ The anthology is available to collect from all Lewisham borough Libraries in mid October, and a digital version here: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/read-the-mou...

✨ Wishing you a Happy National Poetry Day with some recommended reading from our Poetics Lab cohort! 📚 See list of poetry recommendations on our instagram! #HappyNationalPoetryDay

👻 This spooky season we will be crafting our own scary stories... Join Alan Gray as he leads a workshop on ‘Vacant Possession: Creating a Haunted World Without any Ghosts’. ️ Tuesday 28 October, 6.30pm 📍Deptford Lounge 🎟️£9* (concession prices available) - www.tickettailor.com/events/sprea...

🎉 Congratulations to our alumni features in this September wrap-up. You can read more about each writer via the 'News' section on our website.

🎂 Take a trip down memory lane with Spread the Word. Share your fondest memories of Spread the Word using this link tinyurl.com/8w3mppa7

Join Ellie Spirrett as they lead workshop and host open mic exploring how we tackle world news, hold onto own voices & protect ourselves from burnout. ✍️ Part of the @cripticarts.bsky.social x Spread the Word Writers Salon. 📅 Mon 6 October, 6.30pm 📍Online 🎟️FREE - book via link tinyurl.com/ywn9pkxa

There’s still time to apply! Open to all London-based writers on low income, Free Reads offers you the chance to receive professional, 1:1 feedback on your manuscript with an editor. Learn more and apply by 7 October: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/free-reads-2...

We’re so excited that Tasneem Adbur-Rashid will be judging the commercial fiction category of the 2026 #LondonWritersAwards. Head over to our instagram to hear what she’ll be looking for 👀 tinyurl.com/njrscv3w Free, online, BSL info session on 30 Sep at 7pm: buytickets.at/spreadthewor...

The London Writers Awards is open for applications until Thursday 30 October at 5pm. Find out more in audio and BSL video formats on our website: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/applications...

Are you an unagented and unpublished writer looking to develop your work, connect with agents and move towards publication? Apply for the #LondonWritersAwards 2026 now! Find out more: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/lon...

We are at @burleyfisher.bsky.social with @newlands.bsky.social, Oisín McKenna, Tasneem Abdur-Rashid and @lui-land.bsky.social 🥂📖

📅 Check out what is happening at Spread the Word this September – workshops, events & submissions

All workshops from our Developing Tutors 25/26 programme are available to book via Ticket Tailor. Full breakdown of workshops on our Instagram. 🎟️ www.tickettailor.com/events/sprea...

From funding calls to writer development programmes and workshops, we've packed this month’s newsletter with everything you need to stay inspired and connected. ✨ Sign up here: www.spreadtheword.org.uk/form/

👩‍🏫 Meet the facilitator... Gurnaik Johal Gurnaik Johal will be leading a Short Story Roundtable at The Albany. 🗓️Tuesday 14 October, 6pm 📍The Albany, Deptford 🎟️ Book via link in bio 🔗 BSL Interpretation available upon request, email [email protected]

Are you an unagented and unpublished writer looking to develop your work, connect with agents and move towards publication? The #LondonWritersAwards 2026 could be the opportunity for you! Find out more www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/lon...

👩‍🏫 Meet the facilitator... Leah Hazard @leahhazard.bsky.social will be leading a FREE online workshop - Writing Non-Fiction: How to Ask the Right Questions. 🗓️Wed 17 September, 7pm 📍Online 🎟️FREE - book via link in bio 🔗 BSL Interpretation available upon request, email [email protected]

Want to explore Africanfuturism in your writing? 🌌 Join @naomieselojor.bsky.social as she leads a workshop on ‘Creating Africanfuturist worlds: Blending Tradition, Innovation and Imagination.’ 🗓️ Tuesday 7 October, 6.30pm 📍Online 🎟️£8 (concs available)- book via link in bio 🔗 Access available.

All workshops from our Developing Tutors 25/26 programme are available to book via Ticket Tailor. Full breakdown of workshops on our instagram. Link in bio 🔗

Meet our new Developing Tutors cohort who will be running workshops from October 2025 to March 2026. All workshops will be available to book this week.

📣 Meet the 2025 Poetics Lab Cohort! You can see the new cohort over on our instagram: tinyurl.com/36yzufan Session one kicks off this September. This programme is supported by the generous donations of an anonymous donor.

☀️ Our Caribbean elders share their thoughts on our Windrush poetry and gardening workshops that took place from June to August. Head over to our Instagram to read all testimonials tinyurl.com/2ruaf8p4

📚 Join award-winning short story writer and novelist, Gurnaik Johal for a deep dive into the art and craft of the short story. 📅 Tuesday 14 October, 6pm 📍The Albany, Deptford 🎟️ Book your place tinyurl.com/yv25vns3 BSL Interpretation available upon request, email [email protected]

📔 Do you have an idea for a non-fiction book but don’t know where to start? Join us for a FREE, online workshop - Writing Non-Fiction: How to Ask the Right Questions with Leah Hazard @leahhazard.bsky.social Wed 17 Sep @7pm, Online. Tickets tinyurl.com/2dwc96zu

Celebrate the return of the London Writers Awards and our 30th Anniversary with readings and discussions with judges past and present Alexandra Sheppard, Oisin McKenna, Tasneem Abdur-Rashid and @newlands.bsky.social l tinyurl.com/4jd9s4k3

📣 FREE @artscouncilengland.bsky.social Developing Your Creative Practice Workshop this October for London-based writers led by Spread the Word director, Ruth Harrison. For more info and to book your place: tinyurl.com/4m7dv9ak

📣 FREE @artscouncilengland.bsky.social National Lottery Project Grants Workshop this September for London-based writers led by freelance literature producer, Tom MacAndrew. For more info and to book your place: tinyurl.com/y2hnytd6