writing course

My Writing course

November 15, 2025 in Creative Writing, Events

I haven’t finished preparing the new course yet, but here are a few things I’m considering…

Latest Book Reviews

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Bookshelf, Reviews, On this day

Review: Things Seen, by Annie Ernaux

Bookshelf, Reviews, On this day

At times beautiful, at times cynical, at times hard-hitting, Things Seen is an endearing and accurate portrayal of a modern city.

Bookshelf, Reviews, On this day

Bookshelf

Review: The Queen’s Atlas: Saxton’s Elizabethan Masterpiece -- two reviews in one!

Bookshelf

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.

Bookshelf

Bookshelf, Reviews

Review: Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré -- two reviews in one!

Bookshelf, Reviews

Review: Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré -- two reviews in one!

Bookshelf, Reviews

Bookshelf, Language

Review: How Yiddish changed America and how America changed Yiddish

Bookshelf, Language

I bought this book two or three years ago, and it has given me a huge amount of pleasure.

Bookshelf, Language

Bookshelf, Reviews

Review: Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found -- Two reviews in one

Bookshelf, Reviews

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!

Bookshelf, Reviews

Bookshelf, Oulipo, Oulipo book, Reviews

Review: Exercises in Style Updated

Bookshelf, Oulipo, Oulipo book, Reviews

Anyone interested in the craft of writing should read this book. It’s not a primer, or dictionary, or anything of that nature. But it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Bookshelf, Oulipo, Oulipo book, Reviews

Bookshelf, How to

Read a lot, read fast (Updated)

Bookshelf, How to

How to read a book a week.

Bookshelf, How to

Bookshelf, Reviews

Review: The Many Lives of Anne Frank

Bookshelf, Reviews

You could be forgiven for thinking that all that has been said, or needed to be said, about Anne Frank had already been said, given the number of books, articles and even a play that have been written about her. And yet in some ways she has never been more relevant.

Bookshelf, Reviews

Bookshelf, The lighter side

An interesting way of dealing with writer's block (Revisited)

Bookshelf, The lighter side

How did the English comedian Spike Milligan break through writer’s block?

Bookshelf, The lighter side

Bookshelf, Reviews

Review: Stranger than Fiction

Bookshelf, Reviews

At first glance, this book's table of contents seems puzzling. Despite running to nearly 500 pages, Frank seems to be using fewer than 50 different novels to represent a hundred years of literary evolution — but appearances can be deceptive.

Bookshelf, Reviews