Create the first draft of a book in a month 31 July – 30 August 2026 course full 30 Days of Writing is a practical online course for writers and artists who’d enjoy the challenge of putting together a book in a month. The course is especially suited to anyone who'd like to take on a manageable project – a novella, a collection of short stories, an extended essay, a graphic story, an artist’s book, whether new and unplanned, or a passion project you've been mulling over for a while. Wrap up the summer with a first draft, and find out how to: turn what you love into a novella, or compile a book of interconnected short pieces, or devise a hybrid narrative of text and image, or create a book out of what you thought was “just a hobby” This is an online course, not a live Zoom-based one, although we will meet as a group midway and at the end of the course You’ll receive daily prompts and creative suggestions in your inbox that you can work with in your own time and at your own pace. You'll be invited to share your writing on a private course website and receive feedback and encouragement from the tutor and fellow participants throughout the month. Aside from two optional Zoom meetings, the course is designed to be flexible and work around your schedule. 30 Days of Writing is devised to help you start a project from scratch or keep layering a project you've been working on, and complete a first draft by the end of August. The daily exercises will guide you through the stages of creating a dynamic narrative, whether you’re writing fiction, non-fiction, hybrid work, or working with illustration and graphic stories. We’ll focus on elements such as: creating a sense of movement in time and place conflict and tension chronology, perspective, and tone research and creative alignment You'll begin with a one-to-one consultation to identify a book idea that can be completed in a month. The aim is to dedicate August to a meaningful project and come away with a full first draft that you can refine and shape after the course. The focus throughout will be on a daily creative practice. You’ll be supported to write at least 500 words a day, giving you enough material for a novella or a collection of short pieces. To see an example, check out Salute by Bob Merckel, a book that began on a previous 30 Days of Writing course. "But I could not do the work of writing a book... if it were not also an aesthetic experience." from George Orwell, "Why I Write" What’s included: Two 30-minute one-to-one consultations (before the start and towards the end of the course) Two group Zoom sessions (midway and at the end) Daily prompts and creative suggestions (via email and on the private course website), both general and project-specific prompts Ongoing personalised feedback from the tutor and fellow writers via the course's private blog Two copies of 12 Doable Writing Projects Writing Map (due to the tariffs, a digital copy if you're based in the US) The course is for writers and artists at all stages of their practice who are open to experimenting and to creating what the book artist Keith A. Smith calls "a book experience". What kind of time commitment will I need? An hour or two a day would be ideal. Enough time to write for at least twenty minutes and half an hour to read the work of others on the course site, to gather inspiration and feel part of an unfolding conversation. Giving feedback is optional. You’re also welcome to take part quietly, without comments or responses, simply to use the time for writing and to build a meaningful body of work. The heart of 30 Days of Writing is a daily practice, without pressure or perfection, returning to the work each day, staying close to your project. The course is led by Shaun Levin, who says: "When we write without overthinking, when we let the line, language and the rhythm of our words carry us, we go deeper into memory, imagination, and the subconscious. That’s where surprising elements and unexpected connections happen in a story. Daily practice helps us stay in the work, in the mystery of its creation. When we allow ourselves to think through the writing itself, rather than outside it, we invite our audience to share in the process of discovery. Twenty minutes a day is all it takes!” Dates: 31 July –30 August 2026 (optional Zoom group check-ins on Sundays 16 August and 30 August) Fee: €380 Limited to 12 participants course full About the tutor: Shaun Levin is the author of Snapshots of The Boy, Alone with a Man in a Room, and Seven Sweet Things, amongst other books. He has been teaching creative writing for over twenty years and has worked closely with writers at all stages of their journey towards publication. He has edited several short story collections, two literary journals, and set up small independent publishing houses. His own artist's books and zines have been acquired by the special collections of Harvard Library, Tufts University, and Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, amongst others. What previous participants have said: “The prompts are wonderful. So different from those I've experienced at other writing groups. Very inspirational. They have certainly got me writing.” "The tasks are encouraging a different perspective on writing which means I can move out of my 'default' mode allowing for a certain amount of risk taking." "The act of 'publishing' work online gives me a deadline and a feeling of achieving something... I like seeing my work grow over time... Its alive on the internet, not stuck in a document" "The prompts [...] are taking me beyond my thoughts and preconceived ideas to things I hadn’t considered. They are taking my work higher!" "Your feedback is insightful and helpful in showing me how to further develop a piece. I enjoy reading the works of other writers in the class and reading your comments on their work too as I can extrapolate to my own." “Who are we, who is each one of us, if not a combination of experiences, information, books we have read, things imagined? Each life is an encyclopedia, a library, an inventory of objects, a series of styles, and everything can be constantly shuffled and reordered in every way conceivable.” Italo Calvino, Six Memos for the Next Millennium )
