Raw Writing

Raw Reading Club (Exeter Phoenix) - Penelope Fitzgerald, The Bookshop
2026-04-01 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Penelope Fitzgerald, The Bookshop. Florence Green decides to open a bookshop in a small town. What could be more charming? But not everyone wants a bookshop or approves of the books she wants to sell. A timeless gem describing what happens when someone shakes up a community set in its ways. A comic and moving novel which reaches deep into human behaviour with Fitzgerald’s brilliantly economic style.
Raw Reading is a new study group. Each month, we will read a short classic work of about 100 pages. You’ll be given suggestions for what to look out for, and questions to prompt your own responses in good time for the monthly meetings. These will be seminars in which we share our thoughts and consider key aspects of literature: themes, style, narrative techniques, interpretation and more. There will be suggestions on further reading to follow up on the set texts.
Through the course, you will exercise your powers of close reading and meet some seriously brilliant writing from different times and cultures. The classics are for everyone. Join us to take your enjoyment of literature to new levels!
Exeter Phoenix 14.00 -16.00 £50

Raw Reading Club (Zoom) - Penelope Fitzgerald, The Bookshop
2026-04-01 19:00 - 21:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Penelope Fitzgerald, The Bookshop.
Florence Green decides to open a bookshop in a small town. What could be more charming? But not everyone wants a bookshop or approves of the books she wants to sell. A timeless gem describing what happens when someone shakes up a community set in its ways. A comic and moving novel which reaches deep into human behaviour with Fitzgerald’s brilliantly economic style.
Raw Reading is a new study group. Each month, we will read a short classic work of about 100 pages. You’ll be given suggestions for what to look out for, and questions to prompt your own responses in good time for the monthly meetings. These will be seminars in which we share our thoughts and consider key aspects of literature: themes, style, narrative techniques, interpretation and more. There will be suggestions on further reading to follow up on the set texts.
Through the course, you will exercise your powers of close reading and meet some seriously brilliant writing from different times and cultures. The classics are for everyone. Join us to take your enjoyment of literature to new levels!
Zoom 19.00-21.00 £50

Raw Dance
2026-04-14 19:30 - 20:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Do you feel that you don’t dance enough nowadays? When was the last time you danced? Really danced? Writers spend a lot of time sitting, and it’s good to counteract that with movement. Sign up for some of the best disco classics and more fun than you can handle in one hour and fifteen minutes. Go on.
Tuesday 14th April 2026
19.30-20.30
Studio One
Exeter Phoenix

Spring Poetry for All
2026-04-18 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
‘Nothing is so beautiful as spring’, said Gerard Manley Hopkins. And who could disagree? Come and join us for a celebration of spring in the words of Hopkins and his fellow poets, from medieval times to today. There will be daffodils, trees coming into leaf, April’s sweet showers, melting snow, lambs, at least one serpent, and reflections on the meaning of Easter, too. We look forward to your company for this latest reading of seasonal poems by Malcolm Hebron, a spring clean for the mind!
Pay what you can afford
£6/£8/£10

Introduction to Memoir
2026-05-01 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Fridays 14.00-15.30
Friday 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd May & 5th, 12th, 19th 26th June
Thinking about writing your memoir but unsure where to begin? Join me for an eight-week course designed to give you a strong foundation and the confidence to find your voice and get it on the page. Whether you’re full of memories or starting with a blank notebook, you’ll be guided step-by-step to shape your experiences into honest, raw writing.
Course tutor: Carla’s debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024, and her second novel, Touched, is due for publication in April 2027. In 2019, Carla did a Master’s in Creative Writing at Exeter University and loved it. She missed it so much when it was over that she decided to set up Raw Writing, to recreate all those wonderful aspects of the MA and give to others what was one of the best experiences she’d ever had. Raw Writing enables people to learn about writing, improve their writing, and be part of a writing community.

Introduction to the Novel (Saturdays)
2026-05-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Saturdays 10.30-12.00
Saturday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd May & 6th, 13th, 20th 27th June
Do you dream of writing a novel? Do you have some great ideas, but are not sure where to start? Join me on an inspirational eight-week course where we will look at character, plot, setting and dialogue. This course provides a solid foundation that will help you start writing your novel and gain confidence in finding your voice.
Course tutor: Adam Shackleton is a writer with a keen interest in developing creative talent. He holds a Master’s in Education, and read his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge. He then taught for a decade in the United Kingdom and internationally, specialising in reading and writing. Adam is currently working on a commission for a charity to write a middle-grade novel and a picture book for younger readers. He looks forward to publishing both in 2026 to coincide with the charity’s anniversary celebrations.

Write for Life
2026-05-02 14:00 - 15:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Saturdays 14.00-15.30
Saturday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd May & 6th, 13th, 20th 27th June
Let’s celebrate the power of words and have fun being creative, because when we invest in our creativity, it positively impacts every area of our lives. This course has been designed for complete beginners and for those with some experience. Come and have fun playing with words. Let’s take the pressure off and just write for pleasure! Each week, there’ll be a range of stimulating prompts and optional writing activities for you to complete in between sessions.
Course tutor: Carla’s debut novel, Fifty Minutes, was published by Hachette in May 2024, and her second novel, Touched, is due for publication in April 2027. In 2019, Carla did a Master’s in Creative Writing at Exeter University and loved it. She missed it so much when it was over that she decided to set up Raw Writing, to recreate all those wonderful aspects of the MA and give to others what was one of the best experiences she’d ever had. Raw Writing enables people to learn about writing, improve their writing, and be part of a writing community.

Introduction to the Novel (Tuesdays)
2026-05-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Tuesdays 19.00-20.30
Tuesdays 5th, 12th, 19th, 23rd May & 2nd, 9th, 18th 23rd, 30th June
Do you dream of writing a novel? Do you have some great ideas, but are not sure where to start? Join me on an inspirational eight-week course where we will look at character, plot, setting and dialogue. This course provides a solid foundation that will help you start writing your novel and gain confidence in finding your voice.
Course tutor: Adam Shackleton is a writer with a keen interest in developing creative talent. He holds a Master’s in Education, and read his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge. He then taught for a decade in the United Kingdom and internationally, specialising in reading and writing. Adam is currently working on a commission for a charity to write a middle-grade novel and a picture book for younger readers. He looks forward to publishing both in 2026 to coincide with the charity’s anniversary celebrations.

Writers Workshop (8-week Wednesday course), with Adam Shackleton
2026-05-06 | Exeter Library, Library, Castle St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3PQ, United Kingdom
Exeter Library
£285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
10.30-12 or 14:00-15:30
May 6th, 13th, 20th
June 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
July 1st

Are you looking for feedback on your writing?
Are you keen to become a more analytical reader?
Are you eager to spend time discussing your work with others; developing your writer’s toolkit alongside a group of like-minded peers?
If so, the Raw Writing Writers Workshop might be right for you! Now in its fifth iteration, the Writers Workshop has successfully helped many aspiring writers develop their writing skills in order to analyse their own work with a critical eye.
Over this eight-week course, you will have the opportunity to present your work for feedback, while also analysing the writing of your peers. Cultivating the ability to read closely the work of others and give thoughtful, considered feedback is an essential skill for any aspiring writer. On the Writers Workshop, we will help you hone this skill; bringing the strengths you take from reading the work of others to your own projects.
As part of the Writers Workshop, you will have the opportunity to share up to 2,500 words from your current writing project twice with the group.
Each time you submit, you will have 45 minutes dedicated to discussing the fundamental aspects of your submission:
•⁠ ⁠Plot,
•⁠ ⁠characterisation,
•⁠ ⁠voice,
•⁠ ⁠dialogue,
•⁠ ⁠description,
•⁠ ⁠and point-of-view.
It is frustratingly easy to allow life’s myriad wants and needs to interfere with our writing ambitions. By joining this course, we hope you will be able to gift yourself the permission to write and to read. At Raw Writing, you will be joining a team of dynamic creatives; each eager to share their story with a group of like-minded individuals.

Introduction to Shakespeare
2026-05-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Exeter Phoenix £285 (Payable in three instalments of £95. Please email carla@rawwriting.co.uk to arrange.)
Wednesday 6th, 13th, 20th May 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June, 1st July
Introduction to Shakespeare has one simple aim: to help you experience Shakespeare with confidence, understanding and above all enjoyment. Our most famous writer is available in so many forms – on stage or screen, the radio or the page – but where to start? We will discover Shakespeare through performance, by diving into scenes and speeches (and poems) and reading them aloud. We’ll look at technical terms – soliloquy, tragedy, blank verse, sonnet – but we’ll also ask bigger questions: how is this relevant today? How can Shakespeare help me with my life? Ideal for beginners, and
for those who have some experience but would like to refresh and extend their knowledge of the bard of Avon!
Course tutor: Malcolm Hebron studied English at Oxford University, where he took a doctorate in medieval studies. For thirty years he taught English literature at Winchester College, which involved teaching Shakespeare every year up to A Level. His publications include Key Concepts in Renaissance Literature, which covers the history and world of Shakespeare’s time.

Raw Reading Club (Exeter Phoenix) - Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Watched Trains
2026-05-06 14:00 - 16:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Watched Trains.
Miloš Hama is a young railroad apprentice in wartime Czechoslovakia. But he has other things on his mind besides the war – losing his virginity, gossip at the railway station… A touching and humorous portrait of a sympathetic character by a Czech master.
Raw Reading is a new study group. Each month, we will read a short classic work of about 100 pages. You’ll be given suggestions for what to look out for, and questions to prompt your own responses in good time for the monthly meetings. These will be seminars in which we share our thoughts and consider key aspects of literature: themes, style, narrative techniques, interpretation and more. There will be suggestions on further reading to follow up on the set texts.
Through the course, you will exercise your powers of close reading and meet some seriously brilliant writing from different times and cultures. The classics are for everyone. Join us to take your enjoyment of literature to new levels!
Exeter Phoenix – 14.00 -16.00 @ £50

Raw Reading Club (Zoom) - Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Watched Trains
2026-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Watched Trains.
Miloš Hama is a young railroad apprentice in wartime Czechoslovakia. But he has other things on his mind besides the war – losing his virginity, gossip at the railway station… A touching and humorous portrait of a sympathetic character by a Czech master.
Raw Reading is a new study group. Each month, we will read a short classic work of about 100 pages. You’ll be given suggestions for what to look out for, and questions to prompt your own responses in good time for the monthly meetings. These will be seminars in which we share our thoughts and consider key aspects of literature: themes, style, narrative techniques, interpretation and more. There will be suggestions on further reading to follow up on the set texts.
Through the course, you will exercise your powers of close reading and meet some seriously brilliant writing from different times and cultures. The classics are for everyone. Join us to take your enjoyment of literature to new levels!
Zoom 19.00-21.00 @ £50

Raw Dance
2026-05-19 19:30 - 20:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Do you feel that you don’t dance enough nowadays? When was the last time you danced? Really danced? Writers spend a lot of time sitting, and it’s good to counteract that with movement. Sign up for some of the best disco classics and more fun than you can handle in one hour and fifteen minutes. Go on.
Tuesday 19th May 2026
19.30-20.30
Studio One
Exeter Phoenix

Raw Reading Club (Exeter Phoenix) - Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These
2026-06-03 14:00 - 16:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These.
Keegan’s novella about the infamous Magdalen laundries and the capacity of an ordinary person for heroism is becoming a Christmas classic alongside Dickens. In a short space, we are taken to a vividly memorable world where we witness the heights and depths of human nature.
Raw Reading is a new study group. Each month, we will read a short classic work of about 100 pages. You’ll be given suggestions for what to look out for, and questions to prompt your own responses in good time for the monthly meetings. These will be seminars in which we share our thoughts and consider key aspects of literature: themes, style, narrative techniques, interpretation and more. There will be suggestions on further reading to follow up on the set texts.
Through the course, you will exercise your powers of close reading and meet some seriously brilliant writing from different times and cultures. The classics are for everyone. Join us to take your enjoyment of literature to new levels!
Exeter Phoenix – 14.00 -16.00 @ £50

Raw Reading Club (Zoom) - Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These
2026-06-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These.
Keegan’s novella about the infamous Magdalen laundries and the capacity of an ordinary person for heroism is becoming a Christmas classic alongside Dickens. In a short space, we are taken to a vividly memorable world where we witness the heights and depths of human nature.
Raw Reading is a new study group. Each month, we will read a short classic work of about 100 pages. You’ll be given suggestions for what to look out for, and questions to prompt your own responses in good time for the monthly meetings. These will be seminars in which we share our thoughts and consider key aspects of literature: themes, style, narrative techniques, interpretation and more. There will be suggestions on further reading to follow up on the set texts.
Through the course, you will exercise your powers of close reading and meet some seriously brilliant writing from different times and cultures. The classics are for everyone. Join us to take your enjoyment of literature to new levels!
Zoom – 19.00-21.00 @ £50

Raw Dance
2026-06-16 19:30 - 20:30 | Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS, United Kingdom
Do you feel that you don’t dance enough nowadays? When was the last time you danced? Really danced? Writers spend a lot of time sitting, and it’s good to counteract that with movement. Sign up for some of the best disco classics and more fun than you can handle in one hour and fifteen minutes. Go on.
Tuesday 16th June 2026
19.30-20.30
Studio One
Exeter Phoenix
