Tutors /

Kamila Shamsie

Kamila Shamsie is the author of five novels: In the City by the Sea, Kartography (both shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Salt and Saffron, Broken Verses and Burnt Shadows which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and has been translated into more than 20 languages. She is a trustee of English PEN and Free Word, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She grew up in Karachi and now lives in London.

Past courses

Fiction: The Basics

Do you have lots of ideas for stories, but don't know where to start them? Learn how, and explore the basics of fiction over three days, with acclaimed novelists Kamila Shamsie and Louise Doughty. You will cover character, voice, narrative structure and much more - and come away inspired to write.

Courses that might interest you...

Getting Started: Beginners' Fiction

Three-month course with Keith Ridgway in London
Begins 1 October

This three-month course is designed for new and apprentice fiction writers seeking inspiration and guidance. Playful, serious and fun, it proposes to query what writing is and why we do it. The course's aim is to encourage a writerly atmosphere and cultivate engagement with ideas and words.

Writing A Novel

Six-month course with Richard Skinner, Joanna Briscoe in London
Begins 2 October

The comprehensive six-month novel-writing course for the serious writer – perhaps the sort of student who might consider an MA in creative writing but is unable to give up full-time work or family commitments to attend a university.

Writing A Novel

Six-month course with Esther Freud, Tim Lott in London
Begins 7 October

Kamila Shamsie

Getting Started: Beginners' Fiction

Writing A Novel

Writing A Novel

Contrast settings

Font size settings