The new home of The Exeter Novel Prize
cooking up connection and community through literature and spoken word
News & Upcoming Events
June 10th, Exeter Phoenix - Prose Open Mic. Places for readers are now filled, but we would love you to come along and meet other writers, hear their work and be inspired for next time! Lots of opportunity to chat and mingle.
On July 16th join us in the Rougemont Room at Exeter Library for a social, a book launch and a launch of the Exeter Novel Prize! It is going to be a wonderful, celebratory evening with special guests.
Please RSVP to your invitation by June 30th
See events page for more details.
Word Kitchen develops events, workshops and networks to grow connection, confidence and wellbeing through literature, story-sharing and storytelling.
“We believe that whatever your age, background and story everyone is capable of finding their voice on the page.”
Word Kitchen nurtures current and emerging writers at different stages of their writing journeys. Our aim is to create environments which allow writers to share work, support each other, connect and create. We want to attract a diverse range of writers and voices both in terms of material and backgrounds.
“By shaping and sharing our stories, we come to see ourselves as empowered authors who can change our points of view and write our future narratives. Through sharing stories we learn that we are not alone, that we belong, and in the process we not only become more human, but more humane.”
Exeter Phoenix
Open Mic - get in touch if you would like to read, or come and listen to some wonderful and thought-provoking prose extracts and short stories. Bookable via Word Kitchen. Next date is June 10th - full for readers but we would love to see you there to listen to and meet other writers.
Exeter Library
two recent events
Creative Writing Workshop - Who Do You Think You Are?
A creative writing session playing with identity, persona and where characters come from.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable time writing on a range of prompts relating to WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? These worked equally well whether we wrote as ourselves, or as a character in something we were working on.
Author Panel - from writer to Author: insights into the publishing journey and beyond
Three outstanding debut novelists Fiona Williams (The House of Broken Bricks), Elizabeth Delo (Becoming Liz Taylor) and Orlando Murrin (Knife Skills for Beginners), all also currently working away at (or finishing) their second books were in conversation with Word Kitchen about the pleasures and pitfalls of publication and publicity. We discussed the interesting move from 'writer' to 'author’, and how the publishing ‘machine’ and the publicity and promotion that is required can be quite a challenge after the solitary hard graft of writing your novel in the first place. Huge thanks to the authors for their time and candour, and to everyone who came.
Brook Kitchen
We had a splendidly bonkers evening of irreverent fun and poetic merriment with Ed Tripp and Chris White and the lovely Peter Farrie. Excellent medicine for the current state of the world, laced with plenty of eastery nonsense and good-natured fun.
Our regular events at Brook Kitchen in Budleigh Salterton start up again in May. Please email David - sidmouthdavid@outlook.com – to book slots.
All open mic events are bookable via Word Kitchen.
Open Mic events at Brook Kitchen, Budleigh Salterton and Exeter Phoenix
Word Kitchen hosts one prose and one poetry event each quarter in the Brook Kitchen cafe with delicious food and drink on offer, and Prose events at Exeter Phoenix. We attract an impressive and inspirational array of writers from near and far, some reading from published novels and poetry collections, some sharing work in progress, some stepping up to the mic for the first time.
The Wonderful Exeter Library has also hosted us for workshops and author talks and events.
For all our tickets, go to WORD KITCHEN
For more information have a look at our EVENTS page up the top; to book a place to read, or get in touch: sidmouthdavid@outlook.com
Creative Writing Sessions
All of us are made of stories
Word Kitchen offers a range of one-off sessions and courses (both face-to-face and online). There we get words down on paper and, maybe, share them with each other. No writing experience is necessary, and everyone is welcome.
Pippa Marriott has taught for over thirty years, and runs creative writing workshops in schools, colleges, prisons and communities. She also writes and directs for the theatre.
“Pippa provides a supportive, non-judgmental, non-competitive environment in which to practise writing and develop skills irrespective of one’s level of experience or ability.”
“It’s the highlight of my week!”
“It lifted my spirits up and encouraged me to carry on learning new skills”
“Pippa always holds us together so lovingly and beautifully.”
Dunkeswell Youth Club Project
A series of drop-in sessions with a range of wonderfully imaginative young people in this thriving youth club.
We developed characters, we created settings and understood how important a sense of place is. We wrote dialogues. We thought about different genre. We ate pizza, and we chatted about stories and books and ones that we love and what we enjoy about reading.
