Schools Workshops

Students work with a historical fiction writer to explore how writers research the past and use that research to create authentic fictional and non-fictional worlds. Drawing on the facilitator’s own techniques and writing practice, students take part in practical exercises exploring how historical details, setting and context can inform a story. The workshop also introduces students to The London Library’s collection as a research resource, encouraging them to discover how books, archive material and other sources can be used to develop their own historical writing. 

The London Library’s own extensive history, archival material and connections to the Suffragette Movement, students explore the different voices and arguments surrounding the fight for women’s suffrage. The workshop uses these materials as a starting point to get students thinking about political debate, opposing perspectives and the power of language, before applying these ideas in their own creative response. 

Using The Times Room and the Library’s extensive newspaper and periodical collections as a starting point, students explore how journalism has shaped the way stories, ideas and public debates are communicated. Working with a professional journalist, students learn about their practice and take part in practical exercises exploring how to find an angle, research a story and write for an audience, before developing their own piece of journalistic writing. 

Using the Library collection and history of poets in membership, students explore poetry through themes such as identity, power, conflict, love and relationships. After reading and discussing existing poems, they experiment with voice, imagery, rhythm and structure to create and develop an original poem of their own. 

Students explore gothic literature through themes of fear, morality, atmosphere and the supernatural. Drawing on writers from the Library’s history – such as Bram Stoker, MR James, Daphne du Maurier and Angela Carter - and texts from the Library’s collection - including those Bram Stoker used to research Dracula - students investigate the techniques writers use to create tension and suspense, before developing their own piece of gothic writing. 

Written by Christopher William Hill, this is an interactive and immersive experience that takes students on a silent audio trail through The London Library. Over approximately 40 minutes, students step into the mind of a detective, following clues through the building to unravel the mystery of a stolen manuscript.

The audio experience is followed by a creative writing workshop in which students explore the techniques behind mystery and detective fiction and learn how to construct their own whodunnit, from developing clues and suspects, to building suspense and revealing the final twist. 

Based around the Art Room and the Library’s visual collections, this workshop gets students thinking about the different ways stories can take form and how images and words can work together to communicate ideas. Through practical activities such as zine-making, students explore how to select, arrange and bring together different elements to tell a story, while also considering the importance of art and visual culture within the Library. 

This workshop has been developed as a creative exchange with Gladstone’s Library, drawing on the history of William Gladstone, who was a member of The London Library. Using correspondence held across both collections, students will explore letters to Gladstone held at Gladstone’s Library and correspondence from Gladstone held at The London Library, considering how political ideas and arguments were communicated through letters. Students will then write their own ‘Dear Prime Minister’ letter, which will be exchanged with a participating school, working with Gladstone’s Library, creating a conversation between students and engaging with the two collections. 

Students work with a professional playwright to explore the craft of writing for the stage. Drawing on the work of Sir Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill and other playwrights connected to The London Library, students explore techniques including character, dialogue, dramatic structure and storytelling before developing their own piece of writing for performance. 

Facilitated by a professional theatre producer and drawing on the Library’s fascinating theatrical history, this workshop gives students a behind the scenes look at how a play goes from an idea on the page to a production on stage. Students explore the role of a producer and the different elements that have to come together to make a production happen, from casting, creative teams and design to venues, budgets, funding and marketing, before taking part in practical exercises that put them in the role of producing their own show. 

Alongside our workshop menu, we can work directly with schools to develop a bespoke creative writing session or learning session around their students, curriculum or a particular area of interest.

This could focus on fiction, poetry, character, storytelling, memoir, place, identity or another theme the school would like to explore. We can then match the group with an appropriate facilitator and identify material from the Library’s collections to help shape the workshop.