How to write and publish a book about food

Learn how to capture the culinary world in words, and get your ideas into print

From the rock 'n' roll thrills of Kitchen Confidential to the investigative rigour of Shopped, the food industry is fertile territory for writers. Whether it's a restaurant or a regional cuisine, the culinary world provides creative writers with an almost limitless scope for writing about the way food's origins, ingredients and production can affect people, places, cultures, hearts and minds.

If there's a foodie story you're bursting to tell, or you're a food writer with long-form ambitions, you won't want to miss this illuminating class from award-winning writer and journalist Andrew Webb, author of the widely lauded Food Britannia. This broad-ranging course covers all angles of food writing, from how to research your subject to amass world-class knowledge, to tips for translating your expertise into sparkling prose that hooks readers. The course also covers how to get your work into print – either via self-publishing or by pitching to an established imprint – with a guest talk from a specialist publisher to provide a realistic picture of your options.

This course is for you if...

• You're a food writer with a great idea for a book, or who wants to get to grips with long-form storytelling
• You're a food blogger who wants to tell a story too ambitious for your current format
• You run a small food business and want to convert your experience and expertise into a permanent document
• You're a foodie who wants to indulge a personal passion for writing

Course description

This theoretical course covers the mechanics of planning and writing a narrative work about food, plus the best ways to to get your work published, using case studies to illustrate best practice. Topics covered on the evening include:

• The realities of being a food writer
• Researching your subject
• Finding your voice, tone and personal style
• Where and how to publish your work: online, self-publishing and major publishers
• How publishing works: with insights from a working publisher
• The tech, apps and software that make food writing easier
• Case studies of great successes and heroic failures

PLEASE NOTE: this course deals with long-form non-fiction and thus is not suitable for anyone writing a recipe book.

Tutor profile

Andrew Webb is an award-winning food writer and journalist. His previous books include Food Britannia (winner of the Guild of Food Writers award) and The Men's Pie Manual. As well as writing for the FT and Delicious magazine, Andrew has presented episodes of The Food Programme on Radio 4 on subjects as diverse as onions, food on a pension, and the future of the cookbook. His TV work includes being interviewed about historical pies by Heston Blumenthal, and judging comfort food for UKTV's Perfect series. For more information see Andrew's website.

Guest speaker profile

Liz Gooster is an experienced and accomplished publisher. Starting out and progressing through several roles at Hodder, she then worked at Routledge before moving to market-leading education company Pearson in 2005 to be publisher of the Financial Times Prentice Hall professional business list. Her most recent in-house role was as editor-at-large at independent publisher Kogan Page. Liz now has a flourishing portfolio career as a member of The Alliance coaching partnership; tutor and faculty member of leading coach training provider Meyler Campbell, and publishing consultant to selected business authors. Find out more about Liz on her website.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website