In this interactive online masterclass with Simon Garfield, bestselling author of On the Map and To the Letter, you will have the opportunity to explore the creativity that goes into writing a non-fiction book, from conceiving your ideas to getting your book onto shelves.
Ahead of the class, you will be invited to submit a short description or outline of your idea, and Simon will then tailor his teaching to provide you and your fellow attendees with unique advice for fine tuning your work and getting it in front of the right people. You will learn how to write a compelling and saleable synopsis, how to improve the architecture of your book, what the editing and production process entails, and how to secure an agent. Importantly, you will take big steps towards realising your dream of publishing your own non-fiction book.
Course Content
- A guide to the different genres within non-fiction
- The architecture of a non-fiction book: what works and what doesn’t
- The writing process: how to resolve problems when you get stuck, and when to stop writing
- How to put together a convincing submission document to send to an agent or publisher
- Writing the perfect synopsis
- What editors look for in submissions - and why
- The commercial market for non-fiction
- An opportunity to receive tailored feedback on your idea
- Q&A
This course is for ...
- Writers with all levels of experience who have an idea for a non-fiction book that they’d like to develop for production
- Writers, with some experience of publishing, who want to learn how to make their work more attractive to publishers
- Anyone with expertise, knowledge or a life experience that they’d like to transform into a work of popular non-fiction
Tutor Profile
Simon Garfield is the author of 20 books of non-fiction, including the bestsellers Mauve, Just My Type and On The Map. His study of Aids in Britain, The End of Innocence, won the Somerset Maugham Prize, while his history of correspondence, To The Letter, was one of the inspirations for the show Letters Live.
Course Details
- Date: Wednesday 8 December 2021
- Time: 10am-4pm (GMT)
10am GMT | 11am CEST | 2am PDT | 5am EDT
This masterclass is available globally. If you are joining us from outside the United Kingdom, please use this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time.
You will be sent a link to the webinar two hrs before the start time. Please email masterclasses@theguardian.com if you have not received the access link within one hour of the scheduled start time.
All Guardian Masterclasses are fully accessible but please contact us at masterclasses@theguardian.com if you have any queries or concerns.
Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website
