Online Writing Course

Live Zoom Masterclass: Attention Practices with Julia Bell

Online // 

24th October 2026
11am-1.30pm BST

Many of us have forgotten how to properly look, and to properly see, and slowing down and paying attention is essential for good writing. One of our best creative writing teachers, Julia Bell, will help you see better, and translate it into writing.

We are very excited to invite Julia Bell back for a one-off live Zoom masterclass in October.

Writing well is about developing the capacity to give your attention to the world but so much of modern life seems determined to make it as difficult as possible to do the serious noticing that deep and true work requires. Many thinkers and writers are beginning to notice that it is in the somatic relationship between the mind and body that some of our truest observations emerge. Pausing to notice not just the voice of the mind, but what the body is telling us too.

With help from some of our greatest philosophical thinkers and creative writers, this session will consider ways in which we can develop the muscle of our attention, and how it can be applied to our work in progress. The masterclass is designed to compliment Julia Bell’s Between the Lines series from earlier in the year, with new exercises and reading examples. 

It is also an introduction to a series of workshops Julia will be doing called The Attention Workshop, a new self-paced course, for anyone who wants to keep going. And enrolment will open at the end of this masterclass.  

To take part in this live Zoom masterclass, you will need access to the internet at the time and date shown, and be able to receive a joining link by email. This will be sent in your confirmation email alongside the reading materials. Please check your spam if you don’t receive this.
 

Tickets

This one-off workshop will be recorded for the purpose of sending to ticket holders who can’t make the event, or who miss a portion of the event, or who need the recording as part of their access needs. Ticket sales are through Ticket Tailor in collaboration with Company of Writers. The price of a ticket is £40, which includes the recording.
 
If you do not receive an invitation link, or if you have any other questions, please contact us at info@londonlitlab.co.uk

Course dates

24th October 2026
11am-1.30pm BST

Course location

This is an online course

Cost

£40

Further Info

The workshop will run with a minimum of 15 participants and a maximum of 100.  Any questions at all, please drop us a line at info@londonlitlab.co.uk and we’ll be happy to help!

About the tutor

Julia Bell is Professor of New Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, and one of the UK’s leading creative writing teachers. A novelist, essayist, and poet, she has guided hundreds of writers from first draft to publication over more than twenty-five years. Her new book, Between the Lines (Simon & Schuster, 2026) is a live-action exploration of the psychological, political, and philosophical lessons of the workshop. Her previous book Radical Attention, drew on the philosophy of Simone Weil to make the case for attention as a creative practice in a distracted world. Her memoir in verse, Hymnal, was published by Parthian in 2024. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Statesman, and The White Review, and has been broadcast on the BBC.Find her on Substack at professorbell.substack.com.
Live Zoom Masterclass: Attention Practices with Julia Bell