Who We Are

London Lit Lab was created by Lily Dunn and Zoe Gilbert.

We believe writers can learn a huge amount from each other. We set up London Lit Lab to share our writerly experience, knowledge and inspiration with up-and-coming writers. Since 2016, we have been designing and teaching our own London Lit Lab courses, and mentoring writers of both fiction and non-fiction. We also teach creative writing courses at other organisations including the British Library, Riba, Mslexia, Arvon Foundation, St Mungo’s, Bath Spa and Birkbeck universities, Writers & Artists and Google.

Lily Dunn

Dr Lily Dunn is an author, mentor and academic. Her debut nonfiction, Sins of My Father: A Daughter, A Cult, A Wild Unravelling, a memoir about the legacy of her father’s addictions (W&N) was The Guardian Best Nonfiction Book, 2022. You can find her personal essays in Granta, Hinterland, MIR Online, The Real Story and Litro, and she is a regular writer for Aeon. She is co-editor of A Wild and Precious Life (Unbound, 2021). She teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University and co-runs London Lit Lab, and has a doctorate in creative writing, specialising in the therapeutic power of memoir. 

‘Lily’s memoir course was first rate. I’ve attended other courses, but this has been by far the best!’ Eva

‘Lily has helped me uncover an unstoppable and undeniable urge to navigate and plot a course through my memories.’ Mia

‘Lily Dunn was exceptional. She knows her material well and delivered it confidently and in accessible chunks to a diverse group of writers and learners. I would do a continuation of this course if one were to be made available.’ James

‘I would like to thank Lily for being such a wonderful giving person and tutor. I really felt that she held the space well for the participants, which is so important considering the nature of the course. Lily was brilliant.’ Denise

‘The experience of forming new ideas through Lily’s mentoring enabled me to find my real, true voice. I have now finally found exactly the right agent for the book, and the mentoring relationship is triggering unexpected opportunities, as Lily and I are finding new ways to work together, which feels wonderful.’ Carole

Zoe Gilbert

Zoe Gilbert is an author, creative writing teacher and mentor specialising in short and long form fiction. Her first novel, Folk (Bloomsbury, 2018), was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and adapted for BBC radio. Her second, Mischief Acts (Bloomsbury, 2022), was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. Both draw on the folklore and landscape of Britian to create alternative worlds. Her stories have been published in anthologies and journals around the world, been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and have won prizes including the Costa Short Story Award. She is a writer and presenter on nature podcast As The Season Turns, shortlisted for the British Podcast Awards 2023, and she has written a libretto based on Folk, with the resulting song cycle receiving its world premiere in 2024. She has many years’ experience in mentoring writers, and is co-director of London Lit Lab.

“Zoe consistently offers excellent insights and points to consider that never fail to strengthen my work and help me see problems I’ve hitherto been blind to. Her sensitivity and positive approach ensure the critique group is always supportive and the advice constructive.” – Kerry

“Zoe has an enviable ability to get to the true heart of your work and tease out what the reader wants to see, hear and experience.” – Ali

“Before I started coming to Zoe’s critique group, I doubted my ability to write short stories. But in large measure thanks to Zoe’s thoughtful, supportive and perceptive suggestions and edits, I’ve now had two stories published in anthologies.” – Sharon

Ruby Cowling

Ruby Cowling has been writing, studying, teaching and continuously imbibing short fiction for over a decade. She regularly reads for international and UK competitions; her own short fiction has been published in over 40 journals and anthologies and has won awards including The White Review Short Story Prize, the London Short Story Prize and the Edge Hill Readers’ Prize. Her collection This Paradise (Boiler House Press, 2019) was longlisted for the 2020 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and shortlisted for the 2020 Edge Hill Prize. She is an Arvon tutor and was formerly Managing Editor of Short Fiction journal. She is passionate about the short story form and keen to unlock its joys for as many other writers as possible.

“I really feel Ruby ‘got’ my story, and had read it carefully. What was also very helpful and encouraging was to be told what worked about it as well as what I could do to improve it. A very sensitive and incisive reading.“

“Great tutor, really engaging – lots of new ideas!“

Anna Freeman

Anna Freeman is a novelist, the host of BBC Radio 4’s programme Sketches: Stories of Art and People, an associate creative writing lecturer at Bath Spa University, and a producer of literary events. Her first novel, The Fair Fight (W&N), is set within the world of female prize-fighters in 18th century Bristol. It won The Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize 2013, was optioned by the BBC. Her new novel, Five Days of Fog (W&N), follows the last days of a crumbling female gang in 1950s London, during the great smog.

‘Cracking… packs a punch’ – Sunday Express

‘A hearty recommendation for Anna Freeman’ – Guardian Books

‘Wonderfully imagined… a brilliant debut’ – The Times

Ennis Welbourne​​

Ennis Welbourne (they/them) is a marginalised writer developing online spaces for writers under the banner Access Narrative. They use their lived experience to design accessible community for those who are neurodivergent, disabled, poor and who have experienced trauma. Ennis is drawn to experimental storytelling in both fiction and nonfiction. You can find their illustrated memoir Problem Behaviour on Substack and Instagram. They are a Bath Spa creative writing graduate and work part-time for London Lit Lab as Assistant Editor.

“This group has been a huge part of my development as a writer. It has cultivated a safe space in which for me to grow, connect and lay the foundation of a regular writing practice. As well as encourage me to be in community with people of similar and intersecting identities and experiences to my own.

“I have found it incredibly grounding and inspiring each week to meet with trans (and disabled) writers of all ages and practices and backgrounds to reflect on our positionality and place in the writing world as well as in our own lives. I think the trans writers group is revolutionary in instigating a space for community care, self-development and uplifting the voices of marginalised writers in a real way.”

Tania Hershman

Tania Hershman’s second poetry collection, Still Life With Octopus, was published by Nine Arches Press in July 2022 and her debut hybrid novel, Go On, a “fictional-memoir-in-collage”, was published by Broken Sleep Books in Nov 2022. Tania is editor of Fuel: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Flash Fictions Raising Funds to Fight Fuel Poverty (Feb 2023). Her poetry pamphlet, How High Did She Fly, was joint winner of Live Canon’s 2019 Poetry Pamphlet Competition and her hybrid particle-physics-inspired book ‘and what if we were all allowed to disappear’ was published by Guillemot Press in March 2020. Tania is also the author of a poetry collection, a poetry chapbook and three short story collections, and co-author of Writing Short Stories: A Writers’ & Artists’ Companion (Bloomsbury, 2014). Tania has a PhD in creative writing inspired by particle physics and is currently working on an Arts-Council-DYCP-funded hybrid pamphlet inspired by the collision of neuroscience and non-human characters from Star Trek. www.taniahershman.com

‘Tania Hershman is such a generous, bright tutor and writer.’

‘The course unlocked something and freed me in many ways. The support you’ve given me – emotional and practical – was dearly needed and much appreciated!‘

Andrew Kauffmann

Andrew Kaye Kauffmann is a coach, a writer and a teacher of creative writing. The Centre for Mental Health’s 2023-24 Writer in Residence, he is currently writing on topics such as trans and non-binary adults’ mental health and wellbeing, and sex and mental health. He has completed a CPD-accredited introduction to Therapeutic and Reflective Writing with The Professional Writing Academy, and works with narrative tools to help his coaching clients cope with life transitions. He facilitates courses for Out on the Page and The Write Salon on writing from life and writing challenging material. He was shortlisted in 2022 for The Literary Consultancy’s Pen Factor award. He was a winner of the 2021 Spread the Word and Scribe UK competition for works of narrative non-fiction and in 2020 he was a winner of The Literary Consultancy’s LGBT+ Free Reads competition. A freelance journalist, his articles have been published by HuffPost UK, most recently a piece on the Mpox virus and how it has affected the LGBTQ+ community. Here is his LinkedIn and Website.

“…I thought Our Queer Stories was a really perfect introduction into the world of queer writing. it felt like everyone was eager and engaged with the material, and there wasn’t any pressure to produce… my best story ever, just some good encouragement that I could at some point.”
 
“I got so much out of (the) Queer Storytelling course, I’m so grateful! I often consult my notes from it and get creative ideas, or conceive of new approaches… It was a stunning workshop and freed me up in a short story I was having problems writing, and also freed me with some poetry, in finally acknowledging my fluidity.”

Katie Watson

For nearly a decade, Katie has worked in the charitable sector with vulnerable and disadvantaged adults. In 2017, she was awarded a scholarship to train as a trauma-informed writing guide for Write Your Self, a global writing movement aimed at supporting women to reclaim their stories after experiencing trauma. She is the first guide based in the UK to be trained in the methodology. Katie is also a published writer, and in 2017, she was runner-up in Mslexia’s prestigious women’s poetry competition. She is also a qualified teacher and psychotherapist, and currently works with LGBTQ+ clients. She has also served on the board of trustees for Manchester Rape Crisis for the past 5 years.  Find out more about Katie here.

“The course was well structured and paced. The flow week to week was amazing – like a scaffolding system where ideas interconnect and support each other. I particularly valued the focus on practice rather than output. I really appreciated the step by step approach, the clear introduction, the workbooks given in advance, and your open, gentle and responsive approach to us all.”

 

“I found the course overall to be fantastic. The content was dynamic, interesting and thought provoking. I anticipate that I will be using the learning materials for future reference. I found the structure to be accessible and manageable. I thought the format was consistent which was great and I appreciated the variation between taught material, space for us as a group and breakout rooms.”

 

“I particularly appreciated the discussion of how trauma can impact mind and body and the exercises where we considered the positive factors that contribute to our writing space. These enabled me to understand how trauma had had such a negative impact on my writing   practice and health. I have since been able to write in my reflective journal again.”

Robin Mukherjee

Robin Mukherjee has contributed extensively to television drama, both returning series (The Bill, Eastenders, Casualty, Medics, etc.) and serials (including Grushko with Brian Cox and Andy Serkis, and Plastic Man with John Thaw and Frances Barber). He has also written for radio and theatre. His most recent film, Lore, was critically acclaimed worldwide, winning Best Adapted Screenplay at the Australian Writers Guild Awards, the Public Prize at Locarno, and many others. It was Australia’s official entry to the Oscars. His original three part serial, Combat Kids, for CBBC/BBC1 was nominated for a BAFTA. Recent work includes Hetty Feather for CBBC, and Judge Dee for Endemol. He is currently adapting Paul Scott’s (Booker Prize winning) novel Staying On for cinema, supported by the BFI. His book, The Art of Screenplays – A Writer’s Guide, is published by Kamera Press, and his novel, Hillstation, by Oldcastle Books. He teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University, and is an associate tutor at London Lit Lab.

Julia Bell

Julia Bell is a writer and Reader in Creative Writing at Birkbeck where she is the Course Director of the MA Creative Writing. Her work includes poetry, essays and short stories published in the Paris Review, Times Literary Supplement, The White Review, Mal Journal, Comma Press, and recorded for the BBC. Her most recent book-length essay Radical Attention was published by Peninsula Press. Her website is Here.

Laurence Guy

Laurence is a writer for screen & stage and is a graduate of the MA in Scriptwriting at Bath Spa University (with distinction). His play, ZORIC, was longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize in 2022, as well as gaining praise from the National Theatre and the Royal Court. Laurence’s script TRANSLATIONS was produced and directed by Keith Kopp as a low budget feature film, gaining a limited theatrical release in June 2023.  Reviews of TRANSLATION have described it as: “empathetically tender… surprising, warm, intriguing and hopeful.”  The film won Best Screenplay, Audience Favourite Film and Best Lead Actress at the Riverside International Film Festival 2023. He has recently written a thriller called ‘UNSEEN’ that is in further development. As a long term collaborator with Keith Kopp, together they have produced a series of short films that have played at festivals around the world as well as on Sky in the UK, cable in the USA and streaming channels worldwide, including Amazon Prime. Outside of film, Laurence was part of a team that set up a thriving community farm outside of Bristol, and he has toured and recorded with several bands in the UK and Europe. Laurence is represented by Steven Russell at Collective Talent.

“I came to Laurence with a script that was tied up in knots and he immediately identified the issues that were holding it back. His incisive, supportive feedback enabled me to bring what mattered about the story into focus and let my writing shine.” Jo.

“Laurence was a fantastic tutor; friendly, knowledgeable and full of useful advice. I would recommend him to anyone wanting to learn.” Emma

Kylie Fitzpatrick

Kylie Fitzpatrick has Masters and Doctoral degrees in Creative Writing and has lectured for nine years on the world-leading Creative Writing program at Bath Spa University. She has worked in script development for the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Commission and Beyond Productions, in Europe, the U.S. and Australia. Kylie is passionate about supporting emerging voices and has worked with published and unpublished authors across genres, literary and mainstream: YA; historical; genre fiction, non-fiction and memoir. Her four historical novels are published in eleven languages. Her books are: Tapestry, The Secret of the Ninth Stone, The Silver Thread, Women of the Round Table. You can find out more about Kylie here.

​“It’s a lucky writer who falls into the hands of Kylie Fitzpatrick. Astute, capable, experienced and with a fantastic intuition for drawing out the soul of a manuscript, Kylie is able – with great gentleness – to guide you in the right direction.”

“Kylie is an extremely wise and encouraging mentor. She brings her considerable experience of writing and the publishing world to her feedback, which is subtle and sure-footed, but always sensitively delivered. She’s exactly the person you want on your team.”

Stephanie Carty

Stephanie Carty is a writer, NHS Consultant Clinical Psychologist and trainer in Gloucestershire, UK. Her short fiction is widely published. She has been shortlisted for many competitions including the Bristol Short Story Prize, Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and Bridport Prize and won prizes in competitions including Bath Flash Fiction Award and Bath Short Story Award. She has judged flash fiction and Novella-in-Flash competitions. She has taught face-to-face classes and online courses to writers for the last four years and has a post-graduate qualification in higher and professional education. Her novella-in-flash Three Sisters of Stone won Best Novella in the Saboteur Awards. Her writers’ craft book Inside Fictional Minds: Tips from Psychology for Creating Characters was published in 2021. Her short fiction collection The Peculiarities of Yearning will be published in Spring 2022. Find out more on her website.

 

Tom Conaghan

Tom Conaghan is the founder and publisher at Scratch Books. He is also editor at Lolli Editions, commissioning editor at The Word Factory, fiction editor at Bandit Fiction Literary Journal as well as editor at a boutique West London Literary Agency.

He is an experienced editor of a variety of work: from short stories, to experimental and genre-breaking literary fiction, through to a range of commercial projects. In his publishing of the Reverse Engineering anthologies, he shares his passion for the inspiration and dedication behind the best recent fiction.