9th - 14th August 2025
The Writers' Summer School has been captivating audiences for over 75 years.
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Believed to be the longest running residential writers' school in the world, the magic of 'Swanwick' is legendary.
For one spell-binding week every August, over 200 published and unpublished writers across all genres gather to renew old friendships and to forge new ones.
Many travel vast distances from around the UK
and abroad just to be there.
For them, the whole week is a non-negotiable date in their writing year, a chance to talk shop, swap success stories, and hopefully learn a thing or two. The countdown is underway...
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We look forward to welcoming you to the Writers' Summer School!
More About Our School
OUR STORY
The first annual Writers’ Circle Summer School was held in 1949, born from a suggestion by Cecil Hunt, who was Chair of the London Writers' Circle. His original idea was to bring all the UK based writers' circles together to meet, thus enabling writers to share their passion and enthusiasm for the craft of writing. He formed a committee of five and they agreed to create a week-long residential school the following year. The committee chose The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, as the preferred location and it has been our annual venue since then.
In 1952 the name was changed to the Writers’ Summer School, but is often affectionately known, especially to past delegates, as simply, ‘Swanwick’.
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The initial programme had external guest speakers, but the members themselves ran the courses, workshops and discussions and to this day, many members still attend the school and run courses and workshops.
The programme has grown considerably over the years and is now packed with a comprehensive learning and entertainment schedule. Many delegates contribute their success to attending the Swanwick Writers' Summer School from starting out to becoming well-published authors.
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The Writers' Summer School is now a Registered Charity (No.1168531) and run on a not-for-profit basis. We strive to uphold the original ethos of the School which means that our tutors and delegates gather together to share knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for the craft of writing, giving support to others on their writing journeys and forming lasting friendships with other writers.
