Out-Spoken Academy returns for 2025 with some of our most-loved tutors leading online courses, as well as an updated programme aimed at being inclusive, affordable and generative. 

If you feel you’re ready to push your writing to a new level, or if you’re keen to develop skills and enhance your technique on the page, then these sessions will be invaluable to you. 

Malika Booker and Joelle Taylor will again be leading this term’s Mini course; a four-week online programme consisting of two 2hr evening workshops and a 30 min 1-2-1 each week, where poets can present work for feedback. 

The longer, Standard six-week intensive, sees our original trio – Jack Underwood, Caroline Bird and Anthony Anaxagorou – return for for another journey through craft, discussion, close-reads, strange prompts and generative exercises, as well as developmental advice and support. This programme consists of two 2hr evening workshops a week, and the opportunity for breakout rooms where poets workshop each other’s writing, and give feedback on how poems can be improved. In addition to this poets will also receive a 30 min 1-2-1 session each week with the leading tutor. 

As usual, we’ll organise a group sharing at the end of course where every poet can share their work and we'll offer poets that chance to stay in touch via a WhatsApp group once the course is over.

Lastly, we understand the financial constraints many are currently faced with, so we have adjusted course fees accordingly and introduced the option to pay in instalments, via Klarna or PayPal Pay in 3, to help spread out costs. Hopefully this will mean more people are able to access our programmes and benefit from the sheer level of expertise, and the number of tuition hours the academy offers. 

Academy Courses – Overview

What is Out-Spoken Academy?

Offering intensive poetry courses, taught by esteemed poets, taught online in the evenings, Out-Spoken Academy is the perfect opportunity for committed poets to work closely with award-winning tutors in a focused, supportive environment and take their poetry practice to the next stage. We offer our standard Academy Course, with three tutors over six weeks, and our Academy Mini course, where you’ll be taught by two tutors over the course of four weeks. All of our courses are delivered online via Zoom, so you can join from wherever you are in the world!

At the heart of all our courses are the high level of active teaching hours you’ll receive, with multiple workshops each week and individual weekly tutorials, all delivered online. Workshop-based teaching and the high level of contact time means you'll receive plenty of feedback and have the opportunity to connect with your tutors and fellow students.

On both our standard and mini courses you’ll benefit from the varied perspectives and poetics of our tutors, and on the standard course you’ll have a dedicated weekly opportunity to share and feedback on poems in a peer-to-peer environment – in addition to the dedicated online chat space provided. Ongoing resources: at the end of the course you will take away a comprehensive pack of materials as well as password-protected access to recordings of all workshops.   

Our course tutors have tailored integrated course syllabuses to help you develop your practice from first draft to final poems. Throughout the course, tutors will rotate each week, allowing you to benefit from their individual expertise and highly acclaimed perspectives.

If you feel ready to develop your voice and craft through a period of sustained focus with some of the country’s most lauded poets and educators, then register now.

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