It has been a long year. I know I’m not alone in this sentiment. The world has gone even more bananas than it went last year, things are more expensive, and it feels like AI is about to eat up creativity and shit out monoculture bland art and writing.

In Timothy Snyder’s great book, On Tyranny, one of the first lessons is not to participate in anticipatory obedience. We don’t have to use any of the AI tools to write. We don’t have to use them to create. We do not have to buy into the idea that this makes our lives better. We don’t have to give up our flawed humanity in favour of a supposedly perfect machine.

You know what makes our lives better? Creativity. Connection. Space to reflect. (Also, coffee).

In an effort to fight against the machine, I’ll continue to host creative writing workshops in Cape Town and online in 2026. I hope to meet some of you in these warm and wonderful spaces.

Prices for workshops

• January special workshop – online only – R250.
• Online workshops – R400 each, or R1800 for all five (Feb – June)
• In-person workshops – R500 each, or R2250 for all five (Feb – June)

What you need to know about what happens at a workshop

• They are a warm and friendly space to get some writing done.
• The online workshops take place on Zoom. The in-person workshops will take place at the Athaneum in Newlands, Cape Town.
• In person workshops are limited to 12 people. Online workshops are limited to 15.
• Workshops are four hours long – 9 – 1pm (Zoom) / 9.30 – 1.30 (Cape Town).
• They are usually on a set theme.
• They include guided writing exercises, shared readings of good writing examples, and a little bit of writing craft content too.
• The other writers are absolutely wonderful, warm, and encouraging.
• You don’t have to EVER have written ANYTHING before to join. Exercises are aimed at writers of all levels.
• To sign up you just need to send me an email. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
• They are fun!

Dates and themes 2026

• 23 January (Online only!) The best of 2025. Here I’ll be sharing my five favourite writing exercises from 2025 on building character, setting scene, building emotion, writing dialogue, and writing different forms.

• 14 February (Cape Town) / 20 February (Online) – Writing love. Here we’ll talk about writing love, sex, romance, and relationships. We’ll look at the currently popular romance genres, and talk about what they entail.
• 14 March (Cape Town) / 20 March (Online) – Writing speculative. Speculative fiction is like writing about the real world, but with a twist. We’ll look at some great local examples, what people expect from the speculative, and I’ll share some tips and tricks for building a world.
• 18 April (Cape Town) / 24 April (Online) – Memoir and life writing. We’ll explore some great examples of memoir, some of the central tenets of a strong piece of life writing, and how you can use your life experiences to write fiction.
• 16 May (Cape Town) / 22 May (Online) – Writing with the senses and through the seasons. We’ll use sensory cues and the weather to nudge us towards some vivid setting, affected characters, and tense plots.
• 13 June (Cape Town) / 19 June (Online) – Writing youth. Here we’ll talk about using memory in writing exercises, capturing a child or young character’s voice, what YA is and what some of the central elements are, and I’ll share some great local examples.

How to sign up

Send me an email! jenthorpewrites@gmail.com