The new home of The Exeter Novel Prize
go to the Exeter Novel Prize page to find out more and enter the 2025 competition
WORD KITCHEN SW is now a CIC - Company number 16615451
“So good to find
my tribe at last!”
cooking up connection and community through literature and spoken word
News & Upcoming Events:
Mohammed Moussa, poet and founder of the Gaza Poets Society, will be sharing his poetry and discussing his work at BOOKBAG, Exeter on the evening of Tuesday December 2nd, 6.30pm. We would love to see you there. Mohammed is also reading work in Barnstaple on December 4th at Settle - 6pm start. Entry for that event is free but donations are encouraged.
More information on the events page.
Festive Fandango - December 15th, Exeter Phoenix: fun and games and prose and poetry! More info on events page. We are almost sold out for this - the Word Kitchen Christmas Party. We will have readings, a quiz, comical ditties and some prime sauciness from Chris White. Kev Payne, our esteemed Bard of Exeter. will also be entertaining us. Joy to the world!
THE POWER OF PLACE
We are working to create an anthology of writing about place - inspired in particular by the East Devon landscape - and working with The Oasis cafe in Sidmouth and Sidmouth College. We are also going to be issuing a call out to all and any writers who can take part in online writing sessions or simply submit work for consideration for the anthology. This project is supported by the Creative East Devon Fund.
More information on dates of workshops soon, so go exploring in East Devon and take a notebook with you!
On September 17/18 we were delighted to host the Writers’ Hub at wonderful Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival. It was brilliant to see so many of you there, and we are hugely grateful to the excellent panel members and exhibitors who enlightened, inspired and entertained us so well.
What is Word Kitchen all about?
Word Kitchen develops spoken word and other events, workshops and networks to grow connection, confidence and wellbeing through literature, story-sharing and storytelling.
“We believe that whatever your age, background and story everyone is capable of finding their voice on the page.”
Word Kitchen nurtures current and emerging writers at different stages of their writing journeys. Our aim is to create environments which allow writers to share work, support each other, connect and create. We want to attract a diverse range of writers and voices both in terms of material and backgrounds.
“By shaping and sharing our stories, we come to see ourselves as empowered authors who can change our points of view and write our future narratives. Through sharing stories we learn that we are not alone, that we belong, and in the process we not only become more human, but more humane.”
WORD KITCHEN SW is now a CIC - Company number 16615451
Exeter Phoenix
Open Mic - get in touch if you would like to read, or come and listen to some wonderful and thought-provoking prose extracts and short stories. Bookable via Word Kitchen. Next date is 18TH SEPTEMBER in Budleigh Salterton - tickets for this one via the Budleigh salterton Literary Festival site.
Exeter Library
two recent events
Creative Writing Workshop - Who Do You Think You Are?
A creative writing session playing with identity, persona and where characters come from.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable time writing on a range of prompts relating to WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? These worked equally well whether we wrote as ourselves, or as a character in something we were working on.
Author Panel - from writer to Author: insights into the publishing journey and beyond
Three outstanding debut novelists Fiona Williams (The House of Broken Bricks), Elizabeth Delo (Becoming Liz Taylor) and Orlando Murrin (Knife Skills for Beginners), all also currently working away at (or finishing) their second books were in conversation with Word Kitchen about the pleasures and pitfalls of publication and publicity. We discussed the interesting move from 'writer' to 'author’, and how the publishing ‘machine’ and the publicity and promotion that is required can be quite a challenge after the solitary hard graft of writing your novel in the first place. Huge thanks to the authors for their time and candour, and to everyone who came.
Our regular events at Brook Kitchen in Budleigh Salterton and at the Exeter Phoenix start up again in October. Please email David - sidmouthdavid@outlook.com – to book slots.
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Open Mic events at Brook Kitchen, Budleigh Salterton and Exeter Phoenix
Word Kitchen hosts one prose and one poetry event each quarter in the Brook Kitchen cafe with delicious food and drink on offer, and Prose events at Exeter Phoenix. We attract an impressive and inspirational array of writers from near and far, some reading from published novels and poetry collections, some sharing work in progress, some stepping up to the mic for the first time.
The Wonderful Exeter Library has also hosted us for workshops and author talks and events.
For all our tickets, go to WORD KITCHEN
For more information have a look at our EVENTS page up the top; to book a place to read, or get in touch: sidmouthdavid@outlook.com
Creative Writing Sessions
All of us are made of stories
Word Kitchen offers a range of one-off sessions and courses (both face-to-face and online). There we get words down on paper and, maybe, share them with each other. No writing experience is necessary, and everyone is welcome.
Pippa Marriott has taught for over thirty years, and runs creative writing workshops in schools, colleges, prisons and communities. She also writes and directs for the theatre.
“Pippa provides a supportive, non-judgmental, non-competitive environment in which to practise writing and develop skills irrespective of one’s level of experience or ability.”
“It’s the highlight of my week!”
“It lifted my spirits up and encouraged me to carry on learning new skills”
“Pippa always holds us together so lovingly and beautifully.”
Dunkeswell Youth Club Project
A series of drop-in sessions with a range of wonderfully imaginative young people in this thriving youth club.
We developed characters, we created settings and understood how important a sense of place is. We wrote dialogues. We thought about different genre. We ate pizza, and we chatted about stories and books and ones that we love and what we enjoy about reading.
