A new start for talented writers
At the Academy, students are able to develop techniques and explore their talents as novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, and non-fiction writers. Teaching is by individual tutorials and in small groups led by established writers. Leading writers visit the Academy to give masterclasses and lectures. The aim of the founders is that the Academy will become a showcase for national and international writing talent.
The Academy offers a two-year, part-time diploma course, in association with Birmingham City University. The course is run from the Perry Barr campus, and is led by the Academy's Director, novelist and non-fiction writer Richard Beard. (Click here for the latest information on this course)
To give students the best professional start, the Academy has close links with the creative industries. Editors, agents, film and TV producers, broadcasters and publishers make regular visits to the Academy to give insights into their work.
"Natural creative talent is not enough. Writers need to learn their skills and perfect their crafts. That's the task of the National Academy of Writing, to convert promise into achievement"
Jim Crace, Novelist & Academy Patron
The NAW Anthology
NAW offers all its students the opportunity to submit their work for inclusion in the annual NAW Anthology of 
New Writing. Volume 1, 'Finding a Voice', was published in June 2008; Volume 2 'Book of Numbers' was published in June 2009; both are available to purchase from all good bookshops or directly from NAW.
The NAW Diploma in Writing
The Academy offers a two-year, part-time vocation course for up to 50 students, Students work intensively with tutors and mentors, in small groups and on their own, developing skills in different disciplines across varied media, They re encouraged to develop a good awareness of the business side of begin a writer, and have opportunities to expose their work to public criticism.
