Online ReadFest 2026: Write & Shine with The London Library
Start your day creatively in a morning workshop exploring voice, memory and character through guided prompts to spark fresh writing ideas.
Start your day with a burst of creativity!
Join Write & Shine, Pen to Print and the London Library for Secret Self , a 90-minute morning creative writing workshop.
Drawing inspiration from the women of the London Library, we’ll explore writers who brought women’s inner lives to the centre of their work.
Through guided prompts and exercises, we’ll experiment with voice, memory, observation and character, creating new pieces of writing inspired by their work.
Writer Gemma Seltzer, founder of Write & Shine, will lead the group through stimulating exercises designed to generate fresh ideas and unlock unexpected stories.
Write & Shine workshops take place in the early morning light – the best time to think, dream and imagine! You won’t be expected to share your writing, which offers great freedom and encourages all kinds of fascinating ideas to emerge
Click here to discover more about Write & Shine
Click here to visit The London Library’s website
If you are no longer able to attend a Pen to Print online event or have found yourself booking more than once for the same event – please use the ‘cancel my ticket’ option instead of ‘request a refund’ before the event is due. By doing so, an automatic refund will apply.
If you have any accessibility requirements, please directly get in touch with us at pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk
Booking is essential. Pen to Print and our partners reserve the right to remove participants who are found not to have booked a place for a session
We encourage all participants to keep their cameras on during the session
Pen to Print and our partners reserve the right to remove participants who are disruptive to a session
NB: May feature content that some people may find upsetting, uses language or depicts scenes reflecting attitudes that are no longer seen as acceptable
Pen to Print reserves the right to cancel, delay or postpone the event for any reason, including adverse weather conditions, an emergency situation or unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances out of its reasonable control. In such cases, the event organiser will endeavour to inform participants as quickly as is possible
Barking and Dagenham Libraries and Pen to Print are proud to present the fifteenth annual literary festival, running from Saturday 12 September to Saturday 19 September.
This year’s festival offers a vibrant mix of in‑person, online and hybrid events, celebrating the power of storytelling and the joy of reading, as part of our contribution to the National Year of Reading.
This festival is proudly supported by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and Arts Council England, funded by the UK Government.
The National Year of Reading 2026 is a UK-wide campaign designed to inspire people to make reading a regular part of their lives.
We all understand the benefits of reading and how it expands our minds, builds confidence and fuels creativity, yet fewer people are doing it. With growing distractions and limited time, reading for pleasure is declining across many groups.
This national campaign aims to change this by reconnecting reading with everyday culture. It is not about guilt or obligation, it is about showing that stories, ideas and imagination have a place in everyone’s daily life. Click here to find out more!
