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The Writing Hub

"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but that's the only way you can do anything really good." William Faulkner

Supporting our community of writers at Oxford Brookes

The Writing Hub is a gathering point for people interested in developing writing skills at Oxford Brookes University. It encompasses staff and students, academic writers across the disciplines, present or future professional writers and those at every stage of developing their writing. The Writing Hub provides a supportive community for sharing writing development activities including writing retreats. 

Join us

To join the Writing Hub mailing list, please email writinghub@brookes.ac.uk.


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Writing retreats and communities

Write Space Writing Retreats 

The Write Space writing retreats run during the summer semester, creating a supportive, structured environment in which writers can meet a writing goal.

Whether face-to-face or online the format is the same: writers of any style and level create a sense of community containing plenty of quiet space to make progress with their writing. The group reflects together on the writing process at intervals, and there is a Centre for Academic Development tutor available for participants to talk through their work.

Dates and booking links for the summer 2026 series of virtual and in person writing retreats are available from our Think Space Research and Writing events booking page. Alternatively, if you are interested in facilitating a writing retreat yourself, we would be happy to talk this through with you and share any relevant resources. Drop us a line at writinghub@brookes.ac.uk.

Dissertation writing groups

If you’re working on your dissertation and finding it challenging, don’t suffer alone - come along to the ‘Get that Dissertation Done’ group to find inspiration, motivation and a chance to ask any questions in a safe space.

To book, please search for individual dates from our Think Space Writing and Research events booking page.

Migration and Refugees Network (MRN)

The Migration and Refugees Network (MRN) hosts a weekly hybrid (both online and in-person) writing group.

This is a friendly and informal session focused on individual writing. We plan to write together and have occasional short discussions on our progress to help motivate the group and build a supportive writing community. Staff, PhD students and early career scholars are all welcome. We aim to cultivate a community of people writing on the area of migration/refugees but people with cognate interests are welcome.

For further details of the group’s activities please contact Dr Zoe Jordan by emailing zjordan@brookes.ac.uk

Humanities and Social Sciences online research student writing retreats

These writing retreats aim to provide an intensive, but collective and supportive environment in which you can get on with some writing, whether as part of a short-term writing deadline or as part of your thesis. By the end of the session you will have dedicated time to writing in an intensive way and have met other students. You can work on anything, so long as it’s work: transcription, analysis, reading, organising your notes as well as your chosen means of writing, whether it is on a laptop or on paper. The only rule is to be silent when everyone else is!

Postgraduates and staff in HSS and from across the university are welcome. Please contact Dr Susannah Wright by emailing susannahwright@brookes.ac.uk for the Google link or with any queries.

Writing workshops for DNurs Students

These workshops are planned for professional doctorate and PhD students within HST. Each semester the workshop series will focus on different elements of writing a doctoral thesis. The workshops are all face-to-face at the Headington main campus. Please contact Dr Marion Waite by emailing mwaite@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

The Think Space

The Think Space is a programme of workshops and events offered by a range of departments across the university. It includes a wide range of activites  that focus on reasearch and writing inclusing sessions on effective reading and note-taking, understanding assignment briefs, critical reflective writing and how to use Endnote.

External writing community

Shut Up & Write! is a free, global writing community built around showing up to write. Meet up online with people from all over the world and get some writing done.

Link to Shut up and Write!

Contact us

If you are interested in writing, wish to develop your own writing or are involved in developing others’ writing, we want to hear from you. Please contact writinghub@brookes.ac.uk to get involved or join our mailing list.