Between the Lines
Life Lessons from the Creative Writing Workshop
Published on 7. May 2026
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-3985-4663-9 (ISBN)
Description
'I loved it' KIT DE WAAL, author of The Best of Everything
'Generous, intelligent, full of wisdom and insight' LILY DUNN, author of Sins of My Father
*
A transformative guide to creative writing and the power of paying attention.
The way we use language to tell stories reveals a lot about who we are and what matters to us. In Between the Lines, Julia Bell draws on almost thirty years of teaching to take us inside the writing workshop, where students from all over the world meet to share and discuss their work. She finds that in this space a kind of alchemy occurs, where paying real attention to one another and what we have to say - the ultimate challenge in our atomised, 'always-on' society - becomes a profound emotional education.
Weaving philosophy, psychology and politics together with stories from the workshop, and featuring wise, practical advice on how to go about writing, this generous and thought-provoking book is about the transformative practice of noticing and slowing down. It shows how bad writing teaches us good things, how creativity helps us to see and be seen, and how reading and writing together fosters connection, tolerance, more expansive ways of thinking, richer access to language, new perspectives - and a better understanding of ourselves and others.
*
'What appears to be a guide to creative writing is actually a brilliant manual for how to exist in groups, to handle painful material, to grow together. Could anything be more necessary or inspiring?' Olivia Laing, author of The Garden Against Time
'Generous, intelligent, full of wisdom and insight' LILY DUNN, author of Sins of My Father
*
A transformative guide to creative writing and the power of paying attention.
The way we use language to tell stories reveals a lot about who we are and what matters to us. In Between the Lines, Julia Bell draws on almost thirty years of teaching to take us inside the writing workshop, where students from all over the world meet to share and discuss their work. She finds that in this space a kind of alchemy occurs, where paying real attention to one another and what we have to say - the ultimate challenge in our atomised, 'always-on' society - becomes a profound emotional education.
Weaving philosophy, psychology and politics together with stories from the workshop, and featuring wise, practical advice on how to go about writing, this generous and thought-provoking book is about the transformative practice of noticing and slowing down. It shows how bad writing teaches us good things, how creativity helps us to see and be seen, and how reading and writing together fosters connection, tolerance, more expansive ways of thinking, richer access to language, new perspectives - and a better understanding of ourselves and others.
*
'What appears to be a guide to creative writing is actually a brilliant manual for how to exist in groups, to handle painful material, to grow together. Could anything be more necessary or inspiring?' Olivia Laing, author of The Garden Against Time
Reviews / Votes
'Julia Bell has an extraordinary capacity to open up difficult subjects, to illuminate and unknot. What appears to be a guide to creative writing is actually a brilliant manual for how to exist in groups, to handle painful material, to grow together. Could anything be more necessary or inspiring?' -- Olivia Laing 'That most marvellous of things, a brilliant book that is both accessible and deep, funny and serious, informative without being patronising and a joy to read. For writers, readers, thinkers and teachers, for everyone interested in group dynamics and getting the best out of people, for all of us trying to be better, here's the book you've been waiting for. I loved it' -- Kit de Waal 'Warm and wise, Between the Lines is a joy to read on the transformative power of storytelling and the way a writing class can help writers to find and refine their stories. Via illuminating workshops on various aspects of the writer's craft, the book explores how each writer can find their way to uncovering the stories they need to tell. Wide ranging and hearfelt, it contains practical suggestions and deep and generous advice into improving creative writing skills as well as sharp insights into how the world we live in affects our creativity and shapes our imagination'-- Tina Jackson, Editor, <i>Writing Magazine</i> 'Between the Lines is about so much more than writing craft. It is a meditation on how we live now, and the impact technology has on our creative lives. It is generous, intelligent, full of wisdom and insight. An essential guide for anyone interested in writing, but also living a self reflective life. A book that everyone should have on their bookshelf' -- Lily Dunn 'Very moving, comically delicious, and absolutely compelling. Every learner and teacher of creative writing should read Between the Lines. . . it is destined to be a classic' -- Horatio Clare
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 221 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3985-4663-9 (9781398546639)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2026
Simon + Schuster LLC
€12.89
Available for download
Person
Julia Bell is a Reader in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of three novels, a poetry collection and the acclaimed essay Radical Attention (Peninsula Press), and her work has been published in the TLS, the New Statesman, The Paris Review, and Prospect, as well as broadcast on the BBC. She has given talks and workshops across the UK and internationally for the British Council.