Writing Pain with Caroline Druitt

Book tickets

Date

Saturday 28 March 2026

Time

2:00pm - 3:30pm

Costs

£3

Location

Deptford Lounge, Room 1

Please email for any further access needs here

A gentle creative writing workshop using Deptford’s landscapes and literature to explore pain through imagination, metaphor, mapping and shared reflection.

This 90-minute workshop invites participants to explore experiences of pain through creative writing, drawing inspiration from Deptford’s waterways, docks and shifting landscapes. Using metaphor, place-based exercises and guided mapping prompts, we will consider how tenderness, memory and sensation can be charted onto both the city and the body, reflecting how pain leaves its own traces and routes.

We will explore pain thematically: as character or creature, animating sensations through personification; as landscape, using rivers, mudflats, markets and bridges as metaphors; and through diagnostics and healing, experimenting with form, fragmentation and instruction. The session will be guided by excerpts from writers connected to Deptford alongside contemporary texts, providing inspiration and creative approaches.

Open to all writing levels, the workshop offers a gentle, supportive space to transform challenging experiences into imaginative possibilities, nurturing reflection, curiosity and connection through writing.

If you require BSL interpretation, please book a ticket by Friday 6 March, and request BSL interpretation as you book.

About Deptford Literature Festival

Deptford Literature Festival takes place each March and celebrates the diversity and creativity of Deptford and Lewisham through words, stories and performance. It is run by London Writers Centre in a collaboration with independent producer Tom MacAndrew, with support from the Albany, Deptford Lounge and Lewisham Libraries. The festival is part of our campaign to make Lewisham the UK’s first Borough of Literature. You can find out more about Deptford Literature Festival and see the full festival programme at: deptfordlitfest.com

Book Tickets

Artists

Caroline Druitt

Caroline Druitt

Caroline Druitt is an award-winning writer and experienced facilitator. Her poems have been widely published, including in The North, Lucent Dreaming, And Other Poems and The Alchemy Spoon. She has been longlisted for the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry, shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award, and commended in the National Poetry Competition. She is a 2025–26 London Library Emerging Writer, currently working on an experimental hybrid memoir about chronic illness.

FAQs

How much will events cost?

This year, the festival is running with limited public or charitable support. We have brought in a ticket price of £3 for the majority of the events to help cover some of the festival costs.
Will there be free tickets available for parents and carers?

Yes.

Children’s and family events are free for parents, guardians and carers. Tickets must be purchased for children. Parents, guardians carers must stay with their child/ children during the event.

Carers can attend for free. When booking your ticket, you can add a free carers ticket to your basket.
Are there any free events in the programme?

Six of the festival events are free to attend: Lewisham Libraries Celebrates Local Writers (Saturday 21 March), The Goldsmiths Prize Presents: Kate Briggs In Conversation (Wednesday 25 March), Poetry in the Library (Thursday 26 March) and on the festival day – Saturday 28 March: Lewisham Writers’ Link Up, Lewisham Writes: Writing the Seasons, and CRIPtic x London Writers Centre Salon.
How can I get assistance with booking a ticket?

If you are experiencing any issues with making a booking, please contact: [email protected]
Can I cancel my ticket if I can no longer attend?

Yes.

As far as possible, by booking a ticket we ask that you commit to attending, as places for in-person events are limited. If you can no longer attend, please cancel your ticket so someone else can come along. Refunds on paid for tickets will be given up to Tuesday 24 March 2026.

You can manage your ticket/s by clicking on the ‘manage tickets’ link at the end of your booking confirmation email.

Read the festival’s cancellation and refunds policy: londonwriterscentre.org.uk/deptford-literature-festival-2026-refunds-and-cancellations/

Access

Will all events have BSL?

Three of our in-person events on the festival day (Saturday 28 March) will have BSL Interpretation in-place for audiences that require it: South London in Fiction; Mother Tongue: Poetry, Family and Inheritance; and Navigating Culture: Black Male Writers on Britain Today.

BSL interpretation is available on request for all other festival day (Saturday 28 March) events. If you require this, please book a ticket by Friday 6 March, and request BSL interpretation as you book. We will then arrange for this to be put in place.
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?

All festival venues are wheelchair accessible, with accessible toilets.

The festival hub on Saturday 28 March, Deptford Lounge, has Changing Place facilities, an induction loop and assistance dogs are welcome. For more information: deptfordlounge.org.uk/access
Is there a break out space?

Yes.

A quiet space is available on Saturday 28 March at Deptford Lounge, in the Music Room, on the first floor.
How do I request specific access provision?

If you require additional access provision in order to attend or take part in the festival, for example, larger print handouts at workshops, or a scribe, please get in touch before the festival day at: festival@londonwriterscentre.org.uk

For more information about the access provision available, please visit: londonwriterscentre.org.uk/news/access-at-deptford-literature-festival/
Will there be access assistance on the day of the festival?

Yes.

If you require assistance on the festival day itself, Saturday 28 March, please come to the Festival Hub in the foyer of Deptford Lounge where we will be happy to help you.

Support Deptford Literature Festival

Deptford Literature Festival celebrates local talent and introduces exciting new writers from Lewisham and nearby boroughs. We want to be able to continue to offer our workshops, readings, events and community projects at a low cost. We do not want finances to be a barrier to anyone taking part. If you are in a position to make a donation, please give a gift today. Anything you give will help more people come to future festivals.

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