About us

Write to Think was born from a shared conviction that the unique power of the creative writing workshop could have a positive effect on the workplace.

Our lead facilitators, Jean McNeil and Julia Bell, have seen the profound personal and professional benefits of these methods over decades of teaching creative writing at the highest level – and as writers themselves. Suzy Lucas’s career has been dedicated to writing, on the publishing side; and having programmed an innovative series of workshops for therapists, she had witnessed the real magic that can happen when a group of professionals, working toward a common goal, come together to write in an expertly facilitated space.

It’s often said that people write in order to work out what they think – in our years working with writing and writers we’ve also seen the surprise and pleasure that can result from the process: the naturalness of thought, expression and connection that surfaces when people are given the time and space to be spontaneous through writing. This is what we seek to recreate in our workshops, which more than anything else bring participants together: by encouraging people to listen to and develop their own voices, confidence in relating to others grows – which enables new kinds of thinking, learning, problem-solving and being.

Suzy Lucas

Founder, Director

Suzy has over thirty years’ experience working with writers and writing. After several years at Bloomsbury Publishing, she became a book scout, representing clients across Europe and the US. She was the co-creator and Director of The Folio Prize (now known as The Writers’ Prize) for which she remains a trustee. She was an advisor to Confer, a company that provides educational events related to psychotherapy, on setting up a books division (shortlisted for the IPG’s Best Newcomer Award in 2021) and programming workshops that connect writing and issues related to mental health.

Jean McNeil

Founder, Lead Facilitator

Jean is Professor and director of the creative writing programme at the University of East Anglia. She is the author of 15 published books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry which between them have won several international awards. She has taught creative writing in Antarctica, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

Julia Bell

Founder, Lead Facilitator

Julia is Professor of New Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. She has published widely across poetry, non-fiction and fiction, and is the author of three novels. Her essays and short stories have been published in The Times Literary Supplement, The New Statesman, The Paris Review and Prospect as well as broadcast on the BBC.