Creative writing workshop with David Baddiel

David Baddiel, the 2023-24 Visiting Professor of Creative Media, led a creative writing workshop with Oxford University English students on June 11th, 2024. The thirteen students featured aspiring novelists and playwrights, a forthcoming author, and first-time prose writers and poets. Who could been better suited to lead this multidisciplinary workshop than Professor Baddiel, who seemingly has done it all – penning four novels, published children’s literature, led radio shows, directed and starred in sitcoms of his own invention, and brought a kindness and intensity to each and every writer’s work?

Over the course of two and a half hours, each writer received the spotlight for ten minutes. At first, the writer read a passage of their own choosing to the group. Professor Baddiel then gave his praise and criticisms before turning over conversation on the piece to the wider group. Some pieces were praised for various reasons. Stories beckoned comparison with The New Yorker. One play’s ending made Saltburn’s tragedy seem like a happy-forever-after fairy tale romance. But the range of pieces does not end simply with well-known works of literature. There were experimental works, such as a stream-of-consciousness flash fiction about walking through crowded streets in a city, and also a stirring meditation on race in the Scottish school system.

Perhaps the only place where Professor Baddiel’s enthusiasm for writing was more on display than in his class was after his class when he stayed behind to continue the conversation with students. He brought a genuine warmth that made everyone feel open and excited to share the things that they found interesting in writing literature. On behalf of the class, I want to extend my gratitude and thanks for taking the time to conduct an exciting workshop, where we not only learned by Professor Baddiel’s example but also had the ability to connect with each other. Us writers spend a lot of time with our craft, so it is always a gift to meet with another person who finds our work interesting.

Griffin Gudaitis is an MPhil candidate in English Studies (Medieval Period). He is the Publishing Director at Oxford Writers’ House, and his story, “Burning,” was shortlisted for the 2024 Oxford-BNU Creative Writing Award.