A Writer's Guide to Coventry

Central Library is the main branch of a city service that operates from 17 locations, and its local history collection covers Coventry and its people. The Central Writers Hub meets here every other Saturday. The library also holds monthly poetry workshops. Groups can hire two meeting rooms on the main floor, the larger seating 28, or the small Meeting Pod upstairs.

Earlsdon is a community-led library with free wifi, computers, and printing and scanning. It stays open late on Mondays and closes on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The city's records here begin in 1182, with the Charter of Incorporation and medieval manuscripts among them, and the shelves also hold local newspapers and maps, with building plans among the highlights. Motoring and cycling historians can use an automotive collection of publications. Original documents are read in the Research Room by appointment, Tuesday to Friday, while the Reading Room takes drop-ins Wednesday to Friday. Bring pencils only.

Members of the public can apply for external membership, but the online form has to be completed before the first visit. The library holds rare books and special collections, and the Modern Records Centre is inside the building. The helpdesk is staffed daily.

Kenilworth Books is an independent shop about five miles south of Coventry city centre. It stocks signed and illustrated books and can order any title for collection the next day. There is a book club, and the shop hosts readings and signings.

The Spicy Librarian bills itself as Europe's biggest independent romance bookshop. Its stock runs from romantasy to contemporary romance, with special editions on the shelves. There is a coffee bar by day and a cocktail bar at night. Book clubs meet in the shop each month, and it holds author signings.

Astley Book Farm, about seven miles north of the city, keeps around 100,000 books, antiquarian, rare and out-of-print titles among them. Look for the Children's Hayloft and the Ten Bob Barn of bargains. The farm closes on Mondays except bank holidays.

Kelvin Hunt founded this family-run shop in Rugby more than 30 years ago. Alongside new, second-hand and rare books it sells maps, and the sheet music and classical CDs are upstairs. There are author events and an adult book club. The shop closes on Sundays.

This Coffee #1 is by the railway station, with wifi and a sofa beside floor-to-ceiling windows. There is outdoor seating too. It is open daily.

The Herbert's coffee shop serves coffee, speciality teas and treats. You can walk in from the courtyard on Jordan Well without entering the museum, so it makes an easy stop before or after a session at the archives. It opens early on weekdays and is open at weekends.

Spaces sells a Cowork Day Pass and coworking by the hour, with meeting rooms and common areas. Coventry Cathedral is a short walk away, and the railway station is nearby.

The arts centre's café is on the same campus as the University Library and the Modern Records Centre. Stop for coffee and a pastry between archive orders, or stay for a sandwich or a jacket potato at lunch.

The Belgrade Theatre's ground-floor café serves breakfast, lunch and evening meals, with coffee and cake in between. Upstairs, Nineteen 58 is the bar for drinks before and after shows.

Tales of Tea occupies the undercroft of St Mary's Guildhall, a 700-year-old civic building that survived the Second World War bombing and houses the Coventry Tapestry. It serves brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. In the evening, Tales After Dark brings cocktails and small plates. It opens Thursday to Sunday, and you can book by phone or online.

Le Gusta serves Mediterranean and Moroccan-style dishes and stone-oven pizza before shows at the arts centre, where the programme includes theatre and film. It also takes orders for interval drinks.

Writing West Midlands is the Arts Council England-funded literature development agency for the region, Coventry included. It teaches short courses and workshops and holds free writer meet-ups across the West Midlands. Residencies run through the year. It also organises the National Writers Conference and TLC Free Reads, and its monthly newsletter lists competitions and mentoring schemes.

Fire & Dust is a monthly poetry and spoken word open mic, free to attend, with a guest headline poet on most nights. The lead editor of the Coventry-based literary magazine Here Comes Everyone organises it. There is also an online series on Zoom and a Fire & Dust anthology. The night has been shortlisted several times for Best Regular Spoken Word Night at the Saboteur Awards.

Each year Warwick Words brings authors and speakers to Warwick, about ten miles south of Coventry, for talks, debates and tours.

Founded in 1973, the Modern Records Centre is the main British repository for the national archives of trade unions and employers' organisations. Its collections are also strong on pressure groups, fringe political parties and transport, and they include film and sound recordings. Search the online catalogue of more than 380,000 entries before you go. Register with proof of identity on your first visit; the centre opens on weekdays and is step-free.

Warwick's Renaissance centre holds study days, and its online reading group is open to all. It also hosts research fellows and the STVDIO seminar series.

Nine Arches is an independent poetry publisher and development organisation in the West Midlands. Alongside contemporary poetry collections, it publishes Under the Radar, a magazine of poetry, short fiction and reviews, and it runs the Primers mentoring and publication scheme. Its postal address is in Rugby, about twelve miles east of Coventry.

The Journal of Contemporary Religion is an international peer-reviewed journal that documents and evaluates emerging religious manifestations worldwide, in new movements and in mainstream institutions. Its editor is based at the University of Warwick. Preparing an article for the Journal of Contemporary Religion

Multinational Business Review publishes research on the multinational enterprise and its impact, including how international business strategies develop over time. It has two editors-in-chief, one at the University of Warwick and one at the University of Surrey. Preparing an article for Multinational Business Review

Room 204 is Writing West Midlands' development programme for writers in the region, working in any genre. Each cohort gets mentoring and critiques of its work, along with peer support and access to industry networking.

The University of Warwick awards this annual prize to a work by a woman, translated into English and published by a UK or Irish publisher. Eligible forms run from poetry and fiction to graphic novels and play texts, and children's and young adult books count too. Publishers enter titles without a fee. The writer and her translator share the prize.

Arts Council England's open-access Project Grants fund arts, libraries and museums projects. Individual practitioners can apply, as can community and cultural organisations.

The Royal Literary Fund gives grants to professional writers in the UK facing financial hardship through illness, disability, age or changed circumstances. Through its Fellowships, writers earn money helping students with academic writing at more than 100 UK universities.

This page gathers grants and writing resources for students at the University of Warwick.

The Imaging Professionals runs a walk-in copy and print shop on Walsgrave Road. Bring a manuscript to be wire-bound while you wait, or a poster to print in large format. Scanning is available too. The shop closes on Sundays.