"Jessica Swale is one of the most inspiringly creative people I know, and in this book she's kind enough to share some of her spark and magic. It is a must-read for any creative spirit"
——Zooey Deschanel

"Jessica has stitched together an endlessly inventive, engaging, accessible ejector-seat (parachute included) into the heart and soul of creativity itself. That energy flows through every page: challenging and guiding you into releasing your inner mad-genius. I wish there were more days in the year for more of her exercises!"
——Inua Ellams

"The most brilliant book on creativity – so inspiring it will make you want to write your own book!"
——Tom Fletcher

"An enticing treasure chest of inspiration for any writer or creative" ——Deborah Frances-White

"This book will last you a lifetime, as you'll return again and again to these gems of wise, witty prompts and provocations – guaranteed to inspire not just your creativity, but your outlook on life in general" ——Sabrina Mahfouz

"Charming, imaginative, practical and light-hearted, this is the perfect gift for anyone, young or not so young, wanting to kickstart their creativity and have fun while doing it"
——Kate Mosse

"As I sit in my room smashing my head repeatedly against my laptop, it gives me (some) joy to report not all writers do the same. Jessica's book is a great big fantastic soulful fizzy key to make you think and work hopefully. 16th April is my favourite, but her point is: there are delights on every day of the year"
——Jack Thorne

★A treasure trove of prompts, provocations and practical exercises to help you spark new ideas, hone your craft and unleash your creativity.
★In this book, award-winning writer, director and film-maker Jessica Swale guides you through 366 fun and rewarding activities – one for every day of the year (including leap years!) – to fire up your imagination and flex your creative muscles.

A treasure trove of prompts, provocations and practical exercises to help you spark new ideas, hone your craft and unleash your creativity.

In A Year of Creative Thinking, award-winning writer, director and film-maker Jessica Swale guides you through 366 fun and rewarding activities – one for every day of the year (including leap years!) – to fire up your imagination and flex your creative muscles.

You'll find a host of writing prompts and imaginative challenges to get you going, quick-fire exercises to help you focus on key aspects of craft (including inventing scenarios, writing dialogue, building subtext, creating atmosphere and plot, and developing your characters), and plenty of quirky and unusual challenges to test your limits and help you explore new avenues. Some are writing exercises, others encourage you to draw, to listen to music, to get outside and find inspiration in your surroundings. Work through the activities day by day, or dip in to suit your needs, the choice is yours!

Whether being creative is a professional goal, your aspiration or simply your hobby, you'll discover a storehouse of ideas and inspiration, along with insights from a wide range of literary and cultural figures – from T. S. Eliot to Quentin Tarantino, Jane Austen to Jimi Hendrix, Maya Angelou to George R. R. Martin, and Virginia Woolf to Paddington Bear.

Fun, engaging and pressure-free, this book is designed to supercharge your imagination and boost your creativity, helping you build a set of expressive tools that you can apply in all aspects of your life.

Jessica Swale
Jessica Swale is a writer and director, and the Artistic Director of Red Handed Theatre Company.

Her first play, Blue Stockings, premiered at Shakespeare's Globe and won her a nomination for Most Promising Playwright in the Evening Standard Awards 2013. Other plays include Nell Gwynn and Thomas Tallis (both Shakespeare's Globe); All's Will That Ends Will (Bremer Shakespeare Company); adaptations of Far from the Madding Crowd, Sense and Sensibility (Watermill Theatre), The Secret Garden (Grosvenor Park) and The Jungle Book (UK tour 2017 & 2018); and an original play, The Mission, about illegal adoptions in the 1920s.

She has directed a number of award-winning productions for Red Handed, which is dedicated to creating new work and rediscovering forgotten plays. Recent productions include The Rivals starring Celia Imrie, the London premiere of Palace of the End by Judith Thompson, and the first major revival of Hannah Cowley's The Belle's Stratagem, which won her a nomination for Best Director at the Evening Standard Awards.

Other direction includes Bedlam (Shakespeare's Globe); Sleuth (Watermill); Fallen Angels (Salisbury Playhouse); Winter (TNL, Canada); The Busy Body, Someone to Watch Over Me (Southwark), The School for Scandal (Park Theatre); and productions at RADA and LAMDA. She was Max Stafford-Clark's Associate Director at Out of Joint from 2007–2010.

She is an associate artist with Youth Bridge Global, an international NGO which uses theatre as a tool for promoting social change in war-torn and developing nations.

She is the author of A Year of Creative Thinking: 366 Daily Inspirations for Writers and Artists (Nick Hern Books, 2025) and has written three titles in Nick Hern Books' popular Drama Games series: Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops, Drama Games for Devising, and Drama Games for Rehearsals.