 Established as a charity and run on a not for profit basis, it was inspired by the London Writers Circle.Early celebrities that featured at the School included, Vera Brittain, L.P. Hartley, Hammond Innes and Arthur C. Clarke
The first chairman was Cecil Hunt, a chairman of the London Writers' Circle.Early delegates included the booker prize nominee, Barbara Pym, one of whose novels, "No Fond Return of Love", is inspired, in part, by Swanwick itself.