Creative Writing (MA)

Overview

The programme is based on Creative Writing workshops with an innovative approach. The course is designed to help students develop the skills to produce their creative writing in a variety of venues, including mainstream as well as alternative presses, e-publishing and performance. It is also designed to help students gain knowledge about contemporary practices in Creative Writing in the UK and abroad. In addition to offering practice-based workshops and one-to-one tutorials in Creative Writing, the course also covers practical aspects of marketing and publishing.

Guest lecturers include writers, publishers, and literary agents, and the programme draws on London as a vibrant city of literary and cultural production. Students work closely with their tutors to develop Creative Writing in their chosen genre or genres, which may include fiction, narrative, and other prose; poetry, mixed media, spoken word, prose poetry, performance, scriptwriting, and hybrid genres. The final project is a creative dissertation that demonstrates originality, innovation, and expertise in the crafting of at least one form, with the aim of publication or performance.

The course offers a distinctive combination of modules, with an emphasis on writing and publishing. It provides students with an MA degree that is viable in the professional world and also unique among postgraduate degrees.

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/fass/

Applying and entry

PLEASE NOTE There is no official closing date for this course, but you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only consider your application if there are places available on the course.

Tel: 020 7133 4202
Email: admissions@londonmet.ac.uk

Open to all first degree subjects with at least a 2.2. A relevant professional qualification and/or experience will also be considered.

Submission of one of the following (or a combination) is required: a manuscript of 5-6 poems; or up to 10 pages of fiction or prose; or performance or mixed media CD or DVD of up to 15 minutes, accompanied by text; or a combination of the above. Please contact c.hart@londonmet.ac.uk with any questions.

Course contents

Course structure

The course consists of six essential modules and a creative dissertation of about 16,000 words of prose; or 30 pages of poetry; or 30 min. mixed media DVD and/or performance plus written text; or a combination of the above, with a reflective commentary of about 4000 words.

Core modules:

• Creative Writing
• Poetry and Mixed Media Workshop
• New Alternatives in Writing and Publishing
• Creative Research and Project Development

Optional modules include:

• Reading and Writing the Narrative
• Narratives of the City
• Scriptwriting
• Modern Art, Video and Performance
• Creative and Cultural Industries in Context

Read more about the modules

Teaching methods

Teaching consists of workshops, seminars, and one-to-one tutorials. Students develop close relationships with their tutors, and produce drafts of creative writing for tutor and peer critique in workshops. Through workshop and seminar discussions, students acquire the critical and theoretical knowledge, and develop the practical skills, to provide thoughtful critique of creative writing. Through seminars and independent research, students gain both practical and theoretical knowledge of the publishing industry including e-publishing and alternatives to mainstream literary outlets in the UK and abroad.

Assessment

Assessment is based on coursework that consists primarily of writing in the student’s chosen genre or genres. These genres may include fiction, narrative, poetry, mixed media, spoken word, performance, scriptwriting, and other genres including hybrid genres, or a combination. Assessment is also based on research and academic writing. The final project is a creative dissertation of about 20,000 words.

Application process

PLEASE NOTE There is no official closing date for this course, but you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only consider your application if there are places available on the course.

Careers

Career opportunities

The course is designed to enable students to produce their creative writing through publication and/or performance; teach Creative Writing at all levels; teach and conduct research in academia; work with literary agencies; edit journals including e-journals, and work in publishing. The course provides transferable skills in related fields such as law, media, and librarianship.

The MA Creative Writing Programme convenor, Dr. Carolyn Hart, recently was awarded a highly competitive British Council UK-US New Partnership grant for collaboration with the MFA Creative Writing Program at Roosevelt University in Chicago, directed by Professor Scott Blackwood. The collaboration, which includes a joint module between the two programmes, aims to increase students’ opportunities for grants, residencies, publishing, teaching and employment in both the US and the UK.

Chicago-based guest writers on the British Council grant have included award-winning authors Scott Blackwood, Miles Harvey, Alex Kotlowitz and Christine Sneed.

Student profiles

What the students say

Read a student profile: Erin Huebscher