MA Creative Writing

In our modern, uncertain and ever-changing world, words – written or spoken – are needed perhaps now more than ever to help us share experiences, process thoughts and feelings, and fuel our imagination.

The MA Creative Writing course at Keele brings together a strong community of published and aspiring writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and storytelling who, like you, appreciate the potential power of words and have embarked on a journey of self-expression.

If you are looking to write, publish or share creative material, this course is designed to advance your writing abilities and boost your confidence, helping you learn more about the critical and intellectual context in which your work is situated and build a professional portfolio. For those with the beginnings of book in mind, it can help you refine your manuscript and even set you on your path to publication.

You’ll be taught and mentored by published writers, prize-winning poets and novelists, both from here within the University and from the active participation of invited guests, for example, at the fortnightly Keele Creative Writing Anthology. This has included acclaimed writer Okechukwu Nzelu, whose first book won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Polari First Book Prize.

You’ll also have the option to participate directly in a wide range of on campus, online and local events, publications, workshops and short courses. This provides experience in event management, curation, reading, presenting and even teaching, as well as the reviewing and editing that is often a writer’s secondary source of income.

Graduates of this course include: Chris Prendergast, whose debut novel was published to high acclaim by Salt in 2014; Deborah Alma, whose ‘Emergency Poet’ project has received international press coverage; and Liz Lefroy, who won the first Roy Fisher Prize in 2001, an award for new poetry endorsed by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

The MA provides an excellent foundation for further doctoral (PhD) training or academia, here in the UK, Europe or the rest of the world. The excellent communication skills you develop can doors to careers in publishing, culture, heritage, marketing, public relations or copywriting.