MA Creative Writing

Develop your own writing under the guidance of celebrated author-tutors at one of the very first UK universities to teach Creative Writing. Through a mix of masterclasses, workshops and tutorials you will learn from author-tutors who together can offer specialisms from right across the spectrum of literary genres and forms. At all times the focus will, ultimately, be your own writing and progressing, if you wish, toward publication.

Why Lancaster?

• Study close to the beautiful Lake District and home of our partners, the Wordsworth Museum at Grasmere
• Enjoy a rich programme of literary events on campus, online, and in the city’s historic Castle Quarter
• Gain experience with our student-run literary journals and our partners, Lancaster’s long-running LitFest
• Discover quiet corners in the University Library – from cosy study nooks to collaborative workspaces and our bespoke Postgraduate Study Space
• Learn both to perform and promote your writing
• Explore how writing can lead to a wide range of career destinations

Quartet

This programme is founded on a unique quartet – two series of masterclasses and two series of workshops. The masterclasses will focus on Form, Theme & Genre, and enable you to enhance your work through learning from each tutor’s own writing. The workshops will focus on Voice, Process, Shaping & Editing, and enable you to develop your work through having it discussed by your tutors and peers.

You will acquire a rich overview of all the traditional genres (poetry, prose, short fiction, drama, scriptwriting) as well as newer forms such as song lyric, graphic novel, fantasy, science fiction, memoir, queer fiction, game writing, writing for young adults, and the lyric or personal essay.

Specialise in genre or form

Each series of masterclasses and workshops will be overseen by one author-tutor but taught by several – some poets, some novelists, some playwrights. This means that, when submitting work, you will be able to specialise in one particular genre or form. You will get to know those tutors who write your preferred genre or form, and they will be on hand to advise you as you develop your writing, particularly as you move toward creating your final portfolio.

Writing in the world

The programme will guide you through writing’s many professional dimensions – from redrafting and working with editors through to publishing and promotion. In addition, we will explore how writing flourishes in fields such as museums, film, journalism, new media, podcasting, gaming and fashion.

Literary life

At Lancaster you will be part of a dynamic literary community founded on a series of free literary events, many of which take place in the Castle Quarter, with our October Evening and May Gathering being usually held at Lancaster’s ancient Priory. For many years the students on this programme have together published an anthology which is then launched with a public reading event. Recently, several of the students have also taken part in our annual student in-city showcase as part of Lancaster LitFest, one of the UK’s oldest literary festivals.

In addition, we have a unique partnership with the archive-rich Wordsworth Museum at Grasmere in the nearby Lake District. This includes an annual study retreat day, free entry at any time of the year and the chance to apply for one of four residential internships.