MA Creative Writing (specialist Pathway)

In addition to our generalist MA in Creative Writing, we offer two MA programmes that allow you to focus on either fiction or fiction for young readers.

Pathway 1: MA Creative Writing Fiction

You will be taught how to write fiction of the highest professional calibre by examining two primary forms, the short story and the novel, building a portfolio of fiction. The emphasis is on craft, technique and practical guidance, and you will engage with a variety of storytelling tools and models. You will be introduced to a wide range of approaches in short and long form fiction enabling you to develop your writing practice as well as thinking about your own social and cultural experiences and identities.

Pathway 2: MA Creative Writing for Young Readers

You will focus on the practice and theory of writing fiction for children, engaging with both visual narratives and young adult narratives. You will explore the historical and theoretical debates in Children’s Literature, and the working methodologies of established practicing writers, enabling you to contextualise your own creative practice. You will be taught through seminars, one to one tutorials and workshops, where you will draft, develop and critique your own and your peers’ work.

These two discipline-specific programmes allow you to focus on your chosen writing area and benefit from all the same opportunities offered on the MA Creative Writing. You will simply take fewer optional modules and undertake a longer dissertation.

Taught by published, working writers including internationally acclaimed novelists and editors, you will be supported to develop your personal writing style. You will discover how to make your writing more effective, how to break bad habits and how to assess your work professionally. You will graduate with the skills needed for professional writing practice, and with an understanding of the professional context in which these skills are marketed.

You will undertake independent and extended research and practice in a specialised area of Creative Writing and over the course of the programme you will secure the skills and knowledge required for a career in professional publishing, the creative industries, or to continue in academia. Whether you choose to specialise in fiction or fiction for young readers, you will take a core module that explores theoretical and research-based issues faced by creative writers, as well as an extended creative dissertation.

We will prepare you for your career after you graduate, whether it is as a published writer, a career working in the professional arts sector, or continuing with your academic studies. We regularly invite writers, who have previously included Emma Donoghue and Kazuo Ishiguru, to give guest lectures and workshops, as well as speakers from different sectors of the creative industries. You will be encouraged to make the most of Roehampton’s connections with the literary world and make professional contacts with publishers and agents.

The department has thriving partnerships with Wimbledon Bookfest and Barnes Children’s Literature Festival, as well as with local schools, providing you with the chance to volunteer or undertake paid work experience during your time at Roehampton. Our in-house publishing imprint, Fincham Press, means you could see your work published or be involved in publishing the work of your peers.