Creative Writing: Writing and Publishing Fiction MA

Course overview

Our MA in Creative Writing: Writing and Publishing Fiction is a stimulating and rewarding course designed to help you develop the craft of excellent writing, enable you to produce original fiction, and equip you with the knowledge to get it published. This distinctive course comprises four modules – Writing Short Fiction for Publication, Writing Novels for Publication, Getting Published, and The Writing Project – which are taught by a team of published authors, editors, and scholars. Their publications include: flash fiction; novels; short-story anthologies and collections; articles and essays; interviews; student textbooks; and writers’ guides. Two of the teaching team edit Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, which has published stories by students on the MA. The Exton Park library is well stocked with creative writing textbooks and houses the Flash Fiction Special Collection, the world’s largest archive of flash-related books and magazines.

Assessment

Modules are assessed by coursework, including essays, a journal, creative pieces, and a 16,000-word writing project. There are no formal exams.

The total workload, including reading, preparation, seminars, workshops, tutorials, research, and writing, is approximately 37.5 hours per week.

Job prospects

Graduates have gone on to develop their writing profiles and be published. They have also applied for PhDs. Jobs include teaching, university administration, and marketing.

A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree, or the equivalent, in an appropriate discipline is required (for example, Creative Writing; English Literature; English Language; Drama; Theatre Studies; Communication Studies; Cultural Studies; Film Studies; Journalism; Professional Writing). Applicants with lower qualifications, a degree in another discipline or appropriate relevant experience should contact the programme leader for advice.