MA CREATIVE WRITING
LAUNCH YOUR WRITING CAREER AT LEEDS TRINITY UNIVERSITY Welcome to the MA Creative Writing, and to the lively writing culture at Leeds Trinity University. Our aim on the course is to help you to become the writer you want to be, through a clear pathway of modules in which the development of your writing skills and your creative vision are central. Throughout, you will be taught by internationally published and award-winning writers who will guide your explorations in voice and form, and – along with visiting writers and literary professionals – will set you on the road to life as a writer. At the same time, your prose or poetry will thrive through stimulating and productive tutor and peer feedback. Several of our alumni have published novels, poetry collections and short story collections that have grown from their MA work, while many more have had poems and short stories published in journals and anthologies. Beyond the curriculum, we run monthly Open Mic nights at which you can read your work alongside visiting writers, we produce an annual themed anthology in partnership with award-winning Indigo Dreams Publishing and we run an annual Writers’ Festival offering a day of workshops by visiting writers. And then there is what you bring to us, and all of the possibilities that opens up! Professor Paul (Oz) Hardwick Professor of English and Programme Co-ordinator for MA Creative Writing
About Leeds Trinity University A small university with a big reputation, Leeds Trinity University is renowned for teaching excellence and producing highly employable graduates. We’re proud to be known as the University where you’re a name, not a number, thanks to our commitment to ensuring everyone in our community, whatever their faith, feels supported and valued. Leeds Trinity has always been characterised by this sense of community spirit, offering a truly personalised university experience that enables students to flourish. Our reputation for teaching quality and excellence has been developed thanks to a commitment to delivering outstanding teaching, led by research, scholarship and practice. Our teaching staff have extensive professional experience in their fields and many are active researchers, contributing to our increasing reputation for research excellence.
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COURSE OVERVIEW What do you want to write? Whatever mode or genre you wish to explore, this MA is structured in order to help you to become the writer you want to be. Taught by internationally renowned writers, this MA is designed to be creative and practical as well as delivering the academic requirements of a postgraduate programme. Our MA students are a diverse group, from recent graduates looking to enhance their professional qualifications in preparation for a career involving writing, to experienced writers aspiring to have their work published or those looking to explore their passion for writing later in life. This MA puts the emphasis on “creative,” giving you plenty of time to write and incorporating a creative element into every module. The course aims to develop your writing skills in either prose or poetry, as well as fostering your creative and critical reading and exploring key issues relating to the publishing business. Individual modules help you to learn techniques from published works and put them into practice, and to bring your own work to a reading – and listening – public. Throughout, the focus is upon your development as a writer, and prose or poetry workshops, along with individual dissertation supervision, are designed to hone your writing skills in a supportive and stimulating critical environment. Being “a writer” generally involves a mixed portfolio of skills and attributes, and this MA provides a foundation that extends beyond the writing itself. You will meet agents, publishers and other professionals – alongside our internationally published staff team – in order to help you to reach your potential as a writer, and also negotiate your first steps towards getting your work out into the world.
“Studying this MA allows you to meet other like-minded writers. You not only share your own work, but also read the work of others, allowing you to explore a variety of genres and be involved in a group that is as passionate about writing as you are!” Jennifer Rushworth MA Creative Writing
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COURSE STRUCTURE The modules and delivery structure given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study. The MA Creative Writing can be studied on a full or part-time basis. Details of delivery of the full-time MA Creative Writing studied in one year are given below. For the latest information, including course structure, for studying on a part-time basis over two years, visit leedstrinity.ac.uk
Full-time – one year Semester
Module
Contact hours
Semester One
Reading as a Writer
One two-hour evening class per week
Prose or Poetry Workshop 1
One three-hour evening class per week
Writing as a Profession
One two-hour evening class per week
Prose or Poetry Workshop 2
One three-hour evening class per week
Dissertation
One-to-one meetings with your personal tutor, arranged at your convenience
Semester Two
Summer
Modules Reading as a Writer In these sessions, you will study a wide range of published works to consider the ways in which writers engage their readers. You will then experiment with these techniques yourself. Writing as a Profession Visiting professionals from the literary world, alongside course tutors, offer insight into the business of being a writer, and provide support as you undertake a creative project that could involve anything from editing an anthology to researching publication platforms, via arranging events or planning and delivering workshops. Prose or Poetry Workshops These small group sessions focus upon the development of works in progress in a supportive and critical environment. Dissertation Building on the workshop modules, this provides one-to-one support as you complete a major piece of work in your chosen genre.
“The course gave me the technical language and tools to assess and improve my writing as well as learn more about the publishing side of things. It also helped me believe that people unrelated to the world of publishing can succeed. Since completing the MA, I have had four novels published.”
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Caroline Bond Full-time writer and published author MA Creative Writing
LEARNING, TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT We aim to nurture your distinctive writing, and believe that this is best achieved by a mixture of engagement with your writing peers and guidance from tutors. For this reason, workshop modules are taught through group discussion in order to provide a challenging and stimulating environment which is also supportive of individual development. Through a series of talks by visiting speakers, followed by discussions, you will be introduced to the business side of writing, such as approaching agents, dealing with publishers (editors, copy-editors, publicists, marketing teams, etc) and small press publication. These talks will be supplemented by seminars led by your programme tutors and focused on key practical aspects of the writing profession (e.g. reading and performance of work, producing pitch material for agents and editors, self-promotion through social media and the internet) and the contemporary publishing and bookselling industry. We’ll give you all the support and facilities you need to succeed in your studies. This includes academic support from a personal tutor, study skills advice from experts in the Learning Hub and a library equipped with the necessary learning resources for your course. As well as supporting your learning, we want you to look after your health and wellbeing. We offer a range of Student Support services, from counselling and online self-help to student finance advice. Alongside timetabled contact hours, full-time students should expect to spend 35 hours a week on guided independent work, reading and writing; part-time students should allow half of this.
Assessment The workshop modules are assessed mainly on creative work, alongside an initial proposal and a reflective commentary. The modules Reading as a Writer and Writing as a Profession are assessed on a portfolio of creative and critical work and the Dissertation is assessed purely on creative work.
Entry requirements Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement. The main entry requirement for the MA Creative Writing is a good 2:1 in Creative Writing, English or a related subject and a personal portfolio of creative writing (2,000 words or equivalent).
How to apply Applications for the MA Creative Writing are made online via our website. Please visit leedstrinity.ac.uk/postgraduate for the latest course information, including tuition fees, and to access the online application form. For more information about applying, contact our Admissions team at admissions@leedstrinity.ac.uk or on 0113 283 7123.
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WHY STUDY WITH US? We focus on creative Our MA is distinctive for its strong emphasis on creative, with creative elements and plenty of writing time embedded into every module. You’ll learn how to read as a writer, analysing key building blocks of writing, like characterisation, person and tense, in diverse contemporary works of prose and poetry. You’ll understand and analyse the techniques that writers use, before applying these to your own work. You’ll take part in lively and interactive writing workshops, taking it in turns to critique your peers’ work and receive constructive criticism on your own. We divide these workshops into prose and poetry, so you can immerse yourself in your preferred style of writing. You’ll have the opportunity to write proposals for the prose or poetry projects you’re working on and craft submission letters to agents and publishers. You’ll also be encouraged to reflect on the development of your work-in-progress and your development as a writer.
You’ll learn from internationally renowned writers The course is designed to help you develop your identity as a writer and make practical steps in getting your work seen and heard by a wider audience. Guiding you through this process are internationally published writers, whose work has received critical acclaim from across the world. They’re award-winning writers, regular guests on literary festival line-ups and judges for prestigious prizes like the Costa Book Awards. Because of their reputations, they’re also extremely well-connected with writing industry professionals. Through a series of guest lectures throughout the MA, you’ll have the chance to meet and learn from a range of literary agents, publishers and writers who work on commissions for arts projects and charities.
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We’ll prepare you for a career in writing Every writer dreams of getting their work published, and our alumni have proven that the MA can help make that dream a reality. But publications alone rarely lead to a sustainable career in writing. Our MA has been crafted to prepare our students for a wide range of roles that will allow them to pursue a fulfilling career in writing as a profession beyond publication. Alongside their published work, our alumni teach writing at community and school-level, work as copywriters and communications professionals, and run writing festivals and events. To find out more about our Creative Writing alumni, visit leedstrinity.ac.uk/alumni/meet-our-alumni
We’ll give you opportunities to get published We are proud to work in close partnership with an independent publisher to give our students regular opportunities to get their writing published. Annual creative writing anthologies are published by Indigo Dreams Publishing under Leeds Trinity’s very own imprint, Wordspace, which was originally established by MA Creative Writing students for an assessment. Several anthologies have now been published under the imprint, along with several solo and joint collections from our MA Creative Writing students and graduates.
You’ll be part of a thriving creative writing community Over the years, we’ve been home to a diverse community of published and award-winning writers – students, staff and alumni alike – who have helped to cement our reputation as a centre for creative writing excellence. This community comes together for our monthly Open Mic nights, book launches and readings, literature festival performances and our annual Leeds Trinity Writers’ Festival.
OUR CREATIVE WRITING COMMUNITY To take your writing to the next level, you need to immerse yourself in writing. This means developing a regular writing practice, reading widely and voraciously, and taking part in writing events – whether that’s as a spectator or performer. We’ve designed the MA to help you do this, but we also offer plenty of opportunities outside of the MA to be part of a thriving community of writers.
Open Mic nights Each month, we host Wordspace – our very own Open Mic night. It’s a welcoming event for writers and performers to try out their work in front of a supportive audience – from prose and poetry, to song and stand-up. And if you don’t want to perform, that’s fine – many people come along each month to support our performers, discover new writers and be inspired.
Book launches Having your work published – whether for the first or 21st time – is a milestone worth celebrating. That’s why we host regular book launches when our staff, students and alumni get published, which are open to all.
The Leeds Trinity Writers’ Festival
Annual anthology and other publications Each year, we produce a themed anthology of poetry and short fiction, edited by two Creative Writing MA students and one of our staff. Open to submissions from our community of students, staff, Writers’ Festival participants and Open Mic night visitors, these dynamic anthologies have formed the basis of events at literature festivals around the region, and several editors and contributors have gone on to publish books in their own right.
Regional literature festival performances We’re proud that our students, staff and alumni are regular fixtures on the line-ups of prestigious local and national literature festivals, such as Ilkley Literature Festival, Bradford Literature Festival and the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. They have also appeared at countless events in the region and further afield.
Our established annual Writers’ Festival is a one-day event that brings together students, staff, alumni and visitors from Yorkshire and beyond. It’s a day of hands-on creative workshops led by published writers – many of whom are our own MA Creative Writing graduates. As well as giving you the space and inspiration to create new work, it’s also a chance to listen to readings from our visiting writers and even perform your own work.
“The MA helped me to enjoy receiving feedback on my writing and to be more objective about criticism. I’ve been able to work on some interesting projects, including speaking at events about writing and creativity.” Lewis King Copywriter, Marketing Executive and Compere MA Creative Writing 7
Leeds Trinity University Horsforth Leeds, LS18 5HD 0113 283 7150 hello@leedstrinity.ac.uk Information correct at time of publication, October 2021. Please visit leedstrinity.ac.uk/postgraduate to review our latest course information before you make your application. The information in this booklet is available in alternative formats. Please call 0113 283 7150 or email hello@leedstrinity.ac.uk
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