English Literature and Creative Writing

Join our supportive community of writers and readers where we’ll nurture your talents and help new voices emerge in the literary world.

Our BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing combines literary criticism with the craft of writing. You’ll have some flexibility to tailor your learning to the type of writing you feel most passionate about, with a choice of critical or creative assignments appearing on most modules.

To support you, we provide all your first year set texts, free of charge, for you to annotate and keep.

In workshops, you’ll critique a range of literary styles, genres and movements – from Shakespeare and Dickens to Gothic, modernism and magical realism. You’ll look at how writers have transformed the portrayal of the world and reshaped the ways we think about literature and about the human condition.

You will also delve into contemporary issues, such as cultural identities, the climate emergency and Anthropocene. There are modules on children’s literature and post-colonial fiction too.

If you’re thinking of a career in English teaching, you will be curriculum-ready to complete a PGCE course. And if your dream is to be a writer or to go into the creative industries, we’ll provide opportunities that will help you to build a portfolio and professional networks.

You’ll gain insight into the world of publishing through our practice-led module, Writing for Publication, which walks you through the editorial process from first draft to getting published.

The teaching is delivered through workshops, where lecturers will introduce you to techniques before you apply them. A creative writing session might focus on drafting or editing, producing a quick treatment of a story, or creating a character or setting. A literary-critical session typically delivers small segments of interactive lecture information, directly followed by the practical application of concepts to the analysis of text.

Whether critical or creative in content, all workshops are structured to create a community of writers among our students. There will also be lots of support from staff, who will work closely with each student to help guide their individual journey.

All our academics are published authors and critics, with some achieving national acclaim for their books.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BA (Hons) English Literature and Creative Writing