All about the MA in Creative Writing Dissertation at the University of Leicester

Towards the end of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester, students concentrate on an individual extended writing project, the Dissertation in Creative Writing. The Dissertation is the students' opportunity to concentrate on a pet major project (e.g. a collection of stories, a poetry collection, a script, an extended extract from a novel, etc.), and develop it with the help of an individual supervisor. This is the students' chance to write what they always wanted to!

The Dissertation usually runs from May to mid-September, after the four taught MA modules have been completed. The Dissertation consists of three stages:

1. In May, students attend the annual Creative Writing Dissertation Day, where they get to share ideas with each other and tutors. Following this, student submit a short proposal about their intended project.

2. Students are then allotted an individual supervisor, who meets with them regularly over Summer, providing feedback and advice on the work in progress. 

3. Students submit their Creative Writing Dissertation in mid-September. 

Over the last few years, we've featured a number of our MA Creative Writing students who have written about their Dissertation experience, so to give a flavour of the (huge) range of different creative possibilities in this respect, we've collected some of these articles (below). There's lots of great writing and research advice here, and some fantastic projects. Do take a look!

If you're interested in either the part-time or full-time MA course in Creative Writing, and would like more information, please do email Jonathan Taylor on jt265@le.ac.uk. You can apply here.

Some Articles by Students about the MA Creative Writing Dissertation on Creative Writing at Leicester. 

Anna O'Sullivan, My MA Creative Dissertation

Mandy Jarvis, Moving on Up: My Creative Writing Dissertation

Tracey Foster, Deep Diving the YA Market: My Creative Writing Dissertation

Kate Durban, The Creative Writing Dissertation

Danni Devenney, Girls Who Play Sports 

Thilsana Gias, Researching and Writing a Historical Dissertation

Rosie Anderson, Managing a Creative Writing Dissertation

Millie Henson, The Call of the Wild in Children's Literature

Tionee Joseph, Mastering the Dissertation

All about the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester

This blog has recently passed 700,000 readers! Thanks to everyone - students, graduates, authors, editors, readers - concerned. Over the last few years, we've published over 640 articles by over 450 authors. 

The blog was originally set up in conjunction with our acclaimed MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. So it seems like a good occasion to bring together some of the articles about the MA here (below). 

The MA in Creative Writing is now open for applications to start in Autumn 2026. The course is available full-time (12 months) or part-time (24 months). You can find basic information and the online application form here. If you'd like to discuss the MA further, you can email the course director Jonathan Taylor on jt265@le.ac.uk and he can send you lots of detailed information about it. The MA is open to students from diverse academic and writerly backgrounds: you don't necessarily have to have a first degree. All applications are judged individually, on their own writerly merits. Do get in touch if you have any queries!

Here are some articles on the blog about aspects of the MA in Creative Writing at Leicester:

What Is an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester?

Ten Things Worth Knowing about the MA in Creative Writing at Leicester

The MA in Creative Writing: Some Advice from Past Students

An MA in Creative Writing: Is It for You?, By Kathy Hoyle

Why Do a Creative Writing MA?, By Kit de Waal 

Doing a Part-Time MA in Creative Writing, By Karen Rust

I'm a Master's Graduate!, By Jessica Bacon

Christmas News 2025

Our last News post was back in August. You can read it here. Since then, lots has been happening in the Centre for New Writing at the University of Leicester, so here is an update on student and staff news. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who helps make this such a vibrant community of writers. It really is a very special thing to be part of. And wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year!

General News

Congratulations to all the MA Creative Writing students who successfully completed their course in September - a huge achievement!

We've held various guest lectures and public workshop over the last three months. These include a visit from Mr Shay, Leicester's first ever Poet Laureate (you can read more about his role here), a masterclass by Prof Kit de Waal ("Research Tips for Writers"), and a talk by Marco Volpe from Creative Computing on "Computational Storytelling." 

In December, we held a Christmas Creative Writing Research Seminar, open to all, in which PhD students Kathy Hoyle and Beth Gaylard gave excellent talks about their research. There were also some mince pies.  

Our review blog, Everybody's Reviewing, has now had well over one million readers. Thank to you everyone - our reviewers, interviewers, authors, editors and readers - involved. This blog, Creative Writing at Leicester, has now had well over half a million readers. Again, thanks to everyone involved!

Student and Staff News

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Laura Besley whose story "Like a memory, or maybe only a dream" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and whose story "We cannot know the dreams of absent fathers" won third prize in the Leicester Writes Short Story Prize 2025! Read more here and here, respectively. Laura's story "Love (A Journey)" has been published by Fictive Dream here. Laura's story "These Days, You're Kinda Okay" is published in Literary Namjooning here. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing graduate Constantine on the publication of his new book of short stories, Tales of the Charnwood. You can read more here. 

The Mad Road by PhD Creative Writing graduate Laurie Cusack has been reviewed in The Letter Press Project here. Laurie drafted The Mad Road as part of his PhD at Leicester. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing graduate Sam Dawson, whose story "Since the Fish Started Screaming" was shortlisted for the Aurora Short Fiction Prize 2025. Read more here. Sam's story "Dolly" was also longlisted for the Leicester Writes Short Story Prize. 

Congratulations to Kit de Waal, Professor of Creative Writing, who has been appointed a Fellow of the Society of Authors. Read more here. 

New Walk Editions, which is co-edited by Honorary Fellow in Creative Writing Nick Everett, has recently published two new pamphlets: The Morlocks by Mark Ford, and  À la Carte by Sean O'Brien. Read more on the publisher's website here. 

Tracey Foster, MA Creative Writing graduate, has had three of her haiku published in Madswirl Magazine here. Tracey's haiku "Gallery" is published on the Haiku Foundation website. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Cathy Galvin, whose poetry collection Ethnology: A Love Song to Connemara will be published by Bloodaxe in February 2026. See more here. 

Congratulations to Kathy Hoyle, PhD Creative Writing student, whose story has been shortlisted for the Hammond House 2025 Literary Prize. You can see the shortlist here. 

As part of the University's Ukrainian Culture Week, final-year Creative Writing student Oleksandra Korshunova gave two excellent and moving poetry readings in the David Wilson Library. She read from and talked about contemporary Ukrainian poetry, and finished with a poem of her own. She performed the poems in both English and Ukrainian. You can read more about the Ukrainian Culture Week here.  

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Mathew Lopez-Bland, who passed his viva in November!

Karen Powell-Curtis, PhD Creative Writing graduate, has written reviews for Everybody's Reviewing of Mary Bailey's Poems of a Nottingham Lace-Runner here, and Familiar Phantoms by Sue Forrester here. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Rob Reeves, who passed his viva in November!

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing student Mithila Dutta Roy, whose story "A Father and a Tide" has been longlisted for the World History Encyclopedia Ink of Ages Fiction Prize. Read more here.  

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Jane Simmons, who passed her viva in November!

Hannah Stevens, PhD Creative Writing graduate, has had her story "A Micro-Second of Silence" published by Fictive Dream here. 

Jonathan Taylor, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, has been co-editing, with Karen Stevens, a book of essays called Creative Writing and the Critical Commentary: Reflection, Influence and Process, which will be published in 2026. His short essays "The Role of Comedy in Short Fiction" and "On Relatability" have been published, respectively, in The Subtle Art of Short Fiction, ed. Isabelle Kenyon (Fly on the Wall Press), and Antae: A Journal of Creative Writing (read it here). He has written three reviews for The Morning Star here, here and here. He has given various readings and talks, including the Christmas address to the Arnold Bennett Society.   

Congratulations to Paul Taylor-McCartney, PhD Creative Writing graduate, whose first non-fiction book, Cornwall Uncharted: Mapping Cornwall’s Queer History of Concealment, Culture and Creativity, will be published by the History Press in June 2026, to coincide with National Pride Month. You can read more about Paul's work on his website here. Paul has written a review of White Road by Harry Whitehead for Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Associate Professor of Creative Writing Harry Whitehead's novel White Road was published in September and he embarked on a book tour, taking in several book festivals and other events from Scotland to Kent. The tour continues into 2026 (see more news and reviews here).  

Lisa Williams, MA Creative Writing graduate, has a story ("Hope") in a new anthology called Pocket Full of Posies: Shadow Children, edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty and Rasiika Sen. Read more about the anthology here. Lisa has written reviews for Everybody's Reviewing of FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven here and The Names by Florence Knapp here.  

Lee Wright, PhD Creative Writing student, has written a review for Everybody's Reviewing of Common by Nikolai Duffy here. 

Rory Waterman, "Come Here to This Gate"

 

Rory Waterman was born in Belfast in 1981, and grew up mainly in Lincolnshire. His fourth full-length collection, Come Here to This Gate, has just been published by Carcanet Press. His other collections, all published by Carcanet, are: Tonight the Summer’s Over (2013), which was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was shortlisted for a Seamus Heaney Award; Sarajevo Roses (2017), which was shortlisted for the Ledbury Forte Prize for Second Collections; and Sweet Nothings (2020). He is also regularly a critic for the TLS, PN Review and other publications, and has published several books on modern and contemporary poetry. He co-edits New Walk Editions with Nick Everett at the University of Leicester. He has a BA and PhD from the University of Leicester. Since 2012, he has worked at Nottingham Trent University, where he is Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature and leads the MA in Creative Writing. He lives in Nottingham. His website is here. 

About Come Here to This Gate
Come Here to This Gate, Rory Waterman's fourth collection, is his most candid and unexpected, personal, brash, hilarious, and wide-ranging. The book is in three parts, the first a sequence about the last year of the life of his father, the poet Andrew Waterman, against a backdrop of recrimination, love and alcoholic dementia: "your silences were trains departing." The second consists of poems that open various gates, or are forcibly restrained behind them, from the literal North and South Korean border to the borders between friends, and those imposed by photographs, memories, and paths taken and not taken. The third opens on the poet's rural home county of Lincolnshire. He rewrites several folk tales into galloping, sometimes rambunctious ballads for the 2020s: what happens when imps, ghosts, and a boggart who looks like a "doll left behind at Chernobyl" must reckon with the modern world and the people who lumber through it.

You can read more about Come Here to This Gate on the publisher's website here. You can read a review of the book on Everybody's Reviewing here. Below, you can read two poems from the collection. 

From Come here to This Gate, by Rory Waterman

Home

T-shirt weather today: a bumble bee bumps
the window, and the door of the visiting room
yawns and nudges a pot. We could go out,
sniff freedom over the fence. You’d rather not.

‘You’ve come to take me home?’ No, Dad. I’ve come
to bring it to you, blind on your piss-proof seat
on wheels, most of you a line of little knots
beneath a blanket. Stop-gap Clov to your Hamm – 

you’d get that, and it wouldn’t help – I ask 
someone to bring your sippy cup, some biscuits,
and you chew them in the back of your open mouth
in quiet, ‘thinking,’ too afraid to talk.

So I watch the ridge of your forehead, feel my own – 
for impulse, or connection, which doesn’t come
until a nurse does, panting, to the door, 
to tell us darlings we have five minutes more. 

         (first published in the Times Literary Supplement)

ICN to LHR

‘Keep the reunified Korea in your heart’
an old man had said, palming his chest. And 
okay, I do. And there it stays, doing nothing 

as flight KE 907 to London lifts 
from a (re)claimed island, over (re)claimed islands
stacked with containers: a concreted sarcophagus,

the memorial to Operation Chromite,
which has no other memorial. A child beside me
pulls down her mask, is chastened, frumps.

‘We’re progress,’ he had added. See it down there,
a phosphoresced capital washing round its hills,
a land of neon chaebols and kimchi jars

where new friends complete the circuits
of their lives for Samsung, Lotte, Hyundai,
as I complete this circuit for Hanjin.

See the sea ooze the yellow they don’t call it 
here – there – with silt from China, as we skirt
North Korean airspace. This land is your land

I hum before noticing. Far towns are like colonies
of barnacles; dark fishing vessels ply 
what looks turbid. And when we start to cross

the safety of China, from where this – that – 
is ordained, a city (Shenyang?) shifts, 
a molten web in new night. Now there will be

nothing but black, the dark familiar nowhere, 
and then the grind of lowering, the misted plots
of ruined nametagged earth around our lives.

Mandy Jarvis, "Moving on Up: Writing a Creative Dissertation"

Since completing a BA in English and History from Leicester Polytechnic way back in 1986, I have worked in a number of different settings including journalism, teaching English in other countries, statutory and voluntary youth services, and more recently in the state education sector. The common thread through all of these careers has been in supporting children and young people from a range of different backgrounds and experiences. My love of reading and writing has remained constant throughout.  

At the end of 2022, I took a leap of faith to pursue my love of literature and left my job as a primary school teacher to embark on the MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Leicester University. My decision to write a creative piece for my final dissertation gave me the opportunity to combine what I had learnt from both the critical and creative aspects of the course, along with my own experiences in education. I was keen to write something that could potentially be of use to children when making the major transition from primary to secondary school.  

My experiences in working with year 6 children (aged 10-11), in particular, had demonstrated to me that this is a key pivotal moment in their lives. For my dissertation, I wrote a set of three middle-grade short stories, Moving on Up, in which I addressed some of the common themes I had identified from my own research and observations, as well as concerns children had shared with me. These included: friendships and fitting in, getting lost, homework, detention and bullying. Each story focuses on the experiences of a young person who has just started at the fictional Riverview Secondary Academy. My rationale was to write stories which could both entertain children as well as providing the opportunity for them to see themselves on the page - and to reassure them that they were not alone in what they might be feeling about moving up to secondary school.    

Advice for students

If you are on the MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature and are in any way considering choosing to do a creative piece for your dissertation, sign up for the Creative Writing modules that are available to you. They will allow you to become more familiar with how the writing process is taught, submitting pieces of work and how discussions are managed. The experience will also expose you to texts on the craft of writing as well as other texts that will help you to become more familiar with different genres and reading as a writer. The two MAs work together really well and it really felt like I got a lot more out of the year by combining both.

Get used to sharing your work with others, however scary it may be, as it is an integral part of the writing process. It is always managed in a very positive and supportive manner and really helped me to begin to get over my anxieties about how my writing would be received.  All feedback is useful.  

 

Ten tips for writing a creative dissertation

1. Write about something you really care about and are invested in. It will keep you going through the duration of the writing process.
2. Read as many primary texts as you can within the genre of your writing.
3. If you need to meet other people as part of your research, get in touch early. People are busy.  
4. Start writing as soon as possible.  Things will start to fall into place.  Even if you think it’s useless, it won’t be and there will definitely be a couple of nuggets in there that will dictate where you go next.
5. Try not to keep going back to re-writing and editing too early.  There’s a danger you’ll get rid of something really good.  Try and finish a chapter or a short story in a sequence so you can see the whole thing before you start to redraft. 
6. Make use of your supervisor. They’re not judging you. They’re really happy to help you. Be honest and take risks by saying what you’re really worried or thinking about.  
7. After a tutorial, write up your notes, actions and look up any texts/research that have been recommended to you. I found doing some re-writing straight after my tutorials really productive as it was fresh in my mind and I could see more clearly the changes I needed to make.  
8. Take down time. Go for a walk or talk to someone else about your idea. It’s in this time that I could see what was missing or didn’t work. Most of my ideas were formed and then reformulated during time away from the screen.  
9. If you’re struggling to write creatively, read something for your research or reflection. It’ll feel like you’re doing something.
10. Don’t worry too much about your reflective commentary until you get closer to the deadline. The feedback from your tutorials and the experience of writing your dissertation will already be formulating and dictating what will go into your reflection. 

Sara Waheed, "The Cut of a Feather"

Congratulations to Sara Waheed, winner of this year's John Coleman Prize! Below, you can read about Sara and her winning short story. Congratulations too to Priyan Majumdar, who was awarded an "honourable mention" for her story.

By Sara Waheed

My name is Sara and I’m a second year English with Creative Writing student. Along with writing short stories and poetry, I love to crochet and listen to music. 

My story "The Cut of a Feather" started with the thought of something as innocent as a reed hurting someone’s hand. This led me to think of a place very familiar to me, where you can find an abundance of reeds: Jenny’s Woods in my Lincolnshire hometown (see photo above). My family and I have been going on walks, runs and bike rides in Jenny’s Woods ever since I was young; it’s a very meaningful place to me. Because of this, I decided to set my short story there, and this made the writing process more heartfelt.

I wanted this short story to show how emotional devastation can arise from seemingly insignificant things. Subtle gestures, such as eye contact, physical proximity and word choices can have a deeper impact than more obvious displays of upset. I’m very grateful for this opportunity to share my short story with more people.  

The Cut of a Feather

Whenever Alice brushed her hands against the reeds on this path, they were harmlessly spiky. They had never so much as grazed her. But on this day, the reeds at her palm were sharp; Alice could feel them almost piercing her skin. She resisted the urge to pull her hand away, and instead let the prickling feeling press against her skin like an unwanted kiss.  

Although she could see Declan’s back receding further into the greenness beyond, she stayed put. She was waiting for him to turn around. She wanted him to walk back and ask her what she was doing. She wanted him to pull her hand away from the reeds and hold it for the rest of her life. 

But if she stood there any longer, Declan would walk too far, and Alice would have to foolishly make her way across the slowly-stretching distance. He wouldn’t stop. Alice tore her hand away from the reeds and briskly caught up. His outline became less like watercolour and more like charcoal as she got closer, and his hair was so tousled that it looked strangely at home amongst the overgrown grasses.

“I think you need a haircut,” Alice said as she reached him. Her hand still stung.

He didn’t look at her, even though they were now walking side by side. His gaze was fixed somewhere ahead, despite the path being completely empty.

“Are you offering?” he said after a couple of seconds. 

Alice put a hand to the uneven hairstyle on her head and rustled the jagged ends. Given the circumstances of the impulsive haircut, Declan’s comment was in ill taste. She didn’t honour it with a reply. 

“It would probably be a good idea to get it done before your birthday. It’s coming up soon,” she said instead.

“I’m not sure if three weeks qualifies as soon.”

“I think it does. I’ll book you an appointment with Calla when we get back.”

Declan said nothing. Alice took it as an affirmation, knowing that he didn’t care either way. 

“Have you thought about what you want to do?” she asked.

“What?” he said.

“For your birthday, I mean.” 

They were passing the picnic benches. In the dimness of the grey sky, they looked derelict, but Alice could easily remember the many times her and Declan had sat at them with a flask of soup.

“I don’t really want to do anything,” Declan said.

Alice wanted to stop and sit at one of the benches, but she already knew what he would say. She continued walking.

“We could have dinner at that new place that opened in town. I’ve heard it’s good,” she said.

A particularly strong gust of wind blew past them, and Declan pulled his jacket tighter around himself. Alice knew that his warm coat was hanging behind the kitchen door, but Declan had refused to heed her warning of the weather when they were leaving the house.

“It’s Italian too, I know you’ve been into that recently,” Alice said. She’d never liked the taste of basil but had become well-acquainted with it over the past month.

“I’ve gone off it.” 

His voice was nothing more than a mumble which Alice had to strain her ears to catch. In lieu of a reply, she nodded; her hand was beginning to ache and, whilst she suspected that her palm might be injured in some way, she couldn’t bring herself to take a look.

Instead, she stuffed her hand into her coat pocket and fumbled around for her keys. The only keyring attached to them was one she’d received from Declan a few years ago. It was shaped like a daisy, but the petals were blue instead of white. Alice fidgeted with it so often that the blue had weathered over time. When she pulled the keys out of her pocket, she realised that the petals were now almost completely white, as daisy petals should be. Still holding on to them, she interrupted the quiet.

“Do you want me to get you those headphones you were looking at the other day? I’d like to get you a gift that you really want.”

“I don’t want anything.” He drew his shoulders up in an attempt to lend his red ears some warmth.

“Come on, Declan. Everybody wants something.” 

“Not me,” he said. 

“You don’t want anything?” Alice’s voice sounded shrill. She cleared her throat whilst Declan replied. 

“No,” he said. His lips were turned downwards in a hazardous frown, but Alice persisted.

“Are you telling me that there’s nothing I can give you? Not a single thing?” Clearing her throat hadn’t helped, so she forced a cough instead. It left her mouth with such surprising vigour that she was forced to stop walking. Whilst she spluttered into her sleeve, Declan stood to the side, and Alice wondered when their walks together had started to feel so lonely.

“You can’t give me anything that I want, Alice.”

The tickly cough swiftly retreated; Alice stared at him. He was standing stock-still, but his eyes were darting from tree to tree. When his gaze eventually rested on her, he released a long breath. 

“I don’t think you’ll ever be able to.” 

Alice had wanted Declan to look her way for so long, but not like this. He’d taken a step away from her, and his eyes were tight, as though there was something acrid in the space between them. The fine line that had been flickering between his eyebrows finally settled into place, and Alice knew that they wouldn’t make it to the end of the walk.

“I don’t want you to book me a haircut and I don’t want any gifts from you. I can’t do this anymore. You need to stop.”

Underneath the keyring Alice was still holding, her palm was throbbing. She clenched her fist around the daisy even tighter, until she could feel her pulse beating against it.

“Stop what?” she eventually replied. But he didn’t seem to hear her.

“I thought that you’d start to understand, or you’d see that things have changed. I was waiting, but I can’t keep doing this. If you’re going to keep pretending that this can work, I need to tell you now,” he hesitated and brushed his hair away from his face before continuing, “we stopped working a long time ago.” 

Even though Alice could see the distance between them, it felt as though his words had been spoken directly into her ears. When she opened her mouth to speak, she barely recognised her own voice.

“Why are you saying this now?” Her tongue felt as though it was coated in syrup.

Declan seemed to contemplate her words, squinting at her as though she was more of a vaguely familiar stranger than the girl who had offered him her hand all those years ago.

“I’ve already made plans for my birthday,” he finally told her.

Alice tried and failed to remember why they’d left the house in the first place. All she knew was that she’d been the one to suggest it. Without really looking at him, she took Declan’s hand and placed the daisy keyring into it. She closed his fingers around the white petals, and then she walked away.

Walking in the opposite direction, Alice discovered, wasn’t the same as retracing her steps. She didn’t recognise the trees she was passing, and she didn’t know which diverging paths to follow. The sky was quickly darkening, the greyness above melding with the deep brown tree trunks that were overlooking her mindless walking. The green leaves swinging from the tree’s branches were shrouded in shadow, and Alice was uncertain how long she’d been walking for. She sped up.

It was when she came across a familiar group of felled trees that Alice realised they hadn’t made it very far after all. They had been closer to the start of the walk than the end. The path gradually straightened up, and when beams of light cut through the thicket more frequently, she let her feet trail. When she eventually came to a stop, Alice felt as though she’d never moved at all. 

The reeds in front of her were deceptively sharp. Alice didn’t touch them. She straightened her stiff fingers, exposing her bare palm to the cool air and felt the sting all the way up to her wrist. When she finally looked, she saw a tiny tear in the middle of her palm. The speck of blood had already crusted.

Good News for the Start of the Autumn Term

Since our Summer News post in July, which you can read here, a lot has happened, so I thought I'd update you on some recent student and graduate successes. It's great to be able to usher in the new academic year with some good news!

Firstly, a remarkable double success: not just one, but two of our graduates, Figen Gungor and Hannah Stevens, were shortlisted for this W&A Working-Class Writers' Prize. Figen was subsequently named as a runner-up. Figen is a graduate of English with Creative Writing at the University of Leicester, and Hannah a PhD Creative Writing graduate. Congratulations to both of them!

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Joe Bedford, who recently won the national Leicester Writes Short Story Prize 2022 with his story "On Tuesdays I Clean the House." You can see details here. Incidentally, Joe is the second PhD Creative Writing from Leicester to have won the competition in recent years. In 2020, now-PhD graduate Dan Powell won the competition - see here. 

Congratulations to Paul Taylor-McCartney, who not only recently finished his PhD in Creative Writing, but has now published his debut children's novel, Sisters of the Pentacle. You can read more about it here. 

Congratulations to PhD alumna Anita Sivakumaran whose new novel, Black Rain - set mostly in Leicester - will be published by Little Brown in November 2022. You can read about her earlier novel, Cold Sun, on Creative Writing at Leicester here. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing graduate Lisa Williams, who has had two 100-word short stories, "Missing Dad" and "Gambling Lives," published by Friday Flash Fiction here and here. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing graduate Sally Shaw, whose story "A Deckchair on Southport Beach" has been published by Ink Pantry here. 

Congratulations again to PhD Creative Writing graduate Hannah Stevens, whose story "Something You Can Feel in Your Teeth" is published by Porridge Magazine here. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing graduate, and soon-to-be PhD Creative Writing student Kathy Hoyle, on the publication of her short story "Shh, Bairn" in The Forge Literary Magazine here. 

Congratulations to Sara Waheed, winner of this year's John Coleman Prize, for highest mark in an undergraduate Creative Writing assignment, and Shauna Strathmann, for winning this year's G S Fraser Poetry Prize. 

Everybody's Reviewing, in conjunction with the Centre for New Writing, is currently running a series of author interviews, in which PhD Creative Writing students interview well-known authors about their research and writing process. The first three interviews in the series are now published on Everybody's Reviewing. You can read PhD Creative Writing student Joe Bedford's interview with Melissa Harrison here, Mathew Lopez-Bland's interview with Susan Napier here, and Rob Reeves's interview with Kevin Fegan here. Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved! It's shaping up to be a really great series. 

And finally congratulations to Alex Lee, Danny Stringer and Miriam Waters, who wrote the the winning, runner-up and highly commended "Mrs. Edna Welthorpe" letters for this year's Joe Orton Creative Writing Competition, run by the University of Leicester. You can see details here. 

Best wishes to everyone for the new academic year!

Summer News 2022

Kit de Waal, photograph by Justin David

Since our last news post (Recent Creative Writing Student Success), a lot has happened, so here's a Summer update ...

Firstly, we'd like to welcome the brilliant Kit de Waal to Creative Writing at Leicester, who's going to be the University's first Jean Humphreys Writer in Residence. You can read more about this story here.

On Tuesday 7 June, the Centre for New Writing (in conjunction with Literary Leicester) were delighted to welcome Amitav Ghosh, author of The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016) and The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis (2022), and a panel of experts including Professor Caroline Upton and Professor Mark Williams to discuss the climate emergency.

Next, some wonderful book news: Laurie Cusack, UoL PhD Creative Writing graduate, is going to have his book of short stories, The Mad Road, published by Roman Books, in 2023/4, as part of their Stretto Fiction series. The Mad Road features stories written by Laurie during his PhD. Current PhD Creative Writing student Joe Bedford has had his novel, A Bad Decade for Good People, accepted for publication by Parthian Books in 2023. You can read more about it in The Bookseller here. Congratulations to both Laurie and Joe!  

New Walk Editions, which is co-edited by Nick Everett, has published two new pamphlets: Hugo Williams, The West Pier, and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Ghalib, A Diary, Delhi 1857-1858. You can see details on the publisher's website here. 

Congratulations to Karen Powell, who recently passed her PhD in Creative Writing. Her thesis is called Bloodlines: Exploring Family History in Poetry. 

Congratulations too to MA Creative Writing student Isobel Copley, who won second prize in the Anansi Archive Spring 2022 Short Story Competition. You can read her award-winning story, "Just a Few Seconds," here.

Meanwhile, PhD Creative Writing student Lee Wright's flash fiction "Dick Ridgway's Shoes" is published in the first issue of the Leicester Literary Review. "Mask," a poem by MA Creative Writing graduate Constantine, has been published in Mad Hearts 2022. MA Creative Writing graduate Lisa Williams has published a short story, "Sue Morecambe in 3b," in Unfortunately Literary Magazine here. Tracey Foster's poem, "False Memory," has been published by Mausoleum Press here. Tracey has also written a review of Leicester University's "Let's Ride Leicester Literary Tour" for Everybody's Reviewing here. PhD Creative Writing student Paul Taylor-McCartney has also written a review for Everybody's Reviewing here.  

And finally, speaking of Everybody's Reviewing, the site has now passed 200,000 readers, while this website, Creative Writing at Leicester, has passed 100,000 readers! Congratulations and thanks to everyone - students, readers, reviewers, bloggers, editors, authors - involved. You can now see a complete index of author interviews on Everybody's Reviewing here, and a complete index of featured authors on Creative Writing at Leicester here. Many thanks to PhD students Mathew Lopez-Bland and Chloe Myers for their hard work in compiling these indexes. 

Wishing everyone a great Summer, and do keep in touch!

Reflecting: The Lessons I've Learned as a Writer

By Jenny Kane (Jennifer Ash)

While the University of Leicester is busy celebrating its centenary, I am celebrating my own half-century. 

There is something about turning 50 that makes a person take stock. Sometimes, I think that the fact I’ve made it this far is a miracle. I’ve done so much with my life – from selling posh cheese, to making Welsh Hats, to excavating a Romano African city and teaching erotica classes! And yet, it still does not seem nearly enough.

Back in the early 1990’s I was an Archaeology student at the University of Leicester – I had no idea I would be a writer one day. In fact, I was 33 before I wrote my first short story.

In the 18 years that have disappeared between then and now, I’ve managed to squeeze out over 200 publications – including short stories, scripts, poems, novellas and over 30 novels - and there is so much more left to write.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on a few of the lessons I’ve leaned as I’ve worked in the mad – often cruel – frequently inspiring – world of fiction writing. I thought I’d share a few of those thoughts with you today. 

Never underestimate the importance of reputation

While you need to be able to write well to get on as an author - that isn't enough.  Building up a readership and good networks with publishers and reviewers is vital to your survival. To do that you need a good reputation.

Always keep deadlines; be known for being reliable. There are lots of good writers out there – you need to be a good writer who always delivers.

Never cut corners

Just don't. All that work you've put into writing a story will be wasted if you are in too much of a hurry to be ‘out there.’ 

If you are self-publishing and your cover needs improving- improve it. (Use a professional cover artist – very few of us are good at cover design).

If you need to do one more redraft - do it.

Cutting corners might get your work out faster. But readers aren't stupid: they can tell if an author has rushed their work. If you don't care enough about your work to address every issue and make it as good as you can, then why would a reader care enough to come back to you a second time?

(Of course, no one's work is ever 100% perfect - but we should try to get as near to perfect as possible).

Never take any success you have for granted

If you get a good book deal - embrace it. Love it. Enjoy every second of it. But do not take it for granted. One deal does not mean they'll be another one.  Never assume you won't have to work just as hard for the second, third, fourth … (Sounds cynical - but it's true).

Don’t write if it isn't fun anymore

Writing is hard work – so, if it isn't fun anymore - stop. Life's too short!

It’s a job

Remember, to be a professional writer you need to treat it like a job. Put in the hours, look at the marketing and control your budget. Stick to deadlines and keep all your options open for new opportunities.

People can be cruel

Sadly, people can be cruel. It is ironic that writing attracts so many people with low confidence and low self-esteem – and yet we offer our words up for public consumption, making us vulnerable and open to attack. 

As writers, we all want good reviews – but they aren’t guaranteed, and we can’t possibly hope to please everyone, so poor reviews are a fact of life.

While one nice review will make you happy for an hour or so, a bad one will niggle for days - weeks even. The worst are the reviews that attack the writer, rather than critically assessing the book. I've been called some horrendous things over the years by people who have no idea who I am, or what I'm like. Assumptions are made and opinions are freely shared, in a very unhelpful/hurtful way. Authors are humans - that can be forgotten all too often.

Write what you want to write

Write what you want to write, not what you think you ought to write, or what other people tell you to write.

Give yourself permission not to be perfect

Perfection does not exist - and trying to find it will stop your writing in its tracks.

Get that first draft down - do not worry about how good or bad it is - just write it.

Then, once it's on paper, you can start to improve your story. Slowly, through the editing process, it will get better and better, until it's ready to be released. Even then, there will be things that have been missed. While you want your words to be as good as possible, remember, we are humans, not machines.

Talking of editing …

Never skip this process. While seeking perfection too soon is a bad thing, not taking the time and trouble to edit properly will stop a good story in its tracks.

Read

The more you read, the better you'll write.

What’s next?

If a publisher or agent is interested in you, the first thing they will ask is – “What else have you got?”

Don’t stop writing while you are waiting for your first novel / short story to get taken – publishers are interested in your ongoing work, not just the words already on the page.

In truth, I could waffle on for ages in this vein. Everything I’ve learned within the writing world has come from the hundreds of mistakes I’ve made along the way: from signing dodgy contracts (always get contracts checked by the Society of Authors or other reputable agency), to sending the wrong manuscript to be formatted (Whoops- not my best move).

The main thing I’ve come to realise, however, is this – it isn’t a competition. You aren’t up against your fellow students/writers/colleagues – you are only up against yourself. 

Most of all – enjoy! I mean, can you think of a better way to live your life than to make up lies all day, and then get paid to write them down!

About the author

From the comfort of her cafe corner in Mid-Devon, award-winning author, Jenny Kane, wrote the contemporary women’s fiction and romance novels, Winter Fires at Mill Grange (Aria, 2021), Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange (Aria 2021), Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange (Aria, 2020), Midsummer Dreams at Mill Grange (Aria, 2020), A Cornish Escape (2nd edition, HeadlineAccent, 2020),  A Cornish Wedding (2nd edition, HeadlineAccent, 2020), Romancing Robin Hood (2nd edition, Littwitz Press, 2018),  Another Glass of Champagne (HeadlineAccent, 2016), and Another Cup of Coffee (HeadlineAccent, 2013).

Jenny has also written 3 novella-length sequels to her Another Cup of ... books:  Another Cup of Christmas (Accent Press, 2013), Christmas in the Cotswolds (Accent, 2014), and Christmas at the Castle (Accent, 2016). 

Her latest novel, Frost Falls at The Potting Shed, will be published by Aria in October 2022.

Jenny is also the author of quirky children’s picture books There’s a Cow in the Flat (Hushpuppy, 2014) and Ben’s Biscuit Tin (Hushpuppy, 2015).

Under the pen name, Jennifer Ash, Jenny has also written The Folville Chronicles (The Outlaw’s Ransom, The Winter Outlaw, Edward’s Outlaw, Outlaw Justice - published by Littwitz Press, 2016-2020), The Power of Three (Spiteful Puppet, 2020) and The Meeting Place (Spiteful Puppet, 2019). She has also created seven audio scripts for ITV’s popular 1980’s television show, Robin of Sherwood. 

The Waterford Boy, Mathilda’s Legacy, The Baron’s Daughter, The Meeting Place, Fitzwarren’s Well and more were released by Spiteful Puppet between 2017and 2021. 

Jenny Kane is the writer in residence for Tiverton Costa in Devon. She also co-runs the Creative Writing business, Imagine. Jenny teaches a wide range of Creative Writing workshops including her popular ‘Novel in a Year’ course. 

All of Jennifer Ash’s and Jenny Kane’s news can be found on her website here. She is also on Twitter @JenAshHistory, @JennyKaneAuthor, @Imagine_Writing. As Kay Jaybee (erotica - over 18s only) you can find her here. 

You can read an earlier article by Jenny for Creative Writing at Leicester, "The Accidental Author," here. 

What is the MA in Creative Writing at Leicester? Some Questions and Answers

By Jonathan Taylor

          I believe writers are writers the day they describe themselves as such. 

 - Adele Parks

In this blog I want to introduce the Master's programme in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester, and answer some simple questions that often arise about it - i.e. 

• What is the MA in Creative Writing?
• What do you need to apply for the course? 
• What modules does the MA in Creative Writing involve? 
• What is the rationale behind the course? 
• How is it taught? 
• Who teaches the course? 
• What have MA students gone on to do?
• What other opportunities are associated with the course?

For students' perspectives on Creative Writing MAs see here and here and here. 

What is the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester?

This a year-long full-time course, or two-year part-time course that aims to help you develop your writing in a supportive and stimulating environment, taught by experienced writers and lecturers. It's a taught course that provides you with the support, skills, ideas, feedback, structure, community and space that will help your writing to flourish. It's a space for you to develop your own writing. 

What do you need to apply for the MA in Creative Writing?

First and foremost, we want students who love writing and reading, who are enthusiastic about the subject, who are willing to experiment. One of the wonderful things about the MA is the exciting mixture of students' hugely varied backgrounds, ages, experiences, ambitions and perspectives. We accept students with a relevant first undergraduate degree or students with significant writing experience. We always ask students to submit a sample of creative work, once they've submitted their initial application. If you have any questions about the application or eligibility, please email Jonathan Taylor: jt265[at]le[dot]ac[dot]uk. 

What modules does the MA in Creative Writing involve?

The MA is 12 months long full-time, 24 months long part-time. The modules are arranged as follows:

Full-time route (1 year):

In Semester 1, full-time students take two modules:

• EN 7040 Research Methods in Creative Writing (30 credits)
• EN 7041 Styles: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop 1 (30 credits)

In Semester 2, full-time students take two modules:

• EN 7042 Applications: Publishing, Teaching and Other Stories (30 credits)
• EN 7043 Substances: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop 2 (30 credits)

Over Summer, full-time students then also take:

• EN 7044 Dissertation in Creative Writing (60 credits), usually due mid-September

Part-time route (2 years):

• EN 7040 Research Methods in Creative Writing (year 1, semester 1)
• EN 7042 Applications: Publishing, Teaching and Other Stories (year 1, semester 2)
• EN 7041 Styles: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop 1 (year 2, semester 1)
• EN 7043 Substances: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop 2 (year 2, semester 2)
• EN 7044 Dissertation in Creative Writing, (year 2, Summer), due mid-September

What is the rationale behind the MA in Creative Writing?

I believe that Creative Writing is a wonderful hybrid subject (a kind of Frankenstein's Monster of a subject!), which intermingles academic research, vocational and professional skills, and creative practice - along with bits of other subjects, too. 

The different modules on the MA in Creative Writing aim to cater for these various strands: Research Methods in Creative Writing introduces the academic, theoretical and research aspects of the subject; the outward-looking module Applications emphasises the vocational and professional contexts for writing; while Styles and Substances are workshop-based modules which explore various elements of creative practice, introducing both key forms (fiction and poetry) and key themes (e.g. Place, Time, Memory). As your individual extended project, the Dissertation module is the culmination of the MA, and draws on the skills you've developed throughout the course. For the Dissertation, you're allotted an individual supervisor, who guides you through the whole process, and provides on-going support and feedback. 

At the centre of all the modules is your writing. Creative Writing is, I think, a subject where people learn by doing - so all of the subjects are explored first and foremost through writing. You write throughout all the modules, and all the modules are assessed (in different ways) primarily through creative work - along with accompanying reflective commentaries, and (in the case of Applications) a short oral presentation.

The MA in Creative Writing at Leicester aims to introduce you to the huge breadth and variety of this amazing subject. You will learn about fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, memoir, scriptwriting. We want you to experiment across forms and genres, and we believe that you learn by doing so: poets learn a lot by writing prose, and fiction writers learn a lot by experimenting with poetry. There are so many possibilities! During the MA, you may explore topics ranging from ekphrastic poetry, to reviewing, to oral histories, to neuroscience, to psycho-geography, to personal essays, to time travel ...

I believe writing is a learned skill, and can be taught. I believe the study of writing, storytelling, poetry, language is vitally important. And, above all, I believe it should be enjoyable (even though I don't believe in "organised fun"!).

How is Creative Writing taught? 

Each module is taught primarily by a two-hour seminar per week, during term time. Seminars might consist of in-situ workshop exercises, sharing work, peer feedback, introductions to and discussions of particular subjects, guest talks, masterclasses, and so on. Individual tutorials are always available, and you will be invited to special events associated with Creative Writing at Leicester (see also below). All students are allotted a personal tutor, who guides them through the course. 

Who teaches on the MA in Creative Writing at Leicester?

The course is taught by experienced and professional writers, editors and lecturers. The Creative Writing team at the University of Leicester currently includes Nick Everett, Felicity James, Harry Whitehead, myself (Jonathan Taylor), and Writer in Residence Kit de Waal. There are also guest talks, workshops and masterclasses on the course, given by visiting authors, publishers, editors and others. 

What have students on the MA in Creative Writing gone on to do?

Our students are amazing! They regularly publish their creative work in journals and magazines, give performances and readings, win competitions, both during and after the course. Among our graduates, some have gone on to publish books. Some have gone onto further study, at PhD level. Some have gone into publishing, editing, journalism, copywriting, teaching, film-making, arts administration, marketing, and so on. You can see some of our students' most recent successes here.   

What other opportunities are associated with the course?

One of the most important aspects a course like this is feeling part of a vibrant community of writers. At Leicester, that community includes BA students, MA students, PhD students, staff, writers in the local community, and guest authors from across the UK. On the MA, you will be part of the Centre for New Writing, which hosts events and opportunities throughout the year, as well as a regular research group. The University hosts Literary Leicester Festival every year, which features a wonderful array of events and readings. You can join our large Facebook group, "Creative Writing at Leicester," on which we feature news, opportunities, articles and calls for submission. We run the popular review blog Everybody's Reviewing and a course blog Creative Writing at Leicester. Nick Everett co-edits poetry publisher New Walk Editions. And there are lots more opportunities in the University and city for writers too. We want you to feel part of all of this, and to contribute to it. 

More information?

We're more than happy to answer any queries you have about the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester, and to talk to you about it. Email Jonathan Taylor on jt265[at]le[dot]ac[dot]uk for detailed information and to discuss further!

Nina Walker, "Blooming"

Nina Walker is a third-year student and Leicester University. She enjoys writing, rug making and Ray Bradbury’s short stories. She’s been writing poetry since she was sixteen when the only person reading it was her mum. The dream is to be published eventually. 

Nina performed the following poem at the Creative Writing Student Showcase at Literary Leicester in March, 2022. 

About the poem 'Blooming,' by Nina Walker

The following poem was inspired in part by my paternal grandmother Wendy Walker, who worked in the hosier industry that was huge in the Midlands, as well as an article I read about the disgustingly long waiting list for people in this country needing cancer treatment. Since my grandma died of cancer during 2020 the two seemed thematically close. I wanted to try and get across the sense of loss I feel when I think about my grandma and the industry she used to work in. 'Blooming' is part of a larger collection I hope to publish about England’s past and how it affects our understanding of the present, as well as how we can come to love such a deeply troubled country.

Blooming

The alley behind Debenhams sells discount granny bras 
And I want to cut off my hair
Watch the threads slip down the drain
One by one

I keep reading about our collapse
Makes me sick, stomach full of all this bile
So I eat cleaner
Greener

But I still feel rotten, soft like a pear gone brown in the middle
Soft like the skin round a lump
Growing plump
In the glands in my chest
An anxious spasm

The city is not our friend
Doesn’t recall our names like a bad teacher
Fumbles with our futures like a bleeding pen
Blubbering like the lady behind Debenhams 
Or on the market 
With her cheap elastic bloomers 
When I’ve lost my job and my hair
I hope she’s the only millionaire 

Something about these people with their day jobs and money makes me feel faker than tan.
I can’t carve away at the pain we’re all stuck to like plump blue bottles
Can’t make work mean more than pennies counted
Can’t remove the tumours

We work till our fingers can’t pick out the stitching anymore 

Till they’ve worn us out like Primark trainers 

My grandma worked with her hands 
Just like the woman did
But a tumour took my nan and a tumour is taking the woman too
But it's not in her body
So I can’t cut it out

The tumour is barren 
Stripped us of our tools 
Left us arthritic 
So we send our projects abroad to children with quick fingers 
Blank eyes

Your nan will live
Or not
They don’t really care if she makes a living 

Never mind the back alleys and soft flesh, it’s our conscience we should be searching.
If this country was a dog I’d shoot it out of mercy.