Lots of things have been happening in Creative Writing and the Centre for New Writing in 2023 so far, so we thought we'd share some of the highlights below. If there's anything you'd like to add to our next newsletter, please do let us know!
There are also many forthcoming guest talks, workshops and masterclasses as well as Literary Leicester Festival and the Annual Creative Writing Lecture taking place this term. All of the events are free and open to everyone. You can see full details of the programme here.
On Monday 27 March 2023 at 5.30pm in Attenborough Arts Centre, we'll be running our second Creative Writing Student Showcase, as part of Literary Leicester. You can book tickets for this free event here. If you are a student at Leicester, and would like to sign up to read at the event, please email Jonathan Taylor on jt265[at]le[dot]ac[dot]uk. Hope to see you there!
News!
Firstly, congratulations to all the MA Creative Writing students who graduated this January. And congratulations too to Adele Parks and Lemn Sissay, both of whom were awarded honorary degrees.
Students, staff and the public all contributed to the annual Favourite Reads of the Year article on Everybody's Reviewing here.
Creative Writing PhD student Joe Bedford has continued his excellent series of "Writers on Research" with an interview with Alison Macleod, which you can read here. Joe has also reviewed Julian Bishop's poetry collection, We Saw It All Happen, for Everybody's Reviewing here. And a reminder that Joe's novel, A Bad Decade for Good People, is forthcoming in June 2023.
Laura Besley, MA Creative Writing student, will be running a writing workshop at the annual States of Independence publishers' fair in De Montfort University, on Saturday 18 March.
Congratulations to Andrew Craven-Griffiths, who passed his PhD viva in Autumn 2022, and congratulations to Karen Powell-Curtis and Paul Taylor-McCartney, both of whom graduated with PhDs in Creative Writing this January. You can read more about Karen's PhD here, and Paul's here.
Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing graduate Tim Hannigan whose book The Granite Kingdom: A Cornish Journey will be published by Head of Zeus in May.
PhD Creative Writing student Cathi Rae and BA English with Creative Writing student Jess Hollis are representing the university at the annual "Unislam" spoken word competition in Birmingham. Good luck to them!
Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing graduate Sabyn Javeri, who has edited and published a new anthology of creative non-fiction, Ways of Being: Creative Non-Fiction by Pakistani Women. You can read more about it here.
Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Kathy Hoyle, who was a finalist in the Blue Frog Flash Competition. Kathy's story "Whale Song" has also been nominated for Best Microfiction by South Florida Poetry Journal. Her work is also featured on a list of recommended stories here.
MA Creative Writing graduate Sally Shaw has reviewed Deborah Morgan's new novel, Imagine Living, on Everybody's Reviewing here. Deborah Morgan gave a brilliant guest masterclass on the MA a few years back.
Nina Walker, MA Modern and Contemporary Literature student, has reviewed Adam Roberts's science fiction novel The This on Everybody's Reviewing here.
Lisa Williams, MA Creative Writing graduate, continues to publish 100-word stories on Friday Flash Fiction. You can read some of her recent stories here and here.
PhD Creative Writing student Lee Wright has reviewed Barry Jones's graphic novel The Book of Niall on Everybody's Reviewing here.
