MA Creative & Life Writing
Goldsmiths, University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
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Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
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Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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Introduction
MA Creative & Life Writing
Have you got a story to tell? Or poems that you want to shape into a collection? This degree will help you develop your creative writing practice. You’ll experiment with a wide variety of forms to help you discover your preferred mode of writing.
Why study MA Creative & Life Writing at Goldsmiths?
- You may be writing regularly; you may be returning to it after concentrating on your career. Whatever your background, if you're serious about your writing, we can help you to develop your practice.
- Our students bring with them a lively range of interests, cultures and experiences. We welcome students of any age who share the drive to take their writing seriously.
- You’ll have the chance to experiment with different forms – poetry, the novel, short story and life writing - as well as to specialise in one of those areas - and you will receive expert guidance in each field. Read work by our students.
- Some seminars will be taken by visiting writers who will talk about their work, introduce you to different theories of creative writing and engage you in discussion about their writing. Recent visitors have included Ali Smith, Caryl Phillips, Claire Keegan and Daljit Nagra.
- We host weekly readings and discussions organised by our Writers Centre, together with occasional visits from editors, literary agents and organisers of literary projects.
- Several graduates of this programme have gone on to be award-winning influential poets, among them Emily Berry, Abigail Parry, Nick Makoha, Katrina Naomi, Richard Scott and Jack Underwood who now teaches at Goldsmiths. Our Fiction and Life Writing graduates are similarly successful, Luiza Sauma, Tom Lee, Elaine Castillo, Sarah Leipciger, Anthony Joseph amongst others.
- In 2018, the Royal Society of Literature elected 40 new fellows under the age of 40 – in effect selecting the leading young British writers today. Six of them – Ross Raisin, Evie Wyld, Lucy Caldwell, Sophie Collins, Amy Sackville and Emily Berry – are Goldsmiths creative writing alumni. No other university creative writing programme comes close to matching that.
- Awards won by our creative writing alumni include the 2019 Desmond Elliott Prize, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award, Authors’ Club First Novel Award, John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, Betty Trask Prize, Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and several Eric Gregory Awards for Poetry. There have also been shortlistings for the Costa Prize (in both the poetry and fiction categories), the Encore prize, the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Orange Award for New Writers, the Dublin International IMPAC Prize, The Miles Franklin Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize, The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, the TS Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize for Poetry.
- The Pat Kavanagh Prize is presented annually to an outstanding graduate from the programme. The £500 prize, created in memory of the much-admired literary agent, is awarded by a team of her colleagues at United Agents. This has been the catalyst for publication by several previous winners.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Several scholarship options are available. Please check the university website for more information.
Curriculum
Compulsory modules
- Workshop in Creative and Life Writing
- Contemporary Contexts for Creative and Life Writing
- Creative and Life Writing Portfolio
Option modules
- Specialist Workshop in an Aspect of Creative and Life Writing (Fiction Option)
- Specialist Workshop in an Aspect of Creative and Life Writing (Life Writing Option)
- Specialist Workshop in an Aspect of Creative and Life Writing (Poetry)
- Specialist Workshop in an Aspect of Creative and Life Writing (Writing for Children/Young Adults Option)
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Among them they've won or been shortlisted for awards including:
- Desmond Elliott Prize 2019
- The Sunday Times/EFG Private Bank Short Story Award 2012
- Rooney Prize for Literature 2011
- Dylan Thomas Prize 2008 and 2011
- The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2009
- John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2009 and 2010
- Several Eric Gregory Awards
- Guardian First Book Award
- New Writing Ventures Prize
- Several Betty Trask Awards
English Language Requirements
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