Course outline

Be mentored by professional authors who will help you find your creative voice. See your work performed by actors in a staged reading, and get published in our student-led magazine, Show Don’t Tell, as well as our annual paperback anthology, the New Writing Series.

From poetry and playwriting to short stories and novels, you’ll focus on your existing creative passions and experiment with a wide range of styles, modes, and genres.

In your first year you’ll explore the fundamentals of prose, poetry and dramatic writing, before pursuing your chosen strand, or strands if you’re keen to combine a mix of creative areas. It offers a fulfilling experience for those serious about learning the writer’s craft and pursuing a career in the creative industries.

You’ll benefit from industry links with the Parabola Arts Centre, the Everyman Theatre and London-based literary agency Johnson & Alcock, which judges our annual novel writing contest.

Cheltenham is also home to The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival that attracts writers, journalists, philosophers and historians from around the globe.

You’ll learn from award-winning lecturers who specialise in a variety of genres, including transgressive writing, confessional poetry, sci-fi, horror, and speculative fiction. This includes Professor Nigel McLoughlin, twice shortlisted for the Hennessey Award. There are plenty of opportunities to showcase your work. Students read at open mic nights, see their plays performed by professional actors, and submit to our novel writing contest.

The professional focus of your final year will prepare you for your career in the creative industries. You’ll meet with established authors, agents, and editors, and learn about the publishing industry including composing your writer’s biography and learning how to submit your work to relevant magazines and markets.