Independent Learning Project
In consultation with the MA convenor, you may replace one module with an Independent Learning Project. This module enables you to work independently on topics additional to those within existing modules on the MA in Creative Writing or other Department MAs (see below), subject to the availability of a suitable supervisor. ILPs allow for dedicated time and one-to-one feedback on a longer project, particularly in specialised genres or experimental forms.
The Staff Team
Modules from Other Pathways
Dr Jeannette Baxter: 20th Century literature, especially the post-war novel; contemporary fiction; the relationship between literature and the visual arts
You may take one module from another of the Department’s MA programmes in place of one Creative Writing option (subject to approval). Popular choices include modules from the MAs in English, Film Studies and Publishing.
Dissertation
You may choose any genre or form that the Department is able to supervise for your major project. Typical projects include novellas, extracts of novels, linked collections of short stories, and more experimental prose forms, poetry and screenwriting. Major projects are expected to be of a publishable standard and often go on to become submissions to agents and editors. You will be supported throughout the dissertation process by one-toone staff supervision.
Assessment
Each module requires reading, peer critiques and week-by-week writing, but we assess each of the four core modules primarily by means of a 6,000+ word final project, combining creative, critical, and reflective work in differing proportions. The Independent Learning Project is assessed according to criteria defined by the student and tutor at the outset. The dissertation requires 12,000 words of creative work plus 3,000 words of critical commentary reflecting on the process, challenges, aims and success of the work
Entry requirements for the MA
We ask for writing portfolio of up to 3,000 words. The sample can be a single story or excerpt from a novel, or can include several shorter pieces. We accept poetry and creative nonfiction but suggest at least some prose fiction. We usually ask for a degree of 2:1 or above. However, all applications will be assessed on the basis of the writing portfolio and all applicants will be considered even if they do not have a 2:1. Candidates for whom English is not a first language will be expected to demonstrate a certified level of proficiency of at least IELTS 7 or equivalent. Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements. We welcome applications from International and EU students.
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The MA is taught by permanent staff and a rotating panel of visiting specialists, all established authors as well as experienced teachers of fiction. Modules are supplemented by guest speakers, masterclasses, and informal question and answer sessions. MA students also have access to personal consultations and mentoring with our Royal Literary Fund Fellows.
Prof Sarah Annes Brown: Shakespeare and Renaissance poetry; Classical reception; the Victorian novel Laura Dietz: creative writing; science in contemporary literature
Cambridge & Chelmsford
MA Creative Writing Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences
Judy Forshaw: screenwriting; adaptation Dr John Gardner: 19th Century literature, especially the interaction between high and low literature; poetry and conflict Prof. Eugene Giddens: Renaissance drama; gender; textual studies Dr Una McCormack: creative writing; women’s science fiction; transformative works Prof. Farah Mendlesohn: modern science fiction and fantasy; pulp magazines; children’s literature; rhetoric Dr Colette Paul: creative writing; the short story; narratology; contemporary women’s fiction Dr Valerie Purton: Victorian literature, especially Dickens and Tennyson; post-colonial literature Prof Rowland Wymer: Shakespeare and Renaissance drama; science fiction; film; critical theory Dr Tory Young: modernism; Nancy Cunard; contemporary fiction; narratology; post/feminism Please consult the Department’s website for a current list of staff with research interests and publication details.
For further information Click: Email: Call:
www.anglia.ac.uk/macreativewriting answers@anglia.ac.uk 0845 271 3333
To apply please download a form or apply on-line: www.anglia.ac.uk/apply
englishandmedia www.anglia.ac.uk/englishandmedia
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“I chose the part -time option, and it was a most rewarding two years. I would urge others who take their writing seriously to consider taking the MA Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin.” Penny Hancock, MA Creative Writing, Two-book publishing deal with Simon & Schuster
MA Creative Writing Our course is aimed at practising writers with a commitment to developing their writing. We offer a relaxed and stimulating literary and intellectual environment in which you can develop a better understanding of your work through critical reflection. The focus is on your own work in progress and you are encouraged to specialise in your chosen genre. This course investigates the technical mastery of creative writing in the short story or novel, poetry or screenwriting. We encourage you to broaden your appreciation a range of traditional and experimental literary forms. The course also works with you on the business side of writing. We provide mentoring and host a series of talks, masterclasses and networking opportunities with agents, publishers, and established fiction writers. Our MA Publishing is a founding member of CAMPUS Cambridge’s Publishing Society which has a wide membership from throughout the industry. No MA can guarantee publication, but this programme addresses the creative, critical, and professional development needed for a career as an author.
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Modules 1 Patterns of Story: Fiction and Its Forms This module considers fiction through the lens of the dominant contemporary form: the novel. It examines the history of the novel from the 18th Century to the modern day, exploring changing social and commercial contexts. You will practice as well as study the patterns of story that emerge and re-emerge at particular cultural moments. Through the reading and discussion of landmark novels, and works on the history and structure of the novel by writers such as Jane Smiley, Christopher Booker, John Mullen and Dorothea Brande, you will debate what it means to write novels and to be a writer as well as considering the ways in which some contemporary writers use and reuse much older forms of storytelling.
2 Workshop: The Novel How the MA is organised The MA Creative Writing consists of four taught modules taken over one year by full-time students and two years by part-time students, followed by a dissertation. Teaching runs in two 12-week semesters from September to December (modules 1 and 3) and January to May (modules 2 and 4). Each module meets weekly during the semester for a twohour seminar. Classes are currently scheduled at the following times: Monday 6-8 pm: Patterns of Story, Workshop: the Novel Thursday 6-8 pm: Workshop: the Short Story, Special Topic Talks, masterclasses, and question & answer sessions by visiting speakers are optional and will take place outside class time, typically in the early evening. Tutorials and mentoring sessions are scheduled by arrangement.
On this workshop-based module you will study the techniques of novel writing. Specific elements such as characterisation, dialogue, and setting will be presented in seminar and reinforced with exercises and discussion. Detailed peer critique will provide you with a range of feedback, but also with experience in evaluating and troubleshooting contrasting works in progress. This module will also incorporate practical advice on agents, the marketplace and how to get work published.
3 Workshop: The Short Story This module will use a similar format to Workshop: The Novel to explore the techniques specific to short story writing. You will examine the possibilities and challenges of short fiction, reading authors from Chekhov and James to Raymond Carver and Alice Munro alongside the work of peers. Exercises, presentations, and tutorials will explore the issues particular to each student’s experiments in the form. As the module progresses, you will reflect critically on your own writing, that of your peers, and on developing critical judgement.
4 Special Topic Teaching Modules are taught in small groups using seminar and workshop formats, incorporating a large element of formal peer critique. Each module includes one-to-one tutorials in addition to classroom time.
This module gives you the opportunity to study a particular specialty with a writer currently active in the form, typically a visiting tutor. A topic may be writing for children, creative non-fiction, a particular genre such as historical fiction or crime writing, or may be the study of a related discipline such as adaptation for the screen. As the designated topics vary from year-to-year your interests will help determine which topics are offered.
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