International Chair of Creative Writing

£2.25m

ICCW fundraising target

Professor Henry Sutton, Director of Creative Writing at UEA.

GLOBAL VOICES OF TOMORROW

Professor Henry Sutton introduces UEA’s new International Chair of Creative Writing project.

ig, bold and fearless. When describing UEA’s radical new International Chair of Creative Writing, it’s difficult not to use powerful language. But the project is so distinctive, so grand in its ambition, that choosing a more moderate tone would be doing it a disservice. In an interview with Professor Henry Sutton, Director of Creative Writing at UEA, we learn just what the project involves and how Difference Campaign donors will help to shape the next 50 years of writing at the University.

Could you introduce the project?

In 2020-21, we mark the 50th anniversary of creative writing at UEA. The International Chair of Creative Writing, or ICCW, project is going to be the launch of our next 50 years. We want to look forward as we celebrate what has been achieved, and this £2.25 million project, which will rely on the support of donors, is at the forefront of that.

How will it work?

We are looking for high-profile international writers whose work inspires and connects across borders and boundaries. Over the course of five years, five writers from five regions – Africa, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia and New Zealand – will hold the post of Chair for a period of one year. Each will work closely with UEA to represent emerging voices, both in their region and globally. The Chairs will lead workshops, lectures and other engagement activities in their own territory, supported by UEA staff, and share expertise at UEA through masterclasses, tutorials and public events. They will also make connections with key institutions, organisations and individuals. Alongside the International Chairs, we plan to create 50 International Scholarships for the Creative Writing programme. We will celebrate diversity and inclusivity, bringing more talented writers from around the world to UEA than ever before.

Why is a global focus important?

Creative writing at UEA is increasingly international. Today, a third of students on the Creative Writing MAs are international students, and that’s quite a recent development. As well as bringing students here to add their insight and experience, we want to champion voices in communities and areas that haven’t had the advantages that others have. u

WE ARE LOOKING FOR HIGH-PROFILE INTERNATIONAL WRITERS WHOSE WORK INSPIRES AND CONNECTS.

u Our goal is to become a global centre of excellence for supporting talented emerging writers, as well as to be a world leader for the story and practice of creative writing. We want to continue what we’ve been doing here for 50 years, as a natural home and place of sanctuary for writers.

Why is creative writing important?

I think it’s so vital that people have the opportunity to be heard, express themselves and make others aware of their experiences. Literature and writing, whether a short story, a novel, a poem or script, can help bring us together, open eyes and make people think. There are two key parts. One is enabling voices, while the other concerns the people and communities around the world who are going to be reading this material and benefitting from that experience. Writing helps tell us what it means to be human. To me, that’s absolutely essential.

Who will the project reach?

The five Chairs will be enthusing individuals and organisations around storytelling. They will have an ambassadorial role in the international community and empower dialogue between literary voices. Through philanthropy, we want to reach parts of the world where writing is restricted, and help encourage the supportive infrastructure needed to change lives through writing.

Will current students benefit?

The Creative Writing programme has changed people’s lives significantly. Not just in a monetary sense – although many of our students have won book deals and prizes – but through a deep engagement with creative writing, and what that has meant to them as writers and readers, and also as part of a diverse community of deeply interested and invested individuals. What we do best of all is create an environment, which works in part because of heritage. People recognise that we’ve been attracting the best students for 50 years. Alongside our existing scholarships, the ICCW project will help us to continue to attract the best and most international cohort of students.

Could you speak about the stories we might hear?

Success for the project means getting voices heard that haven’t necessarily been heard before. It can certainly authenticate experience, while encouraging imagination, validity and skill. It’s about enabling as many perspectives as possible. A big part of creative writing is capturing humanity in all its guises and enhancing empathy.

Any closing thoughts?

I see the ICCW project as the beginning of a serious internationalisation of what we do. Who knows, thanks to philanthropic support, where the next 50 years will take us?

Professor Henry Sutton is Director of Creative Writing at UEA and will lead the ICCW project.

A selection of titles from UEA’s prestigious alumni.

50 YEARS OF CREATIVE WRITING

Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson established the Creative Writing MA at UEA in 1970. From their first student, Ian McEwan, to the present day, we have fostered creativity and produced more published and prize-winning authors than any other UK programme. Our list of alumni is illustrious, and includes Anne Enright, Tracy Chevalier, Naomi Alderman, Emma Healey, John Boyne, Louise Doughty, Tash Aw, Ayòbámi Adébáyò and the 2017 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro OBE.