Our MA in Creative Writing is an innovative and exciting course that provides opportunities to work closely with practising creative writers and professionals from the publishing and creative industries. It is designed to encourage you to improve your craft as a writer, develop your philosophy of composition, and explore contemporary forms of literature and the creative industries. The course has a strong focus on employability and aims to prepare you for a professional writing or publishing career. There is an opportunity to gain hands-on experience working on The Lincoln Review, an international literary journal edited exclusively by postgraduate students.
You will have the opportunity to learn from an enthusiastic team of professional writers whose work has been widely published, broadcast, and staged. Our academic team includes poet, essayist, and literary translator Daniele Pantano; science fiction writer Chris Dows; novelists Guy Mankowski and Amy Lilwall; playwright and short story writer Sue Healy; YA author Robert Weston; and writer and podcaster Sherezade García Rangel.
Students may benefit from the experience of a range of writers, editors, dramaturges, producers, and directors who visit the University of Lincoln to deliver inspirational talks or masterclasses. Previous speakers include Patience Agbabi, Ann Cleeves, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Visiting Professor Chris Packham CBE, and the former Poet Laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy, who became a Visiting Artist at the University in 2015. Robert Shearman is a Visiting Senior Fellow and regularly visits Lincoln to engage with students.
Join an international community of artists and writers
Become editor of The Lincoln Review journal
Complete a research project in a specialist area
Work across different genres and formats
Benefit from guest lectures and masterclasses
Opportunities to publish your own work
This course offers the opportunity to work across different genres and formats, including, but not limited to, fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, creative nonfiction, the graphic novel, writing for video games and roleplaying games, conceptual literature, writing for performance, and installation literature. Teaching takes place in lectures, seminars, and workshops. This programme is taught on Wednesdays.
A programme of guest lectures and masterclasses gives students the opportunity to learn from published writers and hear from professionals such as literary agents, editors, and publishers.
Termly symposia and reading series enable students to read their work to an audience. There may also be the option to have work published and receive feedback from readers outside of the University.
Modules aim to develop the skills required to become a successful writer and to provide the creative freedom to become proficient through practice in your favoured genre or form. Please refer to the Modules tab for more detailed information.
It's no exaggeration to say that the course changed my life. Not only was I able to develop my writing practice with mentorship from some incredible writers, I was also encouraged and supported to start submitting work for publication. Within a year, I'd written my first book, secured a publishing contract, and won an international literary prize.
Fee Griffin - Winner of the Amsterdam Open Book Prize
MA Creative Writing
This reflective module is designed to allow students of Creative Writing to study “reading as a writer” as a way of investigating literariness from a writerly perspective and “poetics” by practising writers as a speculative discourse. Student writers have the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the field of literary production in lecture and seminar situations, studying a range of contemporary literary works across genres.
This module offers student writers the opportunity of a “professional editorship” with The Lincoln Review, the University of Lincoln's international literary journal. Students have the opportunity to learn about issues, principles, and practices related to the management of publishing organisations; editing, marketing, solicitation of work, design, layout, copyright and ethical issues; as well as the process of editing, designing, and publishing a professional literary journal.
This module is designed to introduce student writers to, and further their knowledge of, various publishing industries (commercial, trade, and independent), fields of contemporary literary production, and the role(s) of the creative writer within the publishing world, and other creative and cultural environments. Students can engage in both professional research and professional practice, which will be developed and encouraged via lectures, seminars, and workshops.
During this practice-led module, student writers concentrate on the production of an extended creative writing manuscript, which is ultimately intended for publication as part of their ongoing professional development. This is contextualised by a reflection, as well as a statement of poetics, which will articulate the student writer’s own aesthetic practice and writerly philosophy, and situate their own writing in the field of literary production.
This practice-led module is designed to enable student writers to further their creative writing via individual practice and group workshop discussions, and through the production of poetics as a speculative discourse to accompany the specific writing produced.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, and contact hours.
Student writers will be continuously assessed through a variety of exercises. These range from writing prose fiction, poetry, and drama, adapting work from one genre to another, editing, writing within the conventions of a specific genre, or undertaking a piece of creative nonfiction. The final piece of work required is a 15,000-word creative project. Submitted works are collated into portfolios, with evaluations on style and technique.
The University of Lincoln's policy on assessment feedback aims to ensure that academics will return in-course assessments to you promptly - usually within 15 working days after the submission date.
Students have the opportunity to serve as editors for The Lincoln Review, an international literary journal edited exclusively by undergraduate and postgraduate students.
MA Creative Writing hosts the Poetry, Poetics, and Literary Translation Research Group; the Refugee Poetry Project; and the International Poetry Refugee Network.
Postgraduate Application Support
Applying for a postgraduate programme at Lincoln is easy. Find out more about the application process and what you'll need to complete on our How to Apply page. Here, you'll also be able to find out more about the entry requirements we accept and how to contact us for dedicated support during the process.
First or upper second class honours degree in a relevant subject.
If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.
Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 7.0 overall, with a minimum of 6.5 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/englishlanguagerequirements/.
For further advice on IELTS and the support available, please contact the International College by email at internationalcollege@lincoln.ac.uk.
You will need to have funding in place for your studies before you arrive at the University. Our fees vary depending on the course, mode of study, and whether you are a UK or international student. You can view the breakdown of fees for this programme below.
The University offers a range of merit-based, subject-specific, and country-focused scholarships for UK and international students. To help support students from outside of the UK, we offer a number of international scholarships which range from £1,000 up to the value of 50 per cent of tuition fees. For full details and information about eligibility, visit our scholarships and bursaries pages.
Postgraduate Funding Options
Find out more about the optional available to support your postgraduate study, from Master's Loans to scholarship opportunities. You can also find out more about how to pay your fees and access support from our helpful advisors.
Studying this course greatly enriched my knowledge of the industry through its modules and internship with The Lincoln Review. The skills and knowledge I have gained enabled me to secure a publishing contract for my first book, alongside numerous grants and journal appearances. I certainly would not be where I am in my career without it.
Jade King - Author of Sucker Punch (Broken Sleep Books, 2023)
MA Creative Writing
This programme is designed to provide training for a career in writing, from fiction to screen and radio adaptation. You have the opportunity to develop advanced communication skills which can open up career opportunities across the creative industries in publishing, research, teaching and the media. Some graduates choose to continue their studies at doctoral level.
For more information about this course, please contact the Programme Leader.
Daniele Pantano
dpantano@lincoln.ac.uk
To get a real feel for what it is like to study at the University of Lincoln, we hold a number of dedicated postgraduate events and activities throughout the year for you to take part in.
