Creative Writing

Creative writing at degree level is the serious study and practice of making literature. It encompasses fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, creative non-fiction, and experimental forms, and at its best it is both a workshop discipline, concerned with the craft decisions that make writing work, and a critical discipline, asking what literature is for, how it functions, and what it means to have a distinctive creative voice. Writing seriously requires reading seriously, and a creative writing degree develops your capacity as a reader and thinker alongside your capacities as a writer.

At Leeds Arts University, this three-year full-time Creative Writing programme takes an experimental and industry-focused approach, developing contemporary skills in prose, poetry, script, and beyond, and building a striking portfolio of creative and critical work. The programme emphasises the collaborative nature of writing, and students work across disciplines with peers from game design, graphic design, and acting, taking on projects such as narrative games, printed pamphlets, and scripts for screen. This cross-disciplinary engagement reflects the realities of professional creative work, where writers often collaborate with designers, directors, and other practitioners rather than working in isolation.

You will develop your individual creative voice through practice, critique, and engagement with contemporary literature and the creative industries. Critical thinking, the ability to give and receive creative feedback, and the capacity to reflect on your own work and develop it in response to engagement with peers and tutors are all central to the programme. Leeds Arts University's focus on the creative arts and design gives the programme a distinctive context.

Graduates from creative writing programmes pursue careers as writers, editors, journalists, copywriters, publishing professionals, screenwriters, poets, and educators. Many combine writing with other careers while developing their practice. Further study in creative writing at postgraduate level is a natural option for those who want to deepen their specialism or move into teaching and academic writing.