Creative Writing

Creative Writing is the craft of producing original literary work with intention, skill, and a distinctive voice. It is a discipline that takes writing seriously as an art form, recognising that the ability to produce compelling fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and scripts depends on both natural talent and the cultivation of specific techniques, habits of mind, and awareness of the wider literary tradition. A degree in creative writing develops your practice through close engagement with the work of other writers, critical reflection on your own writing, and sustained creative experimentation across a range of forms.

At Aberystwyth University, this three-year, full-time programme is delivered by the Department of English and Creative Writing, which brings together creative practitioners and literary scholars in a cross-disciplinary environment. You will learn the craft of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, and other forms, developing the technical and imaginative range that genuine literary practice demands. Alongside the production of creative work, you will develop critical and analytical skills that deepen your understanding of how texts work and how the literary tradition you are writing within and against has been constructed.

Aberystwyth's location in west Wales provides a distinctive environment for creative work, and the department's connections to the broader literary world give the programme professional relevance.

Graduates of Creative Writing build careers as writers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, copywriting, and content creation. Many combine creative practice with work in publishing, journalism, teaching, arts administration, and communications. The analytical, reflective, and communicative skills the degree develops are valued across any profession in which working purposefully with language is central.

Postgraduate study in creative writing is a well-established path for those who want to develop their practice further or pursue academic careers in the discipline.