English Literature and Creative Writing

English literature and creative writing are disciplines that feed each other in important and productive ways. Reading literature carefully and critically teaches you what great writing does and how it achieves its effects, developing the analytical eye that allows a writer to evaluate and improve their own work. Creative writing teaches you to take your reading into practice, to attempt the difficult work of making something that might matter to a reader, and to develop a critical relationship with your own voice and choices on the page.

Together they form one of the most rewarding combinations available in the humanities.

At Bangor, this programme offers the full breadth of English literary study across periods and genres alongside a creative writing strand that develops your practice in fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and other forms. You will read widely, engage with critical debate, and develop your own analytical voice as a reader alongside your creative voice as a writer. A foundation year is available for students who need additional preparation.

A sandwich year in industry, a year abroad, and a work placement are all incorporated, providing professional experience in relevant creative or cultural settings and the kind of international perspective that enriches both reading and writing.

Graduates from English literature and creative writing programmes go on to work in publishing, journalism, education, the arts, communications, broadcasting, and writing. Many develop creative practices of their own as writers, poets, or screenwriters alongside other professional work. The skills the degree develops, including close reading, precise written expression, the ability to give and receive critical feedback, and sustained creative thinking, are also valued in any career that depends on language and communication.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in creative writing, English, or publishing.