English Literature and Creative Writing

English literature and creative writing is a pairing that treats reading and writing as deeply interconnected activities. Literature study asks you to read with analytical care, to understand how writers across centuries and cultures have used language to give form to experience and ideas; creative writing asks you to engage in that same practice yourself, turning critical understanding into your own prose, poetry, or other forms. Together they develop a sensitivity to language that is both intellectually rigorous and practically generative.

The Open University's programme is studied part-time and through distance learning, making it accessible to students with a range of other commitments, whether professional or personal. You will engage with literary texts across different periods, genres, and cultural contexts, developing close reading skills and the ability to write critically about what you read. The creative writing strand encourages you to develop your own voice, working across different forms and receiving feedback that helps you understand your choices as a writer more clearly.

The Open University has a long tradition of supporting students who have not come through conventional academic routes, and the programme is designed to develop genuine capability rather than simply to credential prior ability.

Graduates of English literature and creative writing programmes work in publishing, journalism, broadcasting, education, the arts, and community writing projects. Teaching in schools, either directly or through further qualification, is a well-established path for many graduates. Others work in editorial roles, as writers, in arts administration, in scriptwriting, in content creation, or in the many other contexts where language skill matters.

Postgraduate study in creative writing, literature, or education is available for those who wish to pursue their practice or research at a higher level.