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Creative Writing at UEA

The UK’s first MA in Creative Writing was established at the University of East Anglia by the novelists Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson in 1970. The UK’s first PhD in Creative and Critical Writing followed in 1987. Creative Writing at undergraduate level has been taught informally since the 1960s and formally since 1995.

UEA’s Creative Writing Heritage

Situated in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, each of our Creative Writing courses offers an opportunity to develop as a writer in relation to the wider social and literary context, to work under pressure of deadlines, to share the experience of writing with colleagues in a supportive creative and critical atmosphere and to be taught by writers of established reputation.

In 2017 we were delighted to hear that Kazuo Ishiguro had won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Three graduates of the UEA Creative Writing MA have won the Booker Prize for Fiction:

Kazuo Ishiguro in 1989

Ian McEwan in 1998

Anne Enright in 2007

Eight UEA Creative Writing graduates have also been shortlisted:

McEwan in 1981, 1992, 2001, 2005 and 2007

Ishiguro in 1986, 2000, and 2005

Rose Tremain in 1990

Mick Jackson in 1997

Trezza Azzopardi in 2000

Andrew Miller in 2001

Tash Aw in 2005

Adam Foulds in 2009.

Numerous others have been longlisted, including most recently: Neel Mukherjee in 2014; Tash Aw and Richard House in 2013; Paul Murray and Rose Tremain in 2010; James Scudamore in 2009; and Mohammed Hanif in 2008.

UEA Creative Writing Literary Awards

In addition to these successes, graduates of the UEA Creative Writing programme have won or been shortlisted for every other major literary award in the UK, including, The Orange Prize, The Whitbread / Costa Award, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, The Commonwealth Writers’ Award, The Forward Prize, The T.S. Eliot Award, The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, The Guardian First Book Award, The Walter Scott Prize, The James Tait Black Memorial Prize, The Dylan Thomas Prize, The Betty Trask Award, The Encore Award, The Somerset Maugham Award, The Desmond Elliott Prize, The Ondaatje Prize, The Saltire Award, The Desmond Elliot Prize, The Authors’ Club Award, The Eric Gregory Award, The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, and the BBC National Short Story Award.

Read more about our prizewinners of major literary awards.

A look at the roll call of our alumni will suggest something of the spirit and direction of Creative Writing at UEA, as well as its diversity.

The work of our students, alumni, faculty and visiting writers can be found on #newwriting.net, published in partnership with Writers’ Centre Norwich.

In 2011 UEA’s Creative Writing programme was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, the UK’s most prestigious higher education award, in recognition of its continuing excellence in delivering innovative courses at a world-class level.

See yourself at UEA?

Explore the scriptwriting degree programmes offered by the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.

MA Creative Writing Scriptwriting

Creative and Critical Writing PhD

BA English Literature With Creative Writing

UEA Creative Writing Scholarships

There are a range of UEA scholarship and funding opportunities that you might be eligible for. Ensure you explore these opportunities to further support your creative studies.

Small city: International impact

The University of East Anglia campus is located in a lush, green area of Norwich. As a student here, this unique part of the UK can easily become your home away from home. Norwich has all the characteristics of a ‘university city’; a major commercial and thriving cultural centre, steeped in medieval history, yet still a vibrant place to live, shop, and study. Norwich has good bus and rail connections to the rest of the UK, plus its own international airport that ensures easy access to Europe with connections to 200 cities worldwide.

With a progressive attitude toward the world, UEA has earned its position as a premier research institution in the latest Research Excellent Framework (REF2014) and is committed to making a substantial impact on the global challenges facing society. As a graduate of UEA, you will be equipped with this same, highly employable commitment to creating the changes you want to see in the world.

UEA and You

UEA is an internationally renowned, campus-based university that delivers top quality academic, social and cultural facilities to over 15,000 students. The postgraduate community is around 3,500 students, forming one of its central strengths, especially when it comes to producing world-leading research.

UEA Faculties

UEA has four Faculties that provide research-led teaching with academic rigor in a range of subjects across the Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Medicine and Health Sciences. Degrees are available in full-time and part-time options, and also include professional studies such as teaching, medicine, law and business, as well as a number of short course professional development opportunities.

If you want to change the world with your degree, make an impact on your industry and reach your full potential – the University of East Anglia could be a brilliant next step. Discover the brilliant work happening every day at UEA.