Master of Arts - Creative Writing and Publishing (17-month)

This forward-thinking and industry-relevant MA offers creative writers the opportunity to not only develop advanced writing skills, but also a solid understanding of the different ways in which writers can now engage with the publishing industry.

This innovative MA equips graduates with the knowledge and skills to take your writing into the commercial marketplace in both print and digital formats. Students will develop creative writing across a variety of forms, with a focus on transmedia storytelling and the skills to independently publish their work: learning and applying skills in editing, PR and marketing (including digital marketing), design, production, and budgeting. 

Students will also analyse the cultural and critical influences on the writer and publishing industry, as well as their own practice, honing the skills, knowledge and understanding to progress to further research at doctoral level, if desired.  

By the end of the course, graduates will be able to write creatively and effectively, to publishable standard, for a variety of different audiences and media. Central to the MA is the university’s own publishing press, Fresher Publishing, which provides students with the opportunity to work on real-life publishing projects.

Students can also engage with the university’s annual international creative writing competitions: The Fresher Writing Prize for emerging voices in fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, and the New Media Writing Prize for stories that integrate a variety of formats, platforms and digital media.

Tutors on the MA are not only experienced writers/practitioners, but have also acquired Master’s degrees and/or doctorates in Creative Writing or English themselves, and thus are proven in their ability to teach, encourage and support students as they develop their work to Master’s and, hopefully, publishable quality. BU's academics are supported by prestigious guest tutors from the world of writing and publishing.