BA (Hons) Creative Writing

Program Overview

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Course Details

Our BA (Hons) Creative Writing degree explores ‘how to put the best possible words in the best possible order’. Your imagination is boundless and we’ll help you to focus and control your ideas to give them shape, energy and structure. Our dedicated team of professional writers and lecturers will guide you on a journey through the worlds of prose, poetry and drama, and contemporary creative practice.

We’ll nurture and support you in exploring the rich, expressive potential of the English language and your development of the crafts of writing. Alongside this, we’ll examine, from a writer’s point of view, a wide range of creative work in various forms. Small group teaching and one-to-one support are central to our approach, allowing our expert team to offer personalised guidance that’s tailored specifically for you.

You’ll have opportunities to refine and develop your skills at every stage, from initial concept, through planning, background research and first drafts, to editing, re-writing and self-critique. The final year combines the creative, the critical and the practical. You’ll write a significant piece of creative work: a calling card script, collection of poetry or an extended piece of fiction; you’ll research and analyse a chosen area of creative practice; and you’ll undertake a work placement in an area associated with your individual career goals. Throughout the course, you’ll gain confidence, skills and knowledge, preparing you for a successful career in a multitude of industries.

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Highlights

Our Creative Writing courses are top 20 overall and first in the UK for teaching quality and student experience, according to The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Our dedicated lecturers are active professional writers and researchers whose work continues to be published, or produced on stage, screen or radio. They bring this wealth of expertise and practical knowledge to their teaching.

We have excellent industry contacts and strong links with external creative organisations such as publishers, production companies, theatres, libraries, art galleries, schools, funding bodies and arts development agencies that allow us to offer work experience placements in a wide variety of settings.

In particular, our partnership with the nationally acclaimed Octagon Theatre, Bolton means you have opportunities for privileged access to rehearsals, dress rehearsals, professional actors and directors, and discounted tickets for productions.

In your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to enter the Octagon Student Prize. Awarded annually for outstanding achievement in writing drama, the winning piece is given a professional presentation with practitioners.

We’ll encourage you to submit your work to our ISSN recognised literary magazine ‘The Bolton Review’, and to our annual poetry competition.

The annual New Writing Showcase offers you a chance to perform your work at the Bolton Octagon Studio or similar venue.

As a Creative Writing student, you'll be eligible to enter work for the Carcanet Poetry Prize and for the And Other Stories Fiction Prize.

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Key Features

All our lecturers are professional writers and researchers who’ve produced and continue to publish poetry, prose, plays and papers with national and international periodicals and imprints.

Experimentation is encouraged and you’ll be introduced to many different types of writing, from creative to critical, to help you develop your voice and gain awareness of the enormous variety of careers that creative writing skills support.

We offer a friendly and supportive intellectual community. You’ll be encouraged to get to know your peers from other subjects such as English, Theatre and Media, Writing and Production, with whom you’ll be participating in a variety of external creative events and/or collaborative projects.

There’ll be guest lectures from professionals from all aspects of the writing industry: producers, scriptwriters, poets, novelists, agents, publishers, promoters, and directors. Names you may recognise such as Sally Wainwright, Patrick Ness and Jenn Ashworth have given presentations in recent years.

‘Live Literature’ is our well-established, vibrant series of readings from published poets, fiction writers and playwrights, held in conjunction with Bolton Library and Museum Services.

We’ll work to help you develop a range of skills alongside your writing that are highly valued by employers, such as creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, team working, time management, research and critical analysis, IT, cultural awareness and lifelong learning.

By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.

Program Outline

Creative writing graduates demonstrate a range of subject-specific skills such as how to plan, research and develop ideas in writing, and the principles of writing for different audiences. Transferable skills include effective written and oral communication, creative thinking and creativity, planning and researching, presentation and proofreading, and effective social and digital media use.

Skills and experience gained outside of the curriculum are also fundamental, helping to showcase your interests and passion for writing. Many students write for and/or edit university newspapers or magazines, enter competitions or join a student writing group or society. Evidencing such activities will improve your chances of securing that graduate role, and help establish your reputation as a writer.

What can I do with this qualification?

There is a demand for good writers in every sector, and skills in this area will enable you to access many opportunities. In media, you could consider journalism, editing, researching or publishing. Copywriters also prepare advertising copy for use by publications or broadcast media to promote the sale of goods and services.

Business opportunities exist for writers in finance, professional services, administration, government, education and retail. Creative writers can write fiction or non-fiction, historical biographies or children's stories, poetry, lyrics or plays.

Technical writers develop scientific or technical materials, such as medical reports, equipment manuals, catalogues, operating and maintenance instructions, or project proposals. There are also opportunities to become self-employed and write on a freelance basis.

Some of our graduates have become professional authors. Our graduates have also moved into careers in script editing, arts administration, venue management, film and theatre, drama production, publishing, teaching, digital media content, local government and advertising.

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Alternative career options

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of careers. For some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:

Writer of/for prose, poetry, stage, screen, radio

Publishing

Script editing

Libraries

Education and training

Arts administration

Social media and search engine optimisation

Content marketing

Public relations

Proofreading/copyediting