The Culture - Keele University
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The Culture

A major reason to study Creative Writing at Keele is the excellent Cultural and Arts scene on the campus, in which literary events play a large part.

Keele has a prestigious series of visiting writers, some of whom offer special workshops. There are writing competitions to enter, a literary magazine to play with, and events and readings organised by the flourishing Creative Writing Society. The Undergraduate Creative Writing scene is thriving, thanks to a particularly enthusiastic current set of students taking modules in the subject - many of whom are also active members of the Creative Writing society.

Browse the links for specific information.

Brief History

Although the development of an MA in Creative Writing has only been recent and Undergraduate Creative Writing has only been on offer for a few years, Keele has a history of ‘writing culture’ which goes back two decades. Prior to the current locating of the subject in the School of Humanities, there was significant provision in other areas of the University:

A Brief History of Creative Writing at Keele

by Philip Emery

The current era of creative writing provision at Keele University began in the mid-eighties,  as the subject began to make significant headway in the British academic sector.

The first evening course offered by the Department of Adult Education, overseen by convener Bill Parkinson and tutored by poet and short-story writer Tamar Hodes,  provided clear evidence of the subject's appeal: enough students surged through the door on the first evening to fill two classes.   A second course was quickly initiated, tutored by novelist John Toft.

The department's provision developed over the next few years to include specialised courses in subjects such as the short story,  novel writing and writing for children.

These weekly courses were soon supplemented by equally popular day and week-end courses on poetry and storywriting tutored by Tamar and John.

During the nineties the pool of tutors expanded and courses were offered off-campus across the Staffordshire-Shropshire-Cheshire area. During this period the breadth of subject provision continued to expand, with scriptwriting and journalism added. All this activity was enhanced and reinforced by Adult Education's programme of visiting writers, which included Julian Barnes, Jeanette Winterson and U.A.Fanthorpe.

The nineties also saw a shift in the emphasis of extramural education across universities. Keele's creative writing classes provided a ready testing ground for the new system of accreditation, whereby,  under the C.A.T.S. system,  students are given the chance to accrue credits toward an academic qualification.

Over the years,  some of those attending Keele's Adult Education and latterly Continuing and Professional Education classes have been published in anthologies and magazines,  placed in writing competitions,  been commissioned by the BBC, gone on to achieve degrees, or published novels. And even appeared on 'The Weakest Link'!