Creative Writing at Southampton is taught by a team of dynamic writers, who teach the widest range of literary forms: novels and short stories, experimental poetry and performance, script-writing, screenwriting and creative non-fiction.  Whatever level of study, from BA to PhD, our experienced and internationally acclaimed writers will enable you to practice your craft and develop your own published work.

Our creative writing team includes Bloomsbury author Rebecca Smith, fiction writer and Washington Post freelancer Carole Burns, experimental poet Sarah Hayden, highly acclaimed non-fiction writer Philip Hoare. Their works are performed and read across the world, shaping public opinion and literary debate. Under their guidance, our students go on to careers as writers, publishers, agents, and editors. They set up festivals, run literature development agencies, win major literary awards, and craft the fictional forms of the future.

Our BA degrees include creative writing options in short stories, experimental writing, narrative non-fiction, scriptwriting, the novel, and creative writing pedagogy. Our established MA in Creative Writing allows you to develop long-form fiction, drama, and poetry, and support the critical and creative thinking that will prepare you for a successful career in the creative industries. Our Maureen Taylor Bursary offers financial support for postgraduate studies in Creative Writing.  

The department’s unique relationship with the John Hansard Gallery, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, and Chawton House gives our students the chance to workshop and perform in some of the UK’s most inspiring venues. Regular literary events include our popular series Writers in Conversation, Entropics, an experimental writing night, and the SO:To Speak festival, an annual celebration of literature in the city.

Recent successful Creative Writing PhD projects have explored short-story writing in Dubai, war-writing and memoir, modern trans narratives, digital writing, and contemporary gothic forms. Our Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing puts collaboration and community at the centre of your work.

We also each year provide the Maureen Taylor Scholarship. The £2500 bursary is open to all applicants, and is particularly aimed at encouraging black and minority ethnic (BME) women writers.