head of creative writing uea

BA (Hons) Drama and Creative Writing

Key Details

Why you should choose us

Course overview.

This unique degree unites UEA’s strengths in creative writing and in drama to give you an exhilarating immersion in writing and performance. 

You will have the opportunity to study all kinds of creative writing, with a particular focus on writing for theatre, cinema, television, and radio. Alongside, you'll be exploring the contemporary practice, criticism, and history of dramatic writing and performance. Your writing will be enriched by an awareness of theatrical and literary traditions from around the globe. 

You’ll take practical drama modules, and you’ll have full access to our professionally equipped 200-seat Drama Studio. This comprehensive grounding in acting, directing, and all other aspects of stagecraft will enable you to graduate as a writer with an instinctive feel for the world of theatre and performing arts.  

Our BA Drama and Creative Writing is ranked 6th for Creative Writing by  'The Guardian University Guide 2023'.

You'll gain a thorough grounding in writing for stage and screen, which will be complemented by opportunities to develop your skills in non-dramatic writing, too. Your stage and screen writing will be improved by getting to grips with the ins-and-outs of theatrical performance, while you become better able to analyse dramatic language by writing it yourself. 

At the heart of your degree are scriptwriting masterclasses with practising writers, where you’ll discover the formats, conventions, and techniques of writing for different   dramatic genres and media. You’ll learn by writing scenes and short scripts, offering critiques of each other’s work, and by working closely with other Drama students. 

In your second and third years, you'll be able to develop your craft as a writer by taking workshops in prose or poetry, working closely with our world-famous creative writing colleagues.  

Throughout your degree, you will gain hands-on experience by participating in production and practical project work. You’ll have the keys to our professionally equipped 200-seat Drama Studio, giving you the chance to control everything in your own productions. You’ll also have access to performance and placement opportunities, including a creative industries internship in your second year, which involves a work placement in a drama-producing organisation or environment.  

You’ll encounter an astonishing array of drama and a wealth of performance styles, from naturalism to Noh theatre. You’ll engage with major theoretical and directorial approaches, from Aristotle to Boal, from live art to physical theatre. And you can examine the use of theatre and performance – by the state, by political activists, and by theatre and performance practitioners – to solidify or challenge structures of power. 

You’ll benefit from our highly regarded student run Minotaur Theatre Company, which gives you the chance to gain additional performance, technical and scriptwriting experience, as well as exciting chances to share your writing at events such as New Writing Live. Find out more about life in the School of Literature, Drama, and Creative Writing on our Instagram @uealdc. 

Placement Year and Study Abroad

You have the option to apply to study abroad for one semester of your second year. Studying abroad is a wonderfully enriching life experience – you will develop confidence and adaptability, and will have the chance to deepen your understanding of drama and writing while learning about another culture. At UEA, you will also be surrounded throughout your degree by the many students we welcome from around the world to study with us. 

For further details, visit the  Study Abroad section  of our website.  

Entry Requirements

A Level – BBB

BTEC L3 Extended Diploma – DDM

UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes .  

Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):  

IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) for year 1 entry 

We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review  our English Language Equivalencies  for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.

If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:  

Pre-sessional English at INTO UEA   

Academic English at INTO UEA   

Additional Information or Requirements

UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.  

If you do not have an A-Level or equivalent qualification in one of the subjects listed above,  once you have submitted your UCAS form we may then contact you to ask you to submit a short analysis of a passage of a literary text in support of your application.

We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications.  If you have a qualification which is not listed here, please contact us via Admissions Enquiries .

If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our   Foundation Year programmes

Important note

Once enrolled onto your course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include your eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.

International Requirements 

We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. View our International Students pages for specific information about your country.

Fees and Funding

Tuition Fees  

View our information for Tuition Fees.  

Scholarships and Bursaries 

We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates. 

Course Related Costs

View our information about Additional Course Fees.  

How to Apply

Apply for this course through the  Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS ), using UCAS Hub. 

UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.

Your application does not have to be completed all at once.  Register or sign in to UCAS  to get started. 

Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges. 

The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is  E14. 

View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:  

How to apply through UCAS  

Employability

After the course.

Some graduates go into careers in film, drama, radio, and scriptwriting, as writers, developers, agents, casting directors, or artistic directors of their own companies. Recent graduates from our drama degrees include the actor Matt Smith (famous for his portrayal of Doctor Who and his leading role in The Crown), the presenter of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Greg James, and the playwright Tom Morton-Smith (whose 2015 play Oppenheimer was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company). For others, this degree is a stepping-stone towards careers in the arts, media, publishing, politics, charities, and NGOs, teaching, and the commercial sector.  Our Careers Service is here to support you in launching your career by advising with CV writing, internships, and much more. Every year we run an event, Working with Words, which gives current students the chance to meet and hear from successful UEA alumni from across the creative industries.   UEA also has its own in-house student publishing project, Egg Box, along with many other exciting initiatives that give you opportunities to turn your love of writing and performance into a foundation for your future career. 

A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.

Examples of careers you could enter include:  

Scriptwriting  

Theatre and film  

Journalism  

Media  

Teaching  

Publishing  

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Drama and Creative Writing starting September 2023 for 3 years

Courses, apprenticeships, information guides and more

University of East Anglia UEA

Degree level: postgraduate, awarded by: university of east anglia, creative writing (taught), course options.

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Chat with students at this uni

Course summary.

Overview UEA pioneered the teaching of Creative Writing more than 50 years ago and is globally regarded as a leader of the subject. UEA has mentored countless award-winning authors, including Booker Prize winners Ian McEwan, Anne Enright, and Nobel Laureate Sir Kazuo Ishiguro. But today Creative Writing is changing, and so are we. Stories are now adapted from novels to streaming platforms to games and so much more. Digital technologies and AI are reshaping writing's possibilities and practical applications. Exciting fusion genres from authors across the globe are dominating bestseller lists and streaming platforms. Career opportunities in the creative industries across the world are increasingly vibrant and ever more dynamic. This course will equip you to engage with this world and its vast audiences, now and in the future. You'll have the unique opportunity to work across forms of writing to help you discover and enhance your talent. You'll explore prose fiction and non-fiction, script and poetry, and hybrid, multimodal, and cross-genre writing. You'll also have the opportunity to develop all kinds of industry-oriented genre writing, from speculative fiction to young adult, fantasy to historical. You'll learn how AI and digital technology are transforming our ideas of writing and writers. You'll also find opportunities to experiment with writing for multiple digital realities and platforms, which are widely accessible and easily integrated. Most of all, you’ll develop skills to get noticed, published and build an audience in this digital world. At the same time, you'll benefit from UEA's established teaching excellence, creative writing workshops, and unrivalled connections with the fast-changing publishing industry in the UK and beyond. You'll become part of the university’s vibrant creative writing ecosystem, with events such as UEA Live, research and internship opportunities in the British Archive for Contemporary Writing, and a host of more informal occasions to share and celebrate your work and hear from prize-winning alumni. You’ll study in the historic city of Norwich, one of UNESCO’s Cities of Literature. You'll benefit from UEA's exceptional expertise in the world-wide breadth and history of literature, building your confidence and authority as a writer. You'll graduate a respected and versatile writer, steeped in practical and professional knowledge. You might translate that experience into a career in the creative industries, such as publishing and editing, writing for advertising, marketing, arts, culture, heritage and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) sector organisations, VR and XR experiences, digital gaming, streaming TV, and more. You may be embarking on a new writing career or you may be an established professional looking to upskill in a changing environment. Perhaps you want to understand more about writing and feel the thrill of seeing your work come together on page or screen. Whatever your ambitions, this course will inspire and enable you to discover your own voice and make the most of it in the next stage in your writer’s journey. Disclaimer Course details are subject to change. You should always confirm the details on the provider's website: www.uea.ac.uk

Please see our website www.uea.ac.uk for further information

Assessment method

Entry requirements.

Degree classification: 2:1 or equivalent. Degree subject: Any subject area. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must also submit a sample of their work (up to 30 pages of screenplay or dramatic script).

English language requirements

English Foreign Language: Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading): Test dates should be within 2 years of the course start date. We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.

https://www.uea.ac.uk/apply/our-admissions-policy/english-language-equivalencies

Fees and funding

Tuition fees.

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Sponsorship information.

The School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing has a number of scholarships and bursaries available for Home, EU and Overseas students. Further details can be found on the School website.

Provider information

Visit our website

Our COVID-19 information

University of East Anglia UEA Norwich Research Park Norwich NR4 7TJ

Course contact details

University admissions service.

[email protected]

01603 591515

2 Course options

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MA Creative Writing Prose Fiction

University of east anglia uea, different course options.

• Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, university information, similar courses at this uni, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

MA - Master of Arts

Subject areas

Narrative Prose Writing

Course type

Our course will transform you as a writer, giving you a surer sense of the technical and emotional complexes that underpin any act of writing.

You’ll study the craft of prose fiction with an internationally excellent cohort of other writers, and you’ll be taught by an outstanding and committed faculty – which includes Andrew Cowan, Naomi Wood and Tessa McWatt, to name a few – alongside internationally recognised visiting writers – recent examples include Tsitsi Dangarembga, Margaret Atwood, Ali Smith, Caryl Phillips and Preti Taneja.

We will challenge you to explore your notions about writing and being a writer, provoking you into play, experimentation and risk, with the intention of making you the best writer you can be.

After this intensive year, you’ll leave the course confident of technique and craft, as well as your own voice. It’s no wonder that our students’ success is unparalleled, with many of our graduates going on to publish their own work – with others moving into publishing, journalism or teaching.

The MA Prose Fiction at UEA is the oldest and most prestigious Creative Writing programme in the UK. Solely focused on the writing of fiction, we take a rigorous and creative approach to enable you to develop your ideas, voice, technique and craft.

You’ll experience an intensive immersion in the study of writing prose fiction. You will take core creative modules but can also choose from a wide range of critical modules, and benefit from our proven strengths in modernism and creative-critical studies, among others.

Graduates of our MA Creative Writing Prose Fiction have enjoyed extraordinary success in terms of publications and prizes. Our alumni include Nobel Laureate Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, Baileys Women’s Prize-winner Naomi Alderman, Emma Healey and Tash Aw. The continuing success of our graduates means we are fortunate in being able to attract the best writers from around the world – writers like you.

While you are at UEA, the focus will very much be on exploring your creative potential, in a highly supportive and well-resourced environment.

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

UK fees Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.1 or equivalent preferred in any subject. Candidates are required to submit a portfolio of writing for assessment of between 3000 and 5000 words with their application. This could be part of a novel in progress or a piece or pieces of short fiction.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a world-renowned university known for its high standard across both taught and research postgraduate courses. Based in Norwich, in the county of Norfolk, the university has an excellent international reputation for the high standard of its research output. UEA is home to over 17,000 students, of which around 25% are postgraduate students. UEA is part of one of the biggest research communities in Europe... more

MA Creative Writing (Non-Fiction)

Full time | 1 year | 23-SEP-24

MA Creative Writing Crime Fiction (Part Time)

Part time | 2 years | 23-SEP-24

MA Creative Writing (Non-Fiction) (Part time)

Andrew Cowan

• Emeritus Professor , School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing
• Member , Creative Writing Research Group

1.18 Arts and Humanities Building

Personal profile

Andrew Cowan is a graduate of UEA with a BA in English and American Studies and an MA in Creative Writing. Before joining the faculty in 2004 he was twice a Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at UEA, working with students on their expository and creative writing skills. He was a longstanding tutor in Creative Writing for the Arvon Foundation and is the author of six novels, which have been published in 12 languages, including PIG, which won a Betty Trask Award, the Authors' Club First Novel Award, the Ruth Hadden Memorial Prize, a Scottish Arts Council Book Award, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for five other awards.  COMMON GROUND  and  CRUSTACEANS  both received competitive Arts Council bursaries.  WHAT I KNOW  was the recipient of an Arts Council Writers' Award and was published in 2005. His Creative Writing guidebook, THE ART OF WRITING FICTION , was published by Pearson Longman in 2011 and his fifth novel  WORTHLESS MEN  in 2013. His most recent novel  YOUR FAULT  was published in 2019.  His monograph AGAINST CREATIVE WRITING was published by Routledge in 2022. His Instagram can be found at: https://www.instagram.com/andrewcowan01. His website can be found at: www.andrew-cowan.com

Administrative Posts

• 2022-2023: Course Director for MA in Creative Writing (prose)
• 2016-2019: Course Director for MFA in Creative Writing
• 2016-2018: School Promotions Committee
• 2012-2013: School Research Committee
• 2012-2013: School Enterprise Officer
• 2011-2018: Director of Creative Writing
• 2011-2012: Project Manager www.newwriting.net
• 2009-2013: School Promotions Committee
• 2009-2012: Deputy Head of School
• 2007-present: Admissions Tutor, MA in Creative Writing (prose)
• 2007-2011: Course Director for MA in Creative Writing (prose)
• 2007-2012: Member of MA Exam Board
• 2007-2009: School Teaching Committee
• 2004-2007: Course Director for BA Hons in English Literature with Creative Writing
• 2004-2007: Member of BA Exam Board

Andrew Cowan is a Professor of Creative Writing and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. For 10 years until 2018 he was the Director of the Creative Writing programme at UEA. He is a graduate of the UEA MA and was for some years UEA’s Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow. He is the author of six novels: PIG , which won several literary prizes including the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, COMMON GROUND , CRUSTACEANS , WHAT I KNOW , which received an Arts Council Writers' Award, WORTHLESS MEN, and YOUR FAULT, which will be published by Salt in 2019. His Creative Writing guidebook THE ART OF WRITING FICTION  was published in 2011, and he is currently writing a monograph for Routledge, AGAINST CREATIVE WRITING.   He teaches on the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including the MA in Prose Fiction, the MFA in Creative Writing, and the PhD in Creative and Critical Writing. In 2010 he was a keynote speaker at the 'Writing Across Cultures' conference at City University of Hong Kong and the annual conference of the Australian Association of Writing Programs in Melbourne. In 2011 he wrote UEA’s successful bid for a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. He also wrote the bid for which the UEA Creative Writing website – www.newwriting.net - received AHRC funding. In 2012 he was an invited speaker at the AWP annual conference in Chicago, at the University of Fudan in Shanghai, China, and the Festival of International Literature in Bucharest, Romania. In 2013 he was the keynote speaker at the Storyville Festival at Kyoto University of Art and Design and the 1 st International Conference, Creative Writing, University of Western Macedonia, Greece, and was a participant at the Sozopol Fiction Seminar in Bulgaria and the International Festival of Literature and Translation (FILIT) in Iasi, Romania. In 2015 he was a visiting professor at the University of Western Macedonia, Greece, and in 2016 he chaired the Creative Writing program review at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, and was the external adviser to the BA English with Creative Writing course approval process at Queen Mary, University of London. In 2017 he was a keynote speaker at the 3rd International Conference, Creative Writing, Ionian University, Greece.

Key Research Interests

My sixth novel, YOUR FAULT , will be publishd by Salt in 2019 and I am currently writing a monograph for Routledge, AGAINST CREATIVE WRITING , for publication in 2020.  In 2011 I published a Creative Writing guidebook, THE ART OF WRITING FICTION , for which I've been commissioned by Routledge to write a revised edition for publication in 2021.

I am principally a novelist with an interest in issues in Creative Writing pedagogy.

I supervise Creative and Critical writing research students, principally though not exclusively the creative component of their PhDs.

Areas of Expertise

Teaching interests.

Projects per year

Future and Form of Literature

Sutton, H. , Cowan, A. , Mann, J. , McNeil, J. , McWatt, T. , Smith, J. , Waters, S. & Wood, N.

The Arts Council of England

1/04/20 → 31/12/21

Project : Research

New Writing Net: the development of a virtual creative and critical community - Resubmission

Arts and Humanities Research Council

1/12/10 → 31/05/11

New Writing Net: the development of a virtual creative and critical community (Writers' Centre Norwich)

National Centre for Writing

1/12/10 → 30/05/11

Writing accross cultures: a symposium for students and teachers of creative writing

British Academy

1/03/10 → 31/03/10

Research output

Research output per year

Against Creative Writing

Research output : Book/Report › Book

‘No additional information required’: Creative writing as research writing

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

The Rise of Creative Writing

Research output : Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• 23 Public lecture/debate/seminar
• 12 Festival/Exhibition/Performance
• 11 Visiting an external academic institution
• 7 Participation in conference
• 4 Participation in workshop or seminar
• 3 Invited talk
• 3 Committee
• 2 Examination
• 1 Publication editorial role
• 1 Social or cultural organisation

Activities per year

BCLT / Sebald Lecture on Literary Translation, British Library

Andrew Cowan (Interviewer)

Activity : Participating in or organising an event › Public lecture/debate/seminar

Waterstones, Norwich, debut novelists event

University college dublin.

Andrew Cowan (External Panel Member)

Activity : Visiting an external institution › Visiting an external academic institution

‘3rd International Conference, Creative Writing’

Andrew Cowan (Keynote/plenary speaker)

Activity : Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference

Suffolk Book League

Andrew Cowan (Invited speaker)

‘Writers have known for centuries that Norwich is a dreamy city.’ – Ian McEwan

Deeply rooted in a dreamy city.

When Norwich became England’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2012, author and UEA alumnus Ian McEwan said: ‘Literature has deep roots in the beautiful city of Norwich and it was a natural first choice for UNESCO.’ And he was right.

Once home to Julian of Norwich, the first woman to be published in English, the City of Stories became the UK’s first City of Refuge for persecuted writers and is where the National Centre for Writing is based. It’s a humming hub of history, writing, and creativity – the perfect place to host UEA Live.

New Writing Live

New Writing Live is the little sibling festival of UEA Live and is run, programmed and promoted entirely by UEA students. They are the bridge between UEA’s current student writers and those that are breaking into the world of professional authorship. Every New Writing Live event welcomes one or more alumni of Creative Writing UEA to share their recently published work alongside fresh work by the next generation of UEA writers. All events are free, fun and open to everyone. New Writing Live offers the chance to meet poets, playwrights, novelists and storytellers at every stage of artistic development, and to share, question and grow together as artists. We are pleased to support New Writing Live alongside newwriting.net

New Writing

New Writing is a collaboration between UEA Publishing Project and the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, home of the world-renowned UEA Creative Writing MA. It showcases new writing from UEA students, faculty and alumni, in the fields of fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, work in translation and critical writing, along with commissioned work from national and international literature projects. It is part of the UEA Publishing Project umbrella with ongoing support from UEA and the British Centre for Literary Translation.

Find out more

Publishing Project

UEA Publishing Project presently operates through four main imprints; Strangers Press, which publishes short stories in translation, from internationally acclaimed and newcomers alike; Boiler House Press, a literary publisher of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and everything in-between; Egg Box Publishing, which is run in partnership with students to promote their work and help them gain experience in the field of publishing; and, most recently, Full Circle Editions, a publisher of writers and artists of the region with a strong local and oral history component, as well as exquisitely produced new versions of old classics.

British Archive for Contemporary Writing (BACW)

The British Archive for Contemporary Writing (BACW) holds the private archive of the Nobel Laureate, Doris Lessing, as well as literary material from prize-winning authors including Malcolm Bradbury, JD Salinger, Roger Deakin, Lorna Sage, Nadine Gordimer, Lee Child, and W.G. Sebald.

The BACW collection also includes more than 450 audio and video recordings of the UEA Literary Festival (now UEA Live). The collections are available to students and scholars, and to interested members of the public, by prior arrangement.

Creative Writing at UEA

Home to the UK’s first creative writing MA, the University of East Anglia has been at the forefront of pioneering excellence in creative writing for the past 50 years. With more published writers than any other institution in the UK, our esteemed, prize-winning alumni have become some of the most distinguished voices of the contemporary era.

In 2020-2021 we celebrated the past, interrogate the present and sparked debates about the future as we marked five decades as a global leader in creative writing. UEA Live’s 2020-21 programme paid tribute to the course and its legacy, with a series of events featuring alumni and past and present visiting professors of the creative writing course.

Waterstones

Waterstones in Norwich is the largest bookshop in England’s UNESCO City of Literature, offering students and all book lovers an ever-changing range of books.

For 25 years Waterstones have been hosting UEA Live book signings, giving our audiences the chance to meet their favourite authors in person. Their passionate team are always on hand with recommendations and advice. Books can be purchased from online  here .

National Centre for Writing

The National Centre for Writing celebrates and explores the artistic and social power of creative writing and literary translation. Their on-going programme of innovative collaborations engages writers, literary translators and readers, in projects that support new voices and new stories. They’re based at the historic Dragon Hall in Norwich, where workshops and mentoring are regularly available for writers at all levels, both face-to-face and online. Projects range from major international partnerships to vibrant festivals and the City of Literature strand of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

Photography by: Hannah Hutchins

VisitNorwich: City of Stories

VisitNorwich are a team of local and industry experts working alongside VisitBritain and VisitEngland to reach international and national networks. They are committed to bringing projections, suggestions and actions together, driving prosperity for everyone in our fine city. With an exciting, successful rebrand in 2019 leading their creative direction, they aim to promote the uniqueness and creativity of the city, making a big impact in the City of Stories. A not-for-profit, they’re part of Norwich Business Improvement District, and partly funded by Norwich City Council along with their own paid Partnership scheme.

Head East is a new year-long campaign celebrating the rich diversity of arts, culture and heritage in and around Norfolk and Suffolk. If you are looking for a great day out or experience across the counties – there is an abundance of places, spaces and events to explore close to home, for a day, an overnight stay or longer. With something for everyone, you can search for the latest news and updates at HeadEast_UK on Instagram or here on the Visit East of England website.

Hannah Hutchins

Noirwich Crime Writing Festival

The Noirwich Crime Writing Festival is the region’s largest annual celebration of crime writing and one of the fastest-growing literary festivals in the UK. Many incredible crime writers have attended the festival in recent years, including Val McDermid, Attica Locke, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Louise Doughty, James Runcie, Lee Child, Ian Rankin, Peter James, Anthony Horowitz, Nicci French, Paula Hawkins and Benjamin Black.

Noirwich is about the reading and the writing of crime fiction. The festival explores how the genre works and where it is going, thanks to the unique connection with the University of East Anglia’s creative writing department. Find out more at www.noirwich.co.uk

If you have a query which you cannot find the answer to on our website, please feel free to contact us.

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Creative Writing

Maybe you’re a novelist.

You sit, for hours every day, pouring over your laptop screen, your keyboard struggling to keep up with the velocity of your fingers. It’s your second instalment of a seven-book series, and your fans are waiting eagerly. It’s three am. You’ve been writing for weeks.

Or perhaps you’re a poet.

After your lectures, you sit leisurely in a café, tea at the ready, articulating your weekly musings. The spine of the notebook groans, you’ve written so much, it can hold no more. The paper awaits your contemplations, your handwriting speeds up.

You could be a scriptwriter. A short-story enthusiast. You might be a writer of haikus, on bits of napkin, or letters to your granny in the highlands – or perhaps you’ve only ever written inside birthday cards. Even if you’ve only ever considered putting pen to paper, we’re asking you: do you want to write?

UEA’s Creative Writing Society is proud to exist in one of the UK’s most vibrant scenes for writing and literature. The city of Norwich is brimming with writers’ events: poetry open mics, famous authors, independent publishing houses, and we’re right in the heart of it!

Of course, we don’t just sit silently and scribble. Most of our writing workshops round off with a drink in the union bar or café, and we also collaborate with other societies, like Litsoc, Eggbox Publishing and Headucate.

But most we’re famous at UEA for our open mics, when three or four times a semester, we head out to a venue in town. Members bring friends and flatmates, grab a drink, and then get behind a mic to read, shout, sing, whisper, perform, pour water over their heads (yes, we had that once) by way of sharing their work! It’s always an amazing variation of talent, and an inspiration to see what you come up with.

If any of this has roused your interest, please get in touch with us! We're always more than happy to meet new members...

CWS Committee 2023/2024

President: Michael Baker

Vice President: Helena Keys

Social Secretary & Treasurer: Lily Glenn

Welfare: Nathan Rodney-Jones

Equality & Diversity: Klara Sher

Health & Safety Officer: Eli Wilkinson

Union Representative: Ann Johansen