Martyn Bedford - Writer

Here’s news for all aspiring writers out there – Leeds Trinity University is launching a new MA in Creative Writing in September. The course offers strands in prose fiction or poetry and will be taught by three professional, published writers: my colleagues Paul ‘Oz’ Hardwick and Amina Alyal . . . and me.

I know writing MAs have their opponents but most of the criticism is founded in misconceptions about what these courses actually do. They may not suit all writers, but – having graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in 1994, and with five years’ experience of teaching on the Novel Writing MA at the University of Manchester – I am a big fan of postgraduate writing programmes. To spend a year focusing on your writing, in the company of fellow writers and under the guidance of expert tutors, is a wonderful experience – a real life-and-career changer for me.

The new masters course at Leeds Trinity builds on the success and popularity of our English & Writing BA, which has been running for several years. The heart of the MA will be the weekly writing workshop – in either prose fiction or poetry – where work-in-progress is subjected to rigorous peer and tutor review and discussion in small groups. The workshops will be complemented by two other modules: Reading as a Writer, designed to explore contemporary literature in relation to creative practice, and Writing as a Profession, which examines salient aspects of the publishing business and includes a series of visiting speakers (writers, editors, literary agents etc).

So, if you have a burning desire to write a novel, story collection or poetry collection, why not click on this link to the Leeds Trinity website for full details of the MA in Creative Writing?