Creative Writing and Publishing

Entry requirements

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject.

A creative writing portfolio is required from applicants that meet our entry requirements as an Additional Selection Measure. This portfolio should be between 3,000-5,000 words. The portfolio can be specialised by genre or made up of a combination of fiction, poems (equivalent of 10 poems), screenplay, creative non-fiction, and/or extract from a novel.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

You’ll develop creative writing across a variety of forms, focusing on transmedia storytelling and skills to independently publish your work as a publisher; learning skills in editing, PR and marketing, design, production, and budgeting.

Why study MA Creative Writing and Publishing at BU?

• Analyse the cultural and critical influences on the writer and publishing industry, as well as your own practice
• Learn the skills to be able to write creatively and effectively, to a publishable standard, for a variety of different audiences and media
• Work on real-life publishing projects with BU’s own publishing press, Fresher Publishing
• Learn from experienced writers and practitioners who have also acquired master's degrees and/or doctorates in Creative Writing or English themselves
• Benefit from prestigious guest tutors from the world of writing and publishing
• Engage with BU’s international writing competitions: The Bournemouth Writing Prize for emerging voices, and the New Media Writing Prize for stories integrating a variety of formats.

Flexible study

The MA Creative Writing and Publishing course offers you the option to study full-time or part-time, either in person or online (online option applies to September intakes only). Lectures and online resources are combined with weekly small-group seminars to explore key texts, ideas, and concepts in more depth. If you are an online student, all your classes will take place virtually – bringing together a diverse cohort of students from all over the world and engaging with literary media texts and industry practices at the widest level.

Information for international students

IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in writing, speaking, listening and reading.

Fees and funding