Postgraduate degrees in
Creative Writing
SCHOOL OF
English
To build on the peculiar strength of this Queen’s-based poetic tradition, The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry was founded as part of the School of English in 2003. The Heaney Centre, headed by Professor Ciaran Carson, hosts the Creative Writing programmes within the School. Today, our lecturers in Creative Writing are all acclaimed writers in their respective genres who have received major national and international awards for their work. To study Creative Writing at Queen’s means working alongside some of Ireland’s leading novelists, poets and dramatists with extensive experience of both writing and teaching, in a challenging but supportive environment.
Events
Students of Creative Writing at Queen’s join a vibrant literary and social culture. Throughout each semester, the Heaney Centre and the English Society host evening readings and lectures by acclaimed poets, novelists and critics. The
Lunchbox Series offers more intimate readings and talks by writers on the first Friday lunchtime of the month. Every Wednesday afternoon, the Queen’s Writers’ Group meets in the Centre to discuss creative work in any genre – this group is open to students and writers from outside the university alike, and is currently hosted by the Centre’s Director, Ciaran Carson.
Resources and Facilities
In addition to the new McClay Library, which offers students world-leading facilities and research
resources, the Heaney Centre houses an additional library of contemporary poetry, located on the second floor. On the ground floor you’ll find a social space and a computer room. The garden has been planted with flowers and shrubs with particular resonances in contemporary Irish literature.
MA in English (Creative Writing)
Convenor: Dr Darran McCann
The MA in English (Creative Writing) is designed to allow students to concentrate exclusively on the genre of their choice, be it poetry, prose fiction, or scriptwriting. The spine of the MA is therefore the Creative Writing Workshop which runs through both semesters in each of these three disciplines. In addition to the workshops, students undertake a
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Why Creative Writing at
Queen’s?
Postgraduate students of Creative Writing in the School of English at Queen’s take advantage of MA and PhD programmes which are at the forefront of the teaching of Creative Writing as an academic discipline in both Ireland and the UK. The MA in Creative Writing is currently in its 12th year and regularly recruits students from all over the English-speaking world, including Canada, the U.S.A and New Zealand. The MA allows students to focus exclusively on poetry, prose, or
scriptwriting whilst simultaneously offering modules which develop and challenge work undertaken in these core disciplines.
The School of English at Queen’s remains one of a handful of institutions which offer a PhD in
Creative Writing. A former graduate of the MA in Creative Writing, Emily Dedakis, was the first student in Ireland to attain a PhD in Creative Writing and places are currently available for students wishing to study poetry, prose, or scriptwriting at doctoral level.
Creative Environment
Creative Writing at Queen’s is part of a world-famous literary tradition going back to the renowned ‘Group’ of the 1960s, which included such literary giants as Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Derek Mahon, Paul Muldoon, Ciaran Carson and Medbh McGuckian.
range of additional half-modules to further their development as self-reflective writers.
Modules (subject to change)
Compulsory modules:
Poetry, Prose, Scriptwriting Workshops
Research Methods for Creative Writers – this module requires students to undertake a piece of original research and to use this research as the basis of a new creative work in the genre of their choice.
Craft and Technique – this module examines existing ‘master’ texts in all three genres and requires students to apply the techniques deployed by these authors to their own writing. Selected elective modules (subject to change):
Poetic Form
The Seven Basic Plots From Page to Stage The Poetics of Translation Life Writing
PhD in Creative Writing
The PhD in Creative Writing involves both an extended piece of creative work and a related critical component. To apply for a PhD in Creative Writing you must have already completed an MA in Creative Writing in the same genre. Students with a Distinction at MA level will be given preference.
Core Teaching Staff
Garrett Carr – Prose Fiction
Garrett Carr was born in 1975. He grew up in Co. Donegal, in a town rather like Ballydog, the setting of his first novel The Badness of Ballydog. That book and its sequel, Lost Dogs, were both listed as 2010 reads of the year by the Irish Independent
and The Times (UK).
The common ground between texts and maps interests Garrett. He creates maps of Ireland’s border region and exhibits them around Ireland. He has maps in the collections of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the National University of Ireland at Maynooth.
Dr Jimmy McAleavey – Scriptwriting
Dr Jimmy McAleavey is under commission with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Tinderbox and Hotshot Films. He is the author of numerous stage plays, including:
Inventors (Kabosh, 2013), The Queen’s Shilling (Goldin+Senneby 2013), Titans (Kabosh, 2012), Monsters, Dinosaurs
(Abbey Theatre, 2011), Get Gaddafi (Tinderbox, 2011), The Sign of the Whale (Tinderbox, 2010),
The Joy (and Roy) of Irish (Kabosh, 2010), The Virgin Father (Tinderbox, 2009) and Weirdwolf
(Tinderbox, 2008).
Dr Darran McCann – Prose Fiction and Drama
Dr Darran McCann is from Armagh City. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Dublin City University. He worked as a journalist, and had work published in local and national newspapers and magazines throughout Ireland and the UK, before becoming a news reporter on the staff of Belfast’s Irish News. He went on to earn an MA, then PhD, in Creative Writing at Queen’s University, Belfast – the latter being the first time a doctorate in Creative Writing had ever been awarded by an Irish university.
His play, Confession, was produced by Accidental Theatre Co. at the Brian Friel Theatre, Belfast, in 2008. His debut novel, After the Lockout, was published internationally by Fourth Estate in 2012.
Dr Sinéad Morrissey – Poetry
Sinéad Morrissey is the author of four poetry collections: There Was Fire in Vancouver (1996),
Between Here and There
(2002), The State of the Prisons (2005) and
Through the Square Window (2009). Her prizes include The Rupert and Eithne Strong Award, The Patrick Kavanagh Award, The Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize and The Irish Times Poetry Prize. In 2007 she was received a Lannan Literary Fellowship.
Former Students’ Success:
Many of our students have gone on to successful writing careers in their chosen fields. Some examples of student successes are listed below:
Eoghan Walls: winner of an Eric Gregory Award; first collection, The Salt Harvest, Seren, 2011. Olive Broderick: winner of the Hennessy XO Literary Award (Emerging Poet) 2009; winner of the Templar Poetry Pamphlet Competition (2009).
Sheena Wilkinson: first novel, Taking Flight,
published 2010 by New Island Press, winner of the Bisto Honour Award for Children’s Book of the Year.
Helen Madden: winner of the inaugural non-fiction GQ Norman Mailer Award, 2010. Vanessa Pope: winner of the BBC Tony Doyle Bursary, 2010, for her screenplay, The Eastside Princess.
Sheila Llewellyn: winner of the P. J. O’Connor Radio Drama Award, 2011, for The House on Shareni Street.
Patrick Fitzsimons: awarded a commission as part of BBC NI TV Drama’s Prime Time slot, 2011.
How to Apply and Funding
Applicants should apply for a place on the relevant programme via the University’s online application system at - https://dap.qub.ac.uk/portal/ - and
may do so until 1 August 2014 for September 2014 entry. Applications submitted after 20 June 2014 will not be eligible to be considered for funding. The application requires a record of undergraduate academic results, a sample of written work, and two academic references. The School of English commits a proportion of its annual budget to fund postgraduate taught and research students. Home and EU students are eligible for awards from the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Department for Employment & Learning (DEL). International students can avail of awards from the University, amongst other sources.
General information about postgraduate study at Queen's is available at: http://www.qub.ac.uk/ home/ProspectiveStudents/
PostgraduateStudents/.
Funding for September 2014 Entry
A total of ten home/ EU fee scholarships for MA study (fee-only award) are available to the highest achieving applicants. Bursaries must be applied forby 20 June 2014
PhD studentships in English 2014-15
There will be a number of DEL and AHRC studentships advertised on the School of English website shortly, with a deadline in mid-January 2014.Towards the end of my BA in English Literature at Durham University, I knew I wanted to go on to an MA, but felt a desire to shift the focus slightly – from primarily studying poetry, to primarily writing it. Of course, as is often stressed by more cynical commentators, nobody needs a degree in Creative Writing in order to write creatively. However, I can safely say that during my MA at the Seamus Heaney Centre I felt a vast improvement in my understanding of poetic craft and technique, and in my knowledge of modern and contemporary poetry. This was not only as a result of the intensive nature of the course with its challenging and thought-provoking assignments, but also thanks to the culture of creativity that exists in the Heaney Centre. Being taught by outstanding poets, novelists and scriptwriters, in the company of like-minded students, was nothing short of inspiring. Towards the end of the MA, I discussed with my tutor the option of applying for a PhD. I had never really considered doctoral study before. However, the work completed on the MA course was so invigorating that the PhD suddenly felt like a natural progression. More than anything else, it presented itself as a chance to expand on the ideas and poetic ambitions which the MA had fostered. The prospect of spending three years working on a chosen writing project, overseen by supervisors I respect and admire, was – in short – irresistible. At this stage of proceedings, it has already lived up to its promise. I can only look forward to what else is in store.
