Creative and Professional Writing

Tell stories that matter to you with our vibrant Creative and Professional Writing degree
Explore yourself and your imagination with our hands-on Creative and Professional Writing degree. You will fine-tune your craft, work collaboratively, and learn how to write and edit in an encouraging seminar and workshop environment.

You will focus on contemporary writers and writing to understand the latest developments in the literary and social media worlds. You will cover:

• the ins-and-outs of the publishing business

• writing young adult and children’s fiction

• how to write a book proposal

• writing song lyrics

• how to write short fiction

• screenwriting and the film industry

• journalism and interviewing skills.

You decide what you write about – follow your own passion for words. We welcome and encourage you no matter your background, interests, style, or genre.

Learn in the capital
Our campus is located in the leafy London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, so you’ll have access to the capital’s diverse literature scene and world-renowned libraries. You can visit places like:

• The British Library

• Shakespeare’s Globe

• The Sherlock Holmes Museum

• The George Inn

• Charles Dickens Museum.

You'll also get a trip to the London Book Fair, where you'll be able to meet people in the industry and learn more about upcoming trends.

Expert teaching and support
Our BA Creative and Professional Writing lecturers are:

• fantasy and genre writing specialists

• experts on popular music

• young adult novelists

• professional journalists

• working scriptwriters.

This team supports your personal, professional, and academic growth from the day you arrive.

Hear from our students
Jenny, Creative and Professional Writing student - "I get to be in an environment that helps me develop as a writer as well as meeting new people who enjoy stories and writing as much as I do."

Creative and Professional Writing teaching staff includes:
Dr Russell Schechter, Course Leader for Creative Writing and a World Fantasy Award-nominated novelist. He has been awarded the title of St Mary’s University Champion of Student Experience by a vote of students.

Why St Mary’s?
You will gain skills and support to make a positive impact – for yourself and for others – through high-quality teaching, real-world experience, and a community that lifts each other up. Our campus is a London oasis – blending city energy with open green spaces to think, connect, and grow.

The first year offers you a chance to explore the range of possibilities that constitute the field of creative writing. You will read and critique a variety of writing forms and try your hand at exercises designed to encourage fundamental skills in these areas. In your second year you will begin to focus your attention on the forms of writing most important and valuable to you and your career. In your final year of study you will have the chance to explore specific subjects in depth in class. More vitally, you will work one-to-one with a tutor on a year-long, independent basis to develop a creative portfolio of your own design. The goal is to produce a substantial piece of work worthy of submission for publication to an appropriate venue.