Creative Writing

13th July – 8th August 2026

  

 

This four-week course provides aspiring writers with a supportive and stimulating environment to refine their skills in fiction, poetry, and drama. Students not only develop their craft but also enhance their critical analysis by attending lectures on Modernism and Contemporary Literature, alongside exclusive author-led masterclasses. All sessions are led by SUISS tutors—published writers and experienced educators—through dynamic three-hour workshops and personalised mentoring sessions.

Creative Writing students also enjoy access to private readings by renowned British authors, many of whom also appear at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.

The Creative Writing course includes:

  • Workshop Seminars – Small-group writing workshops tailored to each student’s interests, led by SUISS tutors.

  • Author-led Masterclasses – Prominent contemporary British writers share insights and guide students through unique exercises and discussions.

  • Lectures – Select Modernism and Contemporary Literature lectures broaden students’ understanding of literary traditions and critical perspectives.

  • Individual Mentoring – Weekly 30-minute one-to-one sessions with a SUISS tutor for personalised feedback and guidance.

  • Publishing Lecture – An exclusive talk by a literary agent offering insider advice on navigating the publishing industry.

  • Editorial Groups – Informal, peer-led discussions to exchange feedback and refine work collaboratively.

  • Northern Light – The chance to have your work published in our biennial Creative Writing anthology.

Reading List

Creative Writing students attend selected lectures from our Modernism and Contemporary Literature courses. Students are strongly advised to read as many of the texts as possible before arriving in Edinburgh, as time will be limited once the programme is underway. The lectures are pitched high, and lecturers are advised that all students will be familiar with the texts at the time of lecture.

Core texts and lectures for the Creative Writing summer programme, on which the tuition will be based, are listed below.

Essential reading (in alphabetical order): 

 

Rachelle Atalla, Thirsty Animals
T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
Harry Josephine Giles, Drone
James Joyce, Dubliners
Bhanu Kapil, How to Wash a Heart
Selected imagist poetry*
Ali Smith: selection of short stories*
Virginia Woolf,  Mrs Dalloway 

 

Suggested further reading**:

Neil Astley (Ed.), Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times
John Gillard, The Very Short Story Starter: 101 Flash Fiction Prompts for Creative Writing
Louise Glück, Proofs and Theories: Essay on Poetry
Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
Robert Hass, A Little Book on Form: An Exploration into the Formal Imagination of Poetry
Stephen King, On Writing
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Alice LaPlante, The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing
Alysoun Owen (Ed.), Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2023
Deryn Rees-Jones, Consorting with Angels
Calum Rodger (Ed.), makar / unmakar: twelve contemporary poets in Scotland

 

*Students are not required to purchase volumes of poetry or short stories – specific reading selections for these lectures and seminars will be circulated to all students in advance.

**NB: Students are not required to read texts listed in ‘further reading’. However, if you are interested in complementary material, these texts will expand your knowledge and discussion of the essential reading list as well as the subject of creative writing more broadly. All of the further reading is available to loan from the University of Edinburgh library or the SUISS library.

For more information on the course, see our Sample Creative Writing Syllabus.