Listen to 2016 SUISS Alumni Can Öztürk chart his path from the Text and Context Modernism course at SUISS to graduating with an MSc in Literature and Modernity at the University of Edinburgh in 2018.

“The seminars were led by enthusiastic academics and writers, and the groups were culturally very diverse, which helped incredibly in uncovering different ways of thinking about texts and contexts. There were also many events to take you around different parts of Edinburgh and reveal to you its many beauties.”

For more see: https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/life-at-llc/from-summer-school-to-masters-part-two

We were delighted to hear our 2016 Alumni Elspeth Reilly talk to the University of Edinburgh about her experience of the SUISS Creative Writing course and how it helped prepare her for further study at the University.

“this is a program of talented and dedicated professors, all passionate about the craft of writing, who are invested in your growth as a writer”

For more, see : https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/news/from-summer-school-to-masters-part-one

You’ve checked out the brochure, the books and the tutors, but what’s SUISS really like? Here’s our amazing 2018 alumni Sarah Paterson on her experience of the Creative Writing course. We just love the creative way she’s summed it up. #suissin60seconds

Don’t just take our word for it, here’s our wonderful Charles Wallace fellow from 2018 Amrita Shenoy explaining why a summer at SUISS is for literature lovers everywhere – in just 60 seconds! #SUISSin60seconds

To all our lovely Alumni (students and staff): We want to hear about your experience and what SUISS means to YOU too!  Join the #suissin60seconds campaign and upload your video and/or photos to our Facebook or Instagram page, and share with us your favourite SUISS memories!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ScottishUniversitiesInternationalSummerSchool

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suiss_edinburgh/

The ‘Cinepoems Challenge’ is a new event on the SUISS programme for our Text & Context: Modernism and Creative Writing students. The challenge began with a workshop on the first Thursday of the course, where students were introduced to the cinepoem – a fusion of poetry and film – which has a particularly rich history in Scotland. We began by thinking about the links between cinema and poetry, especially in early Modernism, before going on to view some of the work of Margaret Tait, an innovator in what she called ‘filmpoems’ and a seminal figure in Scottish cinema and poetry. We looked at how Tait’s work has influenced a number of contemporary cinepoets in Scotland and beyond, showcasing some recent cinepoems and reflecting on our responses to them. At the end of the workshop, students were challenged to make their own cinepoems over the weekend. These were premiered the following week for the whole group, with a prize for the winner (as judged by the SUISS Directors). In 2017 our students produced six amazing films, solo and in small groups, which demonstrate an incredible variety of aesthetic and poetic approaches, and explore everything from the joyous cacophony of the Edinburgh streets, through the found poetry of Sherlock, to the lyrical reflection prompted by summer rainfall. Congratulations to our 2017 winner Lisa Degens for her cinepoem ‘Greenhouse’ and to all our wonderful cinepoets. You can view all our 2017 cinepoets’ finished pieces below and on our Youtube channel. We hope you enjoy them and get inspired to experiment making your own!

2017 Cinepoems

Lisa Degens’ winning entry, ‘Greenhouse’:

‘As of Today’, dir. by Piotr Szymczak and featuring Sara Dhurjon, Henry Hamilton, Vanessa Tai, Viktoriia Ivanenko, Anthi Cheimariou, Sumantra Baral, Regina Rangel, Amaie Elizalde Estananga:

Madhav Mehrota’s ‘Drops of Water’:

Anthi Cheimariou’s ‘From the Perspective of Jospeh Bell’:

Sophia Archontis’ ‘The Sounds of Scotland’:

Ashmeen Bain’s cinepoem:

We are very pleased to announce that the workshops for our 2016 Creative Writing course are now confirmed! We have  talented, award winning writers who will guide students through a wide range of writing activities and discuss their writing process. Our schedule for these workshops is as follows:

15th July: Zoe Strachan on Fiction Writing

22nd July: Stef Smith on Playwriting

26th July: Colin Herd on Poetry and Art

28th July: Loud Poets and Performance Poetry

1st August: Ken MacLeod on Science Fiction

We’ll have more specific details about these workshops soon, but we are honoured that these talented writers will be part of SUISS 2016!

Our full reading list and more information can be found on our Creative Writing Course program page.

To book your place to attend our course and meet these exciting authors, download our application form! We also offer scholarships to students, visit our scholarship page for more information.

SUISS is seeking to appoint experienced and dynamic tutors for all three of our courses in 2016: Text & Context, Creative Writing, and Theatre & Performance.

Text & Context tutors must be postgraduate students or postdoctoral tutors/researchers from one of our 7 affiliated universities.

Creative Writing and Theatre & Performance tutors do not necessarily have to come from our affiliated universities, but should be UK-based.

To inquire and/or apply, please see the details of the job postings here:

Text & Context: British and Irish Literature from 1900 to the present

*Please note, for Text & Context, our tutors only teach a single two-week module, from either Modernism, Scottish Literature, or Contemporary Literature. We do not hire tutors to the full six-week course.

Creative Writing

Contemporary British and Irish Theatre and Performance