About Creative Writing
Creative Writing at YSJ takes a fresh approach to writing -
looking at the written word in all its aspects from the live
performance of poetry to the art of the graphic novel.
Our staff are writers themselves. They have published poetry and
novels – so they know something about the pleasures and pitfalls of
the writers' world. Their practical experience informs modules on
meeting deadlines and other requirements that publishers and/or the
form of writing chosen may impose.
Students will also benefit from the talents of visiting writers,
who give talks, hold workshops and give advice. Visiting writers
have included York-born Kate Atkinson, winner of the 1995 Whitbread
Book of the Year for her novel
Behind the Scenes at the Museum, set in York; poet and
novelist Jackie Kay; Northern poet,
broadcaster and performer Ian McMillan; novelist and poet Michèle Roberts; award-winning novelist and
short-story writer Nicholas Hogg and poet Linda France.
Our Writer in Residence at York St John, Neil Hansen,
spends a day a week working with students to help their writing,
whether it is an essay, a dissertation, a story, an article, a
play, a novel, a song, a romance, a screenplay or even a text book.
Neil can help you to build on your inspiration, improve your
writing style, develop your confidence and advise you on getting
published.
We take your future seriously. Creative Writing includes a Level
2 module, "Working with Words" that is dedicated to graduate
employability. Students undertake a fifteen-day work placement to
try out the kinds of work which graduates might go on to do – we
have an established relationship with a York-based arts magazine,
which regularly provides placement opportunities for our
students. Enterprising students in the past have found
placements with national publications such as Vogue magazine and
The Daily Telegraph. Every year we welcome international students
from a range of different countries – this has enabled us to build
working relationships with academic colleagues overseas, including
places where our own undergraduates have an opportunity to study as
part of their programme.