University of East Anglia announces year-round celebration of its world renowned Creative Writing MA
The University of East Anglia (UEA) today announced plans to celebrate fifty years of its pioneering Creative Writing MA with a national and international programme of events, activities and initiatives to run across the 2020/2021 academic year. Founded by Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson in 1970, the course was the first of its kind in the UK and remains one of the world’s most prestigious creative writing programmes. Ian McEwan was the first student to undertake the course and the programme now boasts a roll call of lauded, prize-winning alumni.
Following a competitive tender process, UEA also confirmed it has appointed London-based creative communications agency FMcM Associates, who will provide strategic consultancy on the wide-ranging project on a one-year contract.
The university today unveiled two initial strands of the anniversary celebration:
A five-year International Chair of Creative Writing programme is set to launch in 2020. The position will be offered to five prominent writers from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East, each with a year-long remit to find and support emerging voices from that region. Complementing this, UEA will also create a Global Voices scholarship, offering 50 fully paid places on its competitive MA course over five years.
A city-wide exhibition in Norwich will explore Future & Form. The university will work with six international writers to explore the intersection between writing and technology, looking at new ways to create, share and experience literature. The work will be displayed in 2021.
Professor Henry Sutton, Director of Creative Writing at UEA, said: “Since its inception, UEA’s pioneering Creative Writing MA has provided a unique environment for writers to meet, develop and discuss their work. The results have been phenomenal and over the last 50 years the programme’s alumni have gone on to shape the literary landscape of the UK and beyond. Building on this remarkable heritage, the anniversary is an opportunity to look ahead to the future of creative writing, and we are delighted to be working with FMcM as our strategic partner on what promises to be a fantastic anniversary celebration.”
Full details of the anniversary programme will be announced in the spring 2020.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a UK Top 25 university and is ranked in the top 50 globally for research citations. Known for its world-leading research and good student experience, it was awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework and is a leading member of Norwich Research Park, one of Europe’s biggest concentrations of researchers in the fields of environment, health and plant science.
www.uea.ac.uk
About Creative Writing at UEA
The University of East Anglia pioneered the teaching of world-class creative writing in the UK and has produced more published and prize-winning authors than any other UK institution. Ian McEwan was the first student to take the University’s MA programme and its unrivalled list of alumni includes Kazuo Ishiguro, Anne Enright, Naomi Alderman, Tash Aw, Ayòbámi Adébáyò, Emma Healey, Louise Doughty, Neel Mukherjee, John Boyne and Tracy Chevalier. It’s equally impressive roster of teaching staff and visiting professors includes Margaret Atwood, Rose Tremain, Angela Carter, Lorna Sage, Andrew Motion, Amit Chaudhuri, Ali Smith and Caryl Phillips. In 2011, UEA’s creative writing programme was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education, the UK’s most prestigious Higher Education award, rarely given to a humanities subject.
www.uea.ac.uk/literature/creative-writing
About FMcM Associates
FMcM are an award-winning arts communications consultancy with an impressive client list and a big reputation. From arts organisations and booksellers to literary prizes and festivals, from authors and artists to corporate and independent publishers – the agency represent some of the most inspiring brands and individuals in the arts today. A passionate, creative team delivers high impact, strategic media campaigns, effective profile PR, and event curation and support, with an international outlook. Using a powerful national and international network and the expertise of a collaborative team, FMcM delivers meaningful PR campaigns that have real impact.
www.fmcm.co.uk
