Introduction

Be both a creative writer and a publisher. Customise your studies and prepare yourself for work in these increasingly entwined growth industries.

Whether you want to join the traditional publishing industry, establish your own small press or set up a single-author imprint for your own novels, this Masters degree will help you meet your ambitions.

Taught in Cambridge, our MA is the only Creative Writing and Publishing course in the East of England and has been taken by many successful published writers.

It offers you an opportunity to develop your fiction writing in a supportive environment, while gaining key insights into publishing practice and international and digital rights.

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Our fully customisable postgraduate course reflects the reality that authors are no longer insulated from business concerns. Even the biggest publishers expect authors to build their own platforms and audiences, manage their own social media and interpret sales.

As a student on ARU’s MA Creative Writing and Publishing you’ll benefit from our wide-ranging industry connections, as well as talks, workshops and masterclasses featuring publishers and established fiction writers. You’ll also be able to attend our publishing short courses for free.

In our Creative Writing workshops, you’ll get feedback on your writing from other students as well as from our experienced teaching team, including specialist lecturers and our Royal Literary Fund Fellows. This will give you a unique perspective on how your work is read by different audiences.

Offered full- or part-time, this Masters course in Cambridge is a great way to study a subject you love and prepare for your future career.

Facilities and showcase

Make connections

As a postgraduate student at ARU you’ll be able to:

• network with agents, publishers and established writers in our talks and masterclasses
• get full support from our team of tutors, who are all published authors
• seek feedback and advice from our Royal Literary Fellows.

Outstanding student support

Join our postgraduate student community and:

• benefit from award-winning learning facilities, including extensive library and IT resources
• learn from expert staff who will guide your research interests and career development
• receive full support from our Employability Service, while you're studying with us and after you graduate
• access support, should you need it, with study skills, health and wellbeing, and more.

Take a closer look

Our Creative Showcase shines a spotlight on what makes ARU creative and cultural – our spaces, places and people. Find out more about our community, the difference we make, the stories we tell, and the things that inspire us.

Meanwhile, Present is an exhibition that you curate for yourself. Explore the work of our graduating students in this eye-catching virtual degree show.

Careers

Our Masters degree in Creative Writing and Publishing will prepare you for employment in whichever aspect of the writing and publishing industries most interests you.

You’ll develop transferable academic and professional skills, including self-reflection, critical analysis and working to briefs and deadlines. You’ll also gain the research skills needed to produce creative work, professional publishing documents and critical writing.

MA Creative Writing students with successful writing careers include Costa Short Story Award winner Caroline Ward Vine, Guinevere Glasfurd, Penny Hancock and Natalya Anderson.

Our publishing graduates also have a track record of success, with most now in careers at companies such as Bloomsbury, Wiley Capstone, Pearson, Cambridge University Press and Macmillan.

Graduation doesn’t have to be the end of your time with us. You could choose to continue your academic career with a research programme at ARU such as our PhD Creative Writing or PhD Publishing. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and save £400 on your fees.

If you studied for the Postgraduate Certificate initially, you can choose to complete further modules and top-up to a full Masters degree.