Creativity and Wordcraft

Developing the next wave of literary writers

Since 1996, the Warwick Writing Programme (WWP) has helped writers find their voice, develop their career and establish themselves in the literary world. Working across fiction, non-fiction, poetry and translation, the WWP brings together the writers of tomorrow to learn from some of the UK’s best writers. The programme aims to empower writers and literary translators to publish work of the highest quality, raising the profile of under-represented authors within the UK publishing industry. The WWP has redefined the relationship between writers, publishers and academia.

The challenge

Publishing is a difficult industry to break into, as almost 200,000 books are published each year in the UK. In order to be recognised by the publishing industry, students need to hone their craft and understand the way the publishing world works to get their work recognised. The WWP helps writers develop their work, whilst introducing them to the publishing industry and helping them make vital connections.

Our approach

The WWP has developed a teaching programme that enables students to learn from some of the most successful writers in the UK today. Consisting of workshops, open house sessions with colleagues from the publishing industry and literary salons to discuss work in progress, the WWP has helped a new generation of voices find their voice and make connections with the publishing industry.

The WWP has also developed new literary prizes and initiatives to highlight and promote the work of writers under-represented within the publishing industry, including:

• The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation: Founded in 2017, this annual award addresses the imbalance in translated literature and encourages publishers to commission more translations of titles written by women

• The Sunday Times and Warwick Writing Programme Young Writer of the Year Award: Founded in 2017, this annual award recognises and rewards new talent, in order to increase the profile of young writers

Our impact

The WWP has helped aspiring writers to reach their potential and produce innovative, award- winning works of literature. Mentoring by writers and professionals within the publishing industry has helped students hone their creative skills and navigate the world of publishing. Writers such as Emma Smith, Sophie Mackintosh, Cathy Galvin, Zoe Brigley, Daisy Hurst, Samuel Dodson, Ben Cottam, Lucy Brydon and Preti Taneja have all benefited from the programme. As a result, the WWP was rated the number one for creative writing in the country by the 2019 Complete University Guide. The WWP’s impact has gone beyond the UK. A number of writers from the course have gone on to publish abroad, and in languages other than English. A group of writers, including S.V. Sujatha and Tashan Mehta, have built a significant profile writing science fiction that is very popular with Indian audiences.

The Young Writer of the Year Award recognises new talent and aims to increase the profile of young writers. It has significantly boosted the profile of winners such as Adam Weymouth and Raymond Antrobus. The YWYA website also hosts digital resources for writers written by members of the WWP, freely available to all. As such, a new generation of authors and readers can access the WWP’s expertise and the writers it has helped develop.

Find out more about the Warwick Writing Programme