Are You an Aspiring Writer?

Exeter College is launching a new Foundation Degree in Creative and Professional Writing for aspiring writers in partnership with Plymouth University.

The brand new degree course – developed with and validated by Plymouth University – is currently open for applications for a start in September 2016.

This new course will support students' personal and professional development as a writer, from establishing their own voice to honing their technique and gaining the skills to promote and market their work and to work with employers and publishers.

Kathryn Aalto to guest lecture at Exeter College The course is further complemented by a series of guest lecturers and visiting writers, including Kathryn Aalto (pictured left), the author of the New York Times Bestseller title ‘The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood’. Kathryn, along with other industry professionals, has informed and influenced the shape of the course and will feature as a guest writer during the programme.

Author Kathryn Aalto said: “This excellent new Foundation degree is focused, practical and covers solid writing ground. Specific skill sets needed for a career in professional writing are honed while partnerships in the community provide students with practical life writing opportunities. I can't recommend it more highly.”

The course will enhance students' practical writing skills through engaging with a wide variety of forms and genres from short fiction, poetry and the novel to life writing, non-fiction and writing for online audiences. Students will also develop the analytical skills to 'read as writers', learning to read critically and analytically to inform their own practice as writers.

Opportunities to work with local employers and organisations will be integrated throughout the course, and we are developing exciting partnerships with a number of local organisations including Literature Works, the Northcott Theatre, the RAMM, the Bike Shed Theatre and Exeter Phoenix.

Dee Rowett, Head of the Faculty of English Languages and International Baccalaureate (IB), said: “The Faculty is delighted to offer this new degree course in partnership with both Plymouth University and local employers. The course has been designed to meet the needs of not only the local and regional community but to provide a platform for writers to work in a variety of settings and to be able to communicate their work on a national and potentially international level.

“The course is also flexible enough to respond to the individual interests of the learners whilst providing the academic and professional foundations required for successful practice. We therefore believe the course will ignite the enthusiasm of aspiring writers, ably combining both the skills required for future employability with the rigour and challenge of study at a higher level.”

Students will have the opportunity to produce work for live briefs and to explore opportunities for publication and performance of their work in the local community.

First year modules will include:

Research for Writers – this is an introduction to freelance writing briefs, with a focus on how to research and pitch a brief and then producing and evaluating a piece of writing in response to a live brief from a local employer or organisation;
Reading for Writers – an introduction to critical and analytical reading, and how this can inform our own writing practice;
Short Fiction – a creative writing module focused on crafting your skills through short forms including poetry, short stories and flash fiction;
Writing the Region – Professional Partnerships – this module involves exploring opportunities for publication and performance in the local community;
Writing for a Digital Age – this module focuses on writing digital content and how to create an effective online presence to market your work as a writer;
Building a Portfolio 1 – this module is about identifying your professional goals as a writer and building a portfolio of work based around your own interests and individual goals.

Second year modules will include:

Writing for Performance;
The Writer's Journey;
Women and the Novel;
Writing for Children and Young Adults;
Text and Transgression;
Building a Portfolio.

Students who successfully complete the course will have the opportunity to apply for a third year at Plymouth University to 'top-up' their FdA qualification to a full BA in English and Creative Writing. Students will also have opportunities during the FdA course to attend events and lectures at Plymouth University.