UCD School of English Drama Film Scoil an Bhéarla, na Drámaíochta agus na Scannánaíochta UCD

As a participant on the MA programme you will be part of a large world class School of English, Drama, Film and Creative Writing and will:

• be taught by experienced published writers with international reputations;
• experience and develop knowledge of the best contemporary writing;
• learn how to produce and develop new ideas for your own writing;
• gain skills in editing and revising;
• take part in workshops, seminars and one to one tutorials;
• explore the archives of some of the world’s leading writers in the Special Collections held in UCD;
• develop a portfolio of work in your own chosen genre. 

The majority of teaching on MA in Creative Writing is structured around two intense block teaching days and generally requires students to be on campus on Mondays and Wednesdays between 10am and 4pm (this may be to subject to change). Please bear in mind that on occasion you may be required to attend lectures/seminars/launches outside of these hours.

(Please be aware that timetables can be subject to change due to spacing and resourcing considerations.) 

Students on the MA and MFA come from diverse backgrounds. Some come straight from their undergraduate studies while others might have spent some years in different jobs before coming to the course to fulfil their ambition to be writers. The student group is international, and students come to UCD from many countries to pursue their writing ambitions including Ireland, the UK, US, New Zealand, India, Austria and Germany.  Most have a good deal of writing experience and wish to pursue professional careers in writing, with specialisations in novel writing/short stories or poetry. Several of our alumni have won prestigious awards.

 

 

 

Please read the following guidelines for the portfolio section of the application.

The portfolio should be approximately 3000 words and may be a mixture of fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction or a novel excerpt. This might be a 3,000 word sample of prose or 6 poems, or a combination of prose and poetry. The work submitted does not have to previously published but do show us your best work. When formatting your portfolio follow the general guidelines for submitting to a literary journal; double-space prose and single-space poetry unless your writing uses alternative formatting.  All genres and styles of writing are welcome.

The personal statement should include a short summary of your writing experience to date and any courses or workshops you have attended.  Perhaps also include a brief introduction of your history as a writer (or poet) and how and why you want to apply for the MA.  What do you hope to achieve and how do you believe that the MA will help develop as a writer?  If you have been previously published or are the recipient of any literary awards, please include details of these, but bear in mind that a publication history is not required to apply.

Many of our alumni from the MA and MFA have gone on to successful careers in writing, publishing and media.

• Disha Bose MA (2015-2016) Born and raised in India, Disha now lives in Ireland. She attended University College Dublin, where she completed a Masters in Creative Writing (2016).  Disha Bose’s debut novel Dirty Laundry, a domestic noir, is to be published by Viking Books in the UK and Commonwealth (May, '23), and by Ballantine Books in North America.
• Sonya Gildea MA (2019 - 2020)
  Winner of the John McGahern Literature Award 2021; Poetry Ireland Introductions poet
  2021/22 (selected by Seán Hewitt), winner of an Ireland Chair of Poetry Student Award
  2020; recipient of a literature Bursary Award 2021 from the Irish Arts Council and winner of
  the Cúirt International New Writer’s Award (2015). Sonya has published in Crannog; the
  Stinging Fly; the Irish Times; Tolka journal; the Cormorant Broadsheet; the Night Heron
  Barks; The Maynard journal of poetry; the commemorative anthology Hold Open the Door
  (UCD & Chicago Press 2020); the Poetry Ireland Introductions anthology This Is What You
  Mean To Me (2021); Arlen House Publishing anthology of contemporary Irish poetry
  (2022); and The Common literary journal (2022).
• Sree Sen MA (2019-2020) Published in Poetry Ireland Review, The Honest Ulsterman, Local Wonders (poetry anthology by Dedalus Press), bath magg, Crossways, nether Quarterly, Headstuff and others. She’s the winner of the UCD Maeve Binchy Travel Award 2020, recipient of Cill Rialaig Residency 2020 & Agility Award 2021 by the Arts Council of Ireland. 

• Aingeala Flannery MFA (2018-2019)
  The Amusements debut novel published by Penguin Sandycove June 2022
  Arts Council Literature Bursary 2020 and 2021
  Winner Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition 2019

'The MFA in Creative Writing at UCD gave me the encouragement and space I needed to
focus on my writing. It was challenging and inspiring, I came away with fresh ideas and a
stronger sense of my natural writing style and the themes that excite me.  Our class stayed
in touch and it's wonderful to have that ongoing support - for the rejections as well as the
celebrations. The MFA in Creative Writing changed my life'

• Aoife Fitzpatrick MFA (2018 - 2019)
  Debut novel, The Red Bird Sings, from Virago Press, June 2023
  “I miss the MFA. Not just the notable experience and insight of its teachers, but their
  authentic interest and vital engagement. That's what makes this course special; why it can
  transform both writer and work-in-progress.“
• Liz Houchin MA (2018 - 2019)
  ‘Anatomy of a Honey girl (poems for tired women)’ published by Southword, 2021.
  Awarded Literature Bursary from Arts Council of Ireland, 2021. 
• Brendan Casey, MA (2018-2019)
  She That Lay, Silent-like, Upon Our Shore, was long-listed for the Deborah Rogers
  Foundation Award and will be published by John Murray Originals in 2023.

'The course allowed me to dedicate myself to writing in a structured nurturing environment
in which I had the time and space to develop ideas. Since graduating I have signed with
RCW literary agency in London, and the thesis I submitted in UCD went on to form the
basis of my novel.' 

• Sarah Gilmartin MFA (2018-2019)
  Her debut novel Dinner Party (Pushkin, 2021) was shortlisted for best newcomer at the
  Irish Book Awards and the Kate O’Brien Award 2022. Her stories have been published in
  The Dublin Review, New Irish Writing and The Tangerine. Her story The Wife won the
  2020 Máirtín Crawford Award at Belfast Book Festival.

• Colin Barrett won the Guardian First Fiction Prize with Young Skins [Pub. Stinging Fly Press / Jonathan Cape (UK) Grove Black Cat editions (US)] then went on to win both the Frank O'Connor International short story award and the Rooney Prize for Literature.  in 2015, Colin was nominated as one of the five under 35 honourees by the National Book Foundation in the US. His stories have appeared in Five Dials, A Public Space and The New Yorker.
• Dave Rudden is a leading writer of YA fiction and has been short-listed for the Hennessy New Writing Award and the Bath Short Story Prize. He is the author of numerous novels, most recent, The Endless King, Doctor Who: Twelve Angels Weeping: Twelve Stories of the Villains from Doctor Who, The Forever Court and Knights of the Borrowed Dark.
• Jessica Traynor won the Hennessy Emerging Poet Award and the Hennessy Writer of the Year Award in 2013 and was the recipient of the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary in 2014. She is the author of two collections of poetry, The Quick and Liffey Swim runner-up in the 2015 Troubadour International Poetry Prize and Liffey Swim which was nominated for the 2015 Strong/Shine Award for first collections. 
• Julie Morrissy is an Irish poet, critic, and activist. Her first collection Where, the Mile End is forthcoming in February 2019 with BookThug (Canada) and tall-lighthouse (UK & Ireland). Her debut poetry pamphlet I Am Where (Eyewear 2015) was shortlisted for Best Poetry Pamphlet in the Saboteur Awards 2016.
• Henrietta McKervey has published three novels, What Becomes Of Us [Pub. Hachette Ireland], The Heart of Everything and Violet Hill. Henrietta won both the Hennessy First Fiction Award and the UCD Maeve Binchy Travel Award in 2014. 
• Helena Nolan is a poet and short fiction writer and was selected for the 2015 Poetry Ireland Introductions Series and will read as part of the International Literature Festival in May. She won the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 2011, having come second in 2010. 
• Eamon McGuinness is from Dublin. His poetry has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, Boyne Berries, Abridged, The Honest Ulsterman, and elsewhere. In 2017, he was featured on the Poetry Jukebox in Belfast and shortlisted for the Strokestown International Poetry Prize. His debut collection is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry.

 

Aingeala Flannery MFA (2018-2019)

The Amusements debut novel published by Penguin Sandycove June 2022 Arts Council Literature Bursary 2020 and 2021 Winner Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition 2019 

'The MFA in Creative Writing at UCD gave me the encouragement and space I needed to focus on my writing. It was challenging and inspiring, I came away with fresh ideas and a stronger sense of my natural writing style and the themes that excite me.  Our class stayed in touch and it's wonderful to have that ongoing support - for the rejections as well as the celebrations. The MFA in Creative Writing changed my life'

Aoife Fitzpatrick MFA (2018 - 2019)

Debut novel, The Red Bird Sings, from Virago Press, June 2023

“I miss the MFA. Not just the notable experience and insight of its teachers, but their authentic interest  and vital engagement. That's what makes this course special; why it can transform both writer and work-in-progress.“ 

 

Brendan Casey, MA (2018-2019)

She That Lay, Silent-like, Upon Our Shore, was long-listed for the Deborah Rogers Foundation Award and will be published by John Murray Originals in 2023.

'The course allowed me to dedicate myself to writing in a structured nurturing environment in which I had the time and space to develop ideas. Since graduating I have signed with RCW literary agency in London, and the thesis I submitted in UCD went on to form the basis of my novel.' 

Aidan Dolbashian, MA Creative Writing 2016.

The year I spent studying creative writing at UCD was instrumental to my development as a poet and as a writer in general. The diverse staff of teachers and authors that the program hosts are not only masters of their craft, but they also have the ability to see the potential in their students and help them hone their skills, as well as turn their weaknesses into strengths. Having received my creative writing degree from UCD, I have all the confidence I need to truly call myself a writer.

 

Disharee Bose MA Creative Writing 15-16

The Masters in Creative Writing at UCD exceeded my expectations. In the year I spent on the programme, I was able not only to begin writing a novel, but almost finish the first draft. Also, l found the courage to write poetry again. Every class, whether theory or practice, included lots of well-directed and very relevant discussion, so there was a great sense of involvement. The atmosphere was one in which everyone was empowered to pursue their own creative endeavours. The guest lectures from publishing experts and well established writers were particularly helpful in learning how to go about having my novel published.