english literature and creative writing manchester

English Literature and Creative Writing

Meet the people that make up our English Literature and Creative Writing department.

Head of English, American Studies and Creative Writing

• Prof. Ian Scott - Professor of American Film and History

Head of English Literature

• Prof. David Matthews  - Professor of Medieval and Medievalism Studies

Staff 

• Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami, Lecturer in Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature.
• Prof. David Alderson  - Professor in English Literature
• Dr Jason Allen-Paisant  - Senior Lecturer in Critical Theory and Creative Writing
• Dr Naomi Baker - Senior Lecturer in Renaissance Literature
• Dr Anke Bernau - Senior Lecturer in Medieval Literature and Culture
• Dr Howard Booth - Senior Lecturer in English Literature
• Dr Luke Brown - Lecturer in Creative Writing
• Prof. Daniela Caselli - Professor of Modern Literature
• Dr Maria Christou - Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature
• Mr Horatio Clare  - Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing
• Dr Clara Dawson  - Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature
• Prof. Jerome De Groot - Professor of English Literature and Culture
• Dr Noelle Dückmann Gallagher - Senior Lecturer in 18th Century Literature and Culture
• Dr Gareth Gavin  - Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing
• Ms Vona Groarke - Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing
• Dr Ingrid Hanson - Lecturer in English Literature
• Prof. Ben Harker - Professor in 20th Century Literature
• Prof. Liam Harte - Professor of Irish Literature
• Mr Jonathan Hourigan - Lecturer in Screenwriting
• Ms Frances Leviston - Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing
• Prof. John McAuliffe - Professor of Modern Literature and Creative Writing and Director of Creative Manchester
• Prof. Ian McGuire - Professor in Creative Writing
• Dr James Metcalf -  Lecturer in Eighteenth-Century English Literature
• Dr Kaye Mitchell - Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Literature and co-director of the Centre for New Writing
• Dr Ben Nichols - Lecturer in Gender And Sexuality Studies
• Dr James Paz - Senior Lecturer in Early Medieval Literature
• Mr Tim Price - Senior Lecturer in Screenwriting
• Dr Alan Rawes - Senior Lecturer in Romanticism
• Dr Gillian Redfern, Lecturer in Medieval English
• Dr John Roache - Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literatures in English
• Prof. Michael Sanders - Professor in 19th Century Writing
• Prof. Michael Schmidt - Professor of Creative Writing
• Dr Fred Schurink  - Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Literature
• Prof. Kamila Shamsie - Professor of Creative Writing
• Dr Robert Spencer  - Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literature and Culture
• Prof. Jacqueline Stacey - Professor of Media and Cultural Studies
• Dr Joanna Taylor - Senior Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Digital Humanities
• Ms Beth Underdown - Lecturer in Creative Writing
• Dr Anastasia Valassopoulos - Senior Lecturer in World Literatures
• Dr Chris Vardy, Lecturer in English Literature
• Dr Sundhya Walther - Senior Lecturer in World Literatures in English
• Prof. Jeanette Winterson - Professor of Creative Writing

Honorary and Associate staff

• Dr Burcu Alkan - Honorary Research Fellow
• Dr Letizia Alterno - Honorary Research Fellow
• Dr Iain Bailey - Honorary Research Fellow
• Dr William Hutchings - Honorary Research Fellow
• Maxine Peake - Honorary Professor of Literature and Performance
• Dr Alexander Rumble - Honorary Research Fellow

Emeritus staff

• Prof. Laura Doan  - Professor of Cultural History and Sexuality Studies
• Prof. Patricia Duncker - Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Writing
• Prof. Hal Gladfelder  - Professor of English and Comparative Literature
• Prof. Gale Owen-Crocker - Emeritus Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Prof. Jacqueline Pearson - Emeritus Professor of English Literature
• Prof. Janet Wolff - Emeritus Professor of Cultural Sociology

English Literature and Creative Writing (Postgraduate research)

Welcome to postgraduate research in English Literature and Creative Writing at The University of Manchester.

PGR Handbook: School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (SALC)

What you need to know about getting started with your postgraduate research programme.

English Literature and Creative Writing: Databases

• Special Collections
• Training and support

Databases provide access to high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, dissertations and many other resources. 

These databases have been especially selected for this subject area. when carrying out your research for a piece of work, you will need to search more than one database to find all of the journal articles relevant to your topic, as each database covers different journal titles., database spotlight.

National Theatre Collections   and a Peake Performance!

The latest addition to the Library’s Drama Online portfolio which completes a collection sourced from over a decade of ‘NT Live’ broadcasts. Now comprising 70 productions, the National Theatre Collections offer a compendium of high quality full-length staged performances stretching from Sophocles to Shakespeare and beyond.  In line with previous releases NT3 is of course readily available to all members of the University of Manchester. The new additions incorporate: “marquee” productions from renowned directors of the calibre of Nicholas Hytner and Lyndsey Turner; literary adaptations from the poet, Carol Ann Duffy and the novelist, Zadie Smith, and acclaimed performances from the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ralph Fiennes, Sophie Okonedo, Catherine Parkinson, and Michael Sheen. To further discovery all new titles - which include ‘ Antony & Cleopatra ,’ ‘ The Book of Dust ,’ ‘ The Crucible ’ and ‘ Under Milk Wood ’ - are individually indexed on Library Search.

In conjunction with Collection 1 (30 plays) and 2 (20 plays), our NT portfolio complements the Library’s extensive reserves of streamed performances from other major UK theatre houses – including the Royal Shakespeare Company’s RSC Live Collection and Shakespeare’s Globe On Screen .

The Library has also recently acquired a small collection of additional streamed productions of Shakespeare and early modern drama housed on the Drama Online platform , which includes the Royal Exchange’s acclaimed 2014 production of Hamlet with Maxine Peake . 

Collectively these resources form part of the Library’s ongoing collaboration with the Drama and English, American Studies and Creative Writing departments to support the study of performance-based arts in the challenging post-COVID environment. 

First Folios Compared

One of the great treasures of The Rylands, our copy of  Shakespeare’s First Folio ,  has long been available online and open access through the   Library Digitised Collections , but we’re delighted to announce it now features in the recently launched  F irst Folios Compared  project which brings together over 50 first folios (just over 20% of all known surviving copies) for researchers to examine and explore. It also of course provides another example of the Library’s active commitment to Open Access scholarship.

This project opens up a host of exciting opportunities for close textual examination and work in the digital humanities on an incontrovertibly seminal work, stretching beyond the 36 plays to encompass the physical journeys undergone by the books themselves through the course of 4 centuries - from the amendments of printers to the annotations of owners. Copies from Skipton to Sydney, together with all their extant metadata, are now readily and freely available for viewing and direct comparison.

For more on the Project see the ‘Summary’ in the  Details  section on the  database entry  on Library Search.

Orlando : women's writing in the British Isles from the beginnings to the present

Emerging out of the  Orlando Project , the pioneering self-described ‘textbase’ initiated in the mid-1990s in Canada,  Orlando: Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present   now constitutes an extensive archive of over 8 million words about women writers, principally British, which seeks to establish a broad literary history centred in women’s production and, through its distinctive infrastructure, resist monolithic or hegemonic readings. In line with the gender fluidity of its Virginia Woolf-derived title, the pool of material offered goes beyond conventional literary genres of poetry, fiction, and drama to encompass writers of science, household advice, or popular genres, travel writing, and cultural critique. The enterprise has been acknowledged as “a watershed project for feminist recovery in digital humanities in general and in digital literary studies in particular” and it continues to generate  critical attention  in itself.

Entries incorporate contextual timelines for over 1400 authors and their biographies, together with contemporary historical, scientific, medical and legal events, sets of internal links, and bibliographies. Orlando’s digitally-encoded and collaboratively-authored model is very much in line with ongoing developments in the digital humanities and similar collaborative practices and thinking can be readily found in the Library’s own approach to  Manchester Digital Collections  and its use of TEI coding and tagging systems to ensure a plethora of pathways and similar dynamism, as exemplified in ongoing work on the  Mary Hamilton Papers .

Recent additions to the Orlando platform include  Teaching with Orlando  tips and resources, and a collectively sourced ‘ Exhibit ’ of project images, as it seeks to further opportunities for ‘remixing’ work on women’s writing through linked data and evolving collaborative systems of text and technology.

Oberon Books Collection – newly expanded coverage

As a result of heavy usage of the material housed in the initial release of the Oberon ebook collection launched in 2021, the Library has now expanded its coverage to incorporate a second release of some 400 further (individually indexed) titles from this key publisher of plays and books on theatre practice and theory. In additional to canonical texts, the portfolio incorporates an unparalleled range of new writing from the contemporary era, including many significant works and writers that have been excluded from major collections to date. Particularly noteworthy in this release are some 39 plays by Howard Barker, whilst new works by Ontroerend Goed, Deborah Pearson, and Hannah Nicklin are also particularly welcome.  Further evidence of the Library’s ongoing collaboration with the drama department to support performance-based arts in the challenging post-COVID environment, the material will also enhance efforts to rebalance our holdings and offer an opportunity to readily study and research a broader range of plays by contemporary Black and Global Majority artists.

Essential databases

The following are important databases for this subject area, however if you don't see what you're looking for, please go to the Database Directory for English Literature and Creative Writing  to browse a wider selection.

Key database categories

Follow the links below to browse databases for specific types of resources.

• Full text journal articles
• Primary sources (novels, poetry, plays)
• Periodicals and newspapers
• Biographical
• Reference sources
• Bibliographic (abstracts, citations, indexes)

Database Directory

You can use our  Database Directory  to browse a broader range of databases that are relevant to English Literature and Creative Writing as well as other subjects. The directory also allows you to identify databases that provide access to specific types of resources (e.g. Full Text Articles, Streaming Video, Patents, Theses and Dissertations, and much more).

Research at the University of Manchester

The University of Manchester's research is internationally recognised. Go to Research Explorer , Manchester's research database, to discover the breadth of research produced by staff across the University.

Browse research publications from the Department of English, American Studies and Creative Writing  (please note: whilst many of the publications listed are available to access/Open Access, some records are for forthcoming titles awaiting publication).

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• Last Updated: Aug 29, 2024 12:10 PM
• URL: https://subjects.library.manchester.ac.uk/english-literature-creative-writing

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Centre for Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics

Exploring creative writing, Gothic studies, linguistics, poetry, place studies and more — and opening them up for a wider audience.

About our research

The Centre for Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics (CELL) is one of the UK’s largest English and Linguistics research centres. With over 70 staff, we’re always growing and evolving.

Our work in English aims to go ‘beyond the page’ and turn the traditional view of our subject — quiet, private reading — into an exciting collection of community-facing projects and activities.

Our work in Linguistics aims to improve communication and understanding between individuals, communities, and wider society through public engagement and knowledge exchange.

We’re a hub for literary and linguistic research and practice, and we’re determined to make a real difference to cultural life in Manchester and beyond.

Our successes include:

• being awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Mother Tongue Other Tongue, our multilingual poetry initiative (2019)
• developing Manchester Voices, our AHRC-funded community-facing linguistics project (2019-2022)
• co-hosting the English: Shared Futures conference in 2022.
• creating the Manchester Poetry Library, the first public poetry library in a British university and England’s first new public poetry library since 1968.
• playing a central role in Manchester’s bid for UNESCO City of Literature status in 2017

Research groups

Discover the eight areas in which we specialise⁠—covering everything from poetry and the Gothic, to studies of games, films, linguistics and place writing.

Research projects

Find out about some of our leading creative writing, poetry, linguistics, screen, games, Gothic and place writing studies.

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Find out about our top 10 ranked research in English.

Meet the academics who undertake our research

Where to find the Centre for Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics and how to get in touch.

All the latest news about the Centre for Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics.

Study with us

Find out how you can join the thriving community of researchers at the Centre for Creative Writing, English Literature and Linguistics.

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

New anthology highlights talented graduates from the Centre for New Writing

A new anthology is set to be published in September, celebrating the wealth of literary talent produced by The University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing. The Manchester Anthology, Volume Fourteen highlights the work of twenty-one writers who have recently completed their Creative Writing MA, offering them a platform to share their voices and kickstart their careers. It will include short stories, poetry, non-fiction and novel extracts. Each year, the MA students are given a budget and have creative control over everything from editing submissions to the design of the cover, gaining valuable insight into the particulars of book production. This year’s cohort collaborated with artist Georgia Harmey and designer David Webb to develop a distinctive look and feel for the anthology. Each element of Georgia’s cover art draws on themes and characters from across the twenty-one pieces, while David took a classic approach with his design. The anthology will be launched on the evening of October 21st at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, a centre devoted to the legacy of the renowned Manchester-born writer. The event will feature live readings from the contributors and presentation of the PFD Prize, as well as opportunities to connect with peers, editors and literary agents. Students who contributed to previous volumes have gone on to become successful writers. Beth Underdown’s debut novel, The Witchfinder’s Sister , was a Richard and Judy bestseller; Alys Conran was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize for her debut novel, Pigeon ; Nat Ogle, author of In The Seeing Hands of Others , was shortlisted for  The White Review  Poet's Prize; Joe Carrick-Varty’s collection,  More Sky, was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize; Thomas D. Lee’s novel, Perilous Times, was a Sunday Times bestseller; and Jessica Moor was named one of the ten best debut novelists of 2020 by Observer New Review, and was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize.

The MA in Creative Writing at Manchester has always been home to an array of writers whose imagination is both local to their own stories but with aspirations for larger, twenty-first century resonances, and this 2024 graduating class is no exception: from a university drama rehearsal space and a school run to a ruined Kyankyer village, corporate India's creative industries, West Ryedale Council chamber and other even more fantastical worlds: these writers situate crisis, recognition and discovery, finding a way to make sense of what poet Taira Deshpande calls life, and death, this 'great big swirling confusing thing.

Everyone who attends the launch event will have the opportunity to buy a physical copy of the anthology, which will also be made available in Blackwell’s Manchester bookshop and online as a PDF.

To learn more, visit www.mancanthology.co.uk .

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