University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK in association with EACWP
(European Association of Creative Writing Programmes) invite proposals for this online conference in May 2021 which seeks to bring together PhD research students, Creative Writing tutors and graduates, writers and scholars to explore the varieties of practice in our discipline now. Keynote Speakers: Bernardine Evaristo, Carolyn Forché, Andrew Cowan. Deadline fast approaching!
It's an opportunity to explore, the points of convergence and contention, and, crucially, the opportunities for future development and the forces that may shape the nature of writing in the academy over the next several years.
Fifty years ago, in September 1970, Ian McEwan became the sole inaugural student on the UK’s first MA in Creative Writing, established at UEA by the novelist-critics, Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson.
In 1987 UEA also launched the UK’s first PhD in Creative Writing. A BA in English Literature with Creative Writing was introduced in 1995. An MA Scriptwriting strand was added in 1993, and a Poetry strand in 1996. An MA in Lifewriting – now the MA in Biography & Creative Non-Fiction – was launched in 2001, and the UK’s first MA in Crime Writing in 2015.
The academic year 2020-21 therefore marks the half-centenary of Creative Writing innovation at UEA and presents an opportunity both to reflect on the development of the discipline of Creative Writing nationally and internationally and to consider how the discipline may develop over the next fifty years.
Central to the conference will be an acknowledgement of the importance of literature and drama in helping us navigate challenging moments in history.
Topics for papers will be organised into virtual panels and we’d particularly welcome proposals that address the teaching of writing in response to recent global crises, which might include but not be limited to the following themes:
Innovations in Creative Writing pedagogy
Decolonising the curriculum
Digital Technology and Creative Writing
Writing and the environment
Employability and the Creative Industries
We are keen to explore the expanded possibilities of online conferencing, and welcome suggestions for panels and roundtables that demonstrate the potential for a reconceived pedagogy in Creative Writing.
Please see under Associated Downloads to the right of the page for the full call for papers or click here
For a 20-minute paper or roundtable proposal, please submit an abstract of no more than 200 words to the conference organisers at CW50.conference@uea.ac.uk, including your name, affiliation, email address, and a 120-word biography.
The NEW deadline for submissions is Monday 16 November 2020.
Conference dates: Friday 21 May – Sunday 23 May 2021
Conference rates: full delegate £50; postgraduate £30; EACWP/NAWE members, £35.