English Literature & Creative Writing at Lancaster University

English Literature & Creative Writing at Lancaster University Official page for the Department of English Literature and Creative Writing at Lancaster University. Past, present and future students welcome!

Official page for the Department of English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University.

Congratulations to our PhD student . Her new book, THIS PARTY'S DEAD, is out now! By the time Erica Buist's father-in-l...
19/06/2026

Congratulations to our PhD student . Her new book, THIS PARTY'S DEAD, is out now!

By the time Erica Buist's father-in-law Chris was discovered upstairs in his bed, he had been dead for over a week. Navigating her own grief and realisation that anyone can suddenly die without warning, she noticed something startling: almost everyone she knew clammed up at the mere mention of death.

Why, she wondered, can't we talk about life's only certainty?

Starting with Mexico's Day of the Dead, Erica set off around the world on a trip to seven death festivals - to Nepal, Sicily, Thailand, Japan and Indonesia, among others - determined to understand how other cultures deal with mortal terror.

From sugar skulls in Mexico to dancing corpses in Madagascar, This Party's Dead seeks to understand those who celebrate rather than shy away from the topic of death - and how when this acceptance is passed down through the generations, death suddenly doesn't seem so scary after all."

Follow for more on her publishing experience. Congratulations!

All invited to a special SUMMER POETRY READING onWEDS 24 JUNE at 3pm- 4.30 pmat Casterton Church, Kirkby LonsdalePresent...
17/06/2026

All invited to a special
SUMMER POETRY READING on
WEDS 24 JUNE at 3pm- 4.30 pm
at Casterton Church, Kirkby Lonsdale

Presented by Lancaster PhD CW graduate Sally Evans:
Reading are:
Lancaster PhD graduate Warren Mortimer
Prizewinning Poet from Sedbergh: Kerry Darbishire
Harpist, Poet and Writer from Shap: Sue Millard
Scottish Poet and Novelist from the Borders Morelle Smith

Free Gathering --- Refreshments and gossip afterwards

What a week for our MA students. Yesterday we had a stomping English Studies MA Conference at the Castle. 30 people atte...
12/06/2026

What a week for our MA students. Yesterday we had a stomping English Studies MA Conference at the Castle. 30 people attended to hear and discuss 10 wonderful papers by MA students on almost everything from Christina Rossetti and Gerald Manley Hopkins, through inter-war railway murder mystery fiction, to video games.

Well done to everyone who shared their research and contributed to a vibrant discussion. Chaired by our PGR students and much enjoyed by staff.

This is on the back of a fabulous CW showcase on Wednesday evening.

Our MA students have earned a good rest this weekend!

Well done to all our readers at last night's MA Showcase, where we launched the 2025 MA Anthology. Thank you to all the ...
11/06/2026

Well done to all our readers at last night's MA Showcase, where we launched the 2025 MA Anthology. Thank you to all the hard work from our editing team Ruby Bond, Shannon Daniel, Frith Minehan Leung, Chenshuo Wang and Rebecca Clarke.
Big thanks to Ruby Bond for hosting the night so effortlessly. Thanks to Taj Hayer Singh - our CW MAs Convenor - for the crisps.

We enjoyed eight fantastic readings of poetry and prose from:

Shannon Daniel
Millie Percival
Frith Minehan Leung
Rebecca Clark
Pete Hardy
Yixiao Mo
Giulia del Bo
Jaime Abad Alvarez Campina

The last photo is Taj applauding 👏🥰🍾👏🥰

More coming soon about the anthology!

The line up for our MA English Studies Conference is here. All Welcome to hear our MA students share their research on T...
10/06/2026

The line up for our MA English Studies Conference is here.

All Welcome to hear our MA students share their research on Thursday 11th June, 9.30 am - 4.30 pm in the University Suite in Lancaster Castle.

Great for Undergrads interested in PG study or anyone interested in the latest cutting edge English studies research!

The University Suite is next to the Atkinsons cafe in the castle courtyard.

Roll up, roll up! Tomorrow, 10th June, is our annual MA showcase. Hear from our fabulous 2026 cohort of writers reading ...
09/06/2026

Roll up, roll up! Tomorrow, 10th June, is our annual MA showcase. Hear from our fabulous 2026 cohort of writers reading from writing developed on our MA programs. This is also the launch of our annual MA Anthology. More details about its publication coming soon! All Welcome.

It's also a great opportunity for UG students who might be interested in MA study of CW.

6.30pm - 8pm,
10th June
in LICA C01 (up on the top floor of the LICA building).

04/06/2026

Professor Simon Bainbridge loves nothing more than hiking while reciting Wordsworth's poetry. Last summer he shared this joy with others by devising the project: ‘Walking for Wellbeing: Around Morecambe Bay with William Wordsworth’.

Simon partnered with , as well as who support mental health through guided walks, and , who build sustainable links between black and minority ethnic communities and UK National Parks.

However, he outsourced reciting Wordsworth to the actor Paul Davies, who increased joy even more by also dressing up as Wordsworth on the wellbeing walks.

The project drew on Simon's research into the history of the wellbeing benefits of walking and mountaineering in the Lake District and Morecambe Bay area, as published in his book Mountaineering and British Romanticism (OUP, 2020).

The aim of the project was to use walking to enhance wellbeing, to enhance appreciation of the cultural, literary and environmental richness of Morecambe Bay, and to make theoe experiences available to people who wouldn’t normally have access to them.

These clips are from a larger film made by Richard Ellis and Hopefull Media, which we will be showing at various locations later in the year and that will then go online.

We are proud to announce this year's MA English Studies Conference: Conflicts Across the Pages!!WANTED: TWO PhD students...
04/06/2026

We are proud to announce this year's MA English Studies Conference: Conflicts Across the Pages!!

WANTED: TWO PhD students to chair the panels on space and gender. Please contact [email protected] if you are interested.

Everyone welcome. If you are an UG interested in MA study, then this is a great taster.

10.30-4.30,
Thursday 11th June.
The Castle Suite.

See the second image for the line up

Well done to Clare Egan. Her book, 'Performing Libel in the Provinces: Community Conflict in Early Modern England', has ...
03/06/2026

Well done to Clare Egan. Her book, 'Performing Libel in the Provinces: Community Conflict in Early Modern England', has been awarded The Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society's David Bevington Award for 2026!

The David Bevington Award is for the best new book in early drama studies, exclusive of Shakespeare and edited collections.

In the photo, Clare, with the help of her cat Asa, are unboxing copies of her book.

Congratulations to Clare!

Oopsing & Erring : The Year of ReadingErrant welcomes OOPS to the Castle for a symposium on and of creative criticismErr...
02/06/2026

Oopsing & Erring : The Year of Reading

Errant welcomes OOPS to the Castle for a symposium on and of creative criticism

Errant is postgraduate-run journal edited here at Lancaster (https://errantlancaster.wordpress.com)

OOPS (the Out of Practice Seminar) is hosted by the University of London, School of Advanced Study’s Institute for English Studies (IES), and its Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (ILCS). It was founded in 2023 by a group of creative-critical researchers from across the University of London, and aims to build on the School’s ambition to establish a forum for experimental approaches to Humanities research, including practice and the practice-led (https://ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/seminars/out-practice-seminar)

The University Suite, Lancaster Castle, 6 June 2026
10:45-11:00 Welcome

11:00-13:00 Panel 1: OOPs x Errant

Clare Lees, ‘Reading the Room’
Katja Hilevaara, ‘TBC’
Dani Salvadori, ‘Reading the silences in m nourbeSe philip’s Zong!’
Rupert Smith, ‘A Fool with a Magic Lantern... ‘threw the nerves in patterns on a screen.’ (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock/T.S. Eliot)’
Catryn Thomas, ‘Listening to the Maternal Voice in Creative-Critical Writing’
James Gray, ‘Séance, a play: Funny business with Beckett’s Endgame, Joyce’s ghost and O’Brian’s shadow’

13:00-13:45 Lunch

13:45-15:45 Panel 2: OOPs x Errant

Tim Mathews, ‘A reading from New Chronicles of Art and Hope, Writing in Times of Demagoguery, (MA BILOTHÈQUE, May 2026)
Mathelinda Nabugodi, ‘Dots on a page (a reading)’
Emily Orley, ‘Reading and Responding with Love and Possibility’
James Davies, ‘TBC’
Sameeya Maqbool, ‘The Islamic East in Woolf’s Imagination’
Lucie Staniek, ‘November 23: The Windermere Train’

15:45-16:00 Tea / Coffee Break

16:00-16:30 Roundtable: Oopsing & Erring: The Year of Reading 2026

John Schad, Jenn Ashworth, Lucie Staniek, Sameeya Maqbool, Clare Lees, Penny Young
16:30-16:35 Final Words

Address

Department Of English Literature And Creative Writing, County College, Lancaster University
Lancaster
LA14YD

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441524592233

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when English Literature & Creative Writing at Lancaster University posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share