Trinity College Dublin - Creative Writing

Course Overview/Contact:

This course, the first Masters programme in creative writing in an Irish university, was offered for the first time in 1997/98. It is based in the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing, 21 Westland Row, the birthplace of Oscar Wilde.

The course is intended for students who are seriously committed to writing, are practising, or prospective authors and who wish to develop their writing within the framework of a university course and in the context of an Irish literary milieu. It involves the close and critical examination of the students' work in group workshops and under guided personal tuition, with the study also of the professional techniques of book editing and publishing, and the opportunity to explore the cultural and literary contexts of writing in Ireland.

Applicants, who are expected to have a university degree or equivalent qualification, normally in English or another appropriate subject, will be selected on the basis of a portfolio of recent creative work submitted with the application. The portfolio of sample work should include no more than 3000 words of prose (short stories, excerpt/s from a novel or drama) or 6-8 poems; genres may be combined but this is not a requirement.

Students are required to take workshops, attend courses of lectures, and take one specialist writing workshop, while continuing to develop their own individual work throughout the year.

Course Options:

1 Year Full Time

Course Url

www.tcd.ie/English/postgraduate/creative-writing/

Course Director

Professor Ian Sansom

Course Email

wilde@tcd.ie

Next Intake

September 2017

Closing Date

31st March 2017

Graduate Testomonials:

Gerard Lee (Grad 2007)

Presently working as a freelance novelist, playwright and actor.

I like to think that I entered the Oscar Wilde Centre as a dabbler in verse, and emerged, if not quite a fully-fledged writer, then at least well on my way. I can't imagine a more glorious setting for any writer to have an epiphany than in Oscar Wilde's old living room, which is where most of our discussions, analysis, creative exchanges and of course writing took place. The diversity of writing styles and reading taste among my fellow students broadened my own creative vision in unexpected and enriching ways. The tutors, all practitioners themselves, guided our sessions with focus, respect and sensitivity. Participating in the MPhil programme definitely helped to place writing at the centre of my life and work.

My debut novel Forsaken was published by New Island in 2014, and I'm off to the Tyrone Guthrie Centre soon to continue work on my second novel, The Hitman's Guide to the Underworld. To date I've had four plays produced, and a fifth, This Old Man, is set for a production in 2016. I've recently finished work on Perfect Shadows - The Last Days of Christopher Marlowe, and plan to produce this play in 2017.

Philip St John (Grad 2008)

Currently writing a play commissioned by Mermaid Arts Centre and a novel for which I was awarded a bursary by The Arts Council of Ireland.

‘Though I had published short stories before my year in The Oscar Wilde Centre, I lacked confidence in my work. After completing the M. Phil, I found that I wrote with far more authority and consistency – in the past three years I have had three plays produced, one optioned for a film, and another translated for performances in Italy. Through its expert and friendly guidance, and its stimulating blend of emerging talents, the Centre enabled me to refine my vision. I highly recommend it. 

Sara Baume (Grad 2010)

My year in the Oscar Wilde Centre represented a certain freedom while also providing a certain structure. I had some wonderful tutors and fascinating classmates.I didn't have had a manuscript by the time I graduated, but instead I had the requisite tool box to pursue a writing career.

Please see interview about the Course at Trinity Alumni & Friends News, click here.

Image by Thomas Langdon

Entry Requirements:

Applicants, who are expected to have a university degree or equivalent qualification, normally in English or another appropriate subject, will be selected on the basis of a portfolio of recent creative work submitted with your application. This portfolio should include no more than 3000 words of prose (short stories, excerpt from a novel or drama) or 6-8 poems; genres may be combined.