Creative Writing talents past and present scoop prestigious bursaries

Two talents from Creative Writing at the University have been awarded £3,000 Writers Bursaries recognising new writing voices in Wales.

Alumna Emily Blewitt and PhD candidate Christina Thatcher are among 25 writers to feature in Literature Wales 2018 Writers Bursaries list.

Author of This Is Not A Rescue (Seren Books, 2017), Emily Blewitt has published poetry in The Rialto, Poetry Wales, Ambit, and The North and was Highly Commended in the 2016 Forward Prizes. Since completing her Creative Writing PhD, Emily has appeared at Hay Festival and on BBC Radio 4, and participated in Literature Wales’ Weird and Wonderful Wales project. One of her poems appears on public transport in three Chinese cities as part of a British Council initiative.

Poetry Editor for The Cardiff Review, part-time teacher and PhD student Christina Thatcher has published poetry and short stories in over 40 publications including The London Magazine, Planet Magazine and The Interpreter’s House. Shortlisted in Bare Fiction’s Debut Poetry Collection Competition, her first poetry collection More than you were is out now with Parthian Books.

Literature Wales has awarded over £1.2 million in Writers’ Bursaries since 2004, enabling 277 writers to develop their work in a variety of genres. Funded by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales, the annual bursary scheme offers support to enable new and established writers to concentrate on developing a specific work in progress in one year. The 2018 list features a strong female line-up of unique and distinctive voices across genres with a record number of first-time applicants.

Taught by respected writers with a wealth of teaching experience, Creative Writing courses at the University range from the new BA English Literature and Creative Writing to long-respected MA and PhD degrees.