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Creative Writing in Europe Nov2011 Sd R Def 2
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3. Index
Preface 4
Introduction 5
1. Creative Writing in Europe 7
1.1 Austria 7
1.2 Belgium (Flanders) 7
1.3 Czech Republic 8
1.4 France 8
1.5 Germany 9
1.6 Italy 9
1.7 The Netherlands 9
1.8 Norway 10
1.9 Poland 10
1.10 Spain 10
1.11 United Kingdom 11
1.12 Informants 11
‘Writing? You learn that at age six!’ 13
1.13 Government policy on Creative Writing 13
1.14 Authors and Creative Writing 14
1.15 Certified writers? 14
1.16 New media 15
1.17 International cooperation 15
1.18 Funding a Creative Writing school 17
1.19 Do graduates succeed in becoming professional writers? 17
1.20 Conferences 18
Conclusion: A Creative Writing Future 20
Appendix: original survey questionnaire 21
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 3
4. Preface
As of 2009, ‘Writing in an international perspective’ has been one of Kunstfactor’s activities.
Focussing on international relations, Kunstfactor aims to initiate an exchange between
professionals, organisations and schools involved in teaching Creative Writing in different
countries.
In 2011, in line with this activity, Kunstfactor consultants carried out a survey in cooperation
with their international relations operating in the field of Creative Writing. This survey dealt
with questions such as the role of Creative Writing in higher and lower education, the role of the
government in supporting Creative Writing and the resources that are available for Creative
Writing professionals to practice their work as well as for creative writers to participate in their
hobby.
Creative Writing professionals from Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland,
Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic have contributed to this
inventory to inform Creative Writing teachers, consultants, policy makers or other interested
professionals about the position of Creative Writing in their country. The goal of this survey is to
provide a snapshot of Creative Writing in Europe today and, consequently, to reveal the
common thread that connects all professionals in Creative Writing throughout the continent.
Kunstfactor would like to invite European partners to add to this first inventory of Creative
Writing in Europe, in the hope of producing future updates.
In this survey you will find good examples that may inspire you, or differences between fellow
European countries that will amaze you. It will also offer you an overview of your international
colleagues that may be useful, now or in the future.
Online
For a good online view on European Creative Writing, take a look at www.eacwp.org to see how
an organization called ‘the European Association of Creative Writing Programmes’ promotes
networking and organizes international events and the exchange of students, teachers, scholars,
information, ideas and knowledge in the field of Creative Writing, especially in Europe.
Conferences
In 2009-2010, also in line with the activity ‘Writing in an international perspective’, Kunstfactor
consultants visited three international conferences on Creative Writing. One in Finland – the
International Conference on Creativity and Writing – and two in the United Kingdom, the
NAWE Conference and Great Writing.
Kunstfactor’s Creative Writing consultants found these conferences to be enormously inspiring,
and encourage Creative Writing professionals from every country to visit them. Conferences on
Creative Writing that will inspire your writing process as well as your view on, for example,
teaching and writing methodology are held from the United States to Australia, from
Scandinavia to Africa.
With this publication, you will find a short list of links to the most informative websites about
some of these international conferences on Creative Writing in Europe. On these sites you will
soon discover who organizes these conferences, what happens there, and how they can benefit
you. As sites and their content continually change, we advise you now and then to google
(creative) writing conference and enjoy the new surprises that you will undoubtedly find.
Wies Rosenboom
Head of the Staff, Dance and Writing Departments
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 4
5. Introduction
Creative Writing has always been – and still is – a disputed subject in most European countries.
Whether it is a regular subject, taught at a great number of universities or colleges, as in Great
Britain, or a rather neglected (or, on the contrary, quite exclusive) field of interest taught only in
some private schools or institutions – as for example in Poland or Italy, it seems to be an
extraordinary subject everywhere. It is not the same as studying mathematics or history, or even
graphic design, dance or sculpture.
Is Creative Writing an art or a craft, or is it a calling? Can it be taught in regular classes, and can
one learn to be a writer at school? These questions seem to be asked over and over again to
anyone involved in teaching Creative Writing who is trying to set up or run a school in this field,
or who is trying to convince politicians or policy makers to invest in it.
Language, of course, plays a crucial role in teaching and studying Creative Writing. Therefore,
unlike in many other areas, internationalization is not so obvious here. However easily students
nowadays visit universities or colleges in other countries as part of their studies, this is still
complicated in the field of Creative Writing. Prose, poetry, drama or essays are written best, if
not only, in one’s own mother tongue, and it is very hard, if not impossible, to write in a foreign
language. Even passively it is a complex matter: reading a text in a different language might be
an attainable goal, but to comment on or judge a text that is written in what is to you a foreign
language is almost as difficult as writing.
Some international cooperation is certainly taking place. The European Association of Creative
Writing Programmes (EACWP), founded in 2005, offers a platform for international exchange
and networking in the field of Creative Writing. The EACWP organizes events, annual
conferences, seminars and student exchanges. In 2011 the international course ‘Fundamentals
of Poetry’ took place. This was a pilot programme in which six writing schools from different
countries participated, and was designed to compare methodologies and writing techniques
internationally. Apart from such formalized contacts, individual teachers and coordinators in
writing schools in different countries sometimes know each other and learn from each other’s
practices.
Still, a deeply felt lack of knowledge of the international situation on Creative Writing exists
among Creative Writing professionals throughout Europe. By means of a survey of the
differences in Creative Writing education between several European countries we have made a
start to bridging this gap.
I spoke with professionals of eleven different countries, asking them to fill out a questionnaire,
and interviewed them on the specific situation in their country or school. In this article I try to
process their answers and sketch the outlines of the field of Creative Writing in these European
countries. This survey is neither complete nor very profound – there are many more countries,
schools, academies and universities in which Creative Writing is taught. Therefore, as I
interviewed only one person from each country, the information I received often concerns one
school or institute. Some questions we asked, could not be answered in most countries (for
example: How many amateur writers in your country, which web communities for writers, etc.).
Hence, this survey serves mainly as a first, brief exploration.
For this article I spoke with Alain André (director and founder of Aleph Ecriture, Paris, France),
Graeme Harper (director of the National Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries and
professor of Creative Writing, Bangor, UK) Claudius Nießen (manager of Deutsches
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 5
6. Literaturinstitut Leipzig, Germany), Gianluca Pallaro (didactic director of Scuola Holden, Turin,
Italy), Javier Sagarna (director of Escuela de Escritores, Madrid, Spain and president of
EACWP), Sabine Scholl (professor at Institut für Sprachkunst, Universität für Angewandte
Kunst, Vienna, Austria), Hanna Sieja (president of the Association of Graduates, Lecturers and
Students of Literary Artistic Studies at Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland), Hans Skaare
(Creative Writing teacher at Nansen Academy, Lillehammer, Norway), Daniel Soukup (teacher
and vice rector at Josef Skvorecky Literary Academy, Prague, Czech Republic), Frank Tazelaar
(coordinator of bachelor Creative Writing at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem, the
Netherlands) and An Leenders and Erik Vanhee (director and didactic coordinator of Creatief
Schrijven, Antwerp, Belgium). I thank them all very much for their time, efforts and their
willingness to cooperate in this survey. I would also like to thank Mónica Crespo (Spain) and
Marlen Schachinger (Austria) for sharing their thoughts on this subject in an earlier stage of this
survey.
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 6
7. 1. Creative Writing in Europe
To describe the differences and similarities between different European countries, I will start by
outlining the education in Creative Writing in eleven European countries. This is based on
interviews I conducted with representatives of Creative Writing schools, academies and
university departments.
1.1 Austria
In Austria the Schule für Dichtung (School for Poetry) has been located in Vienna since 1992.
According to their website, they do not provide a full education to become a poet. But they do
offer courses, literary encounters with well-known authors, and practical training for those
interested in developing their poetical abilities. The school does not offer a fulltime or long-term
programme or a diploma for graduates.
Since 2009 the Universität für Angewandte Kunst Wien (University for Applied Arts Vienna)
hosts the Institut für Sprachkunst (Institute for Language Art), which offers a three-year course
in Creative Writing. This is the first university in Austria to offer an official course in the subject.
As it has just recently started, the institute is still relatively small, with 28 students currently in
the first two years. Some 380 students applied for a place in 2011-2012; a maximum of 20
students will be accepted.
1.2 Belgium (Flanders)
As in most other European countries, Creative Writing is not a regular component of primary
and secondary education in Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, autonomous in
Culture and Education). There is, however, an organisation that offers courses in Creative
Writing for children, young people and adults: DKO, Deeltijds Kunst Onderwijs or Part-time Art
Education. These are non-commercial courses, aimed at amateurs rather than professionals, but
the complete programme could be as intensive as a weekly training of three years, leading to an
official diploma.
Some colleges and universities have Creative Writing elements in their curriculum (of
journalism, or audiovisual arts, for example), but only as a small part of the programme.
Flanders has no formal education to become a professional writer.
Several private initiatives offer courses in Creative Writing, or a complete education. There is
‘WEL’, an organisation based in Leuven which offers a four-year education with freelance
teachers. ‘Wisper’ organises individual courses for (young) adults in several Flemish cities and
in several disciplines: children’s books, columns, poetry, chicklit. The non-profit organisation
Creatief Schrijven (Creative Writing), which is supported by the government and centre for non-
professional writers, merged with SchrijversAcademie (WritersAcademy) a few years ago and
under that name offers a full four-year programme in Creative Writing. Literary publisher De
Bezige Bij Antwerpen, together with Creatief Schrijven / SchrijversAcademie, held a nine
months’ masterclass in novel writing for the first time in 2011, for ‘advanced writers’. In 2012 a
similar masterclass in poetry is planned. Quite special is the possibility to be educated as a
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 7
8. writing teacher (every other year, by Creatief Schrijven), which is certainly not available in every
European country.
1.3 Czech Republic
As of 1999 it has been possible to establish private schools and universities in the Czech
Republic. Since then about 45 private academies have been founded, of which two are art-
oriented. In 2000, the Joseph Skvorecky Literary Academy was founded, with the only full
education in Creative Writing in the country. The academy offers a Bachelor’s, and since a few
years also a Master’s programme.
The academy has about 250 students, but many of them major in subjects other than literary
writing. Students become translators, editors, scriptwriters, writers for new media, etc. Only a
small minority has the ambition to be a literary writer, and an even smaller number actually
succeed in this.
As a private university the institute is mainly dependent on students for its income. Unlike many
comparable art schools in other countries and in the Czech Republic itself, there is not a very
strict admission selection procedure – when 60 students apply, around 50 actually get a place in
the school. Due to a slight demographic decline, there are fewer students than a few years ago,
and universities and schools are competing quite fiercely at the moment to attract the limited
number of students available to them.
1.4 France
At present, no university education in Creative Writing exists in France, nor is there any
structural attention for the subject in primary or secondary education. There is, however, some
movement in the right direction. Violaine Houdar-Mérot, lecturer at the University of Cergy,
near Paris, organized an inquiry into creative writing workshops in French universities. This
revealed that nearly half of French universities now organize workshops in this area, although
mostly with a condensed content and marginal status.
The institute Aleph Ecriture in Paris, which was founded in 1985, offers courses to some 3000
people throughout France. It provides a long-term training of four years, but students can also
follow one or two-year courses, part-time sessions or individual courses and workshops. Around
16 permanent staff and 30 part-time teachers currently work at the institute.
In France, there are currently (and have been for many years now) discussions between the
government (Ministry of Employment) and author societies aimed at developing the
professional training of authors.
At a different level, people – taking part or not in these institutional talks – are unofficially
discussing the foundation of something like a private school. Teachers in Creative Writing would
be trained in that school as well. What the goals of such a school would be, whether it would
offer a strictly technical curriculum or a more creative one as well, is still under debate.
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 8
9. 1.5 Germany
In Germany there are a few possibilities to receive an education in becoming a writer. The oldest
and most renowned institute is the ‘Literaturinstitut Universität Leipzig’. Founded in the GDR
in 1955, it was shut down after the fall of the Wall and reopened in 1995 after being completely
renewed. From the approximately 600 applicants each year, they select around 25 students for
their Bachelor’s and Master’s programme. Between half and two-thirds of the graduates actually
succeed in becoming a published writer. Others work as editors at publishing houses and
universities or as journalists. Quite a few well-known German writers attended the institute in
Leipzig. Nevertheless, like almost everywhere else, an on-going debate is taking place in
Germany on the question of whether you can teach someone to be a writer.
Besides Leipzig, the University of Hildesheim offers a course in ‘Kreatives Schreiben und
Kulturjournalismus’ (Creative Writing and Cultural Journalism), the University of Arts in Berlin
offers a course in writing for theatre (‘Szenisches Schreiben’) and in Tübingen the university
designed the ‘Studio Literatur und Theater’ with workshops and seminars in Creative Writing,
open to students of all different departments.
1.6 Italy
Italy does not have an extensive tradition in creative writing. There is no formal education in the
subject in primary or secondary schools, nor at universities or academies. There are quite a few
private schools, institutes and individual authors who offer courses, masterclasses or tutorials in
Creative Writing, all over Italy.
Scuola Holden in Turin, for example, has offered two-year courses since 1994 and claims to have
one of the most extensive programmes in Creative Writing available in the country. The school
places 30 students each year, who pay a considerable tuition fee compared to some other
European schools (over 4,000 Euros), but receive a comprehensive education in exchange.
There are meetings, seminars and working groups every day, certainly in the first year.
The school also offers shorter courses and online tutorials for older students (there is an age
limit for the regular programme) who live away from Turin or have other reasons not to want to
join the fulltime education. The school trains not only professional writers, but also script
writers, editors, web writers, scenarists and other professionals in the field of storytelling.
1.7 The Netherlands
Until recently, the Netherlands offered no formal full education in Creative Writing at colleges
or universities. In September 2011, a four-year education in Creative Writing started at art
school ArtEZ in Arnhem, which will result in a Bachelor’s degree. Of the around 200 students
that applied some twenty have been accepted.
Even though the Netherlands lacked formal courses, it did manage to offer students the
possibility of being trained as a writer. Private schools like ‘de Schrijversvakschool’ have offered
courses and full education in creative writing since the 1980s. There are several colleges (HvA)
and universities (Fontys) that offer courses in Creative Writing as part of minors for Bachelors
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10. programs. The Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (Utrecht School of the Arts) offers the
programme ‘Writing for Performance’ as part of a Bachelor of Theatre. ‘Scriptplus’, a writing
school related to the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, created a 1.5-year education to become a
Creative Writing Teacher. But all of those are mainly part-time programmes, with nine to ten
meetings each semester.
1.8 Norway
In Norway there is no full-length education for aspiring writers, but there are quite a few other
possibilities for studying Creative Writing. There is the Nansen Academy in Lillehammer which
offers a one-year course in philosophy, cultural history and contemporary subjects, and in which
half the hours are dedicated to Creative Writing. The Skrivekunstakademiet in Hordaland offers
a one-year course, as does the University High School of Telemark as well, as part of a
Bachelor’s degree. The University of Tromsø offers a two-year course in the Department of
Literature, leading to a Bachelor’s degree. There are several other ‘folkehøgskole’ (college-like
schools) that offer courses in Creative Writing, without a formal diploma afterwards. All of the
schools are state funded, as is the custom in Norway.
As in most other countries, there is hardly any room for Creative Writing in primary or
secondary education. As elsewhere, it depends mostly on the amount of attention an individual
teacher gives to the subject.
1.9 Poland
In Poland there is no full-time education in Creative Writing at a university or art school.
Several universities offer courses in the subject, as part of courses in journalism, philology or
other courses. Jagiellonian University in Krakow offers a course in ‘Artistic Literary Studies’
since 1994, which is a postgraduate course, with classes every two weeks on weekends. The
specialization takes two years of study, and does not result in any title or official degree in
Creative Writing. Opole University also offers a postgraduate creative writing course, similar to
that of Jagiellonian University. In Opole, the programme is taught by the same lecturers every
year, but in Krakow they change the teachers on an annual basis.
The University of Wroclaw has 'Journalism and Social communication' with a Creative Writing
specialization. The University of Łódź and Opole University also offer classes with elements of
Creative Writing, but only as a part of other courses.
There is a tendency to create more courses in Creative Writing, mostly online, but those courses
stand outside the ‘official’ educational system. The courses are run by journalists or authors and
differ from each other in aim, quality and literary pretentions.
1.10 Spain
In Spain, there are several languages outside ‘Castilian’ Spanish, and that makes the Creative
Writing situation a bit different from other countries. Main schools, like Escuela de Escritores
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 10
11. de Madrid, teach mostly in Spanish, the common language for the whole country. Basque
Country houses the only university in Spain to offer an education in Creative Writing, but that is
a very special situation. Basque Country does not have a strong creative writing tradition (as far
as the Castilian source was concerned), but supporting and promoting the language is part of the
minority language position that Basque occupies in Spain.
Besides that, there are some private schools, for example Escola d’escriptura del Ateneu
Barcelonés that have courses in Catalan (a language that has a strong literary tradition), usually
as a part of a double offer, in Spanish and Catalan, that reflects the bilingual situation in
Catalonia.
Apart from that, the number of Spanish-speaking people all over the world exceeds that of
countries like the Netherlands, Poland or France by far. As a result, the potential market for
online creative language courses is larger than in many other places.
An official university or college education in Creative Writing is non-existent in Spain, and there
are no concrete plans to change that. But there are quite a few writing schools, both small and
large. They do not get any government support, neither financially nor in any other way. As the
schools have to generate their own income, many of them offer in-company courses in writing,
in addition to their Creative Writing classes for individuals.
1.11 United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is, of course, a country that most of the other countries in Europe look up
to in awe when it comes to the subject of Creative Writing. Since the 1970s a vast tradition of
Creative Writing departments and researchers has been established in almost every university
or academy in the UK, from Oxford to Aberystwyth. They offer full programmes or single
courses in Creative Writing. There are Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and at some places even
the possibility to continue to PhD level. Outside formal school settings there are also plenty of
opportunities to study Creative Writing at a private school or institute.
While in many of the other European countries Creative Writing as a subject is, if it exists at all,
under threat or at least under discussion, in the UK it seems undisputed. The subject is popular
with students to such an extent that most universities and academies have strict admission
selection procedures – without which they would not be able to cope with the numbers of
applicants. Creative Writing is part of the humanities, which are not the most popular part of the
government’s policy at the moment, as in many other European countries. But it is in line with
the government’s agenda on creativity and it is relatively cost-effective. Universities and schools
do not question its necessity at all.
1.12 Informants
Austria: Sabine Scholl (professor at Institut für Sprachkunst, Universität für Angewandte Kunst,
Vienna)
Belgium: An Leenders and Erik Vanhee (director and didactic coordinator of Creatief Schrijven
België, Antwerp)
Czech Republic: Daniel Soukup (teacher and vice rector at Josef Skvorecky Literary Academy,
Prague)
France: Alain André (director and founder of Aleph Ecriture, Paris)
Germany: Claudius Nießen (manager of Deutsches Literaturinstitut Leipzig)
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12. Italy: Gianluca Pallaro (didactic director of Scuola Holden, Turin)
The Netherlands: Frank Tazelaar (coordinator of Bachelor of Creative Writing at ArtEZ Institute
of the Arts, Arnhem)
Norway: Hans Skaare (Creative Writing teacher at Nansen Academy, Lillehammer)
Poland: Hanna Sieja (president of the Association of Graduates, Lecturers and Students of
Literary Artistic Studies at Jagiellonian University, Krakow)
Spain: Javier Sagarna (director of Escuela de Escritores, Madrid and president of EACWP)
United Kingdom: Graeme Harper (director of the National Institute for Excellence in the
Creative Industries and professor of Creative Writing, Bangor)
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 12
13. ‘Writing? You learn that at age six!’
Creative Writing as an education subject is treated very differently in the various European
countries. The same topics, however, are discussed everywhere.
1.13 Government policy on Creative Writing
Generally speaking the policy of most governments of European countries in times of
economical and financial crisis is not in favour of arts and humanities, but is more likely to be
focused on sciences, technology or medicine. It is interesting to see that, in spite of these
developments, some universities and art schools are still taking the risk of launching new
courses in that field. In Austria, for example, a university (Universität für Angewandte Kunst
Wien) recently developed a full course in Creative Writing, which is heading towards its third
year now. In the Netherlands, apart from private schools and courses offered by colleges as part
of another programme, a full-time education at art school ArtEZ is starting this year (2011).
Sabine Scholl, one of the founders of the Institut für Sprachkunst at the Vienna University, says
it has taken a lot of effort to get this far. “It was very difficult to find a university that wanted to
invest in such a new curriculum. This university is focused on art – digital art, transformative
arts, performative art, traditional art forms – and probably hopes our institution could interact
well with all those art forms.” Of course, the university is trying to put itself in the spotlight by
developing a new, successful study. But the new course has to prove itself like all others. “There
should be some clear results within three years.”
Art school ArtEZ, in Arnhem, started the first formal Bachelor’s course in Creative Writing in
the Netherlands recently, in September 2011. Three years of intensive preparations have
preceded this – years in which the new Dutch government introduced huge cutbacks in the arts,
including substantial reductions of student numbers at art schools. This, however, did not
discourage coordinator Frank Tazelaar. “Literature and the way texts are made, distributed and
read, have changed enormously over the last ten years. It’s not enough to have skills as a writer
– you have to be able to present your work, you need to have a network among writers,
publishers and festivals; you need to know how to reach your audience. At the same time,
publishers have less and less money to support and coach their authors; literary magazines that
used to coach authors as well are withdrawing one by one. There is definitely need and room for
an education like this, especially now.” The director of ArtEZ announced that the school will
reduce the number of students in the visual arts radically, by almost 30%, to invest in the new
Bachelor study of Creative Writing.
In the UK, Creative Writing departments don’t have to prove themselves like that anymore. The
British/Australian writer Graeme Harper, who taught Creative Writing at several universities
and who wrote critical works on the subject, as well as a great many novels, thinks Creative
Writing will not be in danger. “It’s a strongly recruiting subject with students, and it’s getting
bigger every year. It’s able to apply to the research councils here for research funds. And it’s an
easy subject to maintain. As an art subject it’s relatively low-cost – it’s not like theatre or media
studies, as it doesn’t require huge facilities. It might be on the wrong side of the tracks, being
humanities, it’s not a subject the government is supporting right now. However, creativity is one
of the government’s particular interests.”
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 13
14. 1.14 Authors and Creative Writing
Strangely enough, some of the fiercest opponents of courses in Creative Writing are literary
authors themselves. “A lot of authors now are autodidactic, self-made writers,” says Sabine
Scholl (Vienna). “Many authors in Austria fear a division between writers who went to university
and those without a diploma. They would have disadvantages. That was the main thrust of the
opposition. Other writers, however, disagreed with this, saying they would have liked to have
had the opportunity to study Creative Writing when starting as a literary author.”
Many authors see writing as a gift, not as an art or craft that can be taught. Alain André (Paris)
often met this kind of attitude. “Many writers see their profession as a vocation. ‘You don’t learn
to be a writer, you are born one,’ they say.” André thinks a more American approach is needed,
where writing is seen more as a craft, a profession in which you can be trained. “But many
French writers revolt against such an American approach. They think there would be too much
emphasis on techniques, and not enough on talent and genius.”
Claudius Nießen, manager of the Literatur Institut Leipzig, recognizes this attitude. “ ‘Who
needs to learn to write?’ people often say. ‘We learn to write in primary school, at age six!’ It
probably has to do with the Romantic German notion of ‘genius’, which is still very distinct in
the public opinion.”
Even in the UK the idea that writing can’t be taught pops up occasionally. “It’s a funny sort of
argument,” says Graeme Harper. “It doesn’t make any logical sense. No one would say that of
any other subject. Couldn’t you teach music? Or chemistry?”
“At Polish Universities, they purposely avoid handing diplomas that say you’re a writer,” says
Hanna Sieja, who graduated from Jagielonnian University, Krakow. “They don't want to give
anyone a paper which states that writing is a profession. Also in Poland many people have the
Romantic idea writers should have a gift and that it cannot be learned.” Of course you need
talent to become a writer, but that’s the same with visual arts or theatre, to name but a few.
“Creative Writing courses can give you the necessary skills to write a proper text. Without talent,
it will remain craftsmanship only, but people with talent might improve their skills, and develop
their abilities.”
1.15 Certified writers?
But is there a difference between writers who have had a formal education and writers who have
not? “I don’t think there is such a difference,” says Claudius Nießen. “And I would never say you
need to have an education in Creative Writing. The question is: what can you accomplish as a
school? Not much, really: we can try to find talented young people and teach them a few things,
and give them feedback on their work. We work as a catalyst, at best.” He is convinced that
students learn a lot from each other, and that there lies part of the value of such an education.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to spend a few years amidst a small group of
congenial minds, reading and writing and commenting on each others’ work. Where else would
you find a place where something like that is possible?”
Hans Skaare, of the Norwegian Hansen Institute in Lillehammer, has the impression that the
Creative Writing programmes are being well regarded nowadays, and that young would-be
authors are quite eager to attend them. “Since the start of these programmes in Norway, a new
Creative Writing in Europe | Teaching Creative Writing in 11 European Countries | Kunstfactor 2011 | p. 14
15. generation of writers skilled in their craft has become visible, also internationally. They seem to
use language and storytelling tools more consciously than previous generations.”
“Young writers-to-be who graduate from a Creative Writing education are not necessarily more
talented than others,” says Frank Tazelaar, from ArtEZ in the Netherlands. “But they know how
to apply and employ their talents better.”
1.16 New media
With a limited number of Creative Writing academies spread throughout Europe, and language
as the main vehicle for this art form, you would think that there would be quite a few online
courses. However, there seem to be varying opinions regarding this among institutes. The
Escuela de Escritores in Madrid offers many online courses and classes, not only for Spanish
students, but for Latin Americans as well. “Internet is our biggest area right now,” says Javier
Sagarna, of the private school in Madrid. “We have a wide range of online courses: prose, poetry,
screen writing, writing for TV. About 350 students use our services every month, 30 percent of
whom are Latin American.” The online courses of the Spanish institute include online classes.
“It works a bit like Facebook. We create a virtual campus, with communities. The material
students write goes to the whole group. Teachers comment on the work and there are regular
chats. It works very well and we’re definitely going to expand it.”
Others are less convinced about the benefits of the new media. In Norway, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Germany, online teaching methods do not form a major part of the education,
or are even completely absent. Daniel Soukup of the Josef Skvorecky Literary Academy in
Prague thinks students as well as teachers prefer face-to-face contact. “We do have an internet
platform for our distance learning BA students. But even those students come to the school
every now and again, about five times per semester. The in-house classes are most important.
You may see it as technological conservatism. But we prefer to be a small school with a family
atmosphere. And with real contact between teacher and student.”
Scuola Holden in Turin tries to steer a middle course. Didactic director Gianluca Pallaro: “We
have online courses for people who live too far away from the city, or who for other reasons can’t
do the full-time education. You are given the theory and assigned a personal tutor. You send
your exercises by email, after which the tutor provides you with feedback. There are no online
classes, it’s still one-on-one.” According to Pallaro, there will be more and more online courses
in the future. “We’re in a transition period right now. We want to attract a lot more students,
and online courses will be a major part of that.”
In Poland there is a tendency to create more online courses in Creative Writing, but all are
outside the national education system – and their quality varies, says Hanna Sieja. Most of them
are run by journalists or authors.
1.17 International cooperation
In a language-oriented field like Creative Writing, it is hard to work together internationally,
and this lack of cooperation is felt deeply. Alain André: “People feel terribly alone in their work.
They want to share more than they do now.” Still, even when you meet foreign colleagues, it is
difficult to exchange more than formalities. “We do have international meetings, like the
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16. meetings the EACWP organizes,” says the director of the Parisian institute. “The problem is that
we listen to each other and then conclude: ‘What you are doing is fine, but in our school it is
different’.”
The German Literature Institute in Leipzig organized an international congress in 2005, during
which the EACWP was founded – the European network for Creative Writing professionals.
“But after that, the network subsided a bit, unfortunately,” says Claudius Nießen. Members of
the group, however, still manage to organize some activities, like the international pilot course
‘Fundamentals of Poetry’, which was organized by six writing schools in six different countries,
and was held both in real life and over the internet. “Of course, language is crucial in Creative
Writing,” says Gianluca Pallaro. “In such an international course, you can discuss theory, but
hardly the practical part of writing poetry.”
Daniel Soukup thinks the course achieved more than just discussing theory. “The creative aspect
went fine. People were very enthusiastic about the different approach of teachers from other
countries. We worked in English, but many of the texts were translated into other languages as
well.” Exchanging texts and experiences over the internet proved far more difficult, as far as he
is concerned. “The internet platform that was created for the event didn’t work well. Or at least
people weren’t too happy about using it.”
Being the country with the most comprehensive Creative Writing education, everybody looks to
the United Kingdom. But according to Graeme Harper schools everywhere need to look beyond
their borders. “We may have many Creative Writing programmes compared to continental
Europe, but if you look at the United States, what we do in the UK is very small in comparison.
But that is not so interesting. We have to be discussing this internationally more than we have
done up until now. And that includes Asia as well. We need to look beyond the borders of
countries and subjects alike. There are global developments going on and we need to address
those. Language doesn’t matter too much in that respect.”
Within language regions, schools tend to look at each other, also across national borders. The
Flemish organisation Creatief Schrijven looks closely at the Dutch developments. “The Dutch
are always a bit ahead of us,” says Erik Vanhee of the institute Creatief Schrijven in Antwerp.
“Which is good, because the huge government cuts in the arts in the Netherlands haven’t been
repeated here yet to such an extent .” In the UK people look at the United States and Australia
and vice versa. Vienna looks at Leipzig, Leipzig at Switzerland (Biel). Although different
language regions, the Scandinavian countries have more contact with each other than with other
countries. The new Dutch education programme in Arnhem was in close contact with Dave
Eggers and United States institutes, as well as with a few French schools.
The Escuela de Escritores in Madrid has a huge international network, as Spanish is spoken in
many countries of the world. “We always try to learn from other people’s practices,” says Javier
Sagarna. “Also from the broad experience of North American universities, whose Creative
Writing departments know a lot about teaching the craft of writing. The Latin American
tradition is mainly a private one, but some state universities also offer Creative Writing courses
now. We have regular contact with Creative Writing departments in Argentina and Colombia,
for example.”
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17. 1.18 Funding a Creative Writing school
The funding of Creative Writing schools and institutes differs from country to country and from
school to school. In the UK, Germany, Austria and Norway, Creative Writing education is
connected with universities or colleges and is paid for by the government. In Spain, Italy, France
and the Czech Republic there are mainly private schools and institutions that teach Creative
Writing. In the Netherlands both forms exist – private schools and government-funded college
programmes. But in more cases there is a mixture: in Turin, ten students receive a grant every
year, provided by the city government.
And many schools pursue commercial activities. Erik Vanhee: “We have writing training for
companies, which has turned out to be a substantial part of our income.” The Madrid Escuela de
Escritores is completely dependent on the income it generates itself. Javier Sagarna: “We get
income from student fees, as well as from the internet courses. And we offer efficient writing
training courses for companies – around one fourth of our income.”
Creatief Schrijven in Flanders, Belgium also tried to raise funds as a charitable organization, but
not with great success. “I can understand that,” says Erik Vanhee. “People tend to donate their
money to an organisation like Amnesty International or the Red Cross rather than to a writing
school.”
1.19 Do graduates succeed in becoming professional writers?
So what happens to students after their graduation? Do they succeed in becoming professional
writers whose books are published and who can live off their writing?
Students attending Creative Writing schools do not always show the ambition to become a
literary author. “At our academy it’s a minority,” says Daniel Soukup. “People want to work in
media, as an editor, scriptwriter for television, in new media. They join a Creative Writing
programme to improve their technical writing skills, not because they want to write novels or
poems.”
Consequently, most schools teach other subjects besides literary writing: journalism,
copywriting, writing for the web. “We do try to send them to work in the field,” says Gianluca
Pallaro. “Some of them write books, many also work as a scriptwriter, in film, in television, in
literary agencies, in publishing houses. We are not only a school for writing. We want to deliver
professionals in the field of storytelling.”
In Leipzig it’s certainly a majority who succeed in becoming a published author, according to
coordinator Claudius Nießen. “Maybe not everybody succeeds in living off their writing, but half
to two thirds of graduates publish novels or poetry through professional publishers after
leaving.”
Hanna Sieja thinks students should be better informed that being successful is dependent not
only on talent, but also on very hard work. “In my opinion, the biggest mistake of most Creative
Writing courses is that they give students the false impression that after the course they will
easily succeed as a writer.”
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18. 1.20 Conferences
Creative Writing conferences can be found all over the world. In Europe, most take place in the
United Kingdom. Some well-known conferences that may be interest to professionals in Creative
Writing are listed below. The venues for these conferences vary every year, with some being held
every two years.
As we suggested in our Preface, the best thing to do is just google creative writing conference;
this is the most reliable way of finding recent and up-to-date information.
As sites and their content continually change, we advise you to google (creative) writing
conference now and then and enjoy the new surprises that you’ll find.
Great Writing http://www.greatwriting.org.uk/
The UK's Great Writing international Creative Writing conference is a place to share creative
and critical work, to explore Creative Writing, and to discuss those explorations with Creative
Writing colleagues from around the world. Launched almost 15 years ago, each year the
conference welcomes creative writers from all over the world – many of whom work in
universities and colleges, or are undertaking graduate degrees in Creative Writing.
NAWE http://www.nawe.co.uk/
NAWE is the one organization supporting the development of creative writing of all genres and
in all educational and community settings throughout the UK.
The yearly international NAWE Conference (http://www.nawe.co.uk/writing-in-
education/nawe-conference.html) is held in November.
European Association of Creative Writing Programmes www.eacwp.org
The relatively young EACWP describes their objectives as follows:
‘The existence of this association is to promote networking, the organization of international
events, and the exchange of students, teachers, scholars, information, ideas and knowledge in
the field of Creative Writing, especially, but not exclusively, in Europe.’
‘The activity of EACWP focuses on Creative Writing in all its forms, such as: theory of CW,
teaching of CW, design of CW curricula, mapping of CW in and outside Europe, contextual
matters related to CW (EU and other institutional issues, financing, publicity), research into the
history of CW, literary translation, CW and multimedia and digital aspects, storytelling, critical
writing, editing.’
Outside Europe: AWP and APWriters
North America’s Association of Writers and Writing Programmes (AWP,
http://www.awpwriter.org/conference/) has given the country a boost in Creative
Writing progammes.
‘The mission of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is to foster literary achievement,
to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers,
students, and readers of contemporary writing.
More than any other literary organization, AWP has helped North America to develop a
literature as diverse as the continent’s peoples. This, of course, is also a boost for the democratic
virtues of higher education in North America and the many public universities that comprise
AWP. AWP’s members have provided literary education to students and aspiring writers from
all backgrounds, economic classes, races, and ethnic origins.
AWP has helped to establish the largest system of literary patronage the world has ever seen.
AWP has supported the development of hundreds of educational programmes, conferences,
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19. reading series, and literary magazines as well as thousands of jobs for writers and new audiences
for contemporary literature. Academic programmes have mustered hundreds of millions of
dollars to support the study, making, and enjoyment of literature.’
The annual Conference (http://www.awpwriter.org/conference/) is held in spring.
Browse the extensive website about literary life in North America, richly filled with useful
contact information.
The Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership (http://apwriters.org/), ‘a gathering of writers,
scholars and literary organizations in the region’, present an interesting website filled with news,
events etc. that serves as a compass for the literary world in the Asia-Pacific region.
‘The Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership (‘AP Writers’) brings together writers, literary scholars,
writers’ organizations, translators, publishers and others interested in new writing from the
many countries in Asia and the Pacific. We support diversity of cultural expression and
literature that crosses borders. The AP Writers’ community champions the notion that literature
enhances understanding between cultures.’
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20. Conclusion: A Creative Writing
Future
As we can see from the survey we held among 10 European partners, the situation in Creative
Writing varies enormously throughout Europe. However, we can unravel some common threads
from the answers given by our European colleagues.
• In most countries, exact numbers of writers are unknown, either for professional or
amateur (non-professional) writers. More often than not, no surveys into the actual
numbers of people actively involved in writing are available. In most countries, the
estimates remain rough and based on ‘educated guesses’; and there’s no way to really
tell the exact number of amateur writers. But we do have a few estimates.
• In the Netherlands, surveys started in 1997 show that a fairly steady number of 1
million people consider writing a hobby or a way of spending their free time. About
100,000 are really serious about their work, although not all of them strive to be
published authors. These numbers seem to be climbing in recent years; presumably
because the internet and new media make it very easy to publish (digitally or on
demand). This means around one in 17 of the Dutch population of 16.5 million
people consider themselves ‘some sort of’ writer; active in creative writing to say the
least. In Flanders, the estimated number of non-professionals writers is roughly
600,000 in a population of around 11 million people.
• It is an appealing thought to assume that writing is this popular in any country, and
it is certainly safe to assume this when we look at the English-speaking writing world
on the internet.
• About education, we can say that it looks like teaching the teachers as well as the
writers-to-be does not seem to be a high priority. Education of teachers is scarce.
Creative Writing is not usually a compulsory subject at school, neither in primary
nor in secondary education. And with the great exception of the United Kingdom,
Creative Writing is not easily considered a subject of studies at universities. Most
courses are short and official curricula are often absent.
• The funding, too, seems to be a problem almost everywhere. Creative Writing is not
heavily sponsored by governments. Subsidies are modest, if there are any at all. This
situation certainly does not help the development of Creative Writing studies.
• On the other hand, writers of all kinds as well as teachers tend to take matters into
their own hands. Their activity is not to be stopped, funding or no funding. Digitally,
there are no obstacles to producing literary magazines, platforms, communities for
learning and sharing. As in every other subject, sites and blogs come and go. But the
growth of digital writing is obvious. Creative Writing teachers, self taught or fully
educated, will be active anywhere they can.
So where will it all go? Hopefully, towards a rich Creative Writing future where this art form will
receive the attention and support that the other arts enjoy. Support in acknowledging the need
for education and funding, in executing official Creative Writing programmes at all levels of
education and creating the infrastructure that goes with it.
Support from professionals and policy makers at every level: at ministries, in provinces and
cities, at schools, art academies, universities and community art centres, will help to develop the
passion and expertise of an ever growing stream of European writers, trying to connect in their
literary world.
Kunstfactor, Utrecht, the Netherlands; October 2011
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21. Appendix:
original survey questionnaire
Questionnaire
Creative Writing in [country X] – basic facts
Creative Writing as a formal part of education
• primary education
• secondary education
• college
• university
Teachers
• education of teachers
Government instruction/support
• writing in extracurricular programs
• writing in community arts
Financing Creative Writing
• government support
• funding
• sponsoring
• private funding
Creative Writing Conferences
Creative Writing for non-professionals
• estimated number of non-professionals writers
• National institute / organisation non-pro writers?
• creative writing magazines
• creative writing communities on line
• creative writing schools
• Arts Centres offering CW courses
• creative writing contests
Information (2011) supplied by
• (Name and profession, organisation; city and country; e-mail address)
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