Literature, creative writing and film

This course offers an opportunity to share insights with others into ten outstanding Irish texts. Together, we will explore their themes, the means writers employ to draw us into characters’ lives, and the contexts from which their stories emerged.

The number and range of bizarre, suspicious deaths in and around Oxford colleges in fiction and TV adaptations is huge. We will explore the key elements of this murderous genre, and use them to plan a new and original murder mystery.

Shakespeare knows that human experience is always bittersweet. In the comedies, 'Much Ado About Nothing' and 'Measure for Measure' he explores how clouds of desire and deceit can dim the sunniest of days, before a happy ending can be written.

This course will examine the enduringly popular novels of Jane Austen, considering her novelistic technique and development, and her place among women writers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Our hands-on workshop will explore short-form writing – long valued by readers, writers and publishers. 'Writing short' provides writers (beginning and experienced) with an ideal vehicle for creativity, with a focus on style, experimentation and editing.

Develop your creative writing practice over two years with expert guidance. Study prose, poetry or drama online or in Oxford, with small classes, personal feedback and a supportive community to refine your voice.

Study English Literature with Oxford’s expert tutors on a flexible part-time programme. Explore Shakespeare, Woolf and more, online or in Oxford, while developing critical skills and joining a global community of literature enthusiasts.

Chaucer’s 'The Canterbury Tales' is one of the most important, and entertaining, literary works in English. We’ll read a selection of tales and trace how they and their author retained their influence and popularity into the 21st century.

Everyone has an interesting life story, and this course will enable you to present your own. In this practical summer school we shall learn about the pattern of ourselves so that we may present it to others.

Delve into Virginia Woolf’s writing desk to discover how she viewed the challenges of writing a novel. Guided by her theory of fiction, we will learn how she developed her unique style in 'Jacob’s Room', 'Mrs Dalloway' and 'To the Lighthouse'.

Have you ever been moved by a poem and wondered, 'how did the author do that?' This course offers an introduction to the foundations of poetry, exploring rhythm, rhyme and structure from both practical and theoretical perspectives.

Immerse yourself in your writing and hone your craft in the inspiring surroundings of Oxford with this three-week transformative summer school held at Exeter College. or aspiring and experienced writers.