Fantastic Worlds: Creating and Completing Your Fantasy Story



Overview

Step into the boundless realm of fantasy and discover how to bring imagined worlds to life. This practical and highly interactive course explores the full spectrum of the genre, from epic sagas to everyday-world fantasy, from speculative storytelling to dystopian visions, equipping you with the tools to craft narratives that captivate and resonate.

Over the week, we will focus on world-building, character development, narrative momentum and genre conventions, helping you understand both the mechanics and magic of fantasy storytelling. You’ll also explore the history of fantasy, from its Victorian roots to contemporary works, examining why these imagined worlds continue to speak powerfully to modern audiences.

Through seminars, discussions, text analysis, and guided writing exercises, you will:

  • Build your own original fantasy narrative
  • Experiment with characters, settings, and plot
  • Learn to balance creativity with genre expectations
  • Receive and give constructive peer feedback to strengthen your writing

Designed for absolute beginners and practising writers alike, this course aims to build confidence, ignite creativity, and provide expert guidance to help you carry your fantasy story from concept to completion. By the end of the week, you’ll not only have developed your own work but also gained the skills and insight to continue writing with clarity, purpose, and imagination.

This course is part of the Inspiring Oxford summer school programme, held at Brasenose College.

Programme details

Daily schedule

After registration on Sunday afternoon, we invite you to a welcome meeting in the Amersi Lecture Theatre in New Quad, where you will meet your tutors. Join us in Deer Park afterwards for our opening drinks reception, followed by dinner in Brasenose’s historic dining hall (informal dress).

Seminars take place on weekday mornings. Most afternoons are free, allowing you time to explore Oxford, enjoy a variety of optional social events (see details below), or to sit back and relax in one of the college's atmospheric quads.

Your course culminates on Friday evening with a closing drinks reception and gala farewell dinner at which Certificates of Attendance are awarded. For this special occasion smart dress is encouraged (no requirement to wear dinner suits or gowns).

Social programme 

We warmly invite all Inspiring Oxford students to take part in our optional social programme, with all events provided at no additional cost. Events are likely to include:

  • Croquet on the quad
  • Chauffeured punting from Magdalen Bridge
  • Expert-led walking tours of Oxford
  • Optional visit to an Oxford Library or the Ashmolean Museum
  • River Thames afternoon cruise
  • Quiz night in the college bar
  • Scottish country dance evening (where you do the dancing!)

Seminars

Monday

Setting Out

  • Introduction to fantasy writing from the Victorian era to the present day.
  • Explore how folktales, myths and legends provide inspiration and adaptation opportunities.
  • Discuss how everyday experiences can spark original fantasy ideas.
  • Begin a series of short, creative writing exercises to start developing individual narratives.
  • Establish the foundation for personal and original fantasy storytelling that will evolve throughout your week.

Tuesday

World Building

  • Examine how authors create immersive and coherent fantasy worlds.
  • Explore a variety of world types and narrative styles, from epic sagas to fables and allegories.
  • Learn techniques such as portals, powerful objects, and 'lore of the land' to enrich setting.
  • Discuss how setting can act as a character in its own right.
  • Apply ideas through creative exercises to develop your own original fantasy setting.

Wednesday

Characters and Quests

  • Study what makes characters engaging, focusing on how readers connect with heroes and villains.
  • Explore the relationship between character and plot, particularly in quest-driven narratives.
  • Examine how quests reveal values and drive character development.
  • Analyse how characters interact with and explore landscapes, shaping the narrative.
  • Develop protagonists and antagonists within your own original fantasy world through cumulative exercises.

Thursday

Purpose and Genre Expectation

  • Reflect on how setting, plot, and character combine to give a fantasy story purpose.
  • Explore subgenres of fantasy, including dystopian, grimdark, and romantasy.
  • Examine how character encounters highlight ethical, moral, and social dilemmas.
  • Experiment with different subgenres to see how they influence world and character development.
  • Refine your own narrative to align with genre expectations while keeping your unique voice.

Friday

Returning Home

  • Reflect on the shared creative experiences of the week and the development of individual voice.
  • Opportunity to share selected writing developed through the cumulative exercises.
  • Discuss strategies for editing and refining fantasy narratives for coherence and readability.
  • Explore techniques for completing and continuing your personal writing project.
  • Leave with confidence, skills, and a deeper understanding of fantasy literature to enrich your writing and reading practice.

Certification

Certificate of Attendance

At the end of the course you will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Digital badge

You will also be issued with an official digital badge of attendance. After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download this. You will be able to share this on social media and add to your email signature if you wish to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Fee option 1 (single en suite accom and meals per person) £2639.00
Fee option 2 (single standard accom and meals per person) £2289.00
Fee option 3 (twin en suite accom and meals per person) £2449.00
Fee option 4 (no accom; incl lunch and dinner per person) £1869.00

Funding

Please note there are no sources of funding (scholarships, bursaries, etc) available for the Inspiring Oxford Summer School programme.

Payment

All fees are charged on a per week, per person basis

Included in the course fee:

  • Any included excursions (see programme details above) and the full optional social programme.
  • Breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), five weekday lunches, and dinners Sunday-Friday. If your course includes a full-day field trip, a packed lunch is normally provided.
  • Morning refreshments and the welcome and closing drinks receptions.

Participants attending multiple weeks

Residential participants staying at Brasenose College for consecutive weeks may arrange an additional Saturday night bed-and-breakfast between courses, available for an additional fee. Please  email inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk to arrange this.

Payment terms

  • If enrolling online: full payment by credit/debit card at the time of booking.
  • If submitting an enrolment form: full payment online by credit/debit card or via bank transfer within 30 days of invoice date.

Please be aware that all payments (and refunds) made via non-UK credit/debit cards and bank accounts are subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

Course change administration fee

Please note that course transfers may be permitted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Programme Administrator, up to 1 May 2026; however, in accordance with our terms and conditions for our open access courses, an administration fee of £50 will be charged.​

Cancellations and refunds

Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.

The Department cannot be held responsible for any costs you may incur in relation to travel or accommodation bookings as a result of a course cancellation, or if you are unable to attend the course for any other reason. You are advised to check the terms and conditions carefully and to purchase travel insurance.

Tutor

Ms Elizabeth Garner - Tutor

Elizabeth Garner is a novelist and editor with 25 years of experience of story-development in both film and publishing. She has written two novels: Nightdancing, which received the Betty Trask Award; and The Ingenious Edgar Jones, which was published to critical acclaim in the UK and USA. Both novels are strongly underpinned by folklore motifs and the fantasy tradition. She has also published a collection of illustrated folk tales: Lost & Found. She is a freelance fiction editor and also runs adult author interview events at the independent bookshop Caper, here in Oxford.

Teaching methods

Participants will be taught in seminar groups of up to 16 people.

Teaching methods used during this course may include:

  • Short lectures/presentations
  • Physical handouts
  • Seminars/group discussions
  • Student presentations
  • Written in-class exercises
  • Video recordings
  • Audio recordings

Application

Registration closes on 29 May 2026 at 2pm BST (UK time).

If your preferred course is fully booked, you may wish to add yourself to the waiting list and the Programme Administrator will contact you should a place become available.

Online enrolment (single person accommodation and non-residential)

Single person accommodation and non-residential places should be booked online by clicking on the 'Book now' button at the top of this page. Please do not complete an enrolment form for these. 

If you have any trouble booking online, please contact the Programme Administrator by emailing inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Online enrolments require payment in full at the time of registering.

Single bedroom options:

  • Single en suite: private bathroom facilities (shower, washbasin and toilet).
  • Standard single: private bedroom with shared bathroom facilities (typically shared among four participants).

Enrolment form (multi-occupancy or accessible accommodation)

Twin bedrooms

Those requiring a twin en-suite room (for two people) should complete an enrolment form as these rooms cannot be booked or requested online. Please note these rooms have limited availability. 

If requesting a twin room, each person should complete an enrolment form and name the other person who they wish to share a room with. 

Ground/lower floor accommodation

Brasenose rooms do not have lift access, and the higher rooms can be located up a few flights of stairs. If you need a room on a ground or lower floor please complete an enrolment form and indicate your requirements, or contact the Programme Administrator directly at inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible. 

Enrolment form

The enrolment form is an editable PDF and can be completed electronically, so you should not need to print and scan it. 

Completed forms should be sent:

  • by email to inspiringoxford@conted.ox.ac.uk, or

  • by post to Inspiring Oxford, Oxford Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education, 1 Wellington Square, OXFORD, OX1 2JA, UK.

Level and demands

The Inspiring Oxford programme is aimed at non-specialists: no prior knowledge is required, and classes are pitched at an introductory level. Courses are designed for an international audience aged 18 and over.

There are no assessments for this course.

Accommodation

Residential options are outlined below.

Please see the 'application' section above for guidance on how to book or request the right accommodation for you, including how to request a lower/ground floor room.

The course fee includes breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), five weekday lunches, and dinners Sunday-Friday. All meals included are served in Brasenose College's dining hall. If your course includes a full-day field trip, a packed lunch is normally provided.

Accommodation options at Brasenose

During your course, for an authentic Oxford University experience you can stay in typical student accommodation at Brasenose College, in the heart of the city in buildings overlooked by the iconic Radcliffe Camera. 

Please note that bedrooms are student rooms. They are simply and modestly-furnished and do not have air-conditioning. You can find out more about Brasenose and its facilities by visiting their website.

The following types of accommodation are available. 

  • Single en suite: private bathroom facilities (shower, washbasin and toilet).
  • Twin en suite: shared between participants that apply to the programme together, with private bathroom facilities.
  • Standard single: private bedroom with shared bathroom facilities (typically shared among four participants).

Non-residential option

Prefer not to stay on site? We also offer places on a non-residential basis whereby participants can take classes and have lunch and dinner at Brasenose College, having arranged their own accommodation elsewhere. Breakfast is not included.

Non-residential participants are warmly encouraged to take part in every aspect of the academic and social programme and enjoy the same access to Brasenose facilities as residential participants.

Participants attending multiple weeks

We welcome students who want to attend multiple Inspiring Oxford courses. Residential participants staying at Brasenose College for consecutive weeks may arrange an additional Saturday night bed-and-breakfast between courses, available for an additional fee. This option ensures a seamless and enjoyable stay in Oxford.

Accommodation before/after your course

We are unable to arrange accommodation at Brasenose College prior to or following your course. Please visit universityrooms.com if you require additional nights of bed and breakfast accommodation, and they may be able to assist.

Additionally, family or friends who are not enrolled in the programme cannot be accommodated in college. 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support