Lecturer in Creative Writing (Prose)

Salary: £35,116.00 - £38,249.00  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 17 July 2025

The Role

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics wishes to appoint a Lecturer in Creative Writing (Prose) 0.5 FTE (Teaching and Scholarship). This is a fixed-term appointment: the start date is 8 September 2025 and the end date is 30 June 2026. 

You will have a PhD in a relevant subject area and/ or a track record of publication of significant, rigorous and original creative writing, as well as proven experience in teaching creative writing (prose) to undergraduate students; experience of supervising independent undergraduate work and working with taught postgraduate students is desirable.

The successful candidate will be expected to supervise undergraduate Creative Portfolios and contribute as needed across the Creative Writing curriculum at UG and PGT levels, including the first year Introduction to Creative Writing module.

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics (SELLL) currently has 71 members of academic and research staff working across the fields of English Literature, Creative Writing and Language and Linguistics. Together with our 750 undergraduate students, over 100 taught postgraduate students and a similar number of postgraduate researchers, we form a thriving and highly motivated intellectual community, dedicated to excellence and innovation in teaching and research. 79% of our research in Literature and Creative Writing was rated as world leading in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework assessment, with the THES ranking our School 1st in the English Language and Literature Unit of Assessment. Our teaching was rated as ‘excellent’ in the last Quality Assurance Agency audit.

The Creative Writing Subject Group in SELLL has specific expertise across various areas. It is home to prize-winning poets, prose writers, playwrights and screen writers. In poetry: Tara Bergin (T.S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize, and Irish Times Poetry Now Award shortlisted); Sinéad Morrissey (winner of T.S. Eliot Prize, 2014 and Forward Prize, 2017), and Jake Polley (winner of T.S. Eliot Prize, 2016).

In prose:Lars Iyer (shortlisted for the Goldsmith Prize and Jerwood Foundation Award); Preti Taneja (winner of the Desmond Elliott prize, 2018, The Eastern Eye Award for Literature, 2018, the Gordon Burn Prize, 2022, and the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Languages and Literatures, 2022) and Alex Pheby (Republic of Consciousness Prize, 2018, shortlisted for Wellcome Book Prize, 2016). In theatre script: Zoe Cooper (Charles Wintour Evening Standard Award longlist 2016, shortlist 2019, finalist in the 2020 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Andrew Thompson (Theatre503 International Playwriting Award 2016; The Stage Debut Award - Best Writer 2018; and the Hope Theatre Prize 2021) and in Screenwriting, Tina Gharavi (BAFTA and Sundance nominated, nominated Best Director, National Film Awards 2023).

The Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA), led by SELLL colleagues, promotes and celebrates the best contemporary literature from the region. NCLA is partnered with multiple national and international literature organisations, including the Poetry Book Society, the Poetry Society, the Poetry School and the Lannan Centre for Poetics and Social Practice (USA).

In addition to the wide range of undergraduate teaching and learning offered by the Creative Writing Subject Group within SELLL, we also lead the MA in Creative Writing and the MA in Writing Poetry, the latter run jointly with the Poetry School in London.

SELLL was the first unit in our subject area in the UK to have been awarded Athena Swan Bronze accreditation from the Equality Challenge Unit, an award that represents our commitment to the advancement of equality and diversity; the award was successfully renewed in 2022. As a School, we recognise that different people bring diverse perspectives, ideas and cultures and that this diversity brings great strength. We are committed to the benefits of a diverse intellectual community of staff and students and to promoting the principles of equality and diversity in all of our activities. We therefore encourage applications from individuals whose work draws on and reflects the full range of backgrounds, perspectives and diversity of our modern world, and welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

For further enquiries, please contact Professor Helen Freshwater, Interim Head of School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics ([email protected]).

We ask that candidates submit a covering letter of up to 2 A4 pages only, alongside a CV. No other materials are required at shortlisting stage.

Key Accountabilities

• Design and deliver high quality teaching and learning material, resources, and activities in Creative Writing (Prose) to students in line with School and Faculty teaching objectives and timetable requirements

• Teach on undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including co-teaching team taught modules 

• Provide a range of timely student support to enhance the student experience and achievements
• Set, mark and assess creative writing tasks and portfolios, providing timely and effective feedback to students
• Provide personal tutoring and pastoral guidance (when appropriate, obtaining specialist support and advice)

• Supervise undergraduate and taught postgraduate students’ dissertations and research projects

• Contribute to the planning, design and development of modules and programmes to improve teaching across the School and Faculty
• Evaluate own practice and presently have or have a willingness to work towards a category of Fellowship with the HEA
• Integrate scholarship, research and/or professional activities with teaching and supporting learning, as appropriate – including working with professional partners
• Work collaboratively with colleagues in the School and across the University
• Undertake administrative duties as required by the Head of School

The Person 

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Teaching experience at undergraduate level in creative writing (prose)
• Evidence of publication of significant, rigorous and original creative writing that is commensurate with career stage
• Experience of providing academic guidance and/or pastoral care to students

• Experience of/potential of providing support or mentoring to colleagues or students

Desirable

• Teaching experience at postgraduate level in the area
• Experience of supervision of final year undergraduate independent work
• Teaching qualification (Higher Education Academy Fellowship or equivalent) or the expectation of completing a teaching qualification while in post

Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to maintaining and supporting a diverse and inclusive working environment, in which all colleagues (academic and Professional Services) and students are treated fairly and respectfully
• Excellent organisational, time management and presentation skills
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Abilty to work on own initiative

• Willingness and ability to act in a collegial manner, making a positive contribution to maintaining and enhancing a collaborative environment that values and supports excellent research and impact, teaching and scholarship, and academic citizenship
• Willingness and ability to assume administrative responsibilities

Qualifications

• You will have a PhD in hand in a relevant subject area and/ or a track record of publication of significant, rigorous and original creative writing

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28280