Associate of Arts Degree - Creative Writing Program

Creative writing classes are popular electives at Capilano. Why?

Offering much more than a forum for people to "express themselves," creative writing classes offer intensive practice in poetry, fiction, drama, screenwriting, hybrid-genres, creative non-fiction, and digital media.

In a typical creative writing class, students might discuss everything from the "nuts-and-bolts" of literary devices or the practical matters of editing and publishing, to the possibilities and scope of the written word itself. And creative writing classes are kept small, so that students can interact with instructors and with each other in meaningful ways.

Students in first-year courses work in several genres. At the second- year level, students are expected to concentrate in poetry, fiction, and or writing for children. Students at all levels are encouraged to develop their writing to the point where it would become acceptable for publication. 

About the Associate of Arts Degree - Creative Writing Program

While creative writing classes are open to all University Transfer students, Capilano also offers an Associate Arts Degree in Creative Writing.

The program is designed for students interested in studying contemporary literature and creative writing with the aim of acquiring an Associate Degree plus first and second year English and creative writing transfer credits.

View the Associate of Arts Degree - Creative Writing Program.

News and Events

While classroom instruction can be helpful for a writer, we believe good writing is also the result of contact with a lively writing community. With this in mind, we are pleased to host the Prosetics Reading Series, the KinderText series, support a student publication (The Liar), as well as scholarships, awards, and internships with The Capilano Review and Capilano University Editions.

For more information about these initiatives, contact the Convenor of the Creative Writing Program, Anne Stone at CreativeWriting@capilanou.ca .

For up-to-the-minute information about creative writing events on campus and beyond, visit our blog.

Courses

Open to all interested students, Creative writing courses at Capilano Univeristy provide an opportunity to develop your writing under the guidance of an instructor who is also a practicing writer. Current areas of faculty specialization include poetry and poetics (including digital poetics), the novel, micro-fiction, creative non-fiction, writing for children, ficto-criticism, and radio and short film scripts.

English 190 and 191 are offered as introductory first-year courses. Students in the Creative Writing Program also take program-specific sections of English 100 and 103. In the second-year, three courses are offered: English 290 (Poetry), English 291 (Fiction), and English 292 (Writing for Children). Students in these courses gain knowledge of contemporary writing practices, develop their own work in the genre, and experiment with various procedures and techniques. To enrol in English 290, 291, or 292, students need credit for English 190 and 191, or the instructor's permission.

Starting in the Spring of 2012, we will also be offereing two new courses: English 293-Creative Non Fiction and English 296-Writing for the Stage. English 293 will be part of the core of our program a will explore contemporary forms of nonfiction and will delve into professional aspects of writing such as "the pitch" and the editing process. In collaboration with the theatre department, we will also be offering a course in Writing for the Stage. This course, Engl 296, will be an intense workshop in the writing of short plays (team taught by a director and a practicing playwright) and will culminate in a performance of these works before a public audience.

Course desciptions for all creative writing courses are available in the online calendar .

Course Requirements

For students entering the program in Fall 2011, the program specific sections of English are English 100-Academic Writing Strategies (ENGL 100 Section 18 or 19), English 190-Creative Writing I (ENGL 190 Section 01 or 02), and English 191-Creative Writing II (ENGL 191 Section 01). In the Spring of 2012, the required courses are ENGL 191 Creative Writing II  and ENGL 103 Studies in Contemporary Literature.

University Transfer Credit

All creative writing courses are university transferable. Please check the B.C. Transfer Guide for information.

Students interested in the Creative Writing Program may contact any of our faculty to get more information.