Cambridge Writing Centre Launch Event

ARU officially launched its new Cambridge Writing Centre on 1 December 2023, with guest speakers including ARU MA Creative Writing alumni Anni Domingo (author of Breaking the Maafa Chain, Escalator Award and Myriad Manuscript Prize winner), Penny Hancock (author of I Thought I Knew You, East Anglia Novel of the Year 2019), and Jan Casey (author of The Women of Waterloo Bridge and Women at War).

Based on our Cambridge campus, the centre is dedicated to sharing knowledge in the field of creative writing, focusing on practice-based research that integrates short fiction, poetry, dramatic writing, creative nonfiction, science fiction / fantasy, and writing for children, among others. It also explores interactivity and hybridity between these genres. 

All members of Cambridge Writing Centre are writers and researchers within ARU’s Cambridge School of Creative Industries and School of Humanities and Social Sciences, with the core team consisting of Dr Jon Stone, Dr Colette Paul, Katharine Reeve.  Dr Tim Jarvis and Dr Sarah Gibson Yates.

Speaking about its launch, Jon told us:
“The Centre is a means of bringing together the various strands of our creative writing research under one banner, as well as continuing to support and celebrate the successes of ARU writing alumni and strengthening our relationship with East Anglia’s writing communities. We want to make writing a much more visible part of ARU’s identity.”

The Centre works with local writers and organisations to create public-facing events and workshops, including the Future Karaoke live lit jams, which showcase new work by local writers in conjunction with Jon’s publishing company Sidekick Books.

Keep an eye on the CWC website for news of all their upcoming events and other opportunities to get involved with their work. You can also listen to our ARU Spotlight interview with Jon about his interests, inspirations and projects.