"I was looking into different universities/ colleges in order to do a Masters in Creative Writing and in the end chose West Dean's because I was impressed with the amount of attention and guidance the students got from their tutors, as well as the environment and freedom for creativity. I am also very pleased with the attentiveness of the course and how it has helped me grow as a writer." Nadia Ioannou. Read more 

"There's something about the sense of place here, notwithstanding all the amazing people and objects within... The history, the variety of things going on, the people you meet, all firing the imagination. It’s thought provoking, a place where as a writer you can’t help but become minutely observational. You’re drawn into the “West Dean Immersive Experience.” Not just creative writing, but part of a broad and very skilled artistic community...Another “big thing” about the Creative Writing & Publishing MA programme, is its focus upon publishing what we write, crafting something people will want to read, will appreciate and enjoy.” Jim Green.

"I love it. I have almost completed the first draft of a novel which is something I never thought I’d be able to say. The teaching is first class and very supportive." Emma Matovu.

"Every Creative Writing tutor at West Dean is a published author and they are all still writing and being published alongside their teaching. Every teaching block we attend, we meet a new award-winning writer-in-residence, and we frequently socialise with them in the dining room bar. [...]If it sounds perfect... it is, but this is my West Dean College experience. Friends ask me what I love about West Dean, and I tell them it’s the academic rigor. I may keep the rest to myself." Eve Kenworthy. Read more in a new student blog post by Eve here.

"A totally brilliant MA course from beginning to end. Inspirational and life-changing... Transformed us from aspiring writers to fully-fledged novelists" Liz Pile.

"One of the best decisions I have ever made was to go on West Dean's MA Creative Writing course and I only wish I'd been able to do it sooner. The course was entirely focused on getting us to write our novels rather than just talking about it, encouraging us to see writing as a practical craft." Jenny Browning

"Literally (!) changed my approach to writing. Couldn't have got a first draft without it" Sophie White

"I loved every minute of the MACW during which I was encouraged, stimulated and challenged. I grew as a person, widened my skill set and within a couple of years of graduating, found myself a published author of fiction." Jo Beall

"For many, writing a novel (especially a first novel) can be a long, lonely slog. The teaching and writing community at West Dean meant I never felt alone, even after the MA was over. It took a while, but I now have a finished manuscript that has been taken on by an agent at Curtis Brown!" Lucy Lucas

"I would never have gotten my novel written without the West Dean MA and its amazing and supportive teaching staff" Fiona Morgan

"Life-changing and helped enormously in gaining a literary agent!" Ben Roche

Commendations from the University of Sussex include:

"The demonstrable passion among the course team for the pedagogy of creative writing."

"The emphasis on writing as a craft, comparable to other subject disciplines in the College."

"The introduction of writers into the ‘Artists in Residence’ scheme to support the course and provide external feedback to students."