Professor of Creative Writing, Co-ordinator of MA & MFA in Creative Writing, Research Lead for the School of Humanities, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
I currently teach on: MA and MFA Creative Writing. Writing and the Environment, Writing the Uncanny.
I am also involved with: Supervising PHDs.
Tell us about yourself!
Where did you study? I studied at the universities of Sussex and Exeter. I have a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing, an MA in Creative Writing/English Studies, and a BA in Creative Writing, Culture and Community.
What is the primary genre you write in? Fiction, Poetry, and Non-Fiction.
Which writers have influenced you the most? Alice Oswald, Sarah Hall, Michel Faber, Les Murray, Ali Smith, and Douglas Adams.
What is so appealing about working at YSJ? The sense of Community, and being in wonderful York.
Any advice for creative writing students? Read a lot. Be yourself as a writer. Don’t follow trends.
What have you had published?
The Headland (novel), Water & Glass (novel), The Glass Delusion (poetry), Blood & Cord: Writers on Early Parenthood (edited anthology). For details on all of these, please see abicurtis.com
You can find more about Dr Abi Curtis and other members of York St John’s staff on the university’s website.
Or, you can stay here and check out more of our Creative Writing Staff Profiles.