Sarah Easter Collins
Student spotlight details
After completing two short online courses in creative writing, Sarah applied for the Diploma in Creative Writing so she could fine-tune her ideas and to both give and receive feedback to help hone her craft. During the Diploma she was taken on by an agent and her first novel has just been published (summer 2024).
'Prior to starting the Diploma in Creative Writing, I had wanted to write for a long time, and it would be an understatement to say that I felt very shy about sharing my words with anyone. I initially took two of the online short courses offered by the Department (Getting Started in Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing) which were, to some extent, about giving myself permission to write. I loved those courses, and they were a first and very important step to where I am now.
'After my second short course with the Department, I wrote a novel, took a novel writing course, and was in the middle of writing my second novel when I applied for the Diploma. I knew by then that I absolutely wanted to write, and I was keen to fine-tune my ideas and to give and receive feedback. I truly believe that engaging thoughtfully and constructively with the work of others is a positive and meaningful way to hone your own craft.
'The Oxford creative writing tutors are, without exception, incredible, both as teachers and writers, and their encouragement and incisive feedback during the Diploma was invaluable. I was following the online pathway, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet a number of my tutors face to face during the summer school. I gained so much from those weeks, especially from the daily lectures, all of which were superb.
'Despite knowing my main interest was in writing fiction, it was a highly useful experience for me to engage fully with all aspects of the course. I especially enjoyed the challenge of the critical units, and the chance to spend time looking in depth at examples of literature that were by turns complex, inspiring, and thought-provoking. I should also say that prior to the Diploma, I hadn’t written a poem since my early twenties and, having accidentally described poetry as "terrifying" during my interview, it turned out that this was an area of study that I especially loved. It was enormously rewarding to have two of my poems published during the Diploma, and I am certain that my own prose has benefited hugely from my study of poetry.
'Two months into the course, I was lucky enough to be taken on by an amazing agent, and I’m excited to say that my first novel, Things Don't Break On Their Own, has recently been published by Viking in the U.K., and by Crown in the U.S. (both imprints of Penguin Random House). It is also being translated into German, Swedish, Hebrew and Dutch. The spark for my follow-up novel came to me while I was writing one of the Oxford assignments, and I am busy editing that story now. One of the real joys of the Diploma is that it triggers a lot of ideas!'
