Past events
CREATE's publications delve into the realms of creative writing and French language education, presenting innovative research findings and insights. Our work aims to inspire and inform, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in these fields.
Conferences and Study Days
Our research conferences provide a platform for scholars and practitioners to exchange ideas, collaborate, and engage in meaningful discussions. These events aim to foster a vibrant community of researchers dedicated to exploring translingual expression and creativity.
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6 juin 2025 L'écriture de création en français : évaluation et inclusion
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Journée d'étude L'écriture de création en français : évaluation et inclusion (1ère partie) - YouTube
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Journée d'étude L'écriture de création en français : évaluation et inclusion (2ème partie)
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9 September 2022 Journée d’étude sur l’enseignement de l’écriture créative
Workshops & Trainings
Join our creative writing workshops to enhance your skills, express your ideas, and engage in collaborative writing exercises. These sessions are designed to ignite creativity, nurture talent, and promote the use of French as a powerful tool for self-expression.
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Past trainings include a series of online creative writing workshops and masterclasses aimed at students and educators and led by Francophone writers in 2021-22 including Saïd Mouhamed Ba, Jeff Barda, Clémentine Beauvais, Catherine Dousteyssier-Khoze, Katia Lanero Zamora, Lisette Lombé, Guy Régis, Eloïse Steyaert and Véronique Tadjo, organised by Durham University. These events were supported by a UCFL small grant and the Belgian Embassy.
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You can also watch interviews of author and professor Catherine Dousteyssier-Khoze as well as Katia Lanero Zamora.
Initiatives
Module Design
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The module Creative Writing in French was launched in 2016-17 at the University of St Andrews, under the coordination of Elise Hugueny-Léger, co-taught with David Evans, Elodie Laügt and Odile Rimbert. This module offers an innovative approach to French language and literary creation for learners of French. Through weekly writing workshops and peer feedback, students are able to experiment with different literary genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction), constraints derived from the Ouplipo, and a range writing techniques – writing from photographs, paintings, from memories, from the observation of daily life, reading and performing their texts, and engaging in collaborative writing. Over the past few years, students have been rewriting fairy tales, developing their language skills by crafting sonnets, inventing characters, working on the all-important incipit of their stories, developing their own projects and creative voices, and broadening their linguistic range. They have commented on the challenges and benefits of writing in a second language, on the dynamics of writing workshops and giving feedback to other participants, and on the process of finding inspiration within constraints. This module was awarded a University Teaching Excellence Award from the University of St Andrews and was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education award in the 'Excellence and Innovation in the Arts' category. Over the past few years, students on the module have had the chance to work with writers in residence (including Emmanuelle Pireyre, Laurence Tardieu and Samira Sedira), to go on writing retreats and take part in national creative writing competitions. An overview of texts and activities produced on this module is available here. The module is currently taught by David Evans, Elise Hugueny-Léger, Elodie Laügt & Pauline Souleau.
In 2024-25, the French Department at St Andrews launched the option of Creative Writing Dissertations (Long or Short) which is offered to final-year students who have taken the module 'Creative Writing in French' as a pre-requisite: over the course of one or two semesters, students taking this module work on an original, individual writing project in French under the guidance of a supervisor. Genres include poetry, fiction, script-writing and life-writing. The portfolio of assessed work includes an original creative piece and a reflective essay on the writing process.
At Durham University's Centre for Foreign Language Study, Géraldine Crahay, Cynthia Tavars and Anna Johnston launched an Initiation to Creative Writing in French module in 2024-25, a one of its kind module in a language centre in the UK. The module was open to non-specialist students with an A-Level or equivalent in French and aimed to support language acquisition through the medium of creative writing. This is consistent with the addition of creative writing in the Companion Volume of the CEFR and builds on research that shows that creative writing tasks enable grammatical and lexical acquisition while also experimenting with language play and norm shifting, alongside the development of further transferable skills such as communication, intercultural communication, empathy and metacognition. Linguistically, the module enabled students to develop all four skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening - via a variety of tasks. Culturally, it enabled students to explore past and present themes relevant to the French-speaking world, as well as to produce a variety of productions linked to the latter, and to their own disciplines.
Creative Writing Contest
Meet the Durham University Creative Contest Winners!
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Neave Crichton
I am a final year student studying French and International Relations in St Andrews. I have always enjoyed writing and reading growing up, but I found a real love for writing French on my year abroad in the north of France. Apart from my studies, I like to spend my time with my friends, who were the ones to encourage me to submit my writing to this competition along with my tutors.
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Iona Dobrescu
Je suis étudiante à l’Université de St Andrews, où j’étudie les relations internationales et le français. J’ai grandi en Italie et, pendant mon temps libre, j’aime écrire dans mon journal, jouer au tennis et participer aux activités du club de baignade en eau libre de l’université. J’ai toujours aimé explorer ma créativité à travers l’écriture, en particulier en français.
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Gabriel P Kelly
Je suis élève au Hampton School à Londres et j’ai une véritable passion pour les langues, car elles révèlent la richesse des cultures et des idées. J’aime particulièrement la littérature française, qui m’inspire à réfléchir aux thèmes de la justice et de la société. Mon texte pour le concours cherchait à montrer le statu quo des migrations ainsi que leurs effets sur différents groupes de personnes.
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Charlotte Morgan
Charlotte recently completed her master’s in French at the University of Oxford (Keble College), where she also completed her undergraduate studies from 2019-23. Her research interests lie in 19th century and francophone literature, writing her dissertation on Senegalese literature. She hopes to pursue a PhD from 2026.
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Vivian Tran
My name is Vivian Tran, I am 17 years old, and I live in Manchester. I take French A-Level at Withington Girl’s School and have aspirations to continue my interest in languages at a higher level, in hopes of studying French and German (ab initio) at university. Participating in this competition has significantly expanded my French vocabulary and has ameliorated my ability to bring my ideas and imaginations to life, whilst trying to handle a heavy topic in a sensitive manner. It has been an invaluable experience!
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Clara Unegbu
Hi, I’m Clara Unegbu. Growing up between cultures sparked my passion for law, language, and cross-cultural understanding. I’ve studied French for over eight years, motivated by a deep love for the language and the francophone world. Outside academics, I enjoy expressing myself through art, writing, and collaborative projects.
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Flavia Wilson
Bonjour, je m’appelle Flavia. Mon travail est inspiré par L'Étranger de Camus, une œuvre qui m’a profondément marquée en raison de ses explorations de l'absurde et de l'existentialisme dans le contexte de l'Algérie, mais également pour les autres questions qu’elle soulève sur l'immigration et la justice, par exemple. Le français est une langue qui me passionne énormément, surtout après avoir passé une courte période de ma vie à vivre à Bruxelles, et cet automne, je vais commencer des études de chinois et de français à l’Université de St Andrews.