Skip to main content
BathInk Anthology 2023 – Bath Spa University

BathInk anthology celebrates work of Class of 2021

 News 

BathInk anthology celebrates work of Class of 2021

Tuesday, 14 March, 2023

Every year, Bath Spa University dedicates an evening to the hard work and legacy of its MA Creative Writing graduates with an annual anthology launch event.

As a cohort full of determination who refused to let a global pandemic distract them from their dreams, the class of 2021 will celebrate their work in Spencer House, St James’s Place, London, on Thursday 16 March 2023, with the unveiling of their BathInk anthology.

A play on words, BathInk, is a homage to the city in which much of its content was created. The anthology features some of the best work from the course’s graduate writers in prose and poetry, acting as a platform for the vibrant emerging authors’ promising careers.

The publication has also been created, edited, typeset, proofread and printed by the MA cohort. Alongside this, the team also worked together to secure the launch venue, build a website, and design the front cover, all in order to promote their work to agents and publishers on the big night.

In loving memory

This unique anthology is particularly close to the hearts of those who created it, as it has been dedicated to the late Jennie Beck, a fellow course graduate, dear friend, and accomplished writer. 

Talking about the anthology and upcoming event, graduate David Pearson, said:

“It will be a night to remember, a celebration of why books are key to culture and insights into other worlds and life. We think Jennie Beck would approve of what has been achieved and BathInk is a tribute to her.”

More than words

The MA Creative Writing degree gives Bath Spa University students the opportunity to explore their love for stories every day.

Reflecting on her time as a student, graduate Georgia Stride said:

“It’s not just writing skills you learn, it’s industry contacts, advice on where to send your work, connecting with a community of writers, learning from experienced writers and, importantly, giving yourself permission to spend a whole year entirely focussed on your writing.”

Looking ahead to the event, fellow course graduate Corrina Mackenzie, added:

“The course was a celebration of the power of literature, while the anthology launch will be an evening dedicated to it. It will be a reason for friends to reunite, commemorate, and share stories.

“It’s a celebration of reaching the word count, of long nights and relentless determination. Most importantly, it’s a celebration of the small moments that make stories what they are. Of the space between speech that says more than words ever could, the way one character glances at another in a crowded room, and that single, perfect word.”

Philip Hensher, Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University said:

“At the end of the course, most of our students have got further to becoming the sort of writers they never quite imagined or could have described. The ones who teach them, too, they have gone a little further in that long journey of unlearning, becoming a better writer than they were ten years ago, on their way to being the better writer that they’ll be in ten years time. Time for these ones, at least, to be read.”

Congratulations to the MA Creative Writing Class of 2021 from all at Bath Spa University.

Edit section | Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk