English students, staff, alumni and guests came together for BCU's Creative Writing Summer Show, celebrating the launch of this year's creative writing anthology, LARK.
Hosted by the Institute of Creative and Critical Writing in the Department of English and Media, the event displayed an inspiring selection of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction from students and staff, with readings highlighting the breadth and quality of creative writing here at BCU.
The evening also welcomed award-winning author C.D. Rose, winner of the Goldsmiths Prize for Fiction 2025, who contributed the anthology's foreword and delivered a special guest address. Rose described the Summer Show as "a great event" and said it had been "a pleasure" to be part of the celebration.
Reflecting on the launch, PhD student Uttaran Das Gupta said: "The launch of the LARK anthology was a wonderful showcase of the literary creativity of BCU's academic community. It showed the diverse and engaging work that so many at our university are doing."
English Courses
Find out more about our courses
The event was particularly meaningful for those involved in producing the anthology. Richard Goldsmith, an MA Creative Writing student and member of the LARK Editorial Committee, described seeing the finished publication as "a joy" and "rewarding to see all of our hard work coming to fruition." He also praised the atmosphere of the event, which brought together students, tutors and the wider community "in a simple but powerful appreciation of poetry and writing.”
Dr Rani Gundhu QPM described the evening as "a very interesting evening with a full room" and praised its "rich diversity of talent," noting that "one could hear a pin drop" during the readings because of the audience's engagement. Gundhu also added: "The future generation of creative writers are inspirational, captivating and phenomenal."
The Creative Writing Summer Show demonstrated the strength of BCU's creative writing community, celebrating emerging voices, while highlighting the enduring importance of literature and storytelling.
