British Archive for Contemporary Writing
The British Archive for Contemporary Writing was founded in 2015 to help UEA students understand what it is to be a writer.
BACW is an essential destination for the Literature and Creative Writing students who come to UEA every year and take inspiration from our boxes of world-changing literary history.
Everyone is welcome to visit us and explore our collections by making an appointment with the archivist. What will you find? And create?
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It all began when the Nobel laureate and novelist Doris Lessing (191 –2013) left her vast archive of diaries and personal correspondence to the university. We are now home to a rich storehouse of revealing materials from the desks of many other famous writers, including the first drafts of literary works that have reached audiences around the globe.
We use these unique treasures to research the process of inspiration and to teach the next generation of creative writers and critics. The British Archive for Contemporary Writing has created a unique collection of literary treasures at the University of East Anglia for readers, writers, and students.
We’ve pioneered new ways of collecting with our ‘Storehouse Model’ approach, which allows living writers to loan us their manuscripts, from thrilling novels to comedy scripts. And we’ve established a world-leading collection of prize-winning poets who represent the diversity of British poetry now.
Image: © University of East Anglia, School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing
