**1. Introduction**

While a significant body of research exists on the pedagogy and practices of the creative writer and creative writing in higher education, this literature review is unique in focusing on the student's relationship in creative writing to the marketplace as described in current scholarship by students and educators in the field of creative writing. These stakeholders' views, experiences and teaching goals along with relevant empirical investigations are examined.

The importance of considering this specific context can be understood by considering the core debate of social science research and that is the struggle between agency and structure. Therefore, in the creative writing context, the student is not autonomous in their academic environment [1]. From this perspective, if context influences a student's conception, the environment the student works within at the university therefore must inform the student's relationship to the marketplace. This is of particular significance, as the digital world offers marketplace opportunities not previously available to the creative writer.

This review covers the past 30 years. The most significant reason for choosing this timeframe is that the digital age has had a visible effect on the field of creative writing during this period, and there has been a large amount of discussion around the issue of the marketplace. The establishment in 1996 of the Australasian Association of

Writing Programs (AAWP) *TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses* as an online resource demonstrates one case of the impact on the field. By 2013, Kohler [2], in the United States, provided a view of the field in relationship to digital developments and suggests categories for organising the digital component of the field. Covid has also had a radical impact on teaching as well as digital publishing. Conducting the review during this timeframe creates a snapshot of the shift in the discussion about the marketplace relationship.

The review begins with a description of the methodology used to locate relevant works. The relevant literature is then examined and discussed.

### **2. Methodology**

To find the literature, I systematically searched OneSearch and EBSCO*host* for peer-reviewed articles, journals and books in the field. I also searched JSTOR and Project Muse. Journals that focused on pedagogy were most useful. *TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses* and *New Writing*: *The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing* yielded the most significant amounts of relevant information in single locations. In addition, searches were performed through Google and Google Scholar. The 'snowball' method was also used to locate pertinent articles by drawing from citations in recent works. The key to managing the large amount of material was to keep the focus on the research question (i.e. What is the relationship of the student in creative writing to the marketplace?). Slight variations of words and phrases produced relevant literature. The situation was complicated to examine. For example, there are different expectations for different study levels, different countries have different approaches, as do different institutions, individual educators and students. Therefore, some literature and studies may have been missed or were not included.

In addition, I drew from a discussion in a private Facebook group that focused on pedagogy in the field. Occasionally, news articles were used. This method of searching may demonstrate a bias towards open-source journals and may also create a bias towards a particular country. The cases that emerged focus on the Australian, UK and US contexts.

After gathering the literature, I coded and sorted to create a conceptual schema. For more on this method, see [3]. What emerged is an overview of the relationship from a range of voices in the field. I recognise that pedagogical approaches change over time, and I have attempted to organise ideas in a time-linear fashion. However, I have made exceptions to emphasise points and because some studies occur over a period of years.

### **3. Students' views**

Although there is not a large body of empirical research on student expectations about, and conceptions of, creative writing in higher education [4, 5], there are reports and surveys that demonstrate some of the views of students and their experiences of the marketplace and their training. In 1998, a report by Evans and Deller-Evans [6], on their survey of Australian undergraduate and postgraduate creative writing students, showed a difference between undergraduate and postgraduate goals. Postgraduate students had 'more specific, craft related hopes such as developing their

#### *Creative Writing in Higher Education: A Literature Review of the Marketplace Relationship DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109427*

skills and improving their prospects for publication' [6]. Postgraduate (MA) students expected that they would be 'stretching themselves to the maximum, publishing their work, completing first full-length work within the course, boosting confidence, continuing on to a PhD when possible' [6]. In assessing the study, Kroll [7] determines that some students expect to be paid for their passion. To learn about their reasons for enrolment, Kroll [8] canvassed a small group of students. Her findings show a publishing and a market-focused interest.

Some express concern about postgraduate-level students achieving marketplace outcomes. Hayes [9] indicates there is little discussion or concrete preparation provided to students about the marketplace. In searching for a writing career and publication outcomes, Hayes travelled from Australia to America on a Churchill Fellowship to discover what practical preparation was being offered to students. She found that none of the faculty anticipated writing careers or publication outcomes for their students, and there was little professional guidance. However, Jeremijenko [10] reports that when a student is offered a marketplace-focused experience, the opportunity is appreciated. Jeremijenko travelled from Australia to the United States to examine the MFA experience. She found that the training she received in market preparation to be the most valuable lesson. Neave [11] provides another view of the US situation. In her 2002–2003 student experience as an MFA student, Neave reports relishing the literary market-focused experience. She argues that US programmes do focus towards the publishing industry, with efforts made to support the student in building relationships with agents, publishers and publishing writers. However, Neave concludes that a market focus for creative writing programmes may never happen because their forte is theory and practice. The relationship of marketplace outcomes to assessment is a concern to McKenzie [12], an Australian postgraduate student, who questions if success in the marketplace is being used to determine creative ability. While recognising the liminal nature of the relationship, McKenzie emphasises that assessment sways the outcomes of work being produced within programmes. In the UK context, an MA student in 2007 offered a student's view on the likelihood of making a living in the marketplace as a published writer stating that while some are dreamers aiming for big-fame writing careers, he was not willing to quit his main job [13]. Perhaps some hold both views. Wright [13] concludes from the interviews with students that they want success but know it comes from hard work. They want support and contacts and will pay for quality service.

A large 2009 survey [14] of Australian undergraduates in creative writing programmes sought to learn the reasons for student interest in creative writing, literary writing and literary publishing and concluded there is a lot of interest in reading, publishing and obtaining advice about publishing, but this did not apply to all students. The interpretation of the findings was that students value training and skills gained through study, apart from their interest in literary writing. In further discussion, Brook [15] cautions that the study was small, and therefore, conclusions are hard to draw. Neave's [16] assessment of the report recognises the limitations of the research but finds that some students' views of creative writing programmes are in conflict with what researchers and those in the field value.

The UK-based National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) provides more insight from students in a collection of case studies that give students' perspectives of their experiences and outcomes. The case studies are commissioned narratives by students of their experiences studying creative writing in the UK context. There are two components to the NAWE study: 'Studying Writing' [17] presents life as a creative writing student, while 'Life after graduation' [18] has the same contributors

reflecting on the past and reporting on their post-graduation experiences. The students described a range of experiences. These graduates are now freelance writers, journalists and teachers. Some are pursuing advanced study. The advice from many of these graduates to aspiring writers is not to give up the day job and to be willing to make compromises. Others hold the belief that this is a realistic view of student experience that takes the focus off the star outcome that some universities and departments use for marketing and advertising publications [19].

In a qualitative study on student learning in creative writing courses in the United Kingdom, Light [5] examines both undergraduate and master's level education. The study focused on 40 students' perspectives of creative writing compared with other academic writing. Light refers to the work of Lea and Street [20] and concludes that student writing issues might be due to differences in academic versus student expectations. The final phase of Light's study considers students' general conceptions of their experience of writing in the higher education context. In addition to other questions, he asked for general views of creative writing, and some of the responses touched on marketplace and audience issues.

From these few studies and limited accounts, it seems that, regardless of other motivations for being in a creative writing programme, students at various levels do want to find a marketplace and publish. Some appear to become aware of the challenges to publish and adjust their expectations accordingly.
