Collections A-Z

Explore our impressive contemporary writing archives, by subject matter or collection name.

UEA plays a distinguished role in encouraging and developing acclaimed and prize-winning contemporary writing and literary translation.

We also hold a very wide range of material from UEA graduates, teaching staff, and visiting writers and fellows. 

Find other archives and special collections held at UEA Library

  • Book cover of Letters to AP Watt
    AP Watt
    AP Watt was the earliest literary agency in the world. Included in this archive is correspondence between AP Watt and a range of well known writers such as W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot and Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer.
  • Charles Pick
    Charles Pick
    The Charles Pick Archive contains correspondence with leading authors, such as Graham Greene, during his time as a publisher at Heinemann.
  • The Power by Naomi Alderman Book cover - student opening
    Contemporary Fiction
    This diverse and exciting collection includes the archives of current and emerging writers including: Naomi Alderman; Tash Aw; Lee Child; Adam Foulds; Charlie Higson; Sara Taylor. We also hold material from writers who established themselves in the second half of the 20th Century, such as Doris Lessing and JD Salinger.
  • Contemporary Poetry
    A collection of contemporary poetry, gathered as part of an exciting Mellon Foundation funded project to build community led collections from writers currently underrepresented in British and Irish literature. Four Poets in Residence: Jay Bernard, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Gail McConnell and Joelle Thompson are currently working with Visiting Poetry Fellow, Will Harris, Jeremy Noel-Tod and Justine Mann to deposit their archives.
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  • Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse at UEA
    Comedy Writing
    We hold the archive of Charlie Higson, who, with writing and performing partner, Paul Whitehouse, created the highly successful cult TV show, The Fast Show. This collection includes the archive of scriptwriter, Snoo Wilson, a graduate of UEA, who, together with David Hare and Howard Brenton, reinvented British theatre in the 1970s. Scriptwriting from Malcolm Bradbury and co-founder of the MA in Creative Writing at UEA is also included.
  • Lee Child
    Crime Writing
    We hold the extensive archive of renowned and best selling thriller writer, Lee Child. We also hold crime writing material from co-founder of the MA in Creative Writing, Malcom Bradbury, who wrote Dalziel and Pascoe. The George Gently detective series was penned by East Anglia crime writer, Alan Hunter. His archive illustrates the creative process behind a long running detective series. We also hold a large number of video interviews with crime writers and collect material from leading contemporary crime writers for the annual crime writing exhibition, NOIRWICH.
  • Literary Translation - BCLT Summer School
    Literary Translation
    We hold archive material from renowned literary translators including: David Bellos, Patricia Crampton and others previously connected with the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT), based at UEA, such as Anne Born, Anthony Vivis, John Fletcher and Paul Verlaine.
  • MA Creative Writing
    Malcolm Bradbury, with Angus Wilson, established the MA in Creative Writing at UEA, the first in the UK. This Archive contains copies of students’ screenwriting scripts and short stories submitted between 1992 and 1995 under the course leadership of Malcolm Bradbury. It also includes printed ephemera and correspondence from foreign conferences and tours. Other papers chart the formation of the MA in Creative Writing and its evolution during Bradbury's leadership.
  • Nature Writing
    Our Nature Writing collection features work from some of this country’s leading nature writers: Mark Cocker; Roger Deakin and Richard Mabey. We hold manuscripts, notebooks, correspondence and more, documenting their relationship with the natural world.
  • Peterborough Literary Society
    Peterborough Literary Society
    The Peterborough Literary Society (PLS) had its origins in a branch of the English Association, with Mr B. Hartley, father of the novelist L.P. Hartley as its President. This archive contains papers relating to the Society and Peterborough Arts Council.
  • Charlie Higson Scriptwriting Masterclass
    Scriptwriting
    Our collections contain material from film, television and theatre scriptwriters, including the founder of our MA Creative Writing Programme, Malcolm Bradbury, award winning comedy and screen writer, Charlie Higson, and playwright and screenwriter, Snoo Wilson. Snoo Wilson, a graduate of UEA, together with David Hare and Howard Brenton, reinvented British theatre in the 1970s. The archives of these writers contain notes, draft scripts, correspondence with fellow writers and the theatre world and production notes.
  • UEA Live
    Previously known as the UEA Literary Festival, UEA Live has been welcoming the world’s finest writers and thinkers to Norwich since 1991. We’re proud of our broad, dynamic, inclusive programmes, our unique heritage, and our curious, charismatic community that brings the festival to life. The Archive contains more than 450 recordings of these fascinating interviews and new collections are added each year.
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