King's College London

About us

King’s College London is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities, founded within the tradition of the Church of England by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington who granted our royal charter in 1829.

King's has a proud history of inspiring and supporting those who seek to solve the world's most pressing problems. For almost 200 years, our community has been deeply rooted in the belief that learning and research should serve society.

This commitment to knowledge with purpose – using our expertise as a force for good – lies at the heart of our core mission at King’s. From research that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA, to developing life-changing therapies and making maths education available to underrepresented groups, we continue to have a transformational impact on society.

Fourteen people from King’s and its associated institutions have been awarded the Nobel Prize, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his role in South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaign, and Professor Michael Levitt for his joint work in developing multiscale models for complex chemical systems.

Notable alumni include British sprinter and world-record holder Dina Asher-Smith, biophysicist Dr. Rosalind Franklin, famous for her work in X-ray spectroscopy, and acclaimed children’s writer Sir Michael Morpurgo.

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s is distinctive in representing exceptional strength in both the longer established disciplines (such as Philosophy, Classics, English, History, Languages, Music Philosophy and Theology) and world-leading quality in more recently established fields (such as Digital Humanities, Film, Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts, and Culture, Media and Creative Industries).

About the role

The Department of English wishes to appoint a part-time Lecturer in Creative Writing (Academic Education Pathway), 0.6 FTE, for a fixed-term period of 12 months, from 1 September 2025. The successful candidate will have experience of teaching Creative Writing, both prose fiction and poetry, at undergraduate level. Applications are particularly welcome from published lecturers in Creative Writing who also have some broader experience of teaching in an academic context, and who could if required teach on introductory first-year modules such as the close-reading module Reading Poetry or Writing London. Although it is not possible to give a comprehensive summary at the time of writing, it is expected that the appointee’s principal teaching would be on the second-year (level 5) modules Prose Fiction and Writing Poetry, and the final-year module (level 6) Advanced Fiction Workshop. The postholder will also contribute, as personal tutor, to the pastoral care of students, and may be asked to supervise some UG or MA dissertations. They may also be asked to undertake a small departmental administrative role. They will be responsible to the Head of Department.

The Department of English at King's was one of the first university English departments ever to be established and is acknowledged as world-leading in both teaching and research. Students learn as part of a university that is shaped by research of the highest quality (90 per cent of the department’s research was rated as either ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in REF 2021), and our undergraduates enjoy a syllabus which spans the seventh century to the present day and includes literature from English speaking countries around the world. At postgraduate level, long-established partnerships, such as that with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, further enrich our teaching.

This is a part time AEP post (0.6 FTE), offered on a fixed-term contract from 1 September 2025-31 August 2026.

About you

Candidates should have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified (i.e. PhD must have been awarded) in English Literature or related field
2. A distinctive profile of published work that complements the department’s strengths in the field
3. Experience of teaching Creative Writing, prose fiction and poetry, to undergraduate students
4. High quality teaching skills: ability to communicate difficult concepts and material to students of all levels; ability to inspire and innovate as appropriate; skilled at helping students to develop their individual intellectual and personal potential
5. Collegiate, proven ability to work with others and to support them where necessary
6. Experience of contributing to the pastoral care of students
7. Excellent administrative skills: ability to support the organisational aspects of teaching, learning and research

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working with virtual learning environments
2. Evidence of service, such as engagement in professional organisations and broad participation in the field (conference papers, workshops, memberships)
3. Experience of postgraduate research supervision

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community. We are committed to working with our staff and unions, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's. As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to a) submit a writing sample and b) to give a short presentation to the interviewing panel at the beginning of their interview.

We are not able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.