The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) hosts Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington's Creative Writing programme, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. We are part of the Wellington Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University.
Apply for the MA in Creative Writing
Applications for our 2027 MA in Creative Writing close on 1 November.
2026 National Schools Poetry Award
The winner and finalists have been announced
Undergraduate courses
Discover your individual voice and develop your imaginative capacity within a lively community of writers.
Master of Arts in Creative Writing
Join the Creative Writing programme with a national and international reputation for developing many of New Zealand's best writers.
PhD in Creative Writing
Our PhD programme is designed for those who wish to write creatively and think in focussed and original ways about the critical contexts of their writing.
Marty Smith—MA graduate
It Gets In Your Blood, Marty's portrait of the lives of a racecourse, was published by Te Herenga Waka University Press in August.
Ingrid Horrocks—Teaching Fellow
The winner of the 2026 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction will convene an MA in Creative Writing workshop with us in 2027.
Abby Letteri—PhD graduate
Abby's memoir Perfectly Themselves: Horses in the Human World, is published by Te Herenga Waka University Press in September.