A little while ago Keith Brooke submitted his PhD thesis (creative writing) at the University of Essex. It consisted of his Pyr-published novel Genetopia, together with a lengthy critical commentary upon the fiction, writing and publishing, utopia and dystopia and science fiction more generally. Yesterday was the date of the viva voce examination -- part of the process by which UK PhDs get awarded: Keith was grilled by two external examiners, Graham Joyce (from the University of Nottingham) and Adam Roberts (from the University of London). The upshot was that the thesis was passed, without corrections, and Keith is now Dr Keith. The examiners praised the novel in particular: 'accomplished and exciting', 'excellent work ... fluently and compellingly written—engaging, believable, and often moving; the worldbuilding exceptional in both overall vision, specific detail and general coherency; the narrative line well paced and compelling.'Congratulations to Keith!
Congratulations to Dr Keith!
ReplyDeleteEr... can we all submit our novels with theses attached? Could we get a PhD for each novel? And Adam, if you had a PhD for every book you've written, wouldn't they have to give you a pay rise?
Sure thing, John. There's the little matter of PhD fees, which will be some thousands of pounds; and some institutions have residency requirements. Plus you have to write a substantial critical self-reflexive commentary upon your own work. But if you want a PhD, you could certainly submit one of your previously published novels.
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