A useful addition to resources for teaching writing: Review of Andrew Cowan 'The Art of Writing Fiction' Longman, Harlow, UK 2011 ISBN 9781408248348 Pb 240pp GPB16.99

Andrew Cowan is the Director of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, and in that capacity he delivered the keynote address to the 2010 Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) conference, 'Blind Spots: What Creative Writing Doesn't Know'. The writing program at the University of East Anglia is the longest standing in the UK. Cowan states in his introduction that his book was written with the undergraduate syllabus there in mind, and that the chapters resemble his lessons. However, 'The Art of Writing Fiction' does not read as if it was written to fit into a writing program. It seems better suited to a residential workshop, particularly with regard to the many activities featured in the book, though Cowan says these are the same as he uses in his teaching and are arranged in a similar sequence.