The Modernism module examines work by, among others, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Jean Rhys and is designed to address the needs of students of all levels who wish to focus on Modernist aesthetics and explore in more detail the historical and cultural period that bred it.

The Scottish Literature module covers Scottish Modernism during the first week and moves on to examine Post-Modern to Contemporary Scottish Literature during the second. The reading list includes poetry by Hugh MacDiarmid and Edwin Morgan, plays by John McGrath, Gregory Burke and Liz Lochhead, and fiction by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Muriel Spark and Alasdair Gray.

The Contemporary Literature course covers British and Irish Literature since 1960. In 2011, the lectures started with Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange and ended with a discussion on the role of multiculturality in today’s British poetry. Texts include Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus, Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia, Sarah Kane’s Blasted and Paul Muldoon’s Poems.

The three weeks Creative Writing Course offers developing writers a dynamic and supportive environment in which to further their skills, while also giving the opportunity to develop critical skills by attending the morning lectures in Contemporary Literature. The course provides experience in a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry and drama, and in sub-genres such as crime fiction, writing for the radio, historical fiction, science fiction, life writing, YA and children's writing. Small group seminars lead by experienced writing tutors alternate with masterclasses and workshops with established writers.

The second half of the Summer School coincides with Edinburgh’s Arts Festival (including the quirky Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and the International Book Festival, which makes this time a feast for art lovers, while the Creative Writing Course offers superb events organised to coincide with the prestigious Edinburgh International Book Festival.