uva mfa creative writing faculty

• MFA Curriculum

To receive the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, a student accepted into the UVA Graduate School of Arts and Sciences completes twenty-four hours of required coursework and up to forty-eight hours of non-topical research. Applicants can view current and historical course offerings in our Student Information System (SIS) . Click on "Search for Classes by Semester" and enter "ENCW" into the "Subject" box. Graduate classes are 5000 and higher. Our graduate readings courses are ENGL 8596 and 8598.

STANDARD COURSEWORK

A UVA MFA's standard single semester courseload is twelve credit hours. To graduate, MFAs must complete

• Twelve hours (four classes) of MFA workshop (ENCW 7310 or ENCW 7610)
• Twelve hours (four classes) of graduate-level literature coursework in the English Department

To help our students fulfill their literature requirement, our program tries to offer reading- and craft-focused courses (ENGL 8596/8598) each term, but there are semesters where we cannot staff offerings in both genres, and in rare cases cannot offer courses in either genre. In those semesters, we encourage our students to take graduate literature courses offered by other faculty in the English Department.

In an MFA's first year at UVA, they also take a three-credit pedagogy seminar, ENGL 8900, in the fall. This seminar helps MFAs design a creative writing course that meets university, department, and program requirements. Students choosing to stay for a third year are required to take a three-credit pedagogy course in rhetoric and composition in the spring of their second year.

Students sign up for nontopical hours to bring their total coursework to twelve hours each semester. These nontopical hours provide MFAs with time to develop their theses.

DEVIATING FROM STANDARD COURSEWORK

Most MFA students take one workshop and one literature course in each of their first three to four semesters. MFA students can sometimes deviate from this standard coursework, adding or substituting courses, but they are required to complete  our program's Deviation Form , gathering the required faculty and staff approvals and signatures  before  the semester's drop deadline. It is the student's responsibility to make sure their courses fulfill all program and graduation requirements.

With approval, MFAs can sometimes substitute graduate-level courses from other departments for their literature course. Please submit a Deviation Form to complete your registration. MFAs can also take 5000-level workshops in the alternate genre for some of their literature credits (i.e. students in our fiction track can take ENCW 5310; poets can take ENCW 5610), pending advisor and program approval.

Our MFAs generally preserve their non-topical research hours as time to work on their theses, but a new UVA graduate tuition model allows our MFAs to exchange, at no charge, some of their non-topical research hours for additional graduate courses, pending advisor and program approval. MFA students can also audit up to one course a semester, again pending advisor and program approval. Students can sometimes take undergraduate courses in addition to their required graduate coursework if they take those undergraduate courses in a graded or credit/no-credit status and can demonstrate the course will enhance a writing project.

There is no foreign language requirement or proficiency exam for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

MFA students who do not satisfy our program requirements during their normal course of study at UVA may have to take additional courses at their own expense to earn their MFA degree. Students who delay thesis submission beyond our normal timeframes may have to pay small administrative fees to file for their degree completion.

Thesis Requirements

All MFA candidates must complete a thesis by early April of their final year and defend it before graduating in May. The thesis should be a substantial body of original writing—at least a hundred pages of prose or fifty of poetry—that is carefully considered, extensively revised, and polished. Our thesis process requires early submission of a complete thesis draft and close work with an advisor and up to two readers. Students choosing to graduate in their second-year work on a compressed schedule: they submit a complete draft in February before revising and turning in the final version in April. Students staying for a third year have more time to work on their theses, submitting a complete draft in November of their third year and revising substantially before turning in the final version in April.

Thesis Checkpoints

Our thesis process requires two checkpoints and a provisional approval. When the thesis advisor and first reader receive their first full draft of a thesis, they quickly review the document and indicate if the draft appears to meet program expectations. The second checkpoint occurs later, when the thesis advisor and first reader have had time to read and respond to the first draft;  at that point, they indicate if the thesis, with additional revision, appears on track for a late-April defense. When the full committee receives a final thesis draft (first weekday in April), the committee quickly reviews the thesis and indicates if the thesis is provisionally approved for a late-April defense. Please note: this provisional approval is not a final approval of the thesis project; it is an assessment that the thesis appears ready for a formal defense.

The Defense

Thesis Repository

Like all other graduate theses at the University of Virginia, MFA theses must be uploaded to an online repository,  Libra , prior to an MFA’s graduation. At present, our MFA students have the option to place up to a ten-year restriction on their creative work, which only allows users on the UVA network to access the materials. Students  do not  give up any rights they hold to the thesis deposited. Students  do not  give up the right to submit the thesis to other repositories or publish it elsewhere. Full details of the Libra Deposit License are  posted here .  Please consult the  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences  website for additional information on graduation and thesis requirements. The uploaded thesis must be the version approved by the thesis committee.

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‘Red Wedding’: Storied Stanford Creative Writing Program Laying Off Lecturers

The university says creative writing faculty recommended returning its Jones Lectureships to their “original intent” as short-term teaching appointments for talented writers. A lecturer of 20 years said he thinks there’s a “peasants and lords issue” in the program.

By  Ryan Quinn

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Stanford University is laying off its current Jones Lecturers.

Some Stanford University lecturers are likening it to the “red wedding” in Game of Thrones —a massacre of characters by their supposed allies amid what had been billed as a celebratory feast.

Last Wednesday, a dean, a senior associate dean and a co-director of Stanford’s storied and popular creative writing program held a Zoom meeting with the program’s 23 Jones Lecturers, according to some of those lecturers, who were chosen from the ranks of those who have held the university’s prestigious Stegner Fellowship for writers.

The university leaders complimented the Jones Lecturers over Zoom. “They praised us to the moon,” Tom Kealey, a lecturer for two decades, told Inside Higher Ed . “Endlessly” praised was how Edward Porter, a lecturer of eight years, put it.

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Then, Kealey said, the leaders announced they would all be losing their jobs within the next two academic years. “The worst part is to be praised while you’re being fired,” Porter said. According to notes he took of the meeting, Nicholas Jenkins, the program’s co-director, said something to the effect of “you’re excellent, but others will be excellent in the future.”

There was an added sense of betrayal. The deans—Debra Satz, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, and Gabriella Safran, senior associate dean of humanities and arts—said this wasn’t their decision, according to Kealey. In Medium posts on the ordeal, he wrote that they said it came from “the senior professors of creative writing.”

“These are literally our teaching colleagues of the last five to 15 years,” Kealey wrote. “And they decided in a previous secret meeting to fire all 23 of their junior colleagues.” In another post, he wrote that “it was only the MALE professors who voted to fire us.” ( Inside Higher Ed reached out Tuesday to some of the male creative writing professors on Tuesday, but received no responses.)

In an unsigned announcement last Wednesday on the university’s website, Stanford said it is returning to the “original intent of the Jones Lectureships: one-year appointments with the possibility of renewal for a limited term.” That announcement said the recommendation came from faculty members on a “Working Group of Creative Writing Academic Council faculty,” but it didn’t name them.

Satz, Safran and Jenkins said in an emailed joint statement to Inside Higher Ed that "this change will again allow Stegner Fellows the opportunity to apply to be Jones Lecturers once they have completed their fellowships. Jones Lecturers will have one-year appointments with the possibility of renewal for up to four additional years."

While it’s no longer rare for non-tenure-track faculty members to be laid off by higher education institutions facing budget woes, Stanford is a wealthy institution and creative writing is, by its own admission, a popular program.

“We have a large number of fully enrolled classes, many with significant waitlists and some where the waitlists are longer than the enrollment roster,” Jenkins said in a February 2023 article on the university’s website. He also said, “We’re in a remarkable period of hiring during which we’re fortunate enough to be bringing to campus an extraordinarily talented array of significant artists and teachers.”

But the lecturers say they’re the ones teaching most of the creative writing classes for undergraduates, and that their years of experience improve teaching. Kealey said some lecturers teach five classes a year; others teach four. He wrote on Medium of the senior creative writing professors that “the 10 of them … taught 13 undergraduate classes last year (and 19 overall, less than two classes taught per professor).”

The leaders said during the Zoom meeting the decision wasn’t about money, according to Porter. “It’s maddening to have outstanding enrollment and be phased out anyway,” he said. While the university has said it wants to simply return the Jones Lectureships to the short stints they used to be, Kealey suggests the tenured professors in his department had other motives.

“I think there’s a peasants and lords issue here,” Kealey said.

A Long Time Coming?

In 1946, Wallace Stegner, who would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for Angle of Repose , founded Stanford’s creative writing program. The Stegner Fellowships are named in his honor.

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E. H. Jones, who had an oil fortune, funded the fellowships and also established the connected Jones Lectureships, according to the university’s announcement from last week. It said these were meant to be “limited, fixed-year teaching appointments, allowing exceptional Stegner Fellows some time and support to prepare a manuscript for publication, hone their teaching skills and transition to a longer-term teaching career elsewhere.”

But “over time this framework of term-limited appointments was not followed,” the university said. It did not say when that change occurred. It might have had something to do with Eavan Boland.

Boland, an Irish poet, led the creative writing program for 20 years until her sudden death in 2020. “Eavan was just a fierce defender of the program,” Kealey said. He said her death “was a great loss to all of us.”

When Boland joined the program, Kealey said, it had maybe 20 or 25 classes. But Boland wanted every student who so desired to be able to take a creative writing class. Kealey said lecturers went to residence halls in early years to speak with students about the program. Over about 15 years, Kealey said, the program grew to offer about 120 classes.

Porter said Boland “developed a large cadre of about 20 to 25 lecturers.” Even though they were on one-year contracts, Porter said, they kept getting renewed. He said it’s true that Boland did move the lectureships away from their original intent—but that it was beneficial for students, teaching and the program.

“There are a lot of human skills to playing this game, and those don’t come in a year,” Porter said. “We have letters, testimonials from students about how much we’ve meant to them. We’re also very available to them—we talk to them outside of class, there’s a sense of continuing mentorship if they want it.”

Now, Porter said, “there is at least the appearance” of the university creating “artificial scarcity,” suggesting there’s no room for the new, younger Stegner Fellows writers to get a leg up by becoming Jones Lecturers “because these crusty old folks are hogging up all the real estate.” Safran, the senior associate dean, said, per Porter’s meeting notes, that “in some years few or no Stegners were able to advance.”

Kealey said, “There’s no shortage of space for new Stegner Fellows to be hired into the Jones Lectureships, but, I don’t know, the professors wanted to do a scorched earth with this, and that’s what they’ve done.”

The lecturers said they pushed for, and received, raises from the university in September 2023. “Exactly a year later we’re all fired,” so “connect the dots here,” Kealey said. “I think the lords didn’t like that—didn’t like the peasants speaking up.”

Porter talked about “balancing one set of values against the other.” He said the tenured or tenure-track “creative writing faculty doesn’t teach many classes and many of them are not involved—they don’t care about the undergraduates. It’s not their job to care; it’s their job to write books, be famous and raise money, and that’s very necessary.”

And part of the purpose of the Jones Lectureship program is to give new writers a step up. But Porter worries about the other side of the equation being lost. “It’s our job to care about the undergrads,” he said.

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• Program in Creative Writing

Charlottesville, VA

Program in Creative Writing / Program in Creative Writing is located in Charlottesville, VA, in a suburban setting.

Degrees & Awards

Degrees offered.

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• Grad Schools
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• University of Virginia
• College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• Department of English Language and Literature

VIRGINIA TECH MFA

In creative writing, 3-year fully-funded ($24,000/year) mfa program in poetry & fiction championing hybrid & cross-genre writing.

Janine Joseph’s 2023 Poetry Workshop

As a close-knit community of writers, we read and write and experiment and play and wonder and perform and revise and publish—and support each other by dreaming big, together.

MEET OUR FACULTY

Khadijah Queen

MATTHEW SALESSES

EVAN LAVENDER-SMITH

SOPHIA TERAZAWA

JANINE JOSEPH

SOHAM PATEL

MATTHEW VOLLMER

Visiting writers 2024-2025.

DIVYA VICTOR

September 12, 2024, 7 P.M.

CID Performance Hall

NAWAL-NADER FRENCH

November 14, 2024, 7 P.M.

March 18, 2025, 7:30 P.M.

Fife Theatre, Moss Arts Center

April 10, 2025, 7 P.M.

Interested in our program? Fill out this form and we will be in touch shortly.

MFA Program in Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Program offers the MFA degree, with a concentration in either poetry or fiction. MFA students pursue intensive study with distinguished faculty committed to creative and intellectual achievement.

Each year the department enrolls only eight MFA students, four in each concentration. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package that fully funds every student. We also offer a large and diverse graduate faculty with competence in a wide range of literary, theoretical and cultural fields. Every student chooses a special committee of two faculty members who work closely alongside the student to design a course of study within the broad framework established by the department.

Students participate in a graduate writing workshop each semester and take six additional one-semester courses for credit, at least four of them in English or American literature, comparative literature, literature in the modern or Classical languages or cultural studies (two per semester during the first year and one per semester during the second year). First-year students receive practical training as editorial assistants for  Epoch, a periodical of prose and poetry published by the creative writing program. Second-year students participate as teaching assistants for the university-wide first-year writing program. The most significant requirement of the MFA degree is the completion of a book-length manuscript: a collection of poems or short stories, or a novel, to be closely edited and refined with the assistance of the student’s special committee.

MFA program specifics can be viewed here: MFA Timeline Procedural Guide

Special Committee

Every graduate student selects a special committee of faculty advisors who works intensively with the student in selecting courses and preparing and revising the thesis. The committee is comprised of two Cornell creative writing faculty members: a chair and one minor member. An additional member may be added to represent an interdisciplinary field. The university system of special committees allows students to design their own courses of study within a broad framework established by the department, and it encourages a close working relationship between professors and students, promoting freedom and flexibility in the pursuit of the graduate degree. The special committee for each student guides and supervises all academic work and assesses progress in a series of meetings with the students.

At Cornell, teaching is considered an integral part of training for a career in writing. The field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience of at least one year for every MFA candidate as part of the program requirements. The Department of English, in conjunction with the First-Year Writing Program, offers excellent training for beginning teachers and varied and interesting teaching in this university-wide program. These are not conventional freshman composition courses, but full-fledged academic seminars, often designed by graduate students themselves. The courses are writing-intensive and may fall under such general rubrics as “Portraits of the Self,” “American Literature and Culture,” “Shakespeare” and “Cultural Studies,” among others. A graduate student may also serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate lecture course taught by a member of the Department of Literatures in English faculty.

All MFA degree candidates are guaranteed two years of funding (including a stipend , a full tuition fellowship and student health insurance).

• Graduate Assistantship with EPOCH . Students read submissions, plan special issues and assume other editorial and administrative responsibilities.
• Summer Teaching Assistantship, linked to a teachers' training program. Summer residency in Ithaca is required.
• Teaching Assistantship
• Summer Fellowship (made possible by the David L. Picket ’84 Fund and The James McConkey Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Award for Summer Support, established by his enduringly grateful student, Len Edelstein ’59)

Optional MFA Lecturer Appointments Degree recipients who are actively seeking outside funding/employment are eligible to apply to teach for one or two years as a lecturer. These positions are made possible by an endowment established by the late Philip H. Freund ’29 and a bequest from the Truman Capote Literary Trust.

Admission & Application Procedures

The application for Fall 2025 admission will open on September 15, 2024 and will close on December 1, 2024 at 11:59pm EST. Please note that staff support is available M-F 9am-4pm.

Eligibility : Applicants must currently have, or expect to have, at least a BA or BS (or the equivalent) in any field before matriculation. International students, please verify degree equivalency here . Applicants are not required to take the GRE test or meet a specified GPA minimum.

To Apply:  All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted on-line through the Graduate School application system . While completing your application, you may save and edit your data. Once you click “submit,” your application will be closed for changes. Please proofread your materials carefully. Once you pay and click submit, you will not be able to make any changes or revisions.

DEADLINE: Dec. 1, 11:59 p.m. EST . This deadline is firm. No applications, additional materials or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

MFA Program Application Requirements Checklist

• Academic Statement of Purpose Please use the Academic Statement of Purpose to describe, within 1000 words: (1) your academic interests, (2) your academic background, preparation, and training, including any relevant professional experiences, (3) your reasons for pursuing graduate studies in this specific program, and (4) your professional goals.
• Personal Statement Your Personal Statement should provide the admissions committee with a sense of you as a whole person, and you should use it to describe how your background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Additionally, it should provide insight into your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together. Writing your Personal Statement provides you with an opportunity to share experiences that provide insights into how your personal, academic, and/or professional experiences demonstrate your ability to be both persistent and resilient, especially when navigating challenging circumstances. The statement also allows you to provide examples of how you engage with others and have facilitated and/or participated in productive collaborative endeavors. Additionally, it provides you with an opportunity to provide context around any perceived gaps or weaknesses in your academic record. Content in the Personal Statement should complement rather than duplicate the content contained within the Academic Statement of Purpose, which should focus explicitly on your academic interests, previous research experience, and intended area of research during your graduate studies. A complete writing prompt is available in the application portal.
• Three Letters of Recommendation Please select three people who best know you and your work. Submitting additional letters will not enhance your application. In the recommendation section of the application, you must include the email address of each recommender. After you save the information (and before you pay/submit), the application system will automatically generate a recommendation request email to your recommender with instructions for submitting the letter electronically. If your letters are stored with a credential service such as Interfolio, please use their “online application delivery” feature and input the email address assigned to your stored document, rather than that of your recommender’s. The electronic files will be attached to your application when they are received and will not require the letter of recommendation cover page. Please do not postpone submitting your application while waiting for us to receive all three of your letters.  For more information please visit the Graduate School's page on preparing letters of recommendations .
• Transcripts Scan transcripts from each institution you have attended, or are currently attending, and upload into the academic information section of the application. Be sure to remove your social security number from all documents prior to scanning. Please do not send paper copies of your transcripts. If you are subsequently admitted and accept, the graduate school will require an official paper transcript from your degree-awarding institution prior to matriculation.
• English Language Proficiency Requirement All applicants must provide proof of English language proficiency. For more information, please view the  Graduate School’s English Language Requirement .
• Fiction applicants:  Your sample must be between 6,000 and 10,000 words, typed, double-spaced, in a conventional 12- or 14-point font. It may be an excerpt from a larger work or a combination of several works.
• Poetry applicants:  Your sample must be 10 pages in length and include a combination of several poems, where possible.

General Information for All Applicants

Application Fee: Visit the  Graduate School for information regarding application fees , payment options, and fee waivers . Please do not send inquires regarding fee waivers.

Document Identification: Please do not put your social security number on any documents.

Status Inquiries:  Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You will also be able to check the completion status of your application in your account. If vital sections of your application are missing, we will notify you via email after the Dec. 1 deadline and allow you ample time to provide the missing materials. Please do not inquire about the status of your application.

Credential/Application Assessments:  The admission review committee members are unable to review application materials or applicant credentials prior to official application submission. Once the committee has reviewed the applications and made admissions decisions, they will not discuss the results or make any recommendations for improving the strength of an applicant’s credentials. Applicants looking for feedback are advised to consult with their undergraduate advisor or someone else who knows them and their work.

Review Process:  Application review begins after the submission deadline. Notification of admissions decisions will be made by email or by telephone by the end of February.

Connecting with Faculty and/or Students: Unfortunately, due to the volume of inquiries we receive, faculty and current students are not available to correspond with potential applicants prior to an offer of admission. Applicants who are offered admission will have the opportunity to meet faculty and students to have their questions answered prior to accepting. Staff and faculty are also not able to pre-assess potential applicant’s work outside of the formal application process. Please email [email protected] instead, if you have questions.

Visiting: The department does not offer pre-admission visits or interviews. Admitted applicants will be invited to visit the department, attend graduate seminars and meet with faculty and students before making the decision to enroll.

Transfer Credits: Transfer credits are not available toward the MFA program.

Admissions FAQ

For Further Information

Contact [email protected]

MFA in Creative Writing Graduation Readings

• Graduate School
• Prospective Students
• Graduate Degree Programs

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writingm, Distance Education (MFA)

Go to programs search

Creative Writers are at the heart of our cultural industries. Poets, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, graphic novelists, magazine writers: they entertain, inform and inspire. For more than 15 years, UBC's Creative Writing program has been educating writers through distance education in a program which complements our long-standing on-campus MFA program.

A studio program with the writing workshop at its heart, the distance MFA focuses on the work created by students as the primary text. Through intensive peer critique and craft discussion, faculty and students work together with the same goal: literary excellence.

The MFA granted to distance students is the same degree as granted to on-campus students, and the same criteria of excellence in multiple genres of study apply.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

UBC's Optional-Residency (Distance) MFA was the first distance education MFA program in Canada and remains the only full MFA which can be taken completely online. It is designed to be uniquely flexible, allowing students across Canada and around the world to study writing at the graduate level while still living in their local communities and fulfilling career and family obligations.

The program is unique globally for its multi-genre approach to writing instruction: students are required to work in multiple genres during the course of the degree. As a fine arts program rather than an English program, students focus on the practice of writing rather than the study of literature. Students may work on a part-time basis, taking up to five years to complete the degree.

My time in the Creative writing grad program at UBC has given me the discipline and focus I need to complete long-form writing pieces and larger poetry projects.

Kwaku Darko-Mensah Jnr.

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, program instructions.

The optional residency MFA (distance) program only has a July intake.

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum academic requirements.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement : 90

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

2) Meet Deadlines

3) prepare application, transcripts.

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

• Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writingm, Distance Education (MFA)

Citizenship verification.

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Tuition & Financial Support

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Options

Graduates of the MFA program have found success in varied fields related to writing and communication. The MFA qualifies graduates for teaching at the university level and many graduates have gone on to teach at colleges and universities in Canada, the United States and overseas as well as holding writing residencies. Many publish books and win literary awards. Others go on to work in publishing, and graduates have become book and magazine editors.

Although the MFA is a terminal degree, some graduates go on to further study in PhD programs in the US, UK and Australia.

The Optional-Residency MFA is particularly well suited to teachers: our teacher-students have been able to gain an advanced degree while continuing their careers.

• Research Supervisors

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

• Belcourt, Billy-Ray (Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry)
• French, Whitney (memory, loss, technology, and nature)
• Hopkinson, Nalo (Creative writing, n.e.c.; Humanities and the arts; Creative Writing: Speculative Ficton, Fantasy, Science Fiction, especially Other Voices)
• Irani, Anosh
• Koncan, Frances
• Leavitt, Sarah (Autobiographical comics; Formal experimentation in comics; Comics pedagogy)
• Lee, Nancy (Fiction; Creative Writing)
• Lyon, Annabel (Novels, stories and news)
• Maillard, Keith (Fiction, poetry)
• Marzano-Lesnevich, Alex (Nonfiction)
• McGowan, Sharon (Planning of film productions from concept to completion)
• Medved, Maureen (Fiction, writing for screen)
• Nicholson, Cecily (Languages and literature; Poetry)
• Ohlin, Alix (Fiction; Screenwriting; Environmental writing)
• Pohl-Weary, Emily (Fiction; Writing for Youth)
• Svendsen, Linda (Script development; Novels, stories and news; Writing for Television; Fiction)
• Taylor, Timothy (fiction and nonfiction)
• Vigna, John (Novels, stories and news; Fiction, Literary Non-Fiction, Creative Writing)

Related Programs

Same specialization.

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Same Academic Unit

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre (MFA)
• Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing (MFA)

At the UBC Okanagan Campus

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Further Information

Specialization.

Creative Writing combines the best of traditional workshop and leading-edge pedagogy. Literary cross-training offers opportunities in a broad range of genres including fiction, poetry, screenplay, podcasting, video game writing and graphic novel.

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15 Best Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2024

May 15, 2024

Whether you studied at a top creative writing university or are a high school dropout who will one day become a bestselling author , you may be considering an MFA in Creative Writing. But is a writing MFA genuinely worth the time and potential costs? How do you know which program will best nurture your writing? If you’re considering an MFA, this article walks you through the best full-time, low residency, and online Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.

What are the best Creative Writing MFA programs?

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, let’s start with the basics. What is an MFA, anyway?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications typically require a sample portfolio, usually 10-20 pages (and sometimes up to 30-40) of your best writing. Moreover, you can receive an MFA in a particular genre, such as Fiction or Poetry, or more broadly in Creative Writing. However, if you take the latter approach, you often have the opportunity to specialize in a single genre.

Wondering what actually goes on in a creative writing MFA beyond inspiring award-winning books and internet memes ? You enroll in workshops where you get feedback on your creative writing from your peers and a faculty member. You enroll in seminars where you get a foundation of theory and techniques. Then, you finish the degree with a thesis project. Thesis projects are typically a body of polished, publishable-quality creative work in your genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

Why should I get an MFA in Creative Writing?

You don’t need an MFA to be a writer. Just look at Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison or bestselling novelist Emily St. John Mandel.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons you might still want to get a creative writing MFA. The first is, unfortunately, prestige. An MFA from a top program can help you stand out in a notoriously competitive industry to be published.

The second reason: time. Many MFA programs give you protected writing time, deadlines, and maybe even a (dainty) salary.

Third, an MFA in Creative Writing is a terminal degree. This means that this degree allows you to teach writing at the university level, especially after you publish a book.

Fourth: resources. MFA programs are often staffed by brilliant, award-winning writers; offer lecture series, volunteer opportunities, and teaching positions; and run their own (usually prestigious) literary magazines. Such resources provide you with the knowledge and insight you’ll need to navigate the literary and publishing world on your own post-graduation.

But above all, the biggest reason to pursue an MFA is the community it brings you. You get to meet other writers—and share feedback, advice, and moral support—in relationships that can last for decades.

Types of Creative Writing MFA Programs

Here are the different types of programs to consider, depending on your needs:

Fully-Funded Full-Time Programs

These programs offer full-tuition scholarships and sweeten the deal by actually paying you to attend them.

• Pros: You’re paid to write (and teach).
• Cons: Uprooting your entire life to move somewhere possibly very cold.

Full-Time MFA Programs

These programs include attending in-person classes and paying tuition (though many offer need-based and merit scholarships).

• Pros: Lots of top-notch non-funded programs have more assets to attract world-class faculty and guests.
• Cons: It’s an investment that might not pay itself back.

Low-Residency MFA Programs

Low-residency programs usually meet biannually for short sessions. They also offer one-on-one support throughout the year. These MFAs are more independent, preparing you for what the writing life is actually like.

• Pros: No major life changes required. Cons: Less time dedicated to writing and less time to build relationships.

Online MFA Programs

Held 100% online. These programs have high acceptance rates and no residency requirement. That means zero travel or moving expenses.

• Pros: No major life changes required.
• Cons: These MFAs have less name recognition.

The Top 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs Ranked by Category

The following programs are selected for their balance of high funding, impressive return on investment, stellar faculty, major journal publications , and impressive alums.

FULLY FUNDED MFA PROGRAMS

1) johns hopkins university , mfa in fiction/poetry.

This two-year program offers an incredibly generous funding package: $39,000 teaching fellowships each year. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and the option to apply for a lecture position after graduation. Many grads publish their first book within three years (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).

• Location: Baltimore, MD
• Incoming class size: 8 students (4 per genre)
• Admissions rate: 4-8%
• Alumni: Chimamanda Adichie, Jeffrey Blitz, Wes Craven, Louise Erdrich, Porochista Khakpour, Phillis Levin, ZZ Packer, Tom Sleigh, Elizabeth Spires, Rosanna Warren

2) University of Texas, James Michener Center

The only MFA that offers full and equal funding for every writer. It’s three years long, offers a generous yearly stipend of $30k, and provides full tuition plus a health insurance stipend. Fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting concentrations are available. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $4,000 for the summer.

• Location : Austin, TX
• Incoming class size : 12 students
• Acceptance rate: a bone-chilling less-than-1% in fiction; 2-3% in other genres
• Alumni: Fiona McFarlane, Brian McGreevy, Karan Mahajan, Alix Ohlin, Kevin Powers, Lara Prescott, Roger Reeves, Maria Reva, Domenica Ruta, Sam Sax, Joseph Skibell, Dominic Smith

3) University of Iowa

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a 2-year program on a residency model for fiction and poetry. This means there are low requirements, and lots of time to write groundbreaking novels or play pool at the local bar. All students receive full funding, including tuition, a living stipend, and subsidized health insurance. The Translation MFA , co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years long but with more intensive coursework. The Nonfiction Writing Program is a prestigious three-year MFA program and is also intensive.

• Incoming class size: 25 each for poetry and fiction; 10-12 for nonfiction and translation.
• Acceptance rate: 2.7-3.7%
• Fantastic Alumni: Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, Garth Greenwell, Kiley Reid, Brandon Taylor, Eula Biss, Yiyun Li, Jennifer Croft

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued) 

4) university of michigan.

Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students in UMichigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. This is a big university town, which is less damaging to your social life. Plus, there’s lots to do when you have a $25,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.

This is a 2-3-year program in either fiction or poetry, with an impressive reputation. They also have a demonstrated commitment to “ push back against the darkness of intolerance and injustice ” and have outreach programs in the community.

• Location: Ann Arbor, MI
• Incoming class size: 18 (9 in each genre)
• Acceptance rate: 2%
• Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward

5) Brown University

Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that only occasionally dips into arctic temperatures. All students are fully funded for 2 years, which includes tuition remission and a $32k yearly stipend. Students also get summer funding and—you guessed it—that sweet, sweet health insurance.

In the Brown Literary Arts MFA, students take only one workshop and one elective per semester. It’s also the only program in the country to feature a Digital/Cross Disciplinary Track.  Fiction and Poetry Tracks are offered as well.

• Location: Providence, RI
• Incoming class size: 12-13
• Acceptance rate: “highly selective”
• Alumni: Edwidge Danticat, Jaimy Gordon, Gayl Jones, Ben Lerner, Joanna Scott, Kevin Young, Ottessa Moshfegh

6) University of Arizona

This 3-year program with fiction, poetry, and nonfiction tracks has many attractive qualities. It’s in “ the lushest desert in the world, ” and was recently ranked #4 in creative writing programs, and #2 in Nonfiction. You can take classes in multiple genres, and in fact, are encouraged to do so. Plus, Arizona’s dry heat is good for arthritis.

This notoriously supportive program is fully funded. Moreover, teaching assistantships that provide a salary, health insurance, and tuition waiver are offered to all students. Tucson is home to a hopping literary scene, so it’s also possible to volunteer at multiple literary organizations and even do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.

• Location: Tucson, AZ
• Incoming class size: usually 6
• Acceptance rate: 1.2% (a refreshingly specific number after Brown’s evasiveness)
• Alumni: Francisco Cantú, Jos Charles, Tony Hoagland, Nancy Mairs, Richard Russo, Richard Siken, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, David Foster Wallace

7) Arizona State University 

With concentrations in fiction and poetry, Arizona State is a three-year funded program in arthritis-friendly dry heat. It offers small class sizes, individual mentorships, and one of the most impressive faculty rosters in the game. Moreover, it encourages cross-genre study.

Funding-wise, everyone has the option to take on a teaching assistantship position, which provides a tuition waiver, health insurance, and a yearly stipend of $25k. Other opportunities for financial support exist as well.

• Location: Tempe, AZ
• Incoming class size: 8-10
• Acceptance rate: 3% (sigh)
• Alumni: Tayari Jones, Venita Blackburn, Dorothy Chan, Adrienne Celt, Dana Diehl, Matthew Gavin Frank, Caitlin Horrocks, Allegra Hyde, Hugh Martin, Bonnie Nadzam

FULL-RESIDENCY MFAS (UNFUNDED)

8) new york university.

This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU also has one of the most accomplished faculty lists anywhere. Students have large cohorts (more potential friends!) and have a penchant for winning top literary prizes. Concentrations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are available.

• Location: New York, NY
• Incoming class size: ~60; 20-30 students accepted for each genre
• Acceptance rate: 6-9%
• Alumni: Nick Flynn, Nell Freudenberger, Aracelis Girmay, Mitchell S. Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, John Keene, Raven Leilani, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong

9) Columbia University

Another 2-3 year private MFA program with drool-worthy permanent and visiting faculty. Columbia offers courses in fiction, poetry, translation, and nonfiction. Beyond the Ivy League education, Columbia offers close access to agents, and its students have a high record of bestsellers. Finally, teaching positions and fellowships are available to help offset the high tuition.

• Incoming class size: 110
• Acceptance rate: not publicized (boo)
• Alumni: Alexandra Kleeman, Rachel Kushner, Claudia Rankine, Rick Moody, Sigrid Nunez, Tracy K. Smith, Emma Cline, Adam Wilson, Marie Howe, Mary Jo Bang

10) Sarah Lawrence 

Sarah Lawrence offers a concentration in speculative fiction in addition to the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction choices. Moreover, they encourage cross-genre exploration. With intimate class sizes, this program is unique because it offers biweekly one-on-one conferences with its stunning faculty. It also has a notoriously supportive atmosphere, and many teaching and funding opportunities are available.

• Location: Bronxville, NY
• Incoming class size: 30-40
• Acceptance rate: not publicized
• Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado

LOW RESIDENCY

11) bennington college.

This two-year program boasts truly stellar faculty, and meets twice a year for ten days in January and June. It’s like a biannual vacation in beautiful Vermont, plus mentorship by a famous writer. The rest of the time, you’ll be spending approximately 25 hours per week on reading and writing assignments. Students have the option to concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Uniquely, they can also opt for a dual-genre focus.

The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available. Additionally, Bennington offers full-immersion teaching fellowships to MFA students, which are extremely rare in low-residency programs.

• Location: Bennington, VT
• Acceptance rate: 53%
• Incoming class: 25-35
• Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others

12)  Institute for American Indian Arts

This two-year program emphasizes Native American and First Nations writing. With truly amazing faculty and visiting writers, they offer a wide range of genres, including screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. In addition, each student is matched with a faculty mentor who works with them one-on-one throughout the semester.

Students attend two eight-day residencies each year, in January and July, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At $12,000 in tuition a year, it boasts being “ one of the most affordable MFA programs in the country .”

• Location: Santa Fe, NM
• Incoming class size : 21
• Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder

13) Vermont College of Fine Arts

VCFA is the only graduate school on this list that focuses exclusively on the fine arts. Their MFA in Writing offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction; they also offer an MFA in Literary Translation and one of the few MFAs in Writing for Children and Young Adults . Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, either in-person or online. Here, they receive one-on-one mentorship that continues for the rest of the semester. You can also do many travel residencies in exciting (and warm) places like Cozumel.

VCFA boasts amazing faculty and visiting writers, with individualized study options and plenty of one-on-one time. Tuition for the full two-year program is approximately $54k.

• Location : Various; 2024/25 residencies are in Colorado and California
• Incoming class size: 18-25
• Acceptance rate: 63%
• Alumnx: Lauren Markham, Mary-Kim Arnold, Cassie Beasley, Kate Beasley, Julie Berry, Bridget Birdsall, Gwenda Bond, Pablo Cartaya

ONLINE MFAS

14) university of texas at el paso.

UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Accordingly, this program is geared toward serious writers who want to pursue teaching and/or publishing. Intensive workshops allow submissions in Spanish and/or English, and genres include poetry and fiction.

No residencies are required, but an optional opportunity to connect in person is available every year. This three-year program costs about $25-30k total, depending on whether you are an in-state or out-of-state resident.

• Location: El Paso, TX
• Acceptance rate: “highly competitive”
• Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here

15) Bay Path University

This 2-year online, no-residency program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. Featuring a supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and an optional yearly field trip to Ireland.

There are many tracks, including publishing, narrative medicine, and teaching creative writing. Moreover, core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, food/travel writing, and the personal essay. Tuition is approximately $31,000 for the entire program, with scholarships available.

• Location: Longmeadow, MA
• Incoming class size: 20
• Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs — Final Thoughts

Whether you’re aiming for a fully funded, low residency, or completely online MFA program, there are plenty of incredible options available—all of which will sharpen your craft while immersing you in the vibrant literary arts community.

Hoping to prepare for your MFA in advance? You might consider checking out the following:

• Best English Programs
• Best Colleges for Creative Writing
• Writing Summer Programs
• Best Writing Competitions for High School Students

Inspired to start writing? Get your pencil ready:

• 100 Creative Writing Prompts 
• 1 00 Tone Words to Express Mood in Your Writing
• 60 Senior Project Ideas
• Common App Essay Prompts

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs – References:

• https://www.pw.org/mfa
• The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students , by Tom Kealey (A&C Black 2005)
• Graduate School Admissions

Julia Conrad

With a Bachelor of Arts in English and Italian from Wesleyan University as well as MFAs in both Nonfiction Writing and Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, Julia is an experienced writer, editor, educator, and a former Fulbright Fellow. Julia’s work has been featured in  The Millions ,  Asymptote , and  The Massachusetts Review , among other publications. To read more of her work, visit  www.juliaconrad.net

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Jump to: Guest Speakers

CHRISTINE VACHON Producer, Co-Founder - Killer Films, Artistic Director - MFA in Film Christine Vachon is an Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award winner who co-founded powerhouse Killer Films with partner Pamela Koffler in 1995. Over three decades, they have produced more than 100 films, including some of the most celebrated and important American independent features: KIDS, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, HAPPINESS, BOYS DON’T CRY, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, FAR FROM HEAVEN, ONE HOUR PHOTO, STILL ALICE, CAROL, BEATRIZ AT DINNER, and DARK WATERS. In television, Vachon executive-produced the Emmy and Golden Globe-awarded miniseries MILDRED PIERCE for HBO as well as the Emmy Award-winning limited series HALSTON for Netflix. Recent releases include Todd Haynes' MAY DECEMBER (Netflix), starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, and Celine Song's PAST LIVES (A24), which marks her first Oscar nomination in the Best Picture category.

Magdalene Brandeis is a producer, novelist, and the Executive Director of the MFA Programs in Film and Television Writing at Stony Brook University. She initiated the Stony Brook Manhattan Center in Creative Writing & Literature in 2010 and launched the well-attended reading series "Ink on Shrinks" with former fiction editor of The New Yorker and Executive Editor-in-Chief of Random House, author Daniel Menaker. She also developed Stony Brook's 20/20/20 with seed monies from Dorothy Lichtenstein, the MFA in FLM with Christine Vachon of Killer Films, and the MFA in Television Writing with Alan Kingsberg.  Getting her start in development at Hollywood Pictures and Caravan Pictures, Brandeis also translated and adapted French films and produced television series and pilots for ABC, AMC, Bravo, and MTV. She also served as the Executive Director of The Bridge Program, a social justice centered non-profit, and as a juror for The March on Washington Film Festival during the Obama Administration. She holds a BA from Antioch University Los Angeles, and an MFA in Writing and Literature from Stony Brook. Her short stories have been published in The East Hampton Star, The Southampton Review , and Lit Angels .

Kingsberg originated the popular Television Writing curriculum at Columbia University’s Graduate Film School where he taught for 17 years.  He has launched Television Writing programs in Sao Paulo and Prague and was a visiting professor at Sarah Lawrence College.   Kingsberg’s students have won numerous awards including multiple first place prizes at the Austin Film Festival, The TV Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Made In NY Fellowship, a Humanitas Award, an HBO Fellowship and a Fox Writers Intensive Prize, all with scripts written in his workshops. After graduating, his students have gone on to write and produce on  shows such as 30 Rock, Mr. Robot, Narcos, The Deuce, Stranger Things, Kimmy Schmidt, Mozart in the Jungle, Orphan Black, Quantico, The Sinner, Inside Amy Schumer, Smash, New Girl, Odd Mom Out, The Originals, Vegas, Weeds and Californication .

PAUL HARDING Associate Provost, Novelist Paul Harding is the author of the novel  Tinkers,  which won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His second novel,  Elon,  was published by Random House in 2013. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the PEN American Robert Bingham Fellowship for Writers. He was a fiction fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center, in Provincetown, MA, and has taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Harvard University and Grinnell College.

As Founding Director of the MFA in Creative Writing and Literature, as well as Director of the esteemed Southampton Writers Conference, Reeves has recruited a large number of distinguished faculty, including former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Frank McCourt, Meg Wolitzer, Roger Rosenblatt, Julie Andrews, David Rakoff, Elizabeth Strout, Richard Ford, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tom Wolfe.   

Southampton’s MFA graduates have gone to highly successful careers in publishing and the arts. Stony Brook Southampton offers graduate courses in both Southampton and Manhattan, a BFA in Creative Writing, and an undergraduate film minor at Stony Brook main campus.

The author of two critically acclaimed novels, Doubting Thomas and Peeping Thomas , Reeves has also written screenplays, short fiction, essays, and literary criticism. Reeves, who has taught at Harvard and Princeton, holds a B.A. and M.A. from Harvard University.

Most recently, Koffler produced two films with the award-winning directing team Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer:  "The Last of Robin Hood" starring Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon and Dakota Fanning, which premiered at the Toronto Festival in 2013 and was seen in theaters in September 2014. "Still Alice," starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart, premiered at TIFF in 2014. Koffler also produced 2015's "Carol," directed by Todd Haynes, starring Cate Blanchette and Rooney Mara.

He co-created, executive produced, performed, and wrote on IFC's fake game show, Bunk . Ethan has performed on most of the shows he's written for and is a graduate of the Peoples' Improv Theatre. He teaches comedy writing classes at New York University and the Peoples' Improv Theatre. His debut children’s picture book, The Hugely-Wugely Spider , will be published in 2018 by FSG. 

Perry has edited two award-winning feature films, Days of Grey by Ani Simon-Kennedy, and Karaoke Girl, by Visra Vichit-Vadakan, and several award-winning shorts, including Daughters by Chloe Zhao. Together these went on to play at 100+ festivals and win dozens of awards internationally. He has served as consultants on films that premiered at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlin, & Cannes and were nominated for Independent Spirit Awards. Before feature films, Perry directed short films, documentaries, commercials, and digital content, including the momentarily #1 video in the world. In his capacity as one of the founding members of Huge Studio in Brooklyn, Perry has worked with clients such Nike, Google, Apple, Samsung, Audi and the White House.

Scott Burkhardt is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of the Arts where he received an MFA in Film. He was a Dean's Scholar at Columbia and received support for his work from New Line Cinema, the Milos Forman Foundation, The Caucus Foundation, and the Carole and Robert Daly Foundation. His thesis film, The Assastant, won multiple awards at the Columbia University Film Festival and went on to be nominated for a Student Academy Award. The film aired on PBS and Hulu for five years.

His latest short film,  Girls Are Strong Here , won multiple screenplay awards and production funding from the Sun Valley Film Festival. It went on to play film festivals around the world and won the 2021 Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short @ IFF Boston and won the 2022 Humanitas Prize for Best Short Film. His next short film, We Buy Houses , is currently in post production and scheduled to hit the festival circuit in 2023.

He has written for television (NBC’s Smash ) and developed projects for NBC Universal, CBS Studios and Flower Films. He is currently working on various writing/directing projects in addition to teaching screenwriting and television writing .

Niav Conty is a director, cinematographer, editor and screenwriter. She is the co-founder of Broken Yolk Productions, which produces ultra-indie films, music, and multimedia projects. Small Time , her 2020 feature shot over 5 years in rural Pennsylvania, won awards for Best Feature and Best Director many times over. The film is executive produced by Oren Moverman and is available to watch on Amazon. It stars a young child and a kitten; clearly she likes a challenge. She is currently releasing her newest feature, Person Woman Man Camera TV , about an interracial couple’s relationship disintegrating during the 2020 pandemic. Niav has worked closely with Joseph Strick and Chantal Ackerman, and is a Princess Grace Award winner.  She enjoys playing in the murky depths of human nature.

With 20 years of experience in the film industry, he has supported some of the UK's most exciting filmmakers including Gaby Dellal's  On a Clear Day , Peter Mullan's  The Magdalene Sisters , Ken Loach's  My Name is Joe , Lynne Ramsay's  Morvern Callar , and David Mackenzie's  Young Adam . Crooks has a strong reputation for supporting filmmakers and his instinct has taken him from backing Andrew and Kevin Macdonald and John Hodge whose  Shallow Grave  became a spectacular international film debut for director Danny Boyle, to Gilles Mackinnon with  Small Faces , writer Paul Laverty with Ken Loach's  Carla's Song , Peter Mullan with  Orphans , and Saul Metzstein and Jack Lothian with  Late Night Shopping .  He also supported the co-production partnership between Gillian Berrie's Glasgow-based Sigma Films and Peter Aalbeck Jensen's and Lars Von Trier's Danish production house, Zentropa Films and bankrolled the Advance Party slate which led to the production of Andrea Arnold's  Red Road , winner of the Prix du Jury at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. He leads students through script development to completed feature length script, leads script revision workshops and introduces first year students to the award winning Advance Party teaching method.

After receiving a BFA in acting from Carnegie-Mellon, she began directing plays at venues including Manhattan Class Company, Circle Rep, Lincoln Center, The National Theater of London, and Williamstown Theater Festival, where she was awarded the Boris Sagal Directing Fellowship. She was also awarded grants from The Drama League of New York,  Circle Rep Lab and New York Foundation for the Arts.

She went on to earn an MFA in screenwriting from Columbia Film School, where her first short film THE RITE was awarded ‘Best Film’ at the Columbia Film Festival and was selected as a finalist for best student film by The National Board of Review. 

Visiting Faculty Stewart Thorndike is an award-winning writer and director who makes feminist genre films. Stewart’s second feature film, BAD THINGS, premiered in competition at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. It stars Gayle Rankin, Hari Nef and Molly Ringwald. Her debut feature, LYLE, is a queer horror film that premiered in 2014 at Outfest and starred Gaby Hoffmann who won the best actress award. Indiewire listed Stewart as one of ten LGBTQ creators on the rise in 2023. Stewart earned her MFA at NYU and is a recipient of the San Francisco Film Society’s Women Filmmaker Fellowship for women in genre. 

BACK TO TOP

Guest Speakers

RAMIN BAHRANI

His new film, AT ANY PRICE (Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron) premiered in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival where it was nominated for the Golden Lion, and also screened as official selections of The Telluride (2012) and Toronto Film Festivals (2012).

JANE BERLINER After growing up in Beverly Hills to a non-entertainment couple, Jane stepped on a stage joining the all female band The Quisinarts, was a college DJ featuring New Wave and punk music and fell into the entertainment business on her own.  As she attended UCLA's theater arts school, she worked with Tim Robbins, Dana Stevens, Shane Black and countless other now successful film and tv artists.

Jane found her art after attending the CAA mailroom and training under Ron Meyer.  She became a talent agent in 1987 and has been in the entertainment business ever since.  After enjoying a talent agent's career for almost 20 years, Jane turned to Handprint Entertainment to head up Benny Medina's production company.  Jane then moved to New York and started working in philanthropy with Save the Children, creating and managing their Artist Ambassador Program, which she did for four years before joining Authentic as a talent manager.

Having been on the ground with artist ambassadors in Africa, Guatemala and the US, Jane is uniquely qualified to manage artists' philanthropy and to consult NGOs in the proper use of celebrity.

EFFIE T. BROWN Los Angeles based producer Effie T. Brown received a degree in Film Production and Theater from Loyola Marymount University before going on to participate in Film Independent’s Project Involve. There, she quickly worked her way up to become the Director of Development for Tim Burton Productions in 1995.

Eager to try her hand at producing, Brown landed assignments as Line Producer on feature films including Desert Blue (1998), But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) and Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her (2000). Brown would soon take on the role of Producer on critically acclaimed, award-winning feature projects from HBO Films, including Stranger Inside (directed by Cheryl Dunne, 2001, World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival), Real Women Have Curves (directed by Patricia Cardosa, 2002, winner of Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award and Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Performance), and Everyday People (2004, Jim McKay). She also executive produced, in association with Sony Screen Gems and Pathe International, In The Cut (2003, directed by Jane Campion). Effie’s next film Rocket Science won the Sundance 2007 Grand Jury Prize for Directing and was nominated for Best First Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Actress by the Independent Spirit Awards. Her most recent film The Inheritance starring Golden Brooks won Best Actress at the 2010 American Black Film Festival.

As stated in VARIETY, Effie T. Brown “is a case study of what it takes to get independent films off the ground in today’s marketplace: large doses of private equity, some location incentives and a little help from fests and script labs...”

Recently, Brown has re-teamed with the award winning producing/directing team of Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia to produce WIGS , a brand new original content channel for Google/YOUTUBE. The channel premiered in May of 2012, with production of the second season currently underway. The channel features multiple original series showcasing A-list talent both in front of and behind the camera to present stories centered around the ever complex lives of women, and blazes the trail for scripted content released directly online.

EDWARD BURNS Lauded by critics and audiences alike, Ed Burns gained international recognition for his first feature film THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, which premiered in competition at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury prize. The film, which Burns wrote, directed and starred in, was shot on a budget of only $25,000 and went on to gross over $10 million at the domestic box office, making it the most profitable film of 1995. The film also won "Best First Feature" at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards.

Burns' second film, the romantic comedy SHE'S THE ONE starring Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz, reinforced Burns' versatile talent as a writer, director, and actor able to simultaneously and successfully wear multiple hats. His 11 th feature film as a writer, director and actor is the drama THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS, which had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, and stars Kerry Bishé, Connie Britton, Caitlin FitzGerald, Ed Lauter, and Michael McGlone.

Burns continues to write, direct, star in and produce his films, including the Paramount Classics relationship comedy SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK, PURPLE VIOLETS, NICE GUY JOHNNY and NEWLYWEDS. In a groundbreaking deal, Purple Violets was the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes. Burns expanded on this new model of digital distribution to include cable Video on Demand to reach even wider audiences and successfully released two films, NICE GUY JOHNNY and NEWLYWEDS via these platforms in 2010 and 2011.

As an actor, Burns starred opposite Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed World War II epic SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. He also starred in the thriller 15 MINUTES opposite Robert De Niro, CONFIDENCE opposite Dustin Hoffman, and the 20 th Century Fox romantic comedy hit 27 DRESSES opposite Katherine Heigl.

Burns most recently starred opposite Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox in I, ALEX CROSS which was released in October 2012. His other acting projects include FRIENDS WITH KIDS, with Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt and MAN ON A LEDGE, opposite Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks.

Ed Burns was born in Woodside, Queens and raised on Long Island. While at Hunter College in New York City, Burns switched his focus from English to filmmaking before quickly moving on to make The Brothers McMullen, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

In 2005 she directed THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE starring Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor and Jared Harris. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005 to critical acclaim. In 2000 she directed the internationally successful AMERICAN PSYCHO, which she adapted from Brett Easton Ellis’ notorious bestseller. For her work on this film, she was nominated for “Director of the Year” by the London Film Critics Circle.

Harron made her debut as a feature-film writer / director in 1996 with I SHOT ANDY WARHOL. The film won star Lili Taylor a Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first feature film.  It was also chosen to open the “Un Certain Regard” section of the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Harron has also directed episodes of many acclaimed television series including “Homicide,” “Oz,” “The L Word,”  “Six Feet Under” and “Big Love”.   

Harron was born in Bracebridge, Ontario and studied at Oxford. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, writer/director John C. Walsh (“Ed’s Next Move”, “Pipe Dream”, "Don't Ask Don't Tell") and their two daughters.

MARC HIRSCHFELD Marc Hirschfeld served as Executive Vice President-Casting for NBC Universal Television from 1999-2008, responsible for supervising all scripted talent and casting for the NBC broadcast network, USA Network, Syfy Network and Bravo.  Since his departure in 2008, he has returned to his casting roots and cast dozens of television pilots and series for network and cable.  Additionally, he has established a busy casting consulting business, serving as head of talent and casting for Starz Network, AMC Network and Gaumont International Television.  He has multiple Emmy nominations for the original casting of such landmark series as "Seinfeld", "Married with Children", "That 70's Show", "The Larry Sanders Show" and an Emmy win for the HBO mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon".  

TOM KALIN Tom Kalin’s award winning, critically acclaimed work traverses diverse forms, from experimental video installations to narrative feature films. In his experimental work, Kalin often takes inspiration from literary sources and addresses contemporary issues such as displacement, urban isolation and homophobia.  In these works and as a part of the AIDS activist collective Gran Fury, Kalin has done significant work to change public opinion of AIDS.

His first feature,  Swoon , was awarded Berlin’s Caligari Prize, Stockholm’s Fipresci Prize, Best Cinematography at Sundance and the Open Palm at the Gotham Awards.  It was named one of the top 100 American Independent films by the BFI.  His film Savage Grace premiered in Cannes, played opening night in Zurich and screened at festivals including Sundance, Stockholm, London and Tribeca.  It was nominated for a Spirit Award and named one of the top ten films of 2008 by the Los Angeles Times, Artforum  and  Paper .  As a producer his features include I Shot Andy Warhol and Go Fish.  He was a writer of Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer.  He has also created shorts and installations including They are lost to vision altogether, Geoffrey Beene 30, Plain Pleasures, Third Known Nest, Every Wandering Cloud, Tigers, Hurricane and From Silence. 

Kalin is a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow.  He has twice been included in the Whitney Biennial.  He is collaborating with musicianThomas Bartlett (Doveman) on an evening of live music and film and adapting the Christopher Isherwood novel Down There On A Visit for the screen.

ELLEN KURAS Ellen Kuras, ASC (Director of Photography) is the first cinematographer to win the Best Dramatic Cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival an unprecedented three times. She was first cited for her work on Ellen Bruno’s documentary Samsara (which also brought her the Eastman Kodak Best Documentary Cinematography Focus Award and the Student Academy Award). For Best Dramatic Cinematography, she was honored for her (black-and-white) work on Tom Kalin’s Swoon (which also brought her an Independent Spirit Award nomination), and for Rebecca Miller’s Angela and Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (which also brought her an Independent Spirit Award nomination).

Earlier in 2009, she was an Academy Award nominee in the Best Documentary Feature category, for The Betrayal ( Nerakhoon ). The film is Ms. Kuras’ directorial debut, in collaboration with the film’s subject, Thavisouk Phrasavath. She also shot and produced the feature, which was a highly personal project that she had worked on for years.

Ms. Kuras has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award, for her work on Spike Lee’s 4 Little Girls and the documentary/miniseries A Century of Women . She has collaborated several more times with Spike Lee, including on his features Summer of Sam and Bamboozled , his telefilm A Huey P. Newton Story , and his documentary Jim Brown All American . She has reteamed with Rebecca Miller on The Ballad of Jack and Rose (starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Camilla Belle), and shot segments of Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee & Cigarettes . She was reunited with Tom Kalin on 30 , a half-hour narrative film commissioned by Geoffrey Beene.

She shot Martin Scorsese’s documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan and was then a camera operator on the director’s concert film Shine a Light . She has been the cinematographer on several concert films, including Jonathan Demme’s Neil Young: Heart of Gold ; Julian Schnabel’s Lou Reed’s Berlin ; and Michel Gondry’s Dave Chappelle’s Block Party .

For the latter director, she was also the cinematographer on the award-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind . Ms. Kuras has additionally been the director of photography on such features as Ted Demme’s Blow , Mary Harron’s I Shot Andy Warhol , and Harold Ramis’ Analyze That . Her earlier films include Steve McLean’s Postcards from America , Jill Godmilow’s Roy Cohn/Jack Smith , Douglas Keeve’s Unzipped , Richard Wenk’s Just the Ticket , and Scott Silver’s The Mod Squad .

Her television credits include the original HBO feature If These Walls Could Talk , for which she was cinematographer on the segment directed by Nancy Savoca and starring Demi Moore.

ILENE LANDRESS Ilene Landress is executive producer of The Sopranos, before which she spent nine years freelancing on film and television projects. As a senior TV executive at DreamWorks, she oversaw the first years of Spin City. Additional network credits include Dear Diary, a live-action short, which garnered DreamWorks its first Oscar. She served as co-producer of Drunks and as production supervisor/UPM on The Perez Family, Naked in New York and Up Close and Personal. Landress also worked as production accountant on Quiz Show, Stranger Among Us, Q&A and Far and Away. Her studio films include Sea of Love, The Hard Way, Mortal Thoughts, The Freshman, Family Business and Crocodile Dundee. She learned film production on-the-job and has an B.S.in Biology/Psychology from Union College (where she was the first female student body president) and M.S. from Columbia.

DYLAN LEINER Dylan Leiner is Sony Pictures Classics’ Executive Vice President, Acquisitions & Production. Involved with the acquisition and production of a broad range of films dating back to IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, RUN LOLA RUN, THE SPANISH PRISONER, POLLOCK, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, CACHE, FRIENDS WITH MONEY, THE LIVES OF OTHERS, FROZEN RIVER, THE WACKNESS, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG, THE CLASS, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, MOON, WHATEVER WORKS, COCO BEFORE BEFORE CHANEL, BROKEN EMBRACES, AN EDUCATION, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR, THE WHITE RIBBON, A PROPHET, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, GET LOW, ANIMAL KINGDOM, and recent Academy Award winning films INSIDE JOB and IN A BETTER WORLD. Dylan oversees Sony Pictures Classics’ physical and post production services. Dylan has been named by The Hollywood Reporter as a member of its 35 under 35 “Next Generation Group” and by Crain’s New York Business among its 40 executives under 40. Dylan attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut where he played on the Men’s Soccer Team for 4 years, and contributed to what remains Wesleyan’s best season ever in 1991, where the team went 15-1-1, won the ECAC Tournament and was ranked #1 in New England. Dylan is also Co-Founder of NYFEST, the New York Film & Entertainment Soccer Tournament.

SAM MORRILL Sam Morrill is Senior Curator at Vimeo where he has worked since 2009. In Fall 2010, Sam began curating the celebrated Vimeo Staff Picks Channel and has since shifted his focus primarily toward video curation. He currently lives in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY following a few detours in Vermont and Havana, Cuba. In addition to his work at Vimeo, Sam has produced several short films and music videos and is also the co-founder of Rockabus. 

RANDALL POSTER Randall Poster has been working with director Wes Anderson for more than sixteen years. Moonrise Kingdom marks their seventh collaboration. Poster has also worked with directors Todd Haynes, Sam Mendes, Richard Linklater, Harmony Korine, and Martin Scorsese among others.

STEVEN RAPHAEL With over 20 years in the film industry, Raphael had been passionately devoted to bringing quality films to the US marketplace. Prior to founding required viewing, Raphael was Senior Vice president of Acquisitions and Co-productions at USA Films (now Focus Features. During that period he was involved in the theatrical campaigns for such films as: BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, GOSFORD PARK, and TRAFFIC.

At USA Raphael was responsible for acquiring and co-financing Mira Nair’s MONSOON WEDDING, Todd Haynes’ FAR FROM HEAVEN (nominated for four 2003 Academy awards) , Francois Ozone’s 8 WOMEN, the Dardenne Bros. ROSETTA (Winner Palm D’or 1999 Cannes Film Festival) and Wong Kar Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.

Prior to USA FILMS, Raphael was Sr. Vice President of Publicity and Marketing at Gramercy Pictures/ PolyGram where he was responsible for National Campaigns on FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, DEAD MAN WALKING, ELIZABETH, FARGO, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, SHALLOW GRAVE, BOUND, THE BIG LEBOWSKI and COLD COMFORT FARM.

Raphael is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He is a past board member of the Film Independent (FIND), OUTFEST, THE DRAMA DEPT, and NEWFEST. Raphael currently is a member of IFP advisory committee and a consultant to the RIO Film Festival and Telefilm Canada’s Canadian Front held every year at MOMA. He lives with his partner in New York City.

JAMES SCHAMUS James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter ( The Ice Storm ) and producer ( Brokeback Mountain ), and is CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose films have included Moonrise Kingdom , Milk , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , The Pianist , Coraline , and The Place Beyond the Pines . He is alsoProfessor of Professional Practice in Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where he teaches film history and theory.  He is the author of Carl Theodor Dreyer's Gertrud : The Moving Word , published by the University of Washington Press. He earned his BA, MA, and Ph.D. in English from U.C. Berkeley.

Recent agency clients include: American Express, General Electric, Tribeca Film Festival, The Economist, Starwood Hotels, Food Network, The History Channel, Microsoft, Netflix, and The Los Angeles Lakers.  Marc currently consults on marketing strategy for a variety of film projects that include Banksy’s Academy Award-nominated film, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and Asif Kapadia’s “SENNA.”

Marc’s relentless focus on social media and how people connect through technology is a signature of his career. Prior to launching BOND, Marc served as Corporate Vice President of House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. where he pioneered music and entertainment content on the internet to create a multi-platform presence for the brand. Before joining the House of Blues, Marc developed motion pictures for Warner Brothers, TNT, and 20th Century Fox.

Marc lives in New York with his wife, Sara, and their daughters, Samantha and Charlotte. He currently chairs the board of Eyebeam, a New York based think tank for the convergence of art and technology.

MICHAEL SIMMONDS Michael Simmonds is a cinematographer with a long history of credits including Killer Films’ Deep Powder and At Any Price, The Civil War on Drugs, Project Nim, Plastic Bag, Goodbye Solo, Chop Shop, and Anna Nicole and at least four projects in post including The Last of Robin Hood.

JOHN SLOSS John Sloss is the founder of Cinetic Media and a co-founder of FilmBuff. He is the founder of and a partner in the entertainment law firm Sloss Eckhouse LawCo LLP.  He co-founded Producers Distribution Agency, the theatrical distributor of  Exit Through the Gift Shop ,  Senna ,  The Way  and  Brooklyn Castle .

Through Cinetic Media, Sloss has facilitated the sale and/or financing of well over 400 films including  Before Midnight, Prince Avalanche, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry ,  Safety Not Guaranteed ,  Friends With Kids ,  We Need to Talk About Kevin ,  Red State ,  The Kids Are All Right ,  Precious, I’m Not There ,  Napoleon Dynamite ,  Little Miss Sunshine,  and  Super Size Me .  Sloss has executive produced over 60 films including  Before Midnight ,  Bernie,  and the Academy Award®-winning  The Fog of War  and  Boys Don’t Cry . His law clients include Killer Films, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith, Bob Dylan, John Hamburg, Justin Lin, Jake Kasdan, the Isle of Man’s CinemaNX and Big Beach Films.

Prior to founding Sloss Law Office in 1993, Sloss was a partner at the international law firm Morrison & Foerster. Sloss received his J.D. and B.A. from the University of Michigan. He lives in New York with his daughter Loulou and son Henry.

DAN STEINMAN Dan Steinman is an agent in the Film Finance Group of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an entertainment and sports agency based in Los Angeles with offices in Nashville, New York City, London, and Beijing.  Steinman works in the New York office, where he specializes in packaging and arranging financing for motion picture projects and handling the sales of finished films.

Prior to joining CAA in 2007, Steinman was a partner in Sloss Law Office, a boutique entertainment law firm where he represented producers, financiers, writers and directors, and negotiated the sales of finished films.  Steinman began his career representing banks, private equity firms, entertainment conglomerates and other companies as a corporate lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, in New York.

Among the many films in which Steinman has been involved are ZERO DARK THIRTY, KILLING THEM SOFTLY, THE IDES OF MARCH, THE WRESTLER, THE HURT LOCKER, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and AN EDUCATION. Steinman holds BA and JD degrees from Harvard University.

Department of English

College of humanities and sciences, creative writing faculty.

Students work closely with outstanding writers to strengthen their craft, develop their literary aesthetics, and enrich their understanding of existing traditions.

Geoff Bouvier, PhD

[email protected]

Creative Writing

Gretchen Comba, MFA

Teaching Professor

and Associate Chair

[email protected]

20th/21st Century

Gregory Donovan, PhD

[email protected]

Kathleen Graber, MFA

and Director, MFA in Creative Writing

[email protected]

Sonja Livingston, MFA

Associate Professor

[email protected]

Clint McCown, MFA

[email protected]

Jessica Hendry Nelson, MFA

Assistant Professor

[email protected]

SJ Sindu, PhD

[email protected]

creative writing

Creative Writing, M.F.A

School of humanities and social sciences, program overview.

This small, highly personal two-year program confers Master of Fine Arts degrees in fiction, playwriting, and poetry. It offers single-discipline and inter-genre workshops, literature seminars, small-group reading tutorials, and one-on-one tutorials, all of which emphasize relationships between students and eminent faculty. Additionally, students have the opportunity to work on our literary journal, The Brooklyn Review , and give public readings and performances in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The program offers fellowships and prizes. Students may also teach undergraduate courses for the English Department.

Where You'll Go

Our graduates have had their work published widely and have won competitions sponsored by the Iowa Review , the Colorado Review , the Mississippi Review , and Zoetrope, among many others. They have had books published, received major prizes, founded presses and literary journals, and been included in numerous anthologies, including The Best New Young Poets , Best American Short Stories , Best American Nonrequired Reading , O. Henry , and Pushcart . Our playwrights have won Obie Awards, Guggenheim Fellowships, and the Pulitzer Prize; started theater companies; and had their plays produced in the United States and abroad.

Program Details

The program information listed here reflects the approved curriculum for the 2024–25 academic year per the Brooklyn College Bulletin. Bulletins from past academic years can be found here .

Program Description

Our small, highly personal two-year program confers a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing in fiction, poetry, or playwriting. The program offers single-discipline and inter-genre workshops, literature seminars, small-group reading tutorials, and one-on-one tutorials, which all emphasize relationships between eminent faculty members and students. Additionally, students have the opportunity to work on The Brooklyn Review and give public readings/performances in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The program offers some fellowships as well as prizes and a winter writing residency at the Espy Foundation in Oysterville, Washington. Students may also teach undergraduate courses for the English Department.

Our graduates have had their work published widely and have won competitions sponsored by the Iowa Review, the Colorado Review, the Mississippi Review , and Zoetrope. They have been included in The Best New Young Poets anthology and The Best American Short Stories . Our playwrights have won Obies, started theater companies, and had their plays produced here and abroad.

Matriculation Requirements

Applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 3.00 satisfy the undergraduate requirements of this program.

Fiction and Poetry: Thirty pages of original fiction or twenty pages of original poetry must be submitted for evaluation.

Playwriting: One original full-length play or two or more original one-act plays must be submitted for evaluation.

Applicants who did not major in English or creative writing as undergraduates but whose manuscripts show unusual talent are considered for admission. Manuscripts should be submitted with other application documents via the online application website at the time of application. Applications are not considered for spring semester admission.

Foreign applicants for whom English is a second language are required to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 650 on the paper-based test or 280 on the computer-based test or 114 on the internet-based test before being considered for admission.

General matriculation and admission requirements of Graduate Studies are in the chapter “Admission.”

Program Requirements (36 Credits)

Thirty-six credits are required for the degree: 24 credits in the respective creative writing specialization, plus 12 credits in literature courses.

Students may substitute for no more than two such courses any two 7000-level courses from the departments of Art, History, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Speech, Television, Radio and Emerging Media, or Theater, or the Conservatory of Music, or another department with the approval of the deputy chairperson for graduate studies (these courses may also be taken through e-permits at other CUNY branches, including the Graduate Center, or through individual or small group tutorials). Students may substitute one writing workshop or tutorial outside of their major writing concentration for one literature course.

Permission to register for any of these substitute courses may be required from the graduate deputy chairperson of the appropriate department.

A substantial manuscript must be submitted and filed according to instructions available from the deputy chairperson. Students concentrating in fiction or poetry must submit original creative writing, in publishable form, such as a novel or collection of stories or poems. Students concentrating in playwriting must submit a full-length play or a number of one-act plays, in producible form, that would constitute a theatrical production. In cooperation with the Theater Department, efforts are made to produce the student’s major work.

Students choose a specialization in one of the following:

Playwriting

Recommendations.

Students are urged to take one workshop, one tutorial, and one literature course each semester in order to complete the program in four semesters. A reading knowledge of a foreign language is strongly recommended.

Student Learning Outcomes

Department goal 1: read and think critically..

Program Objective 1: Learn to read literature with a focus on the ways in which form serves content.

Program Objective 2: Use close reading effectively to identify literary techniques, styles, and themes.

Program Objective 3: Learn to read and comment constructively and critically on the creative writing of peers in the workshop context.

Department Goal 2: Understand how language operates.

Program Objective 1: Demonstrate knowledge of literary tropes and techniques (for example: metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, word play, and sonic effects such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhythm, etc.)

Department Goal 3: Express ideas–both orally and in writing–correctly, cogently, persuasively, and in conformity with the conventions of the discipline.

Program Objective 1: Create original examples of creative writing that demonstrate complexity through attention to rhetoric, syntax and tone.

Program Objective 2: Comment and write cogently and persuasively about classmates’ writing in the workshop context.

Program Objective 3: Demonstrate the ability to respond to constructive criticism from instructor and peers by effectively revising writing assignments.

Program Objective 4: Demonstrate the ability to use the currently accepted conventions of standard English mechanics and grammar, with an eye toward how those standards can be stretched in order to achieve innovative modes of expression.

Department Goal 4: Conduct research.

Program Objective 1: Learn how to research and seek out historical and contemporary literary voices relevant to their individual voice.

Program Objective 2: Make use of the opportunities that Brooklyn College and New York City afford by attending readings, plays, literary panel discussions, and submitting to literary magazines.

Outcomes for demonstrating achievement of objectives

Written work (including poems/stories/plays, in-class writing exercises, short written reflections on literary techniques used by published writers, workshop responses for peers, revised writing samples, etc.)

Contributions to class discussions and workshops

Attendance at readings, panels, performances or a related research project (such as researching literary magazines/submitting one’s work); documented via written summary of the activity handed into instructor

Admissions Requirements

• Fall Application Deadline—January 15
• Spring Application Deadline—The program does not accept applications for spring

Supporting Documents for Matriculation

Submit the following documents to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

• Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Applicants who earned a bachelor’s degree outside the United States need to submit a Course by Course International Transcript Evaluation. See Graduate Admissions for more information.
• Two letters of recommendation.
•  A manuscript of original work in your intended genre (for fiction, about 30 pages; for poetry, about 20 pages; for playwriting, one full-length play, or two or more one-act plays).
• A personal statement (one–two pages).

Required Tests

• F-1 or J-1 international students must submit English Proficiency Exam. TOEFL- 79, IELTS- 6.5, PTE- 58-63, Duolingo 105-160.

Refer to the instructions at Graduate Admissions .

Geoffrey Minter

3149 Boylan Hall E: [email protected] P: 718.951.5000, ext. 3651

Or contact:

Office of Graduate Admissions

222 West Quad Center 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11210 E:  [email protected] P: 718.951.4536

Office Hours

Mondays–Fridays, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

To make an appointment with a graduate admissions counselor, visit:

BC Admissions Appointment Tool

Specializations

English  7910X  to be taken in the first semester. English  7912X  to be taken four times, but not more than once in any semester; English  7911X  once in the second semester; English  7913X  to be taken two times in the second year, but not more than once in any semester.

Joshua Henkin, Coordinator

The M.F.A. fiction specialization at Brooklyn College is a two-year course that maintains an enrollment of 30 students. While every member of the ongoing and visiting faculty works according to their methods, we are united in our conviction that newer writers need a balance of encouragement and serious, thoroughly considered feedback.

The curriculum is designed sequentially. Students take a workshop every semester. The specialization typically offers two traditional short fiction workshops and one novel-writing workshop in the fall and three short fiction  workshops in the spring. The novel-writing workshop is meant to address the particular needs of students who are writing novels and who would prefer to receive input on longer sections than a traditional workshop allows.

First-year students take a craft course in the short story in the fall and a reading seminar in the spring. The reading seminars, led by faculty members, discuss classic and contemporary literature from a writer’s point of view. If a traditional literature course is devoted, for instance, to understanding why Faulkner and García Márquez are considered great writers, the reading seminars are more concerned with how writers like Faulkner and García Márquez achieved their effects.

Second-year students take, along with their workshops, a one-on-one revisions/thesis tutorial in the fall and in the spring. The first is devoted to helping students with work that has already been discussed in their workshops, the second to helping them look over what they’ve done during their time at Brooklyn College, toward the completion of their theses. Both represent the specialization’s desire to give each student individual attention outside of the workshops.

We who teach in the fiction-writing specialization do so in part because we want not only to be useful to younger writers but to know them. We care about each student we admit. We are trying, to the best of our abilities, to maintain the M.F.A. program we wish had been available to us.

Over the course of the last decade, our graduates have published more than 50 books, including Helen Phillips’s The Need  (Longlisted for the National Book Award); R.O. Kwon’s  The Incendaries  (National Bestseller and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award for Best First Book and finalist for the  Los Angeles Times  Best First Book Prize); Garrard Conley’s  Boy Erased  ( New York Times  Bestseller; adapted for film starring Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Lucas Hedges); Jai Chakrabarti’s  A Play for the End of the World  (Longlisted for the PEN Faulkner Award, winner of the National Jewish Book Award); Thomas Grattan’s  The Recent East (Longlisted for the PEN Hemingway Award) and Robert Jones Jr.’s  The Prophets  (National Book Award Finalist and  New   York Times Bestseller).

English  7932X  to be taken four times, but not more than once in any semester; English  7933X  to be taken four times, but not more than once in any semester.

The playwriting specialization at Brooklyn College was started over 30 years ago by Jack Gelber, one of America’s most important experimental writers. Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney continued that tradition for a 20 year period, while seeking to embrace the widest definition of that concept. Now, Dennis A. Allen II and Sibyl Kempson are serving as interim leaders of this innovative course of study.

The playwriting specialization is dedicated to the proposition that writing for the theater is not a business of finished thought and dead rules. Rather, we endeavor to pursue kinds of writing that involve an ongoing conversation with theater of the past and (hopefully) the future. To this end, we encourage our M.F.A. playwrights to become students of the theater in every sense: to follow the current scene as well as study the classics from as many traditions as possible; to study the techniques of making theater as well as theory; and lastly, to become as well-read as possible in all the written arts, with special emphasis on what is most contemporary, most challenging, most alive. It is our conviction that each generation must reinvent a theater appropriate to the time; a theater the time deserves; a theater that refuses to settle for the merely tendentious, and the dreary dead hand of the already known.

We are looking for aspiring writers who follow the theater because they love theater and all that pertains to theatricality. Theatricality diversely considered, rotated in four-dimensional space. We are looking for writers unwilling to settle for less. We believe the gathering of diverse people, ideas, and cultures strengthens both our insights into the work we present on stage and our relationships with each other.

Talk to a Playwright

If you have questions you would like to ask students in the specialization, feel free to contact the following:

• Frank Boudreaux
• Leslie Gauthier

English  7922X  to be taken four times, but not more than once in any semester; English  7923X  to be taken four times, but not more than once in any semester.

Julie Agoos, Coordinator

Since its inception, the Brooklyn College Master of Fine Arts specialization in poetry has balanced a firm grounding in the history and tradition of the craft with cutting-edge experimental writing. Moderately priced and highly selective, this two-year specialization offers intensive workshops (limited to 10 students), private tutorials, and courses in the history and craft of the genre.

Attracting a diverse student body from all across the country, it has graduated such writers as John Yau, Sapphire, Paul Beatty, David Trinidad, Star Black, Karen Kelley, Tom Devaney, and Anselm Berrigan. Brooklyn’s “experimental tradition” is best exemplified by the late-modernist masters John Ashbery and Allen Ginsberg, both of whom taught in the specialization. Other teachers have included Mark Strand, William Matthews, Ann Lauterbach, Douglas Crase, David Shapiro, C. K. Williams, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Joan Larkin, and, more recently, Ron Padgett Joshua Clover, Marjorie Welish, and LaTasha N. Diggs.

At present, the permanent staff includes Julie Agoos, author of  Echo Systems  (2015),  Property  (2008),  Calendar Year  (1996), and  Above the Land  (1987), for which she won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award; Ben Lerner, author of  The Lichtenberg Figures  (winner of the Hayden Carruth Award from Copper Canyon Press, a Lannan Literary Selection, and one of 2004’s best books of poetry, according to  Library Journal ),  Angle of Yaw  (Copper Canyon, 2006, and a finalist for the National Book Award and the Northern California Book Award), and  Mean Free Path  (Copper Canyon, 2010); and Mónica de la Torre, author of  Repetition Nineteen  (Nightboat, 2020),  The Happy End/All Welcome (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2017),  Public Domain (Roof Books, 2009), and  Talk Shows  (Switchback Books, 2006).

Recent alumni of the M.F.A. poetry specialization have received such major recognitions as selection for The National Poetry Prize Series ( Courtney Bush , i love information , selected by Brian Teare, NY:  Milkweeds, 2023), the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry ( Sahar Muradi , OCTOBERS , selected by Naomi Shahib Nye, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023), and the 2022 APR/Honickman First Book Prize ( Chelsea Harlan , Bright Shade , selected by Jericho Brown, Philadelphia: The American Poetry Review, 2022). Others have received international honors for poetry and journalism ( Mohammed El-Kurd,  RIFQA , Haymarket Books, 2022, Winner of The Calgary Peace Prize); for translation  (Matthew Reeck , winner of the 2020 Albertine Prize for “Muslim”: A Novel , by Zahia Rehmani, Deep Vellum, 2019); for YA fiction ( Victoria Bond , winner of the 2020 John Steptoe/Coretta Scott King New Talent Author Award for Zora and Me (trilogy), with illustrator TR Simon, MA:  Candlewick Press, 2020, 2018, 2011); and for books on art (John Yau, Please Wait by the Coatroom:  Reconsidering Race and Identity in American Art , Black Sparrow Press, 2023, deemed a “revelatory volume” by Publishers Weekly, among other ravishing reviews). Our alumni currently occupy major Fellowships at the New York Public Library (Alexandra Kamerling, 2023 NYPL Dance Research Fellow), and the Library of America (Susana Plotts-Pineda, 2023 Latino Fellow), and have written, directed, and premiered feature film documentaries ( Jodie Childers , with Dan Messina, director and cinematographer of Down by the Riverside , 2023 World Premiere, Woodstock Film Festival;  Tom Devaney ,  Bicentennial City , Green House Media, 2020). Recent and forthcoming publications include Claire DeVoogd , VIA (Winter Editions, 2023), Anselm Berrigan , Pregrets (Black Square Editions, 2021), Katherine Duckworth , Slow Violence (NY:  Beautiful Days Press, 2023), Marcella Durand, To Husband Is to Tender (Black Square Editions, 2021), Tom Devaney , Getting to Philadelphia (Hanging Loose Press, 2020), Tom Haviv , Flag of No Nation (Jewish Currents, 2019), Gracie Leavitt , Livingry (Nightboat, 2018), Kennia Lopez , The Exodus (Tolson Books, 2020), Chime Lama , Sphinxlike (Finishing Line, 2023), Sharon Mesmer , Greetings from My Girlies Leisure Place (Bloof Books, 2015),  Jed Muson , Commentary on the Birds (Rescue Press, 2023), Joshua Wilkerson , Meadowlands/Xanadu/American Dream, Beautiful Days Press, 2022),  John Yau , Tell It Slant , Omnidawn, 2023);  Charles Theonia , Gay Heaven Is a Dance Floor but I Can’t Relax , Archway Editions (March, 2024), and Zohra Saed  with  Sahara Muradi , eds., One Story, Thirty Stories: An Anthology of Contemporary Afghan American Literature (AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2022).

Talk to a Student

If you have questions you would like to ask students in the specialization, feel free to contact any of the following, all of whom are currently or recently enrolled:

• Jackie Braje
• Melina Casados
• Anneysa Gaille
• Monique Ngozi Nri
• Suchi Pritchard

Departmental Information

Application process, how do i apply.

For comprehensive application information and the link to the online application, visit the  Admissions page .

What is your rate of acceptance?

In recent years, we have received approximately 500 applications for 15 spots in fiction, approximately 120 applications for 10 spots in poetry, and approximately 70 applications for five spots in playwriting.

When will I find out if I was accepted?

Though it varies year to year, we plan to notify applicants in March and early April. We appreciate your patience.

Do you require the GRE?

I’m not sure if i have the 12 credits of advanced english requested on your admissions page. what should i do.

As per our Admissions page, “Applicants who do not meet course requirements but whose manuscripts show unusual talent are considered for admission.”

May the 30-page fiction manuscript consist of multiple works?

Yes, your 30-page fiction manuscript may come in any form you wish (short stories, excerpt(s) from a novel, flash fiction, or any combination of the above, up to 30 pages). We simply recommend that you send in whatever you think is your very strongest work.

How should the 20-page poetry manuscript be formatted?

You may format your poetry as you see fit. Please do not exceed 20 pages.

What should be in the personal statement?

Your one- to two-page personal statement should serve as a way for us to get to know you and come to understand why you want to pursue an M.F.A. at Brooklyn College.

Who should write my recommendation letters?

Your two recommendation letters should come from people familiar with your writing, such as professors, mentors, and/or employers.

How should recommendation letters be submitted?

They should be submitted online (this will be an option when you’re completing the online application). For more information, refer to the  Supporting Documents  page.

Do I need to send in transcripts from all of the institutions where I took undergraduate classes?

We require transcripts from all colleges and universities that you attended.

What is an official transcript?

Transcripts must arrive in envelopes sealed by the institution’s registrar office. Your college institution should mail transcripts to the Brooklyn College Office of Admissions.

I am an international student. Is it true that I have to have my international transcripts evaluated before my application will be complete?

Yes (though please note that students who received degrees from universities in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom are exempt from this requirement). For all other international applicants, see more information about the required international transcript evaluation.

Do international students with undergraduate degrees from U.S. universities need to take the TOEFL?

Once you have received a B.A. from a U.S. university, you no longer need to submit your TOEFL scores to apply to the M.F.A. program.

May I apply to two different genres?

No, you may only apply to one genre per year.

What are the program codes for Fiction, Playwriting, and Poetry?

• Fiction—324
• Playwriting—325

Is there any way I can check my application status online?

Yes. Once you’ve completed your application, you may  check online for status updates .

I was not accepted to your program. Can you provide feedback on my application?

Because of the large number of qualified applicants, we may not be able to accept very strong candidates, nor can we offer specific feedback on individual applications. Note that the manuscript is by far the most important element of the application. We encourage interested applicants to reapply in the future.

How do I reapply?

As per the  Graduate Admissions Office website , “To reapply, you need to complete and submit a new  graduate degree application  online. You do not need to resubmit any supporting documents (i.e. transcripts, letters of recommendation) if you applied within the last two years.” The $125 application fee is waived for re-applicants for up to one year. (If you applied for fall 2014 entry, for instance, you may reapply for fall 2015 without paying an additional fee.) You must send a new personal statement and manuscript to the Department of English each time you reapply.

Getting to Know the Program

Do you hold an open house.

Yes. Information will be available soon.

May I speak to a current or recent student?

Yes. Please see the student and alumni lists within each specialization.

May I come and visit an M.F.A. class?

In most cases, prospective students are permitted to visit classes once they’ve been accepted into the program.

Can you send me printed materials about the M.F.A. program?

Comprehensive information about our program, including the online application, is available on our website and on the more general Brooklyn College website under “Graduate Programs” and “Admissions.”

May I take a class in the Brooklyn College M.F.A. program as a nonmatriculated student?

Because of the small size of our program, only students matriculated in our M.F.A. program may take our graduate creative writing classes.

Where can I obtain information pertaining to international students?

The  Brooklyn College Office of International Student Services  will assist you with immigration issues, financial aid, and housing.

Financial Information

What is the cost of tuition.

Up-to-date tuition information is available on the  Bursar’s website .

How many credits are required for the M.F.A. program?

Unlike other masters students, M.F.A. students take a nine-credit-per-semester load. Tuition should be calculated based on nine credits per semester.

Do you offer funding?

Yes. In addition to the salary for teaching undergraduate composition, our graduate students are eligible to receive some departmental funding. There is no special application for this funding; all admitted students will be considered automatically. The Office of Financial Aid primarily helps students obtain federal student loans and, if they are eligible, Work-Study funding. All students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) , which can be submitted online.

Do you offer teaching opportunities?

Yes. Students who wish to teach while they are enrolled in the M.F.A. program, but who don’t have prior composition teaching experience at the college level, are required to take English 7506, Practicum in Teaching College-Level Composition (which counts toward the M.F.A. degree requirements as an elective). The course includes a tutor-internship in an instructor’s classroom. After completing 7506, students may be assigned to teach their own section of a composition course, English 1010 or English 1012. The salary for one section of English 1010 or English 1012 is $6,875. Students may teach for up to three years, starting while they are students in the program and continuing after they graduate. There are also teaching opportunities at other CUNY schools.

I am an international student. How would this affect my employment opportunities at the university?

International students on F-1 Student Visas are permitted to work or teach up to 20 hours per week while they are in the program, and eligible to continue doing so, full-time, for one year after graduation, if the work is in the field for which they received the degree.

Do you offer a part-time, low-residency, or online option?

Do you offer a health insurance plan.

Health insurance is available via the  New York State of Health Insurance Exchange , as per the Affordable Care Act, where you can search for insurance plans.

• Brooklyn College students are profiled in  Poets & Writers ‘ “MFA Nation” feature .
• Fiction student Jai Chakrabarti talks about his M.F.A. experience in  Litbridge’s  “Interview with Brooklyn College.”
• Fiction director Josh Henkin discusses the Brooklyn College M.F.A. as part of  The Coffin Factory ‘s “MFA Corner.”
• Flavorwire’ s list of  “The 25 Most Literary Colleges in America”  ranks Brooklyn College at #3.
• The  Masters Review Blog   profiles the Brooklyn College M.F.A. program .
• The New York Times  profiles playwriting director Mac Wellman in two articles:  “Mac Wellman, a Playwriting Mentor Whose Only Mantra Is Oddity”  and  “At Brooklyn College, Learning From Mac Wellman.”
• Brooklyn Magazine ‘s list of  “The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture”  features M.F.A. fiction alumni Halimah Marcus and Ben Samuel, playwriting alumnus Scott Adkins, and faculty members Ben Lerner (poetry) and Erin Courtney (playwriting).
• Ploughshares  explores the Brooklyn writing scene in its  “Literary Boroughs” feature .

From the Literary Scene:

• The Brooklyn Review
• Recommended Reading
• Poets & Writers Daily News

Program Awards

2019–20 program awards.

Zoya Haroon received the 2020 Ross Feld Award.

Chelsea Baumgarten received the 2020 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2020 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Taylor Clarke, DJ Kim, and Sally Helm (fiction, first year); David Olesky, Elizabeth Robau, and Jessica Shabin  (fiction, second year); Noelle Viñas (playwriting, first year); Michael Shayan (playwriting, second year); Chime Lama and Peter Soucy (poetry, first year); and Alexandra Kamerling and Kennia Lopez (poetry, second year).

2018–19 Program Awards

Nalea Ko received the 2019 Ross Feld Award.

Jill Winsby-Fein received the 2019 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2019 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Chelsea Baumgarten, Avi Cummings, and Adrienne Wong (fiction, first year); Drew Pham, Erica Recordon, and Wesley Straton  (fiction, second year); Nazareth Hassan (playwriting, first year); Arika Larson (playwriting, second year); Kennia Lopez and Charles Theonia (poetry, first year); and Adam Bangser and Henry Peterson (poetry, second year).

2017–18 Program Awards

Sameet Dhillon received the 2018 Ross Feld Award.

Jenzo Duque received the 2018 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2018 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Jivin Misra, Erica Schecter, and Wesley Straton (fiction, first year); Sam Baldassari, Maddie Crum, and Alyssa Northrop  (fiction, second year); Eri Borlaug (playwriting, first year); Jerry Lieblich (playwriting, second year); AJ Stoughton and Oscar Vargas (poetry, first year); and Laura Amelio and Marko Gluhaich (poetry, second year).

2016–17 Program Awards

Alexander Celia received the 2018 Ross Feld Award.

Alexandra Kessler received the 2017 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2017 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Sandra Hong, Jess Silfa, and Stephen Snyder (fiction, first year); Joyce Li, Anna Marschalk-Burns, and Jon Sands (fiction, second year); Jerry Lieblich (playwriting, first year); Zach Rufa (playwriting, second year); Erika Kielsgard and Amanda Killian (poetry, first year); and Jenny Stella and Mike Smith (poetry, second year).

2015–16 Program Awards

Alexander Kessler received the 2017 Ross Feld Award.

Jane Pek received the 2017 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2016 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Isabella Moschen, Kristen Olds, and Kelly Suprenant (fiction, first year); Nate Bethea, Casey Gonzalez, and Eric Boehling Lewis (fiction, second year); Corinne Donly (playwriting, first year); Paul Hufker (playwriting, second year); Rami Karim and Leah Williams (poetry, first year); and Courtney Bush and Stacy Skolnik (poetry, second year).

2014–15 Program Awards

Jacob Kaplan received the 2015 Ross Feld Award.

Lindsay Whalen received the 2015 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2015 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Heloise Cormier and Paul Hufker (playwriting); Tom Haviv, Emily Heilker, James Loop, and Sahar Muradi (poetry); and Ben Cake, Molly Dektar, Eve Gleichman, Jacob Kaplan, Ilana Papir, and Jane Pek (fiction).

Courtney Bush received the 2015 Creative Writing Scholarship for Poetry. Mike Mikos received the 2015 Creative Writing Scholarship for Playwriting. Lisa Skapinker Metrikin received the 2015 Creative Writing Scholarship for Fiction.

2013–14 Program Awards

Marie Avetria received the 2014 Ross Feld Award.

Amanda DeMatto received the 2014 Carole and Irwin Lainoff Prize.

The 2014 Himan Brown Awards in Creative Writing went to: Heloise Cormier and Frances Koncan (playwriting); Georgia Faust, Sahar Muradi, Liz Roberts, and Ryan Schaefer (poetry); and Alice Broussard, Eve Gleichman, Laura Horley, Laura Macomber, Matthue Roth, and Joshua Sperling (fiction).

James Loop received the 2014 Creative Writing Scholarship for Poetry. Mike Mikos received the 2014 Creative Writing Scholarship for Playwriting. Molly Dektar received the 2014 Creative Writing Scholarship for Fiction.

Selected Student Publications

Greg ames, m.f.a. fiction 2002.

• Buffalo Lockjaw , 2009

Mark Ari, M.F.A. Fiction 1985

• The Shoemaker’s Tale , 2000

Rilla Askew, M.F.A. Fiction 1989

• Strange Business , 1992
• The Mercy Seat , 1997
• Fire in Beulah , 2001
• Harpsong (Stories and Storytellers Series), 2007
• Kind of Kin , 2013

Paul Beatty, M.F.A. Poetry 1989

• Big Bank Take Little Bank , 1991
• Joker Joker Deuce , 1994
• The White Boy Shuffle , 1996
• Tuff , 2001
• Slumberland , 2008
• The Sellout , 2015

Lauren Belski, M.F.A. Fiction 2010

• Whatever Used to Grow Around Here , 2012

Adam Berlin, M.F.A. Fiction 1991

• Headlock , 2000
• Belmondo Style , 2004
• Both Members of the Club , 2013
• The Number of Missing , 2013

Anselm Berrigan, M.F.A. Poetry 1998

• They Beat Me over the Head With a Sack , 1998
• Integrity & Dramatic Life , 1999
• Zero Star Hotel , 2002
• Some Notes on My Programming , 2006
• To Hell With Sleep , 2009
• Free Cell , 2009
• Notes from Irrelevance , 2001
• Loading , 2013
• Primitive State , 2015
• Come in Alone , 2016

Marie-Helene Bertino, M.F.A. Fiction 2007

• Short story: ‘North Of’, 2008
• Safe As Houses , 2012
• 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas , 2014

Star Black, M.F.A. Poetry 1984

• October for Idas , 1997
• Double Time , 1997
• Balefire , 1999
• Ghostwood , 2003
• Velleity’s Shade , 2010

Victoria Bond, M.F.A. Poetry 2005

• Zora and Me (co-author), 2010

Thomas Bradshaw, M.F.A. Playwriting 2004

• Play: ‘Strom Thurman is Not a Racist’, 1985
• Play: ‘Cleansed’, 1985
• Play: ‘Phophet’, 2006
• Play: ‘Purity’, 2007
• A new play for the anthology , 2008
• Play: ‘Southern Promises’, 2008
• Play: ‘The Bereaved/Mary’, 2009
• Play: ‘Intimacy’, 2014
• Play: ‘Dawn’, 2010

Joanna Cantor, M.F.A. Fiction 2011

• Alternative Remedies for Loss , 2018

Maisy Card, M.F.A. Fiction 2010

• These Ghosts Are Family , 2020

Bryan Charles, M.F.A. Fiction 2003

• Grab On To Me As Tightly As If I Knew The Way , 2006
• Pavement’s Wowee Zowee (33 1/3) , 2010
• There’s a Road to Everywhere Except Where You Came From: A Memoir , 2010

Erin Courtney, M.F.A. Playwriting 2003

• Play: ‘Demon Baby’, 2006
• Play included in anthology of 7 edgy works, 2008

Amanda Davis, M.F.A. Fiction 1998

• Circling the Drain , 2000
• Wonder When You’ll Miss Me , 2003

Molly Dektar, M.F.A. Fiction 2015

• The Ash Family , 2019

Tom Devaney, M.F.A. Poetry 1998

• The American Pragmatist Fell In Love , 1999

Heidi Diehl, M.F.A. Fiction 2011

• Lifelines , 2019

Marcella Durand, M.F.A. Poetry 1995

• Western Capital Rhapsodies , 2001
• Traffic & Weather , 2008
• Area , 2008

Juliet Escoria, M.F.A. Fiction 2011

• Black Cloud , 2014
• Witch Hunt , 2016
• Juliet the Maniac , 2019

Amy Fox, M.F.A. 2005

• Screenplay: ‘Heights’, 2005
• Screenplay: ‘Equity’, 2016

James Franco, M.F.A. Fiction 2010

• Palo Alto: Stories , 2010
• Strongest of the Litter : (The Hollyridge Press Chapbook Series), 2012
• 113 Crickets: Summer 2012 , 2012
• Actors Anonymous , 2013
• Directing Herbert White : Poems, 2014
• A California Childhood , 2014
• Straight James / Gay James , 2016

Elizabeth Gaffney, M.F.A. Fiction 1997

• Metropolis: A Novel , 2005
• When The World Was Young , 2015

Sean Garritty, M.F.A. Poetry 2006

• Lie Nearest Truth , 2011

Thea Goodman, M.F.A. Fiction 1995

• The Sunshine When She’s Gone , 2013

CJ Hauser, M.F.A. Fiction 2009

• The From-Aways , 2014

Elliott Holt, M.F.A. Fiction 2006

• Short story: ‘Fem Care’, 2011
• You Are One of Them , 2013

Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum, M.F.A. Fiction 2008

• Electric Literature (Founders) , 2009

Tanwi Nandini Islam, M.F.A. Fiction 2009

• Bright Lines , 2015

Amelia Kahaney, M.F.A. Fiction 2006

• The Brokenhearted , 2013

Andrew Kaufman, M.F.A. Poetry 1986

• Earth’s Ends , 2004
• Both Sides of the Niger , 2013

John M. Keller, M.F.A. Fiction 2004

• A Bald Man With No Hair and Other Stories , 2012
• Know Your Baker , 2013
• The Box and the Briefcase, the Moleque and the Old Man and the First Coming of the Second Son of God , 2014
• Abracadabrantesque , 2015
• Johnny Allan , 2019

Stellar Kim, M.F.A. Fiction 2005

• Short story: ‘Findings and Impressions’, 2007

Suki Kim, M.F.A. Fiction 1997

• The Interpreter , 2003
• Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite , 2014

Amy King, M.F.A. Poetry 2000

• Antidotes for an Alibi , 2006
• I’m The Man Who Loves You , 2007
• Slaves to Do These Things , 2009
• I Want to Make You Safe , 2011

Kristen Kosmas, M.F.A. Playwriting 2011

• The Mayor of Baltimore and Anthem , 2013

R.O. Kwon, M.F.A. Fiction 2008

• The Incendiaries , 2018

Gracie Leavitt, M.F.A. Poetry 2011

• Monkeys, Minor Planet, Average Star , 2014

Marlene Lee, M.F.A. Fiction 2010

• The Absent Woman , 2013

Halimah Marcus, M.F.A. Fiction 2012

• Short story: ‘Swimming’, 2010

Sharon Mesmer, M.F.A. Poetry 1990

• The Empty Quarter , 2000
• Half Angel Half Lunch , 2002
• In Ordinary Time , 2005
• The Virgin Formica , 2008

Emily Mitchell, M.F.A. Fiction 2005

• The Last Summer of the World , 2007
• Viral: Stories , 2015

Cristina Moracho, M.F.A. Fiction 2008

• Althea & Oliver , 2014

Stephen Motika, M.F.A. Poetry 2010

• Western Practice , 2012

Christina Olivares, M.F.A. Poetry 2010

• No Map of the Earth Includes Stars , 2015

Jeffrey Oliver, M.F.A. Fiction 2002

• Failure to Thrive , 2011

Helen Phillips, M.F.A. Fiction 2007

• Short story: ‘Twenty Tales of Natural Disaster’, 2010
• And Yet They Were Happy , 2011
• Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green , 2012
• The Beautiful Bureaucrat , 2015
• Some Possible Solutions , 2016
• The Need , 2019

Sapphire, M.F.A. Poetry 1995

• American Dreams , 1996
• Push , 1997
• Black Wings & Blind Angels , 2000
• The Kid: A Novel , 2012

Sara Shepard, M.F.A. Fiction 2005

• The Visibles , 2009
• Everything We Ever Wanted , 2011
• The Perfectionists Series , 2014-2015
• Pretty Little Liars Series , 2006-2014
• The Lying Game Series , 2010-2013
• The Heiresses , 2014
• The Amateurs , 2016

Mohan Sikka, M.F.A. Fiction 2006

• Short story: ‘Uncle Musto Takes A Mistress’, 2007
• Short story: ‘The Railway Aunty’, 2009

Lysette Simmons, M.F.A. Poetry 2013

• Dear Robert , 2013

David Trinidad, M.F.A. Poetry 1990

• Monday, Monday , 1985
• November , 1986
• Hand Over Heart , 1994
• Three Stories , 1998
• Plasticville , 2000
• Phoebe 2002: An Essay in Verse , 2003
• The Late Show , 2007
• Saints of Hysteria: A Half-Century of Collaborative American Poetry , 2007
• By Myself, An Autobiography , 2009
• Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems , 2011
• Peyton Place: A Haiku Soap Opera , 2013
• Notes of a Past Life , 2016

Jenny Williams, M.F.A. Fiction 2011

• Short story in Battle Runes: Writings on War , 2011
• The Atlas of Forgotten Places , 2017

John Yau, M.F.A. Poetry 1978

• Radiant Silhouette: New and Selected Work , 1974-1988, 1989
• Forbidden Entries , 1992
• Edificio Sayonara , 1992
• A.R. Penck , 1993
• In the Realm of Appearances: The Art of Andy Warhol , 1993
• Hawaiian Cowboys , 1994
• Berlin Diptychon: Poems , 1995
• The United States of Jasper Johns , 1997
• My Symptoms , 1998
• Randy Hayes: The World Reveiled , 2000
• Borrowed Love Poems , 2002
• My Heart Is That Eternal Rose Tattoo , 2002
• Ing Grish , 2005
• Paradiso Diaspora , 2006
• The Passionate Spectator: Essays on Art and Poetry , 2006
• A Thing Among Things: The Art of Jasper Johns , 2008
• Further Adventures in Monochrome , 2012

Young Jean Lee, M.F.A. Playwriting 2005

• Play: ‘The Appeal’, 2006

Julie Agoos

Julie Agoos is professor and coordinator of the Poetry specialization. Agoos, who received her M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, publishes widely in journals and is the author of three collections of poems,  Property  (Ausable/Copper Canyon, 2008),  Calendar Year  (Sheep Meadow, 1996), and  Above the Land  (Yale University Press, 1987), for which she won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. Her latest book  Echo System  was published in 2015.

Anselm Berrigan

Anselm Berrigan ’98 M.F.A. is the author of five books of poetry, most recently the book-length poem  Notes from Irrelevance  (Wave Books, 2011). Other titles include  Free Cell  (City Lights, 2009),  Some Notes on My Programming  (Edge, 2006), and  Zero Star Hotel  (Edge, 2002).  Skasers , a book jointly written with poet John Coletti, was be published in 2012 by Flowers & Cream Press. He is the current poetry editor for  The Brooklyn Rail  and a member of the subpress publishing collective. From 1998 to 2007 he worked for The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in various capacities, including a stint as artistic director from 2003 to 2007. Berrigan is also co-chair of Writing at the Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts, Bard College’s interdisciplinary summer M.F.A. program.

Erin Courtney

Erin Courtney’s play  I Will Be Gone , directed by Kip Fagan, premiered at Actors Theater of Louisville, Humana Festival in 2015. Her play  A Map of Virtue,  produced by 13P and directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, won a special citation OBIE in 2012. She has written two operas with Elizabeth Swados,  The Nomad  and  Kaspar Hauser : Both were commissioned and produced by The Flea Theater. Her play  Honey Drop  was developed at The Atlantic Theater, the Clubbed Thumb/Playwrights Horizons Superlab, and New Georges. Her other plays include  Alice the Magnet, Demon Baby, Quiver and Twitch , and  Black Cat Lost . She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of the Obie Award–winning playwright collective 13P, and the co-founder of the Brooklyn Writer’s Space. Courtney teaches playwriting at Brooklyn College, where she earned her M.F.A. with Mac Wellman. She earned B.A. from Brown University, where she studied with Paula Vogel. She has been a member of New Dramatists since 2012 and is a 2013 Guggenheim Fellow.

LaTasha Diggs

A writer, vocalist and performance/sound artist, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs is the author of  TwERK  (Belladonna, 2013). Diggs has presented and performed at California Institute of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, The Museum of Modern Art, and Walker Art Center and at festivals including: Explore the North Festival, Leeuwarden, Netherlands; Hekayeh Festival, Abu Dhabi; International Poetry Festival of Copenhagen; Ocean Space, Venice; Poesiefestival, Berlin; and the 2015 Venice Biennale. As an independent curator, artistic director, and producer, Diggs has presented events for BAMCafé, Black Rock Coalition, El Museo del Barrio, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and the David Rubenstein Atrium. Diggs has received a 2020 C.D. Wright Award for Poetry from the Foundation of Contemporary Art, a Whiting Award (2016) and a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship (2015), as well as grants and fellowships from Cave Canem, Creative Capital, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, among others. She lives in Harlem.

Myla Goldberg

Myla Goldberg is the best-selling author of  Bee Season ,  Wickett’s Remedy , and  The False Friend . Her short stories have appeared in  Harper’s,  and she is an occasional contributor to NPR. She teaches at various M.F.A. programs and leads writing workshops in and around New York City.

David Grubbs

David Grubbs, associate professor in the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, has released 11 solo albums and appeared on more than 150 commercially released recordings. He is known for his cross-disciplinary collaborations with writers such as Susan Howe and Rick Moody, and with visual artists such as Anthony McCall, Angela Bulloch, Cosima von Bonin, and Stephen Prina. His work has been presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, the Tate Modern, and the Centre Pompidou. Grubbs was a founding member of the groups Gastr del Sol, Bastro, and Squirrel Bait, and directs the Blue Chopsticks record label. He is currently completing the book  Records Ruin the Landscape: John Cage, The Sixties, and Sound Recording  for Duke University Press. Grubbs was a 2005–06 grant recipient from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and has been called one of two “Best Teachers for an Indie-Rocker to Admire” in the  Village Voice  and “le plus Français des Américains” in  Libération.  He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Chicago.

Joshua Henkin

Joshua Henkin , professor and coordinator of the fiction specialization, is the author of the novels Swimming Across the Hudson , a  Los Angeles Times  Notable Book;  Matrimony , a  New York Times  Notable Book; and  The World Without You , which was named an Editors’ Choice Book by  The New York Times  and  The Chicago Tribune  and was the winner of the 2012 Edward Lewis Wallant Award for Jewish American Fiction and a finalist for the 2012 National Jewish Book Award. His short stories have been published widely, cited for distinction in  Best American Short Stories , and broadcast on NPR’s “Selected Shorts.” His reviews and essays have appeared in  The New York Times , the  Los Angeles Times ,  The Wall Street Journal ,  The Boston Globe , the  Chicago Tribune , the  San Francisco Chronicle , and elsewhere.

Lisa Jarnot

Lisa Jarnot is the author of four books of poetry and a biography,  Robert Duncan, The Ambassador from Venus  (University of California Press). Her  Joie de Vivre: Selected Poems 1992–2012  was published by City Lights in 2013.

Associate Professor Ben Lerner is the author of three books of poetry:  The Lichtenberg Figures  (2004),  Angle of Yaw  (2006), and  Mean Free Path  (2010), all published by Copper Canyon Press. He has been a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry and the Northern California Book Award, a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, and a Howard Foundation Fellow. In 2011 he became the first American to win the Preis der Stadt Münster für Internationale Poesie for the German translation of  The Lichtenberg Figures . His first novel,  Leaving the Atocha Station  (Coffee House, 2011) won  The Believer  Book Award and was a finalist for the  Los Angeles Times  Book Award for First Fiction and the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award. It was named one of the best books of the year by  The New Yorker ,  The Guardian ,  The New Statesman ,  The Boston Globe ,  The Wall Street Journal ,  The New Republic , and  New York Magazine , among many others. His recent criticism can be found in  Art in America ,  boundary 2 , and  Critical Quarterly , where he also serves as poetry editor.

Fiona Maazel

Fiona Maazel is the author of the novels  Last Last Chance . (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008) and  Woke Up Lonely  (Graywolf, 2013). She is a 2008 National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree and winner of the Bard Prize for fiction in 2009. Her work has appeared in  Anthem, Bomb, Book Forum, Boston Book Review, The Common, Conjunctions, Fence, Glamour, The Millions, Mississippi Review, N+1, The New York Times, The NY Times Sunday Book Review, Salon, Selected Shorts, This American Life, Tin House, The Village Voice, The Yale Review , and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn.

Ernesto Mestre

Ernesto Mestre is the author of two novels,  The Lazarus Rhumba  and  The Second Death of Unica Aveyano . His fiction has been collected in various anthologies, including  Best American Gay Fiction 1996 ,  A Whistler in the Nightworld: Short Fiction from the Latin Americas , and  Cubanisimo!: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature .

Meera Nair’s debut collection,  Video , received the Asian-American Literary Award for Fiction in 2003. She has published fiction in  The Threepenny Review  and  Calyx , and in the anthology  Charlie Chan Is Dead . She is at work on her first novel, which will be published by Pantheon.

Sigrid Nunez

Sigrid Nunez has published six novels, including  A Feather on the Breath of God ,  The Last of Her Kind , and, most recently,  Salvation City . She is also the author of  Sempr e  Susan: A Memoir of Susan Sontag.  Among the journals to which she has contributed are  The New York Times ,  Threepenny Review, Harper’s ,  McSweeney’s ,  Tin House, The Believer , and  Conjunctions.  Her honors and awards include four Pushcart Prizes, a Whiting Writer’s Award, a Berlin Prize Fellowship, and two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters: the Rosenthal Foundation Award and the Rome Prize in Literature. She has taught at Amherst College, Smith College, Columbia University, and the New School, and has been a visiting writer or writer in residence at Baruch College, Vassar College, Boston University, and the University of California at Irvine, among others. She has also been on the faculty of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and of several other writers’ conferences across the country.

Jenny Offill

Jenny Offill’s novel,  Last Things , was chosen as a notable or best book of the year by  The New York Times , the  Village Voice,  and the  Guardian  (U.K.), and was a finalist for the  Los Angeles Times  First Book Award. She is also the editor, along with Elissa Schappell, of two anthologies,  The Friend Who Got Away  and  Money Changes Everything . She has written one children’s book,  17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore , and has two more forthcoming from Random House. She received a NYFA fellowship in fiction in 2008 and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University from 1991 to 1993. Her flash fiction is featured in the anthology  Long Story Short  (UNC-Press, 2009).

Julie Orringer

Julie Orringer is the author of a novel,  The Invisible Bridge,  and an award-winning story collection,  How to Breathe Underwater,  which was a  New York Times  notable book and was named Book of the Year by the  LA Times  and the  San Francisco Chronicle.  Her stories have appeared in  The Paris Review, The Yale Review,  and  The Washington Post,  and have been widely anthologized; she has received fellowships from the New York Public Library, Stanford University, The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn, where she is working on a new novel.

Helen Phillips

Helen Phillips is the author of the novel-in-fables  And Yet They Were Happy  (Leapfrog Press, 2011), which was a semifinalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, a finalist for the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize, and declared a notable collection of 2011 by The Story Prize. Her second book,  Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green  (Random House Children’s Division/Delacorte Press, 2012), is a children’s adventure novel, and has been published internationally as  Upside Down in the Jungle  (Chicken House UK, 2012; Chicken House Germany, 2013). She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award, the Italo Calvino Prize in Fabulist Fiction,  The Iowa Review  Nonfiction Award, the  DIAGRAM  Innovative Fiction Award, the  Meridian  Editors’ Prize, and a Ucross Foundation residency. Her work has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and was featured on NPR’s Selected Shorts in fall 2012. She has been published in  Tin House, BOMB ,  Mississippi Review,  and  PEN America , among many others. A graduate of Yale and the Brooklyn College M.F.A. program, she is an assistant professor of creative writing at Brooklyn College. Named one of the Breakout Brooklyn Book People of 2011 by  The L Magazine , Helen (born and raised in Colorado) now lives in Brooklyn with her husband, artist Adam Douglas Thompson, and their baby girl.

Madeleine Thien

Madeleine Thien is the author of four books, including  Dogs at the Perimeter , and a story collection,  Simple Recipes . Her most recent novel,  Do Not Say We Have Nothing , was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and The Folio Prize; and won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor-General’s Literary Award for Fiction. The novel was named a  New York Times  Critics’ Top Book of 2016 and longlisted for a Carnegie Medal. Madeleine’s books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and her essays and stories have appeared in  The New York Times ,  The Guardian ,  Brick ,  The Sunday Times ,  frieze ,  Granta , and elsewhere. Her first libretto will premiere with Vancouver City Opera in 2021.

Mónica de la Torre

Mónica de la Torre ’s is the author, most recently, of  Repetition Nineteen , a book of poems and prose (Nightboat, 2020). Her other poetry books include  The Happy End/All Welcome  (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2017)  Public Domain  (Roof Books, 2009) and  Talk Shows  (Switchback Books, 2006). Two Spanish-language collections of poems,  Acúfenos  (Taller Ditoria, 2006) and  Sociedad Anónima  (UNAM/Bonobos, 2010), were published in Mexico. She is a member of the women’s collective whose eponymous book,  Taller de Mecanografía , appeared in 2011 from Tumbona Ediciones. She has translated an array of poets from the Spanish including Gerardo Deniz, Lila Zemborain, and Amanda Berenguer. Her latest translation is  Defense of the Idol  by Chilean modernist Omar Cáceres (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2018). Born and raised in Mexico City, she has lived in New York City since the 1990s, where she frequently writes about art and collaborates with other writers and artists. She served as  BOMB Magazine ’s senior editor from 2007–16, and has taught poetry and translation at Columbia, Brown, and Bard’s M.F.A. programs.

Ellen Tremper

Ellen Tremper , professor and chair of the English Department, received her Ph.D. from Harvard University. Specializing in 19th- and 20th-century British poetry and fiction, she has published many articles on Henry James, Virginia Woolf, and children’s literature, and is the author of  “Who Lived at Alfoxton?”: Virginia Woolf and English Romanticism  (Bucknell University Press) and  I’m No Angel: The Blonde in Film and Fiction , which was published by the University of Virginia Press in 2006.

Mac Wellman

Mac Wellman, professor and coordinator of the playwriting specialization, received his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin. His recent work includes The Difficulty of Crossing a Field  (Montclair, 2006) and  1965 UU  (Chocolate Factory, 2008). His most recent collection of plays is  The Difficulty of Crossing a Field  (University of Minnesota Press, 2008). Four other collections of his plays have been published:  The Bad Infinity  and  Cellophane  (PAJ/Johns Hopkins University Press), and  Two Plays  and  The Land Beyond the Forest  (Sun & Moon). He has written a volume of stories,  A Chronicle of the Madness of Small Worlds  (Trip Street Press, 2008), as well as three novels:  Q’s Q  (Green Integer, 2006),  Annie Salem  (Sun & Moon 1996), and  The Fortuneteller  (Sun & Moon, 1991). His recent books of poetry are  Miniature  (Roof Books, 2002),  Strange Elegies  (Roof Books, 2006), and  A Shelf in Woop’s Clothing  (Sun & Moon, 1990). In 1997 he received the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writers’ Award. In 2003 he received his third Obie, for lifetime Achievement ( Antigone, Jennie Richee  and  Bitter Bierce  all cited). In 1990 he received an Obie (Best New American Play) for  Bad Penny ,  Terminal Hip  and  Crowbar . In 1991 he received another Obie for  Sincerity Forever . He has received numerous honors, including both NEA and Guggenheim Fellowships. In 2004 he received an award from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts. He is the Donald I. Fine Professor of Playwriting at Brooklyn College. Currently, he is working on two plays for chorus:  The Invention of Tragedy  (Classic Stage Company) and  Nine Days Falling  (Stuck Pigs Company, Melbourne, Australia).

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Randolph College > Academics > Graduate > MFA Creative Writing > Faculty

Our Faculty

Our faculty are accomplished writers and teachers who represent a broad spectrum of identity and culture.

• Kaveh Akbar Poetry
• Eloisa Amezcua Poetry
• Clare Beams Fiction, Nonfiction
• Andrés Cerpa Poetry
• Jos Charles Poetry
• Anthony Cody Poetry
• Lilly Dancyger Nonfiction, Fiction
• Jaquira Díaz Nonfiction, Fiction
• Reyna Grande Fiction, Nonfiction
• Jean Chen Ho Fiction, Nonfiction
• Mira Jacob Fiction, Nonfiction
• Paige Lewis Poetry
• Angel Nafis Poetry
• Diana Khoi Nguyen Poetry
• Julia Phillips Fiction, Nonfiction
• Joy Priest Poetry
• Maurice Carlos Ruffin Fiction, Nonfiction
• Anjali Sachdeva Fiction, Nonfiction
• Chet’la Sebree Poetry, Nonfiction
• Danez Smith Poetry
• John Vercher Fiction
• Phillip B. Williams Poetry
• Jane Wong Nonfiction, Poetry
• Gary Dop MFA Director

Administrative Faculty

Select recent and upcoming guest artists.

Jane Wong, Jonathan Escoffery, Crystal Hana Kim, Natalie Diaz, Gregory Pardlo, Alexander Chee, Hanif Abdurraqib, Marie-Helene Bertino, Tiana Clark, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Tyree Daye, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Eduardo C. Corral, Don Mee Choi, Danielle Evans, T Kira Madden, NourbeSe Philip, and more…

Kaveh Akbar

photo by B. A. Van Sise

Poetry Faculty (Not teaching in 2024)

Kaveh Akbar’s poems appear in  The New Yorker, The New York Times, Paris Review, Best American Poetry , and elsewhere.

He is the author of two poetry collections: Pilgrim Bell  (Graywolf 2021) and  Calling a Wolf a Wolf  (Alice James 2017), in addition to a chapbook,  Portrait of the Alcoholic  (Sibling Rivalry 2016).

He is also the editor of  The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse: 100 Poets on the Divine  (Penguin Classics 2022). In 2024,  Knopf published Martyr! , Kaveh’s first novel. Martyr! was a New York Times Best Seller.

Concerning  Pilgrim Bell :

“Working at and along the outer edges of language, Pilgrim Bell  calls us to attention and to attend to that which poetry and prayer share, while simultaneously demanding that we tend to the political, the social, the erotic—all that is quotidian and human. . . .

Kaveh Akbar, ‘God’s incarnate spit in the mud,’ takes us down to the ground, to the prosaic, the dismissed and overlooked, the better to talk to the great Silence, bearer of many names including that of God.” — M. NourbeSe Philip

Concerning  Calling a Wolf a Wolf and  Portrait of an Alcoholic  (Sibli)

“Truly brilliant.” — John Green

“Akbar has what every poet needs: the power to make, from emotions others have felt, memorable language nobody has assembled before.” — Stephanie Burt

“Kaveh Akbar has written one of the best books I’ve ever read.” — Patricia Smith

Kaveh Akbar’s poems appear in  The New Yorker, Poetry, Tin House, Ploughshares, Georgia Review, Harvard Review, American Poetry Review, PBS NewsHour, Virginia Quarterly Review , and elsewhere.

In 2020 Kaveh was named Poetry Editor of The Nation . The recipient of honors including multiple Pushcart Prizes, a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, and the Levis Reading Prize, Kaveh was born in Tehran, Iran, and teaches at the University of Iowa and in the low-residency MFA programs at Randolph College and Warren Wilson.

In 2014, Kaveh founded  Divedapper , a home for dialogues with the most vital voices in American poetry. With Sarah Kay and Claire Schwartz, he wrote a weekly column for the  Paris Review  called  “Poetry RX.”

Kaveh Akbar: www.kavehakbar.com

Eloisa Amezcua

photo by Chris Cheney

Poetry Faculty

Amezcua’s debut collection, From the Inside Quietly , was selected by Ada Limón as the inaugural winner of the Shelterbelt Poetry Prize (Shelterbelt Press, 2018).

Eloisa is the author of three chapbooks: On Not Screaming (Horse Less Press, 2016), Symptoms of Teething, winner of the 2016 Vella Chapbook Award (Paper Nautilus Press, 2017), & Mexicamericana (Porkbelly Press, 2017).

Her second collection of poems,  Fighting Is Like a Wife , was published by Coffee House Press in 2022.

Concerning  From the Inside Quietly  (Shelterbelt Press):

“With a voice that’s barbed at times but also full of empathy and grace, this is a powerful debut that will continue to rattle and quake in the mind.” — Ada Limón

“Amezcua is a poet who means to see what can’t be said. This is a beautiful debut.” — Jericho Brown

Eloisa is from Arizona. She earned a BA in English from the University of San Diego, where she was the recipient of the Lindsey J. Cropper Award for Creative Writing in Poetry selected by Ilya Kaminsky. She holds an MFA from Emerson College in Boston, MA.

Eloisa has received fellowships & scholarships from the MacDowell Colony, the Fine Arts Work Center, Vermont Studio Center, and the Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference.

Eloisa Amezcua: www.eloisaamezcua.com

Clare Beams

photo by Kristi Jan Hoover

Fiction/Nonfiction Faculty

Clare Beams’s novel The Illness Lesson , published in February of 2020 by Doubleday, was named a  New York Time Editors’ Choice, a best book of 2020 by Esquire ,  O Magazine , and  Entertainment Weekly ; it has been longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

Her story collection,  We Show What We Have Learned , was published by Lookout Books in 2016; it won the Bard Fiction Prize, was longlisted for the Story Prize, and was a Kirkus Best Debut of 2016, as well as a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award. Her new novel, The Garden , was published by Doubleday in 2024.

Concerning The Illness Lesson (Doubleday, 2020):

“Beams’s first novel is a meticulously crafted suspense tale seething with feminist fury.”  — O, The Oprah Magazine

“Astoundingly original, this impressive debut belongs on the shelf with your Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler collections.”  — The New York Times Book Review (Editors Choice)

“Unusual and transporting…This is Alcott meets Shirley Jackson, with a splash of Margaret Atwood.”  — The Washington Post

Her fiction appears in  One Story , n+1 , Ecotone , Conjunctions , The Common , the  Kenyon Review , Hayden’s Ferry Review , Electric Literature’s  Recommended Reading , and The Best American Nonrequired Reading , and has received special mention in  The Pushcart Prize and twice in  The Best American Short Stories .

She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, MacDowell, and the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and was a finalist for the 2023 Joyce Carol Oates Prize.

Clare Beams: www.clarebeams.com

Andrés Cerpa

photo by Alice Plati

Andrés Cerpa is the author of The Vault (2021), a longlist selection for the 2021 National Book Award, and a 2021 Rumpus Poetry Book Club Selection. The Vault and Cerpa’s 2019 debut collection, Bicycle in a Ransacked City: An Elegy , are from Alice James Books.

Concerning The Vault (Alice James Books, 2021) :

“In The Vault , his striking sophomore poetry collection, Andrés Cerpa is our Virgil, offering us a path through the dark realm of loss with fragments of unsent letters, indelible imagery, and exquisite language. … Cerpa has traveled a long way to return with this collection, and through his skillful writing, his unanswered missives offer their own reply.” —Mandana Chaffa, Ploughshares

“A teacher once told me that a poem should be like a spider web — if you touch any part, the rest of it will tremble. This whole book feels like that” –Elisa Gabbert, The New York Times

Concerning Bicycle in a Ransacked City (Alice James Books, 2019) :

“Cerpa’s is a magnificent talent―a yawp made for this very moment, and a voice for the ages.” ―Brenda Shaughnessy

“The poetry of Andrés Cerpa gives startling dimension to the most profound experiences of human sadness; his words come from the ache of longing for what has been taken away or denied by loss and love. A remarkable and poignant debut that illuminates the dark rooms we all inhabit in our search for solace, beauty, or saving grace.” ―Rigoberto González

Cerpa is the recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Canto Mundo.

His work has appeared in Ploughshares , Poem-A-Day , The Kenyon Review , The Bellevue Literary Review , TriQuarterly , The Rumpus , Frontier Poetry , West Branch , Foundry Journal , Wildness , and elsewhere.

He holds degrees from the University of Delaware and Rutgers University, Newark, and now teaches at CUNY College of Staten Island.

Andrés Cerpa: www.andrescerpa.com

Jos Charles

Jos Charles is author of the forthcoming collection a Year & other poems (Milkweed Editions, March 15, 2022),  feeld , a Pulitzer-finalist and winner of the 2017 National Poetry Series selected by Fady Joudah (Milkweed Editions), and Safe Space (Ahsahta Press, 2016).

Concerning a Year & other poems (Milkweed editions, 2022)

“Months / I move in you: so begins this brilliant lyric cycle, a daybook, a hymnbook, a book of whispers to the dead and the living, a book of lullabies, of songs, of spells. . . Here is a poet who is a cousin of Niedecker and Celan and Valentine, a maker of silences that speak, of grievances that lyric us…”  — Ilya Kaminsky

Concerning Feeld (Milkweed editions, 2018)

“Dazzling . . . In Charles’ hands, the language itself transitions, defamiliarized, and in its new spellings it opens to a poly-vocality where words contain hidden meanings. – Paris Review

“Jos Charles bends language, via willful spelling, to a place where it must be parsed slowly, struggled through, read not so much with the brain as the mouth. Language becomes a felt thing, a terrain to be crossed.” — Tracy K. Smith, U.S. Poet Laureate

Charles has poetry published with Poetry Magazine, Poem-a-Day, PEN, Washington Square Review, Denver Quarterly, Action Yes, The Feminist Wire , and elsewhere.

From 2013-2018 she served as the founding-editor for THEM lit , a trans literary journal. Jos Charles has an MFA from the University of Arizona.

Jos Charles: www.joscharles.com

Anthony Cody

Anthony Cody is the author of Borderland Apocrypha (Omnidawn, 2020), winner of the 2018 Omnidawn Open Book Contest, a finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry, the PEN America / Jean Stein Book Award, the California Book Award, the LA Times Book Award in Poetry, as well as longlisted for The Believer Magazine 2020 Editor’s Award in Poetry. Cody is a 2022 Whiting winner, 2021 American Book Award winner, a 2020 Poets & Writers debut poet and a 2020 Southwest Book Award winner.

Anthony’s latest collection is The Rendering (Omnidawn, 2023).

Concerning Borderland Apocrypha (Omnidawn, 2020)

“Cody makes his reader face what has been forgotten and swept under the rug, pushing our understanding of history—and also, importantly, our understanding of how books might evolve—to reflect our modern, multimodal forms of communication.” –Ruben Quesada, Harvard Review

“History’s true story is littered with collusions, silences, and with bodies: the dark ecology Anthony Cody brilliantly prosecutes in his debut collection, Borderland Apocrypha .” ― Carmen Giménez-Smith

“… Anthony Cody delivers poetry back to the general sense of ritual and charm, a gnosis that takes its shape at the double edge of the words and the transmitting body. And because everything must change, the transit leads from here to the dead and back.” —Farid Matuk

A CantoMundo fellow from Fresno, California, Anthony has lineage in both the Bracero Program and the Dust Bowl.

His poetry has appeared in The Academy of American Poets: Poem-A-Day , Gulf Coast , Ninth Letter , Prairie Schooner , TriQuarterly , The Boiler , ctrl+v journal , among others. Anthony co-edited How Do I Begin?: A Hmong American Literary Anthology .

He has taught ecopoetry at Fresno State, and serves as an associate poetry editor for Noemi Press and a poetry editor for Omnidawn .

Anthony Cody: anthonycody.com

Lilly Dancyger

Nonfiction/Fiction Faculty (2024-25)

Lilly Dancyger is the author of Negative Space (2021), a reported and illustrated memoir selected by Carmen Maria Machado as a winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards; and the editor of Burn It Down (2019), a critically acclaimed anthology of essays on women’s anger.

First Love , a collection of personal and critical essays on friendship, was released by The Dial Press in 2024.

Concerning Negative Space (Santa Fe Writer’s Project, 2021)

“A lovely and heartbreaking book.” –Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House

“Dancyger crafts a striking composition out of found objects, a poignant portrait of the identities we construct out of grief.”–Oprah Daily

“This book is so many things: a daughter’s heartrending tribute, a love story riddled by addiction, a mystery whose solution lies at the intersection of art and memory. Together, they form a chorus that I could not turn away from, and didn’t wish to.” –Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart and Abandon Me

Lilly’s writing has been published by Guernica , Literary Hub , The Rumpus , Longreads , The Washington Post , Playboy , Rolling Stone , and more.

She lives in New York City, and teaches creative nonfiction at Columbia University School of the Arts and at the Randolph College MFA.

Lilly Dancyger: www.lillydancyger.com

Jaquira Díaz

photo by Maria Esquinca

Nonfiction/Fiction Faculty (residency faculty only)

Jaquira Díaz is the author of Ordinary Girls: A Memoir , a Summer/Fall 2019 Indies Introduce Selection, a Fall 2019 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, a November 2019 Indie Next Pick, and a Library Reads October pick.

Her second book, I Am Deliberate: A Novel , is forthcoming from Algonquin Books.

Concerning Ordinary Girls: A Memoir (Algonquin Books, 2019):

“Jaquira Díaz writes about ordinary girls living extraordinary lives. And Díaz is no ordinary observer. She is a wondrous survivor, a woman who has claimed her own voice, a writer who writes for those who have no voice, for the black and brown girls ‘who never saw themselves in books.’ Jaquira Díaz writes about them with love. How extraordinary is that!” — Sandra Cisneros

“In her debut memoir, Jaquira Díaz mines her experiences growing up in Puerto Rico and Miami, grappling with traumas both personal and international, and over time converts them into something approaching hope and self-assurance. For years, Díaz has dazzled in shorter formats—stories, essays, etc.—and her entrée into longer lengths is very welcome.” — The Millions

“[A] compelling debut. A must-read memoir on vulnerability, courage, and everything in between from a standout writer.” — Library Journal , starred review

Jaquira Díaz’s work has been published in Rolling Stone , The Guardian , The Atlantic , The Fader , T: The New York Times Style Magazine , and The Best American Essays 2016 , among other publications. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award, two Pushcart Prizes, an Elizabeth George Foundation grant, a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship to the Hambidge Center for the Arts, and more.

A former Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, and Consulting Editor at the Kenyon Review, she splits her time between Montréal and Miami Beach, with her partner, the writer Lars Horn.

Jaquira Díaz: www.jaquiradiaz.com

Reyna Grande

Fiction/Nonfiction Faculty (2024-25)

Reyna Grande is the author of the bestselling memoirs, The Distance Between Us (Atria, 2012) and A Dream Called Home (Atria, 2018), where she writes about life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant.

Her other works include the novels Across a Hundred Mountains , (Atria, 2006), Dancing with Butterflies (Washington Square Press, 2009), and most recently A Ballad of Love and Glory (Atria, 2022).

Concerning A Ballad of Love and Glory (Atria, 2022)

“An impeccably researched and deeply felt story about a historical moment most people know little about.” — The San Francisco Chronicle

“Inspired by real characters and events, this sweeping saga brings to light a lesser-known war with complex protagonists.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Reyna Grande has given us an epic and exquisitely wrought portrait of the Americas and Mexico’s battle for freedom. A Ballad of Love and Glory astonishes with its passion and historical precision. A simply mesmerizing and unforgettable novel.” — Patricia Engel, New York Times bestselling author of Infinite Country

Reyna has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and the International Latino Book Award. She was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Awards.

Reyna’s work has appeared in The New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, CNN, The Washington Post, and Buzzfeed, among others. In March 2020, she was a guest on Oprah’s Book Club television special.

Reyna Grande: reynagrande.com

Jean Chen Ho

Fiction/Nonfiction Faculty  (2024)

Jean Chen Ho is the author of Fiona and Jane (Viking, 2022), one of TIME ’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 and longlisted for the Story Prize. A Book of the Month and Belletrist Book Club selection, Fiona and Jane was named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Vulture, Vogue, Oprah Daily, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Electric Literature .

Concerning Fiona and Jane (Viking, 2022):

“Over the course of the book Fiona and Jane become real and electric and precious people. The stories move through intimate, cinematic scenes. . . . The world Ho creates between the two women feels like one friend reading the other’s story, wishing she were there. . . .  [E]ven to those not from Los Angeles, Ho’s debut collection feels like a shared experience.” —Tammy Tarng, The New York Times Book Review

“Fiona And Jane captures the textures of female friendship and all the intensity, loyalty, and occasional torment of it.” —Ailsa Chang, NPR’s “All Things Considered”

“An engaging first book. . . . Secrets and betrayals resound through many of the stories. . . . There’s also an endearing sexual boldness in Fiona and Jane. These are Western women who grew up in the Nineties. . . . It’s a vibrant, sexually active world these friendships are acted out in. . . . Emotional accuracy lights up the work. . . . Ho’s writing evokes youthful folly, ever glorious and stupid, with a shadow of later awareness in the prose.”—Joan Silber, The New York Review of Books

Jean’s fiction, essays, and criticism appear in New York Times Magazine, The Cut, Los Angeles Times, Guernica , and other publications.

Ho is the 2023-24 Visiting Assistant Professor in fiction at Skidmore College. She held the 2022-23 Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Writing at Scripps College. She has a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California, and an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is visiting faculty at Randolph MFA.

Jean Chen Ho: www.jean-chen-ho.com

Mira is the author of the graphic memoir Good Talk: a Memoir in Conversations (One World/Random House), which was named one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Public Library, Chicago Tribune, and Publisher’s Weekly, and one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review, Time, and Esquire.

Mira’s novel The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing (Random House), was also widely recognized as a best book of the year, was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick, shortlisted for India’s Tata First Literature Award, longlisted for the Brooklyn Eagles Prize, and honored by the Asian Pacific American Library Association.

Concerning Good Talk :

“Mira Jacob just made me toss everything I thought was possible in a book-as-art-object into the garbage. Her new book changes everything.” –Kiese Laymon

“A beautiful and eye-opening account of what it means to mother a brown boy and what it means to live in this country post–9/11, as a person of color, as a woman, as an artist . . . In Jacob’s brilliant hands, we are gifted with a narrative that is sometimes hysterical, always honest, and ultimately healing.” –Jacqueline Woodson

Concerning The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing :

“Beautifully wrought, frequently funny, gently heartbreaking… Moving forward and back in time, Jacob balances comedy and romance with indelible sorrow, and she is remarkably adept at tonal shifts. When her plot springs surprises, she lets them happen just as they do in life: blindsidingly right in the middle of things” — The Boston Globe

Mira received her MFA from the New School and has written for television and publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, Virginia Quarterly Review, Guernica, Telegraph, Buzzfeed, and Bookanista . Mira is the founder of Pete’s Reading Series in New York City.

In addition to Randolph College, Mira teaches at the New School. 

Mira Jacob: www.mirajacob.com instagram.com/goodtalkthanks

Paige Lewis

Poetry Faculty (not teaching in 2024)

Paige Lewis is the recipient of the Editor’s Award in Poetry from The Florida Review as well as a Gregory Djanikian Scholarship from The Adroit Journal . Paige’s debut book of poems, Space Struck , is new from Sarabande Books in 2019.

Their poems have appeared in Poetry, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Georgia Review, Best New Poets 2017 , and elsewhere.

Concerning Space Struck (Sarabande Books):

“I think a lot of people have been awaiting Paige Lewis’s full-length debut, Space Struck, and we are getting very close to a countdown at Mission Control. I love their imagination so much, the way they gather bits of this planet and its occurrences and make from it something utterly particular to their own enchanting perception. This book made me laugh the kind of laugh that means something new has tickled my thoughts.” –Heather Christle

“The brilliant, glow-in-the-dark poems are bursting with magic, risk, and oodles of wonder.” –Tiana Clark

Paige received their MFA and PhD from Florida State University. In addition to teaching for the Randolph College MFA, they currently teach creative writing at Purdue University.

Paige curates the video series Ours Poetica , which “captures the intimate experience of holding a poem in your hand” as it’s read to you. The Ours Poetic YouTube channel distributes poetry to tens of thousands of readers and listeners each week.

Paige Lewis: paigelewispoetry.com

Angel Nafis

Angel, an NEA fellow, a Cave Canem fellow, and a Ruth Lilly fellow is the author of BlackGirl Mansion (Red Beard Press/ New School Poetics), which Elle named one of the 9 books to add to the Modern Brown Girl Literary Canon.

An internationally touring performer, Angel represented New York City at the Women of the World Poetry Slam and the National Poetry Slam.

Concerning BlackGirl Mansion :

“Angel Nafis’ poems swallow blood and witness truth at its deepest roots… you do not doubt the wisdom of her spirit and her craft in BlackGirl Mansion. The poems you will find here climb mountains! They share the glory and pains of survival against and within the narrative of family and womanhood. They fight for the love they are and know…hers is an original and astonishing voice.” — Rachel Eliza Griffiths

“There is nothing here to skip, forget, or misremember.” –Ashley C. Ford

Angel’s poems can be found in Poetry, Muzzle, Buzzfeed Reader , and The Rumpus .

She is half of the Odes For You Tour and The Other Black Girl Collective, an internationally touring Black Feminist poetry duo.

Angel is the founder and curator of the Greenlight Bookstore Poetry Salon.

Angel Nafis: www.angelnafis.com

Diana Khoi Nguyen

Poet and multimedia artist Diana Khoi Nguyen is the author of the chaplet  Unless  (Belladonna*, 2019) and debut poetry collection,  Ghost Of (Omnidawn Publishing, 2018), which won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award and the  L.A. Times  Book Prize.

Diana also won the 92Y’s Discovery/Boston Review 2017 Poetry Contest and the Omnidawn Open Book Contest.

Her second collection of poems was published by Scribner in 2024.

Concerning Root Fractures …

“When I say that Diana Khoi Nguyen’s work is deeply moving and unsettling, I mean that her words move and unsettle ideas about diaspora, identity, and loss in startling and gorgeous ways. I can’t get enough of this devastation.” —Beth Nguyen, author of Owner of a Lonely Heart

“In Diana Khoi Nguyen’s beautiful and heartbreaking book, Root Fractures, the leaping imagistic declarative sentence becomes fractured and unreliable, as a way to parse and thread memories and feelings. Stacked to the sky, the declaratives become tenuous and subjunctive, leaning under the weight of family, history, and trauma from displacement and a brother’s suicide.” —Victoria Chang, author of With My Back to the World and OBIT

Praise for Diana Khoi Nguyen…

“There is nothing that is not music’ for this poet. Poetry is found in the gaps, silences, and ruptures of history.” —Terrance Hayes

Diana’s poetry and prose have appeared widely in magazines and journals such as Poetry , American Poetry Review , and PEN America . A Kundiman fellow and member of the Vietnamese diasporic artist collective, She Who Has No Master(s), Nguyen’s other honors include awards from the 92Y “Discovery” Poetry Contest, Key West Literary Seminars, and Academy of American Poets.

Currently, she teaches creative writing at Randolph College Low-Residency MFA and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Diana Khoi Nguyen: www.dianakhoinguyen.com

Julia Phillips

photo by Nina Subin

A finalist for the National Book Award, Julia Phillips is the author of the bestselling novel Disappearing Earth , which is being published in fifteen countries and was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, and one of the The New York Times Ten Best Books of the 2019.

Her second novel,  Bear , will be published in 2024.

Concerning her collection Disappearing Earth :

“A couple of days ago, I felt like I needed to read a book that would submerge me somewhere beautiful, severe, isolated, unknown to me. Then this novel, Disappearing Earth, set in far eastern Russia, in the world’s second largest city that’s inaccessible by land, came like magic.” –Jia Tolentino

“A superb debut…A nearly flawless novel.” — The New York Times

“Mesmerizing….The story reads as a page-turner without relying on any cheap narrative tricks to propel it forward, and the strength of Phillips’s writing—her careful attention to character and tone—will grip you right up until the final heart-stopping pages.” — Vanity Fair

Julia studied at Barnard College and Columbia University. She was a Fulbright Fellow and, Julia has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review .

She lives in Brooklyn.

Julia Phillips: www.juliaphillipswrites.com/ twittercom/jkbphillips

Poetry Faculty (2024)

Joy Priest (she/her) is a poet and scholar from Louisville, KY. She is the author of Horsepower (Pitt Poetry Series, 2020), selected by the 19th U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey as the winner of the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry, and the editor of Once a City Said: A Louisville Poets Anthology (Sarabande, 2023).

Priest is the recipient of a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a 2019-2020 Fine Arts Work Center fellowship, the Imprint Paul Verlaine Prize in Poetry, and the Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize from the American Poetry Review.

Concerning Horsepower :

“Horsepower , Joy Priest’s debut collection, is a captivating display of might and elegance, a language of astonishing sinew through which the backdrop of place and a compelling life come into vivid focus. Undergirding these poems is a restless, resilient spirit: an urgent grappling with the desire to both remember and outrun the past, with history both personal and communal, and the complexities of American racism in its most intimate manifestation—familial love. I had, for / years, Priest writes, been taught to live that way. Black, unassuming, / zipped up in history. . . . Throughout this remarkable debut, Priest shows us what it means to clear the stall, break out of the traces, and run unbridled into life.” —Natasha Trethewey

“Through tragedy and triumph, Joy Priest’s poems thunder in the ears like a supercharged heartbeat. Her landscapes drawn technicolor, intense with paradox and heat, devotion is indistinguishable from rage. Horsepower seethes with so much intelligence and feeling that comparisons to Hurston are inevitable. Jean Toomer also comes quickly to mind, but Priest’s voice is one of a kind. Let these poems comfort you, if you dare, soft as the pillow that hides the gun.” —Gregory Pardlo

Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Atlantic, The Nation , and the Los Angeles Review of Books , among others, as well as in commissions for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Her essays have appeared in The Bitter Southerner , Poets & Writers, ESPN , and The Undefeated .

She is currently an Assistant Professor of African American / African Diaspora Poetry in the University of Pittsburgh’s MFA Writing Program, and is Visiting Faculty at Randolph MFA.

Joy Priest: www.joypriest.com

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of the historical novel, The American Daughters , published in 2024 by One World Random House.

Previously, Maurice authored  The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You , which was published by One World Random House in August 2021.The book was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and longlisted for the Story Prize.

His first book, We Cast a Shadow , was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the PEN America Open Book Prize.

Concerning his collection We Cast a Shadow :

“An incisive and necessary work of brilliant satire.” –Roxane Gay

“Stunning and audacious . . . at once a pitch-black comedy, a chilling horror story and an endlessly perceptive novel about the possible future of race in America. . . . Ruffin proves to be a master . . . a fast-paced and intricately plotted book . . . The real draw of the novel is Ruffin’s gift at creating unforgettable characters. . . . He writes with a straight face, never in love with his own cleverness—there are echoes of Ralph Ellison’s intelligent, unshowy prose. . . . There’s no doubt that We Cast a Shadow , with its sobering look at race in America, can be difficult to read, but it’s more than worth it. . . . It’s a razor-sharp debut from an urgent new voice of fiction..” — NPR

A recipient of an Iowa Review Award in fiction, he has been published in the  Virginia Quarterly Review , AGNI , the  Kenyon Review , The Massachusetts Review , and  Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas .

A native of New Orleans, he is a graduate of the University of New Orleans Creative Writing Workshop and a professor of creative writing at Louisiana State University and the Randolph MFA.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin: loweramericanson.com twitter.com/mauriceruffin

Anjali Sachdeva

Anjali received the Chautaqua Prize for her collection of stories,  All the Names They Used for God (Spiegel & Grau). It also won Book of the Year from the Writing Women’s podcast and was selected as one of the best books of the year by NPR, Book Riot, and Refindery 29.

Concerning her collection All the Names They Used for God :

All the Names They Used for God fuses science, myth, and imagination into a dark and gorgeous series of questions about our current predicaments. Sachdeva is a fascinating storyteller, willing to push her inventiveness as far as it will go, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.” — Anthony Doerr

“…One page into it [Sachdeva’s story “Pleiades”] I thought, Man, this is a great writer. This is something different. This shows great command, wonderful pacing. The story — about septuplet sisters conceived via genetic manipulation — could have been told in a thousand terrible ways, but she’s managing to make it sing…I went home feeling electric about the possibility of the written word.” — Dave Eggers

“What an outstanding short story collection. I knew nothing about this book going in and was thrilled by each story. There is so much range here, and there is a nice fabulist edge to nearly all the stories. The writer wields so much confidence and control in her prose and my goodness, what imagination, what passion there is in this work. From one story to the next I felt like the writer knows everything about everything. One of the best collections I’ve ever read. Every single story is a stand out.” — Roxane Gay

Anjali’s writing, which has been awarded an NEA fellowship, has appeared in The American Scholar, Iowa Review, Gulf Coast, Yale Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Literary Review, and Best American Nonrequired Reading .

Anjali worked for six years at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, where she was Director of Educational Programs.

She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and currently teaches writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

Anjali Sachdeva: www.anjalisachdeva.com

Chet’la Sebree

Poetry/Nonfiction Faculty

Chet’la Sebree is the author of Field Study  (FSG Originals, June 2021), winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets.

She is also the author of  Mistress , selected by Cathy Park Hong as the winner of the 2018 New Issues Poetry Prize and nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Poetry (2020).

She is currently working on her debut essay collection about her relationship to home, heritage, and belonging through domestic and international travel; it’s forthcoming from The Dial Press in 2025.

Concerning Field Study :

“Layered, complex, and infinitely compelling, Chet’la Sebree’s Field Study is a daring exploration of the self and our interactions with others—a meditation on desire, race, loss and survival.”—Natasha Trethewey

“Woven from the rough threads of race, legacy, and love, Field Study is a groundbreaking book that vibrates with truth and lyrical beauty. A profound poetic talent, Chet’la Sebree has created a brilliant book that both haunts and heals.” — Ada Limón

For her work, Chet’la has received fellowships from the Delaware Division of the Arts, Hedgebrook, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, MacDowell, the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, the Stadler Center for Poetry, the Vermont Studio Center, and Yaddo.

In 2018, she was named the co-recipient of Yaddo’s National Endowment for the Arts Residency for Collaborative Teams for her collaboration with poet and essayist Shayla Lawson.

Chet’la’s poetry and prose have appeared in publications including Kenyon Review, Pleiades, Guernica , and Poetry International .

She is an assistant professor of English at George Washington University.

Chet’la Sebree: www.chetlasebree.com

Danez Smith

Danez Smith is a Black, Queer, Poz writer & performer.

Danez is the author of Homie (Graywolf Press, 2020), Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, and [insert] boy (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry.

Concerning Homie (Greywolf Press, 2020)

“The radiance of Homie arrives like a shock, like found money, like a flower fighting through concrete. . . . This is a book full of the turbulence of thought and desire, piloted by a writer who never loses their way.” – The New York Times

“[ Homie ] offers the opportunity to witness ‘the miracle of other people’s lives’ and will challenge you to consider how and why that miracle is dismissed in countless daily acts of racial aggression.” ― Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“[ Homie ] is a collection that confirms Smith’s great talent.” ― BuzzFeed

Concerning Don’t Call us Dead (Greywolf Press, 2017)

“Exceptional. . . . There is pain here but there is so much joy, so much fierce resistance to anything that dares to temper the stories being told here.”―Roxane Gay, Vulture

They are the recipient of fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Montalvo Arts Center, Cave Canem, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Danez’s work has been featured widely including on Buzzfeed, The New York Times , PBS NewsHour, Best American Poetry , Poetry Magazine , and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Danez has been featured as part of Forbes ’ annual 30 Under 30 list and is the winner of a Pushcart Prize.

Danez Smith: www.danezsmithpoet.com

John Vercher

photo by Karen Maria

Fiction Faculty

John Vercher is the author of  Three-Fifths , named one of the best books of 2019 by the  Chicago Tribune .  Three-Fifths  was named a Book of the Year by  The Sunday Times ,  The Financial Times ,  The Guardian , and earned an Edgar Award nomination for best first novel.

His second novel,  After the Lights Go Out , releases in June 2022 from Soho Press.

John’s next novel,   Devil is Fine , was published in 2024 at Celadon Books. 

Concerning After the Lights Go Out (Soho Press, 2022)

“Vercher strides back in the ring with the explosive story of a troubled Philadelphia MMA fighter whose career has stalled . . . expertly captures the brashness and discipline of combat sports as well as the harsh realities of the fighting life, delivering all of it in a swiftly paced triumph complete with a surprising one-two punch of a conclusion. This is simply brilliant.” — Publishers Weekly , Starred Review

“Written in deft and visceral prose—Vercher’s trademark— After the Lights Go Out is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I loved every moment of it, even the ones that broke my heart.”—Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy

Concerning Three-Fifths (Polis/Agora Books, 2019)

“… Vercher builds strong, multifaceted characters with bold strokes and using the tools of noir to present what is finally a full-blown tragedy. This powerful exploration of race and identity pairs well with Steph Cha’s superb Your House Will Pay (2019).” —Bill Ott, Booklist (STARRED Review)

“Vercher’s debut novel is a blunt-edged thriller… A sad, swift tale bearing rueful observations about color and class as urgent now as 24 years ago.”— Kirkus

John’s writing appears on NPR, Cognoscenti, and WBUR Boston. His non-fiction work appears in Entropy Magazine , CrimeReads , and Booklist .

He holds a Bachelor’s in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program.

John Vercher: www.johnvercherauthor.com

Phillip B. Williams

photo by Beowulf Sheehan

Phillip is the recipient of the Whiting Award, a Lambda Literary Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the Ruth Lilly Fellowship, and a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship.

Phillip has also been a finalist for an NAACP Image Award, INDIES Book of the Year, Publishing Triangle’s Thom Gunn Award, and the Eric Hoffer Book Award.

His first book of poems,  Thief in the Interior  (2016) was published by Alice James Books, and his newest collection is  Mutiny  (Penguin, 2021). 

Phillip’s debut novel,  Ours, was published by Viking in 2024.

Concerning Thief in the Interior (Alice James Books):

“To experience [Phillip B. Williams’] poetry is to encounter a lucid, unmitigated humanity, a voice for whom language is inadequate, yet necessarily grasped, shaped, and consumed. His devout and excruciating attention to the line and its indispensable music fuses his implacable understanding of words with their own shadows.” –Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Boston Review

“Not just more of the artfully skill-less, conceptual talk of a poem, this is what you’ve been waiting for: some poetry. Not just skill as possession, as a commodity, but skill to accomplish the expressive event, a deeply felt poetic argument. For example, Williams’ line is no arbitrary unit of type, but an effective musically syntactic accomplishment of line. Poetry!” –Ed Roberson

Phillip B. Williams’ poems appear in Poetry, Kenyon Review, Boston Review, The Southern Review, The Paris-American, Blackbird, Missouri Review, and elsewhere.

Phillip is also the author of the chapbooks Bruised Gospels (Arts in Bloom Inc.) and Burn (YesYes Books), and he served as a creative writing fellow in Poetry at Emory University.

Phillip is a Cave Canem graduate and the poetry editor of the online journal Vinyl Poetry .

Williams was born in Chicago and earned his MFA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Phillip B. Williams: www.phillipbwilliams.com

photo by Helene Christensen

Non-Fiction/Poetry Faculty

Jane Wong is the author of How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James Books, 2021), which was Longlisted for the 2022 Pen/Voelcker Award in Poetry and Overpour from Action Books (2016). Her debut memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City , is forthcoming from Tin House in 2023.

Concerning Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023):

“I love the tenderness and ferocity of her prose, unsentimental and wrenching, that refuses easy triumph in its immigrant story and isn’t afraid of uncovering both beauty and brutality.” —Sally Wen Mao, author of Oculus

Concerning How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021)

“Wong ( Overpour ) explores loss, grief, migration, colonization, and alienation in her searching and resilient second collection. … Wong’s powerful poems draw the reader’s attention and insist the audience not look away.” — Publishers Weekly

“Jane Wong delivers a spellbinding knockout of a book. You will hunger for all the beautiful ways we can break bread together and with our ghosts. You will hunger for families both blood and chosen. These treasured poems are a most memorable exploration into what threads us together and what might break us. I promise you will nod your head yes, yes, YES—even when the speaker inquires at the end, ‘…are you hungry, awake, astonished enough?’” —Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Jane Wong’s writing can be found in places such as The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019 , The Best American Poetry 2015 , POETRY , McSweeney’s , Ecotone , The Common , and more. She is a Kundiman fellow and the recipient of fellowships and residencies from the U.S. Fulbright Program, the Fine Arts Work Center, Bread Loaf, and others.

An Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Western Washington University, she grew up on the New Jersey shore and currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

Jane Wong: janewongwriter.com

photo by Jill Nance Waugh

MFA Director

Gary is the recipient the Great Plains Emerging Writer Prize, a Pushcart Special Mention, and the Gillie A. Larew Distinguished Teaching Award.

Gary’s most recent new media play is Deemocracy: An American Absurdity (Rain Taxi, 2020) and his collection of poetry is Father, Child, Water , (2015), a bestselling collection with Red Hen Press.

Concerning Father, Child, Water :

“The poems in Father, Child, Water by Gary Dop are funny, wicked, and poignant. Dop’s poetic gaze is wide-ranging and piercing. The poems about his father engage with the violence embedded in American masculinity and the character-driven poems are empathic and quirky. A highly enjoyable and memorable book.” — Poetry Magazine

“Dop’s first collection, Father, Child, Water establishes him as a poet, like Billy Collins, whose work seems to effortlessly share the space of authentic humor and seriousness.” —  North American Review

Gary Dop’s poetry, stories, and essays appear in the Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Southern Review, New Letters, Washington Post, AGNI , and elsewhere.

Gary received his MFA from the University of Nebraska. His essays, plays, and scripts have have been performed on radio, screen, and stage venues throughout the country.

Gary Dop: www.garydop.com

Advisory Board

• Stephanie Burt Harvard University Professor, Poet, & Critic
• Eduardo C. Corral Yale Younger Poet & N. C. State MFA Faculty
• Erika Meitner Virginia Tech MFA Director & Poet
• Gregory Pardlo Pulitzer Prize Winner & Rutgers MFA Faculty
• Julie Schumacher Thurber Prize Winner & U. of Minnesota MFA Faculty
• Jeff Shotts Executive Editor at Graywolf Press

Chris Gaumer

MFA-CW Assistant Director, Randolph College

Laura-Gray Street

Revolute  Editor, Professor of English Randolph College

• Christopher Gaumer MFA Assistant Director
• Laura-Gray Street Revolute  Editor

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Admission Steps

English and literary arts - creative writing - phd, admission requirements.

Terms and Deadlines

Degree and GPA Requirements

Additional Standards for Non-Native English Speakers

Additional standards for international applicants.

For the 2025-2026 academic year

See 2024-2025 requirements instead

Fall 2025 quarter (beginning in September)

Final submission deadline: December 16, 2024

Final submission deadline: Applicants cannot submit applications after the final submission deadline.

Degrees and GPA Requirements

Bachelors degree: All graduate applicants must hold an earned baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university or the recognized equivalent from an international institution.

Masters degree: This program requires a masters degree as well as the baccalaureate.

University GPA requirement: The minimum grade point average for admission consideration for graduate study at the University of Denver must meet one of the following criteria:

A cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the baccalaureate degree.

A cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits (approximately two years of work) for the baccalaureate degree.

An earned master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution or the recognized equivalent from an international institution supersedes the minimum GPA requirement for the baccalaureate.

A cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate coursework completed for applicants who have not earned a master’s degree or higher.

Official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), C1 Advanced or Duolingo English Test are required of all graduate applicants, regardless of citizenship status, whose native language is not English or who have been educated in countries where English is not the native language. Your TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test scores are valid for two years from the test date.

The minimum TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test score requirements for this degree program are:

Minimum TOEFL Score (Internet-based test): 80

Minimum IELTS Score: 6.5

Minimum C1 Advanced Score: 176

Minimum Duolingo English Test Score: 115

Additional Information:

Read the English Language Proficiency policy for more details.

Read the Required Tests for GTA Eligibility policy for more details.

Per Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) regulation, international applicants must meet all standards for admission before an I-20 or DS-2019 is issued, [per U.S. Federal Register: 8 CFR § 214.3(k)] or is academically eligible for admission and is admitted [per 22 C.F.R. §62]. Read the Additional Standards For International Applicants policy for more details.

Application Materials

Transcripts, letters of recommendation.

Required Essays and Statements

Writing Sample

We require a scanned copy of your transcripts from every college or university you have attended. Scanned copies must be clearly legible and sized to print on standard 8½-by-11-inch paper. Transcripts that do not show degrees awarded must also be accompanied by a scanned copy of the diploma or degree certificate. If your academic transcripts were issued in a language other than English, both the original documents and certified English translations are required.

Transcripts and proof of degree documents for postsecondary degrees earned from institutions outside of the United States will be released to a third-party international credential evaluator to assess U.S. education system equivalencies. Beginning July 2023, a non-refundable fee for this service will be required before the application is processed.

Upon admission to the University of Denver, official transcripts will be required from each institution attended.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required.  Academic recommendations preferred.  Letters should be submitted by recommenders through the online application.

Essays and Statements

Essay instructions.

Applicants should submit a sample of critical prose (e.g., a seminar paper, scholarly publication, or excerpt from thesis or other longer work demonstrating familiarity with the conventions of academic research and writing) not to exceed 20 pages.

Personal Statement Instructions

Personal statements should be 2 pages maximum and should address the applicant's past academic experience, future scholarly goals, and their suitability for graduate study and research in our program.

Résumé Instructions

The résumé (or C.V.) should minimally include the applicant's educational history, work experience, academic experience (including research opportunities or presentations), selected publications, and/or volunteer work.

Writing Sample Instructions

Applicants must submit representative samples of creative work (for Prose, no more than 30 pages; for Poetry, 5 - 10 poems).

Start the Application

Online Application

Financial Aid Information

Start your application.

Your submitted materials will be reviewed once all materials and application fees have been received.

Our program can only consider your application for admission if our Office of Graduate Education has received all your online materials and supplemental materials by our application deadline.

Application Fee: $65.00 Application Fee

International Degree Evaluation Fee: $50.00 Evaluation Fee for degrees (bachelor's or higher) earned from institutions outside the United States.

Applicants should complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15. Visit the Office of Financial Aid for additional information.

Creative Writing

The Department of English offers creative writing instruction in multiple formats and offers several degrees and qualifications.

Undergraduate

At the undergraduate level, students who are enrolled in a B.A. program at UT Austin can pursue the Creative Writing Certificate .

For graduate students, there are two degree options in creative writing:

• the New Writers Project MFA in Fiction and Poetry , and
• the Michener Center MFA in Writing .

We invite you to visit the center's pages for information on their programs.

• — Nonfiction
• MFA Funding, Fellowships, and Scholarships
• MFA Handbook, Course Descriptions, FAQs
• Spring Writing Contests
• Why a BFA in Creative Writing?
• Minor in Dynamic Publishing
• Concentration in the BA in English
• Miller BFA Scholarship for Diversity
• Publishing Certificate
• BFA Faculty
• Creative Writing Administration
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• All Upcoming
• Visiting Writers
• Past Events
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• Prospective Students

MFA Faculty

Alexia Arthurs

Assistant professor.

Alexia Arthurs is the author of the short story collection  How to Love a Jamaican (Ballantine, 2018). The story “Bad Behavior” was awarded the Paris Review’s 2017 Plimpton prize and “Mermaid River” was awarded a 2019 O. Henry award and a 2019 Best American Short Stories honorable mention. Before joining the English department at George Mason, she taught fiction writing at the University of Iowa and Colby College. 

Courtney Angela Brkic

Courtney Angela Brkic (M.F.A., New York University, 2001) is the author of The First Rule of Swimming (Little, Brown, and Company, 2013), Stillness: and Other Stories (FSG, 2003) and The Stone Fields (FSG, 2004). Her work has also appeared in Zoetrope , The New York Times , The Washington Post Magazine , Harpers & Queen , the Utne Reader , TriQuarterly Review , Guernica, National Geographic , and others. Brkic has been the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Whiting Writer’s Award. Stillness, her short fiction collection about the wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, was named a Barnes and Noble Discover pick, a 2003 Chicago Tribune "Best Book" and a 2003 New York Times "Notable Book". The Stone Fields records her work on mass gravesites around Srebrenica, as well as her family's history during the Second World War in Sarajevo, and was shortlisted for a Freedom of Expression Award by the Index on Censorship.

Timothy Denevi

Associate professor.

Timothy Denevi's most recent book is Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson's Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism ,  (2018, Hachette/PublicAffairs). He is also the author of  Hyper (2014, Simon & Schuster). His essays on politics, sport, and religion have recently appeared in The New York Times,   Salon,  New York magazine, CNN.com,  and  Literary Hub .

Tania Rachel James

Tania James is the author of the novel  The Tusk That Did the Damage (Knopf, 2015), Aerogrammes and Other Stories (Knopf, 2012), and the novel Atlas of Unknowns (Knopf 2009). Tusk was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, and named a Best Book of 2015 by The San Francisco Chronicle and NPR, and was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and longlisted for the Financial Times Oppenheimer Award. Her short stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Oxford American, Granta, Kenyon Review, One Story, and A Public Space. She has received fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, the Macdowell Colony, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and the Fulbright Program.

Sally Keith

Sally Keith graduated from the Iowa Writers Workshop in 2000 and holds a B.A. from Bucknell. She has published four collections of poetry, most recently  River House (Milkweed Editions 2015). She has published individual poems in journals and anthologies, including Colorado Review , Conjunctions , New American Writing , and A Public Space . Keith, a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, has been awarded fellowships to the BreadLoaf Writers' Conference, a Pushcart Prize, and the Denver Quarterly's Lynda Hull Award. 

Listen to Sally reading a poem from  The Fact of the Matter on PBS Art Beat,  here .  

Kyoko Mori is the author of four nonfiction books ( Cat and Bird;  Yarn; Polite Lies; The Dream of Water) .  The title essay from her book, “Yarn,” was selected for The Best American Essays 2004, and Polite Lies was short-listed for PEN’s Martha Albrand Nonfiction Award.  She has also published novels ( Barn Cat ; Stone Field, True Arrow; One Bird; Shizuko’s Daughter ).  Her essays have appeared in journals such as Ploughshares , the American Scholar, the Missouri Review, and Harvard Review.   Prior to joining the faculty at Mason, Mori taught nonfiction writing at Harvard as a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in Creative Writing.

Vivek Narayanan

Vivek Narayanan was born in India to Tamil parents and grew up in Zambia.  He earned a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from Stanford University and a master’s in creative writing from Boston University.  He has taught at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and in the mid-2000s worked at Sarai-CSDS, a center for experimental practice and theory in New Delhi.  His books of poems include  Universal Beach ,  Life and Times of Mr S and, most recently, After (NYRB Poets, 2022) and The Kuruntokai and its Mirror (Hanuman Editions, 2024).  A full-length collection of his selected poems in Swedish translation was published by the Stockholm-based Wahlström & Widstrand in 2015. He has been a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University (2013-14) and a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library (2015-16).  His poems, stories, translations and critical essays have appeared in journals like The Paris Review , Chimurenga Chronic , Granta.com ,  Poetry Review  (UK),  Modern Poetry in Translation ,  Harvard Review ,  Agni ,  The Caribbean Review of Books  and elsewhere, as well as in anthologies like  The Penguin Book of the Prose Poem  and  The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poetry .  Narayanan is also a member of  Poetry Daily ’s editorial board. He was the Co-editor of  Almost Island , an India-based international literary journal from 2007-2019.

The artist credit for the image is Dyuti Mittal.

Helon Habila Ngalabak

Helon Habila's current book is The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram Kidnappings and Islamist Militancy in Nigeria , a nonfiction investigation into the kidnapping of 276 girls in Nigeria by Islamist militants in 2014. His first novel, Waiting for an Angel , has been translated into many langauges including Dutch, Italian, Swedish, and French.  His writing has won many prizes including the Caine Prize, 2001; the Commonweath Writers Prize, Africa region, 2003; the Emily Balch Prize, 2008, and the Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction, 2015.

He is a contributing editor to the Virginia Quarterly Review .  His second novel, Measuring Time, published in 2007, won the Virginia Library Foundation Fiction Award, 2008, and was shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, 2008.  His third novel, Oil on Water , was published in the U.S. in 2011.  His stories, articles, reviews, and poems have appeared in various magazines and papers including Granta, AGNI, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Guernica , and the London Guardian .  His short story, The Hotel Malogo , was selected for the Best American Non-required Reading Anthology.  Habila is the editor of the Granta Book of African Short Story, 2011.

Eric Pankey

Eric Pankey (MFA, University of Iowa, 1983) is the author of many collections of poems: For the New Year ( Atheneum 1984),which was selected as the winner of the Walt Whitman, Heartwood ( Atheneum 1988), which was reissued by Orchises Press in 1998,  Apocrypha (Alfred A. Knopf 1991), The Late Romances ( Alfred A. Knopf 1997), Cenotaph (Alfred A. Knopf 2000), Oracle Figures (Ausable Press 2003), Reliquaries (Ausable Press 2005), T he Pear as One Example: New and Selected Poems (Ausable Press 2008), Trace ( Milkweed Editions 2013), Dismantling the Angel (Free Verse Editions 2013), which won the New Measures Prize,  Crow-Work ( Milkweed Editions 2015), Augury (Milkweed Editions 2017), The Owl of Minerva (Milkweed Editions 2019), Vestiges: Notes, Responses, and Essays 1988-2018 (Parlor Press 2019),  Alias:Prose Poems  (Free Verse Editions 2020) and Not Yet Transfigured (Orison Books 2021). His poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared widely in such journals as The Iowa Review, The Harvard Review, The Kenyon Review,The New Yorker, The New Republic, The New Yorker,  and The Yale Review .  His work has been supported by fellowships from John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Brown Foundation.  He teaches poetry workshops and courses on modern and contemporary poetry. He is professor of English and the Heritage Chair in Writing at George Mason University. A new chapbook,  The Future Perfect: A Fugue, which won the 2020 Snowbound Chapbook Award, is out from Tupelo Press now.  Two new books are forthcoming:  The History of the Siege (Codhill Press 2024) and  Vanishments ( Slant Books 2024).

Peter Streckfus

Peter Streckfus is the author of two poetry books: Errings , winner of Fordham University Press’s 2013 POL Editor’s Prize, and The Cuckoo , winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition in 2003. His awards include fellowships and grants from the Breadloaf Writers' Conference, the Peter S. Reed Foundation, the University of Alabama, George Mason University, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the American Academy in Rome, where he a Brodsky Rome Prize Fellow In Literature.

He and Sally Keith are editorial co-directors of Poetry Daily . 

His new poems can be found in recent and forthcoming issues of Be nnington Review , Image , Poem-A-Day , Ploughshares,   The Adroit Journal, and Terrain . These poems come from an in-progress work titled “Netherlands,” a book about communal safety.

Photo © Don Usner.

Read an interview in which Peter speaks about teaching at GMU, here .

Read a story about  Poetry Daily 's work in the Fairfax Juvenile Detention Center here .

Creative Writing

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• M.F.A. in Creative Writing
• Graduate Students

Program Requirements

M.F.A. students must successfully complete 45 hours, distributed as follows: fifteen hours of creative writing workshops (one outside of the student’s genre); twelve hours of graduate-level English courses (non-creative writing); three hours of creative writing pedagogy; nine thesis hours; six hours (electives) to be determined in consultation with the Creative Writing faculty. The student is required to submit a book-length manuscript (minimum of 48 pages in poetry, 150 pages in fiction or nonfiction), ideally suitable for publication on its own, that has been approved by a thesis director and two readers. Final approval is granted following an oral defense of the thesis. The core of the program is the workshop, where students submit their own writing for discussion and critique. This writing will make up the bulk of the thesis, which will be completed under the close supervision of the thesis adviser and two additional thesis committee members. The non-creative writing courses will be the same as those taken by Ph.D and M.A. students.

MFA students complete a Plan of Study when they enter the program and, again, upon graduation. The Plan can be found  here .

Thesis Information

Thesis deadlines can be found  here . If you haven’t scheduled a thesis defense yet, do so soon. Check with your thesis chair about the best time and work with Kelly Johnson to secure a location.

Languages, Literature & Philosophy MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING

MFA Creative Writing Faculty

Core faculty kendall dunkelberg director of creative writing m.a. & ph.d. in comparative literature, university of texas - austin b.a. in english/creative writing, knox college poetry:   barrier island suite, time capsules, and landscapes and architectures translation: hercules, richelieu, and nostradamus textbook: a writer's craft: multi-genre creative writing kendall dunkelberg kris lee m.f.a. in playwriting/creative writing, spalding university m.ed. in secondary education, mississippi state university b.a. in communication and theatre, mississippi state university drama: paper thin, loose hog, on how to accommodate marlo's frying pan, daughters, the problem with peter, and the breeze bends the grass. poetry:  scapegoat, to square a circle kris lee mary miller m.f.a. in creative writing, university of texas at austin m.a. in english, university of southern mississippi b.a. in psychology, mississippi state university fiction: biloxi, always happy hour, the last days of california, sweet king jesus, big world, and less shiny mary miller brandy t. wilson ph.d.. in english/creative writing, florida state university m.a. in english/creative writing, florida state university b.a. in psychology, university of arkansas b.a. in english, university of arkansas fiction:   the palace blues brandy t. wilson core part-time faculty.

Previous Visiting Faculty

Current MUW Languages, Literature, and Philosophy faculty may also teach in the new MFA program. See them on our department's faculty list .

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Low- Residency MFA in Creative Writing

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Core Faculty

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