national university creative writing

Creative Writing

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125 Stanford Stories

70 years of great writing.

Imagination flourishes in Stanford’s Creative Writing Program

“Minds grow by contact with other minds. The bigger the better, as clouds grow toward thunder by rubbing together.” — Wallace Stegner

The novelist Wallace Stegner came to Stanford in 1946 to teach writing. He found a campus swollen with returning GIs and war workers. This cohort – later known as the Greatest Generation – had interesting stories to tell. At Stanford, Stegner  developed a program  of  workshops, community and freedom to write  that would nurture these writers’ talents and those of generations to come.

The Stegner Fellowships, as Stanford’s two-year writers’ fellowships are now called, are perhaps the best-known facet of Stanford’s  Creative Writing Program . Stegner Fellows have gone on to become Pulitzer Prize winners (N. Scott Momaday, Larry McMurtry, Adam Johnson ), poets laureate of the United States (Robert Pinsky, Philip Levine) and bestselling novelists (Scott Turow). Diverse in origin, they have brought new understanding of their own countries and cultures through literature ( NoViolet Bulawayo ). Many have returned to Stanford to teach new generations (Johnson, Kenneth Fields, Tobias Wolff).

The milieu in which the Stegner Fellows flourish also nourishes the creative gifts of hundreds of Stanford undergraduates each year. Creative writing workshops and tutorials are among Stanford’s most sought-after courses. That’s unsurprising when one considers the value that Stanford puts on output, on expressing one’s ideas.

“We hated the idea that someone would come to this great university and think it’s either/or — ‘I’m going to be a science student, or I’m going to be a creative writer.’ We made the minor so people would know they didn’t have to make that choice.” —  Eavan Boland , director of the Stanford Creative Writing Program

“It’s the art of imagination. It’s a muscle that students want to activate,” explained Tom Kealey, a lecturer in the Creative Writing Program.

Nearly all of Stanford’s creative writing courses are open to undergraduates across the curriculum, though some, like the one-on-one Levinthal Tutorials, require a manuscript review. Nearly 70 percent of Stanford’s English majors have emphases in creative writing, whether in poetry or prose. There is also a creative writing minor. Its new Fiction into Film option culminates in the Hoffs-Roach Tutorial, in which students complete a 100-page screenplay. Another popular option is to take four or five writing courses as an informal emphasis.

The creative nonfiction courses are popular with students in the sciences, Kealey said: “Many want to make sense of their lives by creating narratives.”

Lectures about the craft of writing are also very popular. Professor Elizabeth Tallent teaches a course each spring,  Development of the Short Story , that can attract up to 100 students.

The newest member of the program’s distinguished faculty is  novelist Chang-Rae Lee , who comes to Stanford in fall 2016.

Informal workshops such as Poets’ House and Art of Writing offer an introduction to creative writing across disciplines. Innovative courses seek to explore new literary forms and to bring appreciation of writing to more people in new ways.

Stanford’s creative writing program was the first to offer a course in  completing a graphic novel , a popular class repeated every other year. It gives undergraduate awards for environmental writing, an  important aspect of Wallace Stegner’s legacy .

In spring 2015, program director Eavan Boland led a free online course on  Ten Premodern Poems by Women  that drew more than 1,000 participants from 105 countries. For the course, the office of the Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning enhanced Stanford’s OpenEdX platform to allow participants to submit narrative responses and even poems, an innovation that will help future online humanities courses.

Watch the creation of the Creative Writing Program’s latest graphic novel in this video.

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Online MFA Faculty

Our online MFA program is taught by a diverse and accomplished faculty of professional writers, who exemplify our program's commitment to welcoming a wide range of fiction genres. From nationally published authors and award winners to multiple degree holders, you’ll find their work in publications such as The New York Times, USA Today, Bustle, The Writer, and more. They share this rich array of experiences with our online MFA students, providing guidance in both the craft and profession of creative writing.

Paul Witcover

Associate Dean, Online MFA

Paul Witcover is the author of the novels “Waking Beauty,” “Tumbling After,” “Dracula: Asylum,” “The Emperor of All Things,” “The Watchman of Eternity,” and “Lincolnstein.” His short fiction is collected in “Everland and Other Stories.” He has been a finalist for the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Shirley Jackson awards and has served on the jury for the Jackson and Philip K. Dick awards. His book reviews and critical essays have appeared in Realms of Fantasy and Locus magazines, among other publications. He co-created and co-wrote the DC Comic Anima. Witcover has an MA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York and is a graduate of the Clarion Writing Workshop. He is a recipient of a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Witcover was deeply involved in the program development for SNHU’s Online MFA in Creative Writing. He has taught as an adjunct in SNHU’s MA and MFA Creative Writing programs for ten years and is committed to providing guidance, knowledge, and opportunity to all Online MFA students.

Witcover lives and works in Terryville, CT. He can be found online at paulwitcover.com and on Bluesky @paulwitcover.bsky.social.

Lindsey Averill

Kait Ballenger

Jessica Barksdale

Jessica Barksdale’s sixteenth novel, “What the Moon Did,” was published in February 2023 by Flexible Press. Her short story collection “Trick of the Porch Light” appeared in September 2023.  She’s published two poetry collections: “When We Almost Drowned” (2019) and “Grim Honey” (2021). Barksdale taught at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and continues to teach for UCLA Extension and in the online MFA program for Southern New Hampshire University.

Barksdale holds an MA in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an MFA from the Rainier Writers Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and can be found online at www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com and on Twitter  @jessicainclan .

Joseph Chianakas

Known for his horror series “Rabbit in Red,” Joe Chianakas lives in Peoria, IL, with his husband, Brian. He's earned multiple master's degrees, including a master's degree in communication. He's currently represented by literary agent Amy Brewer and has multiple publishing contracts with Roan and Weatherford. His novel “Singlets and Secrets,” became an instant number one bestseller. He primarily writes young adult fiction in horror and LGBTQ contemporary. You can find him on Twitter @joechianakas .

Dr. Melinda Clayton

Melinda Clayton earned her MS in Community Agency Counseling and her EdD in Education Administration. She began her writing career many years ago by publishing nonfiction mental health and relationship articles in various newsletters and magazines. In the early 2000s she moved into fiction and had several short stories published in online magazines and print anthologies.

In 2010, she signed with an independent publishing house in Washington to publish her first three novels. When she regained those contracts in 2013, she founded Thomas-Jacob Publishing, LLC, a boutique independent publishing house located in central Florida. T-J Pub is now home to eight authors and has published over forty works, including novels, poetry collections, short stories, and children’s books.

Melinda Clayton can be found at www.melindaclayton.net and on Twitter @MelRClayton .

Dr. Marisa Cleveland

With more than two decades in the education and publishing industries, Dr. Marisa Cleveland is adamant about supporting efforts toward the betterment of the human condition. Cleveland is the executive director for The Seymour Agency, a Hodges University Board of Trustees member, and a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

Cleveland joined SNHU in 2019, and in 2021, she was honored with a nomination for Distinguished Online Teaching for SNHU’s Online MFA.

Gulfshore Business and D’Latinos magazines honored Cleveland with the Arts and Culture 2015 FACE Award, and in 2014, Gulfshore Business selected her as a “40 Under Forty” honoree.

Cleveland holds an EdD in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University and an MA in Educational Administration and a BA in Speech Communication from George Mason University.

Twitter: @marisacleveland

Heather Demetrios

Heather Demetrios is a critically acclaimed author, writing coach, and  mindfulness facilitator based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her publishers include Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and HarperCollins. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, German, Dutch, and Romanian. Demetrios has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN America Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her novels include Little Universes, I’ll Meet You There, Bad Romance, as well as the Dark Caravan fantasy series: Exquisite Captive, Blood Passage, and Freedom’s Slave. Her non-fiction includes the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall, and she is the editor of Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love.

Her books have been named Bank Street Best Children’s Books, YALSA Best Fiction For Young Adults selections, a Goodreads Choice Nominee, a Kirkus Best Book, and a Barnes and Noble Best Book. Her work has appeared in LA Review of Books, Bustle, School Library Journal, and other fine outlets.

Demetrios works with writers on integrating mindfulness into their writing practice, process, and life. In addition to being the Executive Director of Clouds in Water Zen Center , she is a Trained Mindfulness Facilitator through UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center. She is also the program director of Rebecca Dykes Writers in collaboration with the Highlights Foundation, where she works with writers who tell stories about trauma for young readers. Find out more about Heather and her books at heatherdemetrios.com

Caitlin Donovan

Caitlin Donovan is a novelist, journalist, teacher, poet, and, above all, a huge geek for all kinds of fiction. She has been published in several literary journals and anthologies, including The Great Smokies Review. She won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Creative Nonfiction for her autobiographical short story, "The Misadventures of Comic Book Girl." She is the author of the YA fantasy novel "In the Way of All Flesh," a finalist for the 2019 Golden Crown Literary Society Goldie Awards. When she's not writing or teaching at SNHU, Caitlin works as a tutor at A-B Tech Community College.  She is also an active freelance writer whose works have been published on many websites, including Cracked and The Mary Sue. Caitlin currently resides in North Carolina with her trouble-making cats. You can find her online at Caitlinalisedonovan.com .

Jeremy Flagg

Jeremy Flagg is the author of the “Children of Nostradamus” dystopian science fiction universe and “Suburban Zombie High” young adult humor/horror series. Taking his love of pop culture and comic books, he focuses on fast-paced, action-packed novels with complex characters and contemporary themes. He is the co-founder of the New England Speculative Writers and Superhero-Fiction Authors.

He earned his MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Flagg spends most of his free time at his desk writing snarky books. When he gets a moment away from writing, he watches too much Netflix and Hulu and reads too many comic books. A Maine native, he resides in Clinton, Massachusetts, and can be found in local coffee shops pounding away at the keyboard.

Instagram: @writeremyflagg

Lauren A. Forry

Lauren A. Forry was brought up in the woods of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to earn her undergraduate degree in Cinema Studies and Screenwriting from New York University. She later earned her MA and MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in London, England. There she was awarded the Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize for her thesis work, “Abigale Hall.”

Her short stories have been featured in The X-Files: Secret Agendas, Brick Moon Fiction, and Lamplight Magazine. Her novel, They Did Bad Things, from Arcade Crimewise, received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the ALA Booklist, was an Amazon Editor’s Choice pick, and was a book club pick for NY Times Bestseller Jenny Lawson’s “Fantastic Strangelings Book Club.” Her most recent novel is the locked-room sci-fi mystery “Launch Party.” She is an Assistant Professor of English at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA, and has taught for SNHU since 2016. You can find her on Twitter  @laurenaforry

James R. Gapinski

James R. Gapinski (they/them) is the author of the novella “Edge of the Known Bus Line,” winner of the 2018 Etchings Press Novella Prize, named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018, and a finalist for the 2019 Montaigne Medal. They are also the author of three chapbooks: “The Last Dinosaurs of Portland,” “Fruit Rot,” and “Messiah Tortoise.”

Their short fiction has appeared in the Best Microfiction 2023 anthology, Heavy Feather Review, Juked, Okay Donkey, Paper Darts, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other publications. James is managing editor of Conium Press, an independent publisher of innovative fiction based in Portland, Oregon.

Gapinski earned his MFA in Fiction from Goddard College and his MA in Postmodern Literary Studies from Prescott College.

James earned their MFA in Fiction from Goddard College and their MA in Postmodern Literary Studies from Prescott College. You can find them on Twitter @jamesrgapinski .

Melissa Hart

Melissa Hart is the author of eight published books, including the novels Daisy Woodworm Changes the World and Avenging the Owl, and the memoirs Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family and Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Smithsonian, Slate, The Advocate, Real Simple, and numerous other publications. She teaches for Southern New Hampshire University's Online MFA program in Creative Writing. When she's not writing, she loves to hike and run and bike long distance, kayak and Nordic ski and explore the outdoors. www.melissahart.com and Instagram @WildMelissaHart.

Gregory A. Kompes

Gregory A. Kompes (MFA, MS Ed.) has authored nineteen books (fiction, poetry, nonfiction), contributed to over a dozen anthologies (including four “Chicken Soup for the Soul” volumes), and written hundreds of published articles and essays on a wide range of topics. He is the founder and facilitator of The Writer Workshop and teaches for Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program. Gregory holds a BA in English Literature from Columbia University, New York, a Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning and an MS Ed. from California State University, East Bay, and an MFA in Creative Writing from National University.

Dr. Dawn Reno Langley

A writer, social justice activist and educator, Dawn Reno Langley has devoted her life to literature and the arts. Her first published work, an essay on the Cuban missile crisis, revealed a deep sense of social justice that has never waned, leading her to concentrate on those issues throughout her academic experience.

She researched female authors and their voices during her MFA program at Vermont College and transgender authors during her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from The Union Institute and University, a program steeped in social justice.

As an academic, she has taught classes on creative writing and women’s issues, spoken publicly about her own spiritual journey and runs regular workshops for writers who want to write about social justice issues. When her new book, “You Are Divine: Searching for the Goddess in All of Us,” releases in January 2022, she plans to travel the country to talk to women about their own connections with the divine.

Langley has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines, has published over 30 books (nonfiction, novels and children’s), and her award-winning short stories, essays and poetry appear in The Green Mountains Review, Provo Canyon Review, Superstition Review, as well as many others. She also reviews theater, music, and art and blogs about writing. Her last novel, “The Mourning Parade,” revealed the truths of elephant abuse.

A Fulbright scholar and TedX speaker, Langley lives in Kure Beach, North Carolina. She has taught at SNHU since 2018.

Twitter: @proflangley

Patricia Lillie

Patricia Lillie grew up in a haunted house in a small town in Northeast Ohio. Since then, she has published picture books, short stories, fonts, and two novels. As Patricia Lillie, she writes quiet horror and weird fiction. Her story collection, “The Cuckoo Girls,” was a 2020 Bram Stoker Award ® finalist.

As Kay Charles, her much nicer alter-ego, she writes cozy-ish mysteries with ghosts.

Lillie is a graduate of Parsons School of Design, has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and has taught in SNHU’s Online MFA program since 2018. In 2020, she was the recipient of the UPCEA New England Region Adelle F. Robertson Emerging Professional Continuing Educator Award. She also knits and sometimes purls.

Dr. Amber A. Logan

Amber A. Logan is an author of speculative novels and short fiction who lives in Kansas. Her debut novel, " The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn"  (2022), is an adult retelling of the children’s classic " The Secret Garden" set near Kyoto, Japan.

Dr. Logan earned a PhD in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, where her thesis examined the intersection of fairy tales, Haruki Murakami, and technoanimism. She also holds an M.A. in International Relations, a Master of Liberal Arts degree, and a B.A. in Psychology. She has been teaching online university courses since 2009.

Twitter: @AmberAnnLogan

Dr. Jennifer Loring

Jennifer Loring is a feminist popular culture scholar and horror writer. Her short fiction has been published widely, including two volumes of  Tales from the Lake ,  Nightscript IV, Dim Shores Presents , and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated anthologies  Not All Monsters  and  Arterial Bloom . She is also the author of four novels and four novellas, including the critically acclaimed  Conduits  (2019)..

Loring holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies – Humanities and Culture from Union Institute & University, where she used the postfeminist ecoGothic to redefine the monstrous feminine in horror video games. She has presented her academic work on horror and gender at conferences around the country and even in Romania. She completed her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction with a concentration in horror at Seton Hill University and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA, where she and her husband are owned by a turtle and a basset shepherd.

Cynthea Liu

Cynthea Liu is an award-winning author, publishing consultant and editor. She is published with Penguin Random, Disney, S&S, Sterling and Scholastic.

As a consultant and editor, she works in the children's and teen sector for private client publishers, as well as aspiring and well-published authors within major trade. She also takes on unique creative projects requiring a story architect or managing editor. Example projects include creating narratives for augmented reality apps, workshopping storyboards for video and music for children with LA record producers, and novelization of a Hollywood romantic comedy for publication. Her work is never boring.

She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Antioch University, Los Angeles.

Twitter: @cynthealiu

Melissa Marr

Melissa Marr writes for adults, teens and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages and been domestic bestsellers (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, national bestseller), as well as in various countries overseas.

In addition to her bestselling fiction and awards for both romance (RWA) and horror (Goodreads), Marr also writes for DC Comics, edits anthologies and recently published her nature photography in “Wild Horses” (Penguin). She is best known for the “Wicked Lovely” series for teens, “Bunny Roo, I Love You” for children, and “Graveminder” for adults - as well as her utter inability to stick to one age demographic, format or genre.

Currently, she lives in Arizona with her wife and children.

Twitter: @melissa_marr

Jen McLaughlin

Jen McLaughlin is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author who was mentioned in Forbes alongside E.L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists.

She is published by Penguin/Berkley and Random House and has written three books with James Patterson/Hachette. Under her pen name Diane Alberts, she is also a USA Today bestselling romance author with Entangled Publishing.

McLaughlin is a firm believer in chasing after dreams, so she went back to school for her MFA at Wilkes University when her oldest daughter started college. Now a college professor teaching creative writing to undergraduate and graduate students, she is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education, also at Wilkes. She lives in Pennsylvania  with her husband, four kids, one dog, a bearded dragon and five cats.

Nicole Melleby

Nicole Melleby, a born-and-bred New Jersey native, is an award-winning children's author. Her middle-grade books have been Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections, and have earned the Skipping Stones Honor Award, as well as being a 2020 Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Her debut novel, “Hurricane Season,” was a Lambda Literary Award finalist.

Melleby currently teaches college literature and creative writing, and she spends most of her free time roller skating. She lives with her wife and their cat, whose need for attention oddly aligns with her writing schedule.

Staci Mercado

Staci Mercado won a Midwest Book Award for her historical fiction novel, “Seeking Signs.” She has published work in Broad Street, Barely South Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, Fiction Southeast, Canary, and Litro, and has work forthcoming in Hippocampus. Staci was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Literary Arts Educator Award from the Midwest Writing Center and was a top-five finalist for The Iowa Department of Education's Iowa Teacher of the Year in 2022.

Theresa Meyers

A former journalist and public relations executive in the publishing industry, award-winning author Theresa Meyers had her first national piece published in Merlin’s Pen magazine at age 17.

Over the past 25 years, she’s penned dozens of articles for national magazines and daily newspapers and has 18 published novels with some of the largest publishers in New York, including Kensington and Harlequin, and smaller publishers Entangled Publishing and Diversion Books.

Meyers earned her MA in Strategic Communication from Washington State University. She writes steampunk, paranormal, historical, contemporary romance and young adult.

Twitter: @Theresa_Meyers

J. Lloyd Morgan

J. Lloyd Morgan is a best-selling author, Associate Professor of English, and award-winning television director. Morgan earned his MFA in Creative Writing in 2014 from National University. He also graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in communications and a minor in English.

He has lived all over the United States but now resides with his wife in North Carolina, where they raised four children. Aside from writing, Morgan is an avid reader. He’s also a huge fan of baseball and enjoys listening to music.

He has lived all over the United States, but now resides in North Carolina with his wife and daughters. Aside from writing, Morgan is an avid reader. He’s also a huge fan of baseball and enjoys listening to music.

In addition to his most recent novel, “Going Down the Far Well,” Morgan’s other published novels include The Bariwon Chronicles (“The Hidden Sun,” “The Waxing Moon” and “The Zealous Star”), “Wall of Faith,” “Bring Down the Rain,” “Darker the Shadow,” and “The Mirror of the Soul” (written in conjunction with musician Chris de Burgh).

Morgan joined SNHU in September 2018.

Eileen Rendahl

Eileen Rendahl is a national-bestselling, award-winning author of mystery, thriller, urban fantasy, romantic comedy and romantic suspense. She also writes as Kristi Abbott, Lillian Bell and Eileen Carr.

If you think you’re confused, imagine what it’s like inside her head.

All the Eileens were born in Dayton, Ohio. She moved when she was 4 and only remembers that she was born across the street from Baskin-Robbins. Rendahl remembers anything that has to do with ice cream. Or chocolate. Or champagne.

She received her MFA from Antioch University in Los Angeles in 2015 and has been teaching at SNHU since 2016.

Rendahl has had many jobs and lived in many cities and feels unbelievably lucky to be where she is now and to be doing what she's doing.

Twitter: @eileenrendahl

Beth Revis is a multiple New York Times bestselling author with books available in more than 20 languages. She’s written over a dozen novels across science fiction, fantasy and contemporary genres, including “Across the Universe” and “Star Wars: Rebel Rising.” Her work has been published by Penguin Random House, Disney Hyperion and more, and she also has self-published, including experimental works such as reader-voted serial novels and highly interactive stories that play with form and style.

In addition to publishing over a dozen novels, Revis is also the author of the “Paper Hearts” series, a collection of aids for aspiring authors that includes advice books, workbooks, journals and planners.

A native of North Carolina, Revis received her MA in English Literature after gaining a BA in English Education and a teaching certificate from North Carolina State University. After years in public education, during which time she earned her National Board Certification, she pursued writing full time, but found she still missed being in the classroom. Over the years, she taught individual workshops across the nation before co-founding Wordsmith Workshops, a writer’s resource that provides a series of online and in-person programs for writers at every stage.

Twitter: @bethrevis

Mary SanGiovanni

Mary SanGiovanni is an award-winning American horror and thriller writer of over 20 books, including The Hollower trilogy, “Thrall,” “Chaos,” the Kathy Ryan series and others, as well as numerous novellas, short stories and nonfiction. Her work has been translated internationally.

She has a master’s degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University-Pittsburgh, and is currently a member of The Authors Guild, The International Thriller Writers and Penn Writers.

SanGiovanni is a co-host on the popular podcast “The Horror Show” with Brian Keene, and she hosts her own podcast on cosmic horror, “Cosmic Shenanigans.” She has the distinction of being one of the first women to speak about writing at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and offers talks and workshops on writing around the country.

Born and raised in New Jersey, she currently resides in Pennsylvania.

Cindy Skaggs

Cindy Skaggs grew up on stories of mob bosses, horse thieves, cold-blooded killers and the last honest man. Those mostly true stories gave her a lifelong love of storytelling that enables her writing addiction. She is the author of seven published romantic suspense novels, including “The Untouchables” series for Entangled Publishing, plus the “Team Fear” series.

Her essays have appeared in Progenitor Art & Literary Review, So to Speak Feminist Journal, Wanderlust Journal and the Fredericksburg Literary Art Review.

Skaggs holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and an MA in Creative Writing from Regis University.

She has three jobs, two kids and more pets than she can possibly handle. She also plays the flute, makes crazy-good sculptures out of tortilla dough and can wrangle the neurotic dog without getting mauled.

Twitter: @CLSkaggs

Angie Smibert

Angie Smibert is the author of the middle grade historical fantasy series, Ghosts of Ordinary Objects, which includes “Bone’s Gift,” “Lingering Echoes” and “The Truce.” She’s also written three young adult science fiction novels: “Memento Nora,” “The Forgetting Curve” and “The Meme Plague.” In addition to numerous short stories, she’s published over 30 science and technology books for kids.

Smibert teaches young adult, speculative fiction and thesis classes for SNHU’s online MFA in Creative Writing program, as well as undergraduate composition courses for Indiana University East and Virginia Western Community College.

Before that, she was a science writer and web developer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and a few other government agencies.

Smibert earned her master’s in English from Indiana University. She lives in Roanoke with a goofy dog (named after a telescope) and three bickering cats (named after Tennessee Williams characters), and she puts her vast store of useless knowledge to work at the weekly pub quiz.

Twitter: @amsmibert

Connie Smith

Connie Smith is a young adult/children’s author whose otherworldly stories often embrace fantasy, myth, magic, and humor. Her published works include “The Division” series (“Within the Essence,” “Through the Ashes,” “Beyond the Hope,” “A Midsummer’s Glimmer,” and “In Your Wings”). She’s also written young/new adult romance novels (“Jivin’ Tango,” “Waltzin’ Blind,” and “Tail Lights & Teardrops”), nonfiction articles, and short stories for different companies. Other projects include recipe and activity books, as well as lyric contributions to other fiction stories.

She loves and lives in her small Appalachian corner of Kentucky, where she teaches middle school English and enjoys the simple things in life. She holds her MA in English, which she earned at SNHU, as well as a master’s in teaching.

Kim Tomsic is an award-winning author of two picture books and two novels.

She is the recipient of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Crystal Kite Award, the Norman A. Sugarman Biography Honor, the Keystone to Reading Award, and the Comstock-Gág Award. Her books have been selected for the Junior Library Guild, the Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List, the New York Public Library Best Book List, the National Science Teaching Association’s Best STEM Books list and other "best of" lists. She is a finalist for the 2024 Nutmeg Award, Beehive Award, the California Young Readers Medal, and other honors.

Tomsic is passionate about helping students deconstruct the tricks and tips that make a story delightful. She remembers what it’s like to be a hopeful new writer and looks forward to helping others navigate the maze of craft and the business of publishing. Her next novel, “The Truth about 5th Grade” (HarperCollins, summer 2024), is a highly illustrated epistolary novel co-written with and illustrated by Rueben Award-winning cartoonist Mark Parisi.

She earned her MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University and her BA in History from the University of Texas at Austin

Letitia Trent

Tiffany Trent

Tiffany Trent is the author of eight young adult science fiction and fantasy books, including the Hallowmere series (“Wizards of the Coast/Mirrorstone”) and The Unnaturalists duology (Simon & Schuster/Saga). Her first novel, “Hallowmere: In the Serpent’s Coils,” was a New York Public Library Book of the Teen Age and an IndieNext List book, among other lists. “The Unnaturalists” was a 2013 Green Earth Book Award Honor for young adult environmental content.

She has published several short stories in anthologies like “Clockwork Cairo” and “Willful Impropriety,” as well as in magazines like Mythic Delirium and Subterranean. Her most recent anthology, “The Underwater Ballroom Society,” co-edited with Stephanie Burgis, was a Locus Finalist for Best Anthology in 2018.

Trent has an MA in English, an MS in Environmental Studies and an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Prose from the University of Montana, and she has worked as a science communicator in addition to teaching creative writing for Virginia Tech and Southern New Hampshire University.

Sidney Williams

Sidney Williams is the author of a number of novels, including recent releases: “Fool’s Run,” “Disciples of the Serpent,” “Dark Hours” and “Midnight Eyes” from Crossroad Press. Publisher’s Weekly had this praise for “Fool’s Run”: “This thriller-cum-caper will keep readers eagerly turning pages.”

Williams’ early publications were released by Pinnacle Books, an imprint of Kensington. Those include “When Darkness Falls,” “Blood Hunter,” “Gnelfs,” “Night Brothers” and “Azarius.” Additionally, he wrote three young adult horror novels under the name Michael August for Kensington’s Z-Fave imprint.

His short work has also appeared in Cemetery Dance, Infernal Ink, Eulogy, Sanitarium and in diverse anthologies, including Quoth the Raven, Under the Fang, Demon Sex, Crafty Cat Crimes, Constable New Crimes, Love Among the Thorns, Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse, Hot Blood: Deadly After Dark and Deranged. He wrote comic book scripts for Caliber Press, Campfire Comics, Malibu Graphics and Silverline Comics.

Williams earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. He has taught creative writing for more than seven years. He is also a journalist and former newspaper reporter and has worked in corporate communications.

Twitter: @Sidney_Williams

Heather Gemmen Wilson

Heather Gemmen Wilson is an award-winning author and speaker, having published over 20 books, most notably her memoir, “Startling Beauty.”

She enjoyed an exciting career as a book editor before returning to school, where she discovered that education brings not just new knowledge but a sense of exhilaration.

Wilson earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Ashland University, as well as her MA in Creative Writing at Ball State University, where her thesis was selected as the Outstanding Creative Project.

Now teaching at the college level, fulfilling her passion to help the next generation of writers to find their voices and impact the world.

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8 & 15, as well as many others.

Wytovich has been teaching in Southern New Hampshire University's MFA Program for 5+ years and is a recipient of the Elizabeth Matchett Stover Memorial Award, the 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Writers Grant, and has received the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for non-fiction writing.

Wytovich is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection, Brothel, earned a home with Raw Dog Screaming Press alongside Hysteria: A Collection of Madness, Mourning Jewelry, An Exorcism of Angels, Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare, and The Apocalyptic Mannequin. Her debut novel, The Eighth, is published with Dark Regions Press, and her nonfiction craft book for speculative poetry, Writing Poetry in the Dark, is available now from Raw Dog Screaming Press. Her 2023 poetry collection, On the Subject of Blackberries, is out now.

Follow Wytovich at https://www.stephaniemwytovich.com/ and on Twitter and Instagram @SWytovich and @thehauntedbookshelf. You can also sign up for her newsletter at https://stephaniemwytovich.substack.com/ .

Anne-Marie Yerks

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• Major in Creative Writing (B.A.)

A way with words

From poetry to prose, fiction to nonfiction, script to screenplay, creative writing can challenge your imagination and serve as a repository for your reflections on the human experience.

As a student in the English Department’s creative writing major, you’ll learn to analyze effectively and to write persuasively in courses taught by faculty who are themselves published writers. Analysis of the work of great writers will provide you with ideas and inspiration, while interactive workshops will allow you to present your writing to classmates and receive valuable feedback.

There are several outlets for your creative writing. You can enter any of the English Department’s four annual writing contests; submit your work for publication in Clark’s student literary magazine; or publish your work on the Clark Student Voices blog.

Catalog Requirements for:

Why Study Creative Writing at Clark?

• Professional writers will be your guides you as you as you explore literary works and apply what you learn to develop and refine your own writing.
• Work one-on-one with faculty in the Creative Writing Capstone course to analyze and contextualize your own creative work.
• Aspiring playwrights can submit their scripts to the Visual and Performing Arts Department’s biennial New Play Festival, which produces full-length plays written, directed, and performed by Clark undergrads.

Featured Courses

Writing the novel.

Through careful study of published works, students will unpack the role and function of central elements of a novel and apply these techniques to their own over through weekly writing exercises.

Publishing & Literary Journals

Students gain experience working at an online literary journal: calls for submission, reading and voting on submissions, editing accepted works, preparing the issue for launch, and working on special-editions.

Creating Character

This course is a deep dive into creating dynamic characters, building them layer by layer, considering motivation, backstory, conflict, point of view, and voice.

The Creative Writing Path

Our program offers a range of courses, from foundational areas, such as Shakespeare, Romanticism, and global literature, to emergent fields, such as medical humanism, critical race theory, and sexuality studies. We advise English Department majors to take two historical surveys, one pre-1850 and one post-1850, early in their programs. A 100-level genre course is another good introductory class for students contemplating the major. The Creative Writing major and minor includes courses in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction taught by professional writers. These courses guide students to examine literary works as a writer to apply what they learn to their own writing. Interactive workshops, moreover, provide the feedback that helps students to develop and refine their work. Please contact Coordinator of Creative Writing, Phil Lemos, for more information.

Our program provides a number of scholarly opportunities, such as participation in Sigma Tau Delta (our national Honors Society), our Capstone in Creative Writing, and our Honors program. We also have connections to a number of internships, such as the London Internship Program, which offers positions in the fields of theater and journalism, in addition to internships with local newspapers and journals, as well as national organizations.

The department and faculty offices are located in beautiful Anderson House. Many English courses, department colloquia, and other events take place in this historic building. We invite you to read our blog and our newsletter, The English Times [PDF], to learn more.

Qualified students are eligible for election to Sigma Tau Delta, the National Honor Society in English.

Study Abroad

The English Department has a special arrangement with the University of East Anglia in England, the Advanced Studies in English in Bath, England and the London Internship Program. For information, please consult with Professor Neuman, Chair, or Clark’s Study Abroad Programs.

Building your foundation

The Clark Experience

We structure our curriculum around Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP), which connects classroom learning with action through world and workplace experiences.

At Clark, your education extends beyond the classroom. Visit the Career Connections Center  to learn more about  internship opportunities that complement your coursework and put your English knowledge into practice.

In cooperation with the University’s internship office, the English Department supports internships for all majors. Internships are available both in university offices and in venues beyond the campus-for example, newspapers, news departments of radio and television stations, periodical and book publishers, and communication departments. Please consult with Professor Neuman, Chair, for further information.

As a complement to this concentration, you can engage in a variety of related experiential learning opportunities, including internships, study abroad, and research. You can enter any or all of the English Department’s four annual writing contests; submit your work for publication in Caesura, Clark’s student literary magazine; or publish your work on the Clark Writes blog. Aspiring playwrights can submit their scripts to the Visual and Performing Arts Department’s biennial New Play Festival, which produces full-length plays written, directed, and performed by Clark undergrads.

Internships are available both in university offices and in venues beyond the campus-for example, newspapers, news departments of radio and television stations, periodical and book publishers, and communication departments.

Study Abroad and Away

Participation in a Study Abroad and Away program is an opportunity to gain world and workplace experience to complement your on-campus work. Clark approves semester, yearlong, and summer opportunities to earn credit through academic coursework, internships, community-based learning, or research.  The English Department has a special arrangement with the University of East Anglia in England, the Advanced Studies in English in Bath, England and the London Internship Program. For information, please consult with Professor Neuman, Chair, or Clark’s Study Abroad Programs.

Explore our Study Abroad and Away  page, where you can search programs by academic interest, location , and language; after you’ve identified some appropriate programs, ensure they fit into your four-year plan by talking with your faculty adviser as early as possible.

You can participate in Clark’s many clubs, organizations, and athletic teams as a way to complement your academic work. Here are some student organizations that might be of interest to you as a Creative Writing student:

• The Scarlet (student newspaper)
• Clark Poetry Slam
• Caesura Literary Magazine
• Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark

Phi Beta Kappa Society, Washington, D.C.

writing internship for the national office

Worcester Magazine

editorial intern

New York City Ballet Archives

archive assistant

Brown for Missouri, Clayton, Mo.

campaign aide

D'Amico & Chenelle, Worcester

legal assistant/paralegal

Smithsonian Science Education Center, Washington, D.C.

digital science writer

Clark is committed to action-based learning, which means as an undergraduate you can join faculty and graduate students in their research . Our faculty are active researchers in a variety of English subfields including medieval and Renaissance literature; contemporary literary theory; semiotics and rhetorical theory; literary treatments of ethnicity; critical and literary theory; and book history and manuscript culture.

The English Department actively supports the development of young scholars and the presentation of student research in multiple formats. As an undergraduate student in Creative Writing, you’ll receive support from faculty mentors to pursue and present your creative work, with the opportunity to present your findings. You can also apply for funding to support your own research on a project of your choice during the academic year or during the summer.

The Goddard Library ’s Rare Books Open House allows students to curate an exhibition of treasures from Goddard Library’s Special Collections. English students created and contributed to the Mix(L)it Digital Exhibit , a digital exhibit of mixed race literary and screen characters.

Our program facilitates scholarly research through our Capstone in English, a senior research project, and our Honors program. Please contact Professor Blake, Director of the Honors Program, for information. Also, every year The American Antiquarian Society, a prestigious national research library of American culture located in Worcester, offers seminars in specialized topics in American studies. Please contact Professor Neuman for more information.

Writing contests

Four writing contests , with prizes awarded, are hosted annually by the English Department. They are open to all Clark undergraduates.

• Loring Holmes & Ruth Dodd Drama Contest
• Prentiss Cheney Hoyt Poetry Contest
• Betty ’79 and Stanley Sultan Short Story Contest
• Leroy Allston Ames Essay Contest

At Clark you’ll get more than a great education; you’ll also be prepared for a long, productive career and life of consequence. And once you’ve completed your degree, you can join other Clark alumni who have gone on to work for great organizations and attend some of the best graduate schools in the world.

English majors are excellent communicators and highly adaptable, creative problem-solvers who apply their critical thinking skills to productive effect in a variety of professions. A foundation in creative writing is an asset to those seeking careers in education, digital and print media, marketing and public relations, and psychology.

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San Jose State University

California, united states.

The MFA at SJSU balances literary study with creative writing workshops. The program is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their talents in more than one genre while increasing their knowledge of modern and contemporary literature in a variety of forms and across a diverse range of cultural and critical perspectives. The program also features courses that provide hands-on preparation for beginning one's writing career in a globalized, technologically enhanced world.

Situated in downtown San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley's cultural center, the MFA program offers students a portal into the writing life. SJSU is the literary incubator for Silicon Valley. Students will be taught by instructors who are themselves publishing poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, translators, and editors - many of whom work in both traditional and cutting-edge forms, and who are involved in the arts and technology networks of Silicon Valley.

The English Department publishes Reed magazine, one of the oldest campus literary journals on the West Coast, with over 60 years of continuous publication. Reed is student-produced and offers opportunity for the editing experience as well as a possible publishing venue.

Contact Information

Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing +

Undergraduate program director.

The goals of the BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing are: to provide students the opportunity to concentrate their studies in the field of Creative Writing. To provide these students a course of study in the craft, theory, and practice of writing fiction, creative nonfiction, and/or poetry. To provide these students a course of study in literature and expository writing which will support their studies in Creative Writing courses. Many students earning a BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration will continue on to apply for admission to the MFA Program in Creative Writing, or will pursue a professional Creative Writing career.

Undergraduate classes in Creative Writing at SJSU are supplemented by the readings and other literary programs sponsored by the SJSU Center for Literary Arts (CLA). Since 1986, the CLA has provided readings, lectures and seminars that allow the San Jose community to interact with writers of contemporary literature who have demonstrated exceptional voice and vision. Its mission is to spread the influence of and interest in literature throughout the South Bay area and to facilitate cross-cultural understanding in the region's ethnically diverse population through the appreciation of works of literature. The CLA's Major Authors Series has been the most significant literary series in the region, presenting to the community five winners of the Nobel Prize, fifteen winners of the National Book Award and twenty-eight winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

The CLA is funded by grants and donations from individuals and foundations.

SJSU also publishes REED Magazine, an annual student-run Literary Magazine published every Spring and featuring submissions of original poetry and short stories from across the nation. (For more information click on http://www.reedmag.org/drupal/.)

Below are requirements for this focused concentration in Creative Writing.

(To see a detailed description of the SJSU BA Concentration in Creative Writing curriculum and individual courses, click on: http://www.sjsu.edu/english/undergraduate/degreeplans/majorcreatwrit.)

PREREQUISITE: 3 Units.

ENGL 71: Introduction to Creative Writing (3) - NOTE: English 71 does not count toward 48 units listed below, but it does satisfy GE Area Requirement C2.

15 Units of Creative Writing

ENGL 105: Advanced Composition (3)

ENGL 130: Fiction Writing (repeatable up to 3X) (3)

ENGL 131: Poetry Writing (repeatable up to 3X) (3)

ENGL 133: REED Magazine (repeatable 2X) (3)

ENGL 134: Speechwriting (3)

ENGL 135: Creative Nonfiction Writing (repeatable up to 3X) (3)

LITERATURE REQUIREMENTS: 9 UNITS

ENGL 149: The Romantic Period

ENGL 150: The Victorian Age

ENGL 151: Twentieth Century Poetry

ENGL 153B: Nineteenth Century British Novel

ENGL 154: British and Irish Fiction Since 1900

ENGL 161: American Literature to 1830 (3)

ENGL 162: American Literature: 1830-1865 (3)

ENGL 163: American Literature: 1865-1910 (3)

ENGL 164: American Literature: 1910- 1945 (3)

ENGL 165: Topics in Ethnic American Literature (3)

ENGL 166: American Literature Since 1945 (3)

ENGL 167: Steinbeck (3)

ENGL 168: The American Novel (3)

ENGL 169: Ethnicity in American Literature (3)

ENGL 176: The Short Story (3)

ENGL 177: Twentieth Century Fiction

Foreign Language Requirement

One year of foreign langauge study at the college level or equivalency through examination.

CORE REQUIREMENTS: 24 UNITS

A. Core Shared with the General English Major:

ENGL 56A: Survey of English Lit

ENGL 68A: Survey of American Lit

ENGL 68B: Survey of American Lit

ENGL 100W: Writing Workshop (Expository Writing for English Majors)

ENGL 122: Comp Lit, or 123 A, B, C, or D Global Lit

OR 125A: Homer to Dante

ENGL 144: Shakespeare

OR 145: Shakespeare and Performance

B. Core Course For CW Concentration

ENGL 139: Living Writers Seminar

C. Capstone Core Course for CW Concentration

ENGL 193C: Capstone Seminar in Creative Writing and Self-Reflection

Total Concentration Plus Core Units:

Bachelor of Arts in English/Literature +

Minor / concentration in creative writing +.

SJSU offers English Majors a concentration in Creative Writing. All Creative Writing and upper division classes are 4 units.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing +

Graduate program director.

The MFA at SJSU is a dual-genre program that balances literary study with creative writing workshops. The program is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their talents in more than one genre while increasing their knowledge of modern and contemporary literature in a variety of forms and across a diverse range of cultural and critical perspectives. The program also features courses that provide hands-on preparation for beginning one's writing career in a globalized, technologically enhanced world.

Situated in downtown San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley's cultural center, the MFA program will offer students a portal into the writing life. Students will be taught by instructors who are themselves publishing poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, translators, and editors - many of whom work in both traditional and cutting-edge forms, and who are involved in the arts and technology networks of Silicon Valley.

Samuel Maio

Samuel Maio is the author of THE BURNING OF LOS ANGELES (1996), and CREATING ANOTHER SELF: VOICE IN MODERN AMERICAN PERSONAL POETRY (2005), both from Truman State University Press. His poems, essays, and reviews have been published widely in periodicals.

http://www.sjsu.edu/cwmfa/faculty.html

Alan Soldofsky

Alan Soldofsky is a veteran of the San Francisco Bay Area poetry scene. His 2013 collection of poems, IN THE BUDDHA FACTORY, from Truman State University Press, was a finalist for the T. S. Eliot Award. He has been a contributing editor of Poetry Flash, and co-host of the popular poetry show “Planet on the Table” on Berkeley’s KPFA radio. He has published three poetry chapbooks: Kenora Station, Staying Home, and Holding Adam / My Father’s Books, a chapbook that includes a selection of poems by his son, Adam Soldofsky. Over the last three decades, his poems have been published widely in magazines and journals,

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/alan.soldofsky/

Nick Taylor

Nick Taylor is the author of the historical novels The Disagreement (Simon & Schuster, 2008) and FATHER JUNIPERO'S CONFESSOR (Heyday, 2013). Nick's work has earned a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship and the Michael Shaara Prize for Civil War Fiction. He has also received support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the William R. Kenan, Jr., Fund for Historic Preservation. Currently Nick serves as Associate Professor of English and Director of the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San José State University. In 2014, Doubleday published his first thriller, The Setup Man, under the pseudonym T.T. Monday.

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty_and_staff/faculty_detail.jsp?id=2136

Cathleen Miller

Cathleen Miller's biography of Dr, Nafis Sadik, CHAMPION OF CHOICE, is the result of ten years of work and many, many strange circumstances. Other publication credits include travel stories for a variety of newspapers and anthologies. Miller is also the coauthor of DESERT FLOWER, the life story of activist Waris Dirie which describes the Somali nomad's experience with female genital mutilation. This book's print version has sold 11 million copies in 55 languages, and was later adapted as a feature film released in 34 nations. Cathleen Miller is a professor of creative writing at San José State University.

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cathleen.miller/

Scott Sublett

Scott Winfield Sublett, a veteran screenwriter screenwriting teacher, is known for writing BYE-BYE BIN LADEN (2009), GENERIC THRILLER (2009) and PIZZA WARS: THE MOVIE (2002). He also has published a screenwriting guide, SCREENWRITING FOR NEUROTICS (2014).

Sally Ashton

Sally Ashton is a poet, writer, teacher, and Editor-in-Chief of DMQ Review, an online journal featuring poetry and art. She earned her BA in English with a creative writing minor from SJSU, and her MFA in Poetry and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars.

She is the recipient of an Artist Fellowship, Poetry, from Arts Council Silicon Valley and a fellowship from Montalvo Arts Center. She is the author of three books of poetry, two of which were nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Poems also appear in the textbook, An Introduction to the Prose Poem, and Breathe: 101 Contemporary Odes, as well as in literary journals such as Sentence: A Journal of Prose Poetics, Brevity, Zyzzyva, 5am, Mississippi Review, and Poet Lore. She was awarded the Fish Flash Fiction First Prize, an international award, in 2014.

Ashton was appointed the second Santa Clara County Poet Laureate on April 1, 2011. During her term, she compiled a collection of the favorite poems of County residents posted on a project blog. Besides teaching at San Jose State University, she teaches private workshops and at writer’s workshops including Disquiet: An International Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal.

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/sally.ashton/

Selena Anderson

Selena Anderson is a writer from Texas. She completed her MFA at Columbia University where she won the Transatlantic/Henfield Prize, and her Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Her stories have appeared in Glimmer Train, Kenyon Review, AGNI, and Cosmonauts Avenue, and The Best of Gigantic Anthology. She is working on a collection and a novel.

Publications & Presses +

Reed Magazine

Visiting Writers Program +

Kim Addonizio, Daniel Alarcon, Tim Cahill, Cristina Garcia., Sandra M. Gilbert, Molly Giles, Andrew Sean Greer, James D. Houston, James Kelman, Caroyln Kizer, Ursula K. Le Guin, Andrew Lam, Ishmael Reed, Julia Scheeres, Simon Winchester, Vendala Vida, Al Young. The 2018 Lurie Distinguished Author-in-Residence is novelist Don George.

Reading Series +

Center for Literary Arts ( http://www.litart.org/ )

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• English Department
• MFA Creative Writing

Questions? Please contact...

Creative writing, master of fine arts.

This program, which involves completing a creative thesis, allows you to balance academic course work in English with the serious study of creative writing.

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To receive a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject areas, consisting of at least 30 units of graduate-level courses. Many master’s degree programs require more than 30 units. You must additionally complete:

• All requirements for your specific academic plan(s). This may include a thesis.
• All graduate work with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
• All work toward the master's degree must be completed within six consecutive years. The six years begins with the semester and year of admission to the program.

Read the full policy here .

Overview Accordion Closed

In addition to University Requirements:

• Complete individual plan requirements.

Purpose Statement The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing balances the study and practice of creative writing with academic coursework in English. Students participate in writing workshops in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, undertake coursework in literature, and study critical theory. MFA candidates will present a creative thesis of between 45 to 120 pages, depending on genre.  The MFA Program at Northern Arizona University allows you to:   

• live and write in the beautiful, vibrant city of Flagstaff
• focus on poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction
• participate in intensive writing workshops with dedicated professors

Student Learning Outcomes   Upon completion of the Creative Writing MFA students will be able to:

• Examine, explicate, analyze and evaluate literary texts of considerable difficulty in order to determine the place of the student’s own work within a literary tradition.
• Develop the student’s own critical and aesthetic position, based on recognizing, understanding, and interpreting critical positions and literary arguments of other authors.
• Read and respond thoughtfully and thoroughly to work by other MFA students in order to hone the critical, intellectual, and analytical skills that are crucial to success in a broad range of literary, artistic, cultural and professional fields.
• Investigate the world of literary publishing in order to discover suitable journals, magazines and/or quality trade book publishers to which the student author can submit his/her own finished work.
• Refine skills in drafting, revising and editing in a primary literary genre with the goal of producing a polished creative manuscript of marketable quality.
• public readings,
• interviewing other writers,
• attending outside readings,
• writing book reviews,
• serving on editorial boards, and
• organizing literary events.

Details Accordion Closed

Graduate admission information.

The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Graduate College. Admission requirements include the following:

• Transcripts.
• Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale ("A" = 4.0), or the equivalent.

Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies. Ready to apply? Begin your application now.

International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy .

Additional Admission Requirements

Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

• 2 letters of recommendation
• Writing sample
• Personal statement or essay

Master's Requirements

This Master’s degree requires 36 units distributed as follows:

• Creative Writing courses: 12 units
• Supportive coursework: 12 units
• Electives chosen with your advisor’s approval: 6 to 9 units
• Thesis: 3 to 6 units (if 6 units of thesis are selected, it will reduce the number of units of electives required for the degree)
• 500- and 600-level creative writing courses, some of which may be repeated for 9 units of credit (12 units)
• Coursework in literature, literary criticism, literary theory, and/or readings in creative writing (12 units) 
• Electives chosen with your advisor's approval (6-9 units)
• ENG 699 , for the research, writing, and revision of an approved thesis. Please note: You may end up taking more than the 6 units of thesis credit you can count toward your degree because you must register for it each semester while you are working on your thesis. (3-6 units)
• Note that up to 6 units of 400-level literature courses may count toward degree, with advisor approval

Additional Information

Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

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Department of English

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2024 Best Creative Writing Schools

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 215 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Creative Writing Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,817 degrees in creative writing during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

• Best Overall Creative Writing Schools List

Choosing a Great Creative Writing School

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Creative Writing Rankings by Degree Level

The creative writing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings , including this list of the Best Creative Writing Schools. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state .

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology .

Best Schools for Creative Writing in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of creative writing degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools in Creative Writing

Every student who is interested in creative writing needs to check out Johns Hopkins University. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were approximately 84 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available.

Any student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to look into University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. This university ranks 7th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 125 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent data year.

Any student who is interested in creative writing needs to check out Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were roughly 18 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available.

Any student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to take a look at University of Chicago. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 36 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were approximately 134 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 17 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were about 35 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available.

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 45 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 54 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 9 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year.

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were about 55 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent data year.

Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were roughly 17 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent year we have data available.

Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.

There were about 43 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available.

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 19 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available.

UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle. This university ranks 1st out of 51 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were roughly 58 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year.

WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available.

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 7 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year.

Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were roughly 6 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.

Wellesley is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wellesley. This college ranks 12th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were about 12 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Wellesley in the most recent data year.

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 86 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available.

Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames. This university ranks 1st out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 12 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year.

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 18 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year.

Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were roughly 53 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available.

University of Arizona is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Tucson. This university ranks 3rd out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were approximately 84 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year.

Located in the town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 26 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at BGSU in the most recent year we have data available.

Rest of the Top Best Creative Writing Schools

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Creative Writing Schools award.

Creative Writing by Region

View the Best Creative Writing Schools for a specific region near you.

Other Rankings

Associate degrees in creative writing, master's degrees in creative writing, bachelor's degrees in creative writing, doctor's degrees in creative writing.

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Creative Writing

One of 4 majors within the Writing Studies area of study, Creative Writing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Creative Writing

View All Creative Writing Related Majors >

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System ( IPEDS ) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s ( College Scorecard ).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO .

More about our data sources and methodologies .

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Creative writing

Creative writing aims to express ideas and ask questions. It is different to other academic styles, because unlike essays or reports, where the purpose is to make an argument or put forward a key message, creative writing dramatizes and represents real or imagined ideas, people, places and contemporary and historical moments in inventive ways. Creative writing includes novels, short stories, poems, screenplays, memoirs, graphic novels, plays and other forms.

While you might not need to research a creative piece as you would an essay or report, imagination and thought inform creative work. Some aspects of writing and revising you should keep in mind include the following questions:

Is your work original?

While you might base your work on a real event or person, the way you represent your ideas in your writing needs to be original and captivating. In addition, and just like other kinds of academic work, you should maintain your integrity by not claiming someone else's ideas as your own. Effective creative works present something new and unique to their reader.

If you are considering writing something like fan fiction, where existing worlds and characters are reimagined by the writer, then you should check with your course convenor as to whether this suits their requirements of originality.

What form and genre are you writing in?

First you should know what kind of form you are working in. For example, is it a short story or a poem you are creating? Within your form, think about genre, which exist within each form.  For instance, novels can be crime, fantasy, sci-fi, literary fiction, romance, the list goes on! When you are writing you should consider what makes the genre unique, the conventions that make up the genre, and whether you will follow those conventions in an original way, or subvert them.

What kind of world are you trying to build with your writing?

Any kind of creative work aims to create an atmosphere and an experience for its audience. This mood is evoked through a combination of things like characters, setting, action, narration. It helps to think about this from the beginning so that you can start to build the world as you write. Remember: nothing happens nowhere.

What is the best way to express your ideas?

In creative writing there is an abundance of options in terms of how you express yourself - the opportunities are endless! So when you are making choices about your piece, such as which style of narration to use (1st person, 2nd person, or 3rd person), and how to convey the events (chronological order or through employing flashbacks), and what type of language you'll use, you should consider your options critically. You will want to contemplate things like what is practical, what is typical of your genre, and what style feels authentic to you.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

Some people write with a plan in mind which lays out exactly what will happen in their piece (planners), while others prefer to start with an idea and see where it takes them as they write (they fly by the seat of their pants - so pantsers). This may vary from person to person, but also between pieces. It might also be that you work best when using a combination of plotting and seeing where something takes you.

By figuring out which option works best, you can tap into your creative side more easily, enjoy your writing, and get your ideas down on the page.

Are you aiming for clarity or mystery?

Generally with academic writing you are aiming for clarity; you want to express yourself in a clear way to convince your reader of your argument. But when writing creatively you might not want things to be absolutely lucid in the same way. Perhaps you are obscuring certain details from the reader until they find them out later (like in crime and mystery stories) or perhaps you want everything to be vivid from the beginning.

It is worth thinking about what you want your reader to know and understand then approach your writing accordingly. Remember: readers want to be pulled along by your narrative through the desire to know what happens next, but they don't want to be so puzzled as to no longer care what happens next!

Do you know how to edit?

When you're writing you want to be in the flow of your creativity, but it's also important to go back later and reread what you've written. Whether you are a pantser or a planner, anything you write benefits from an editorial eye and a closer look. Editing involves thinking about precise images, concision, and details significant to the story, but also the bigger picture, things like structure and pacing.

Are you open to feedback?

While your writing is your own and only you can decide what is best for your artistic vision, feedback from other readers is invaluable to the writing process. Readers might catch something you didn't spot or suggest something you would never have considered. Just as important as the editorial eye you take over your own work, someone else's reading brings new thoughts and angles to your writing.

It is worth thinking of feedback as constructive and encouraging rather than disparaging, as all great work benefits from help along the way. Most of all, the more you learn how others read and understand your work, the more you will be able to internalise that sense of audience, and write with enthralled readers in mind.

Do you know what the marking rubric is asking of you?

Creative writing is inventive, freeing, and expressive, but it also needs to fulfil the purposes set out for it. If it's a short story, perhaps its purposes involve building a plot and interesting characters; if a poem, then having an image or strong feeling to express.

When writing creatively for an assessment it is still important to keep in mind what the course convenor is asking you to show them. This could mean working within a certain genre, demonstrating principles of creative practice, or showing your editing process.

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Santa Clara University

The jesuit university in silicon valley.

• Creative Writing Minor
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The Creative Writing Program offers students a coherent course of study in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

The creative writing minor is firmly grounded within the liberal arts tradition, integrating courses in poetry, fiction, screenwriting, and creative nonfiction writing within their broader literary and cultural context.

Introductory courses familiarize students with the practice and theory of creative writing. Advanced courses offer a workshop setting in which students write and critique one another’s work. Electives focus on particular genres of creative writing, such as Lifewriting, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Screenwriting. All creative writing courses incorporate some study of literature as well as close attention to students’  own creative writing.

English majors who complete the Creative Writing minor may use their Creative Writing track courses for both the major and the minor.

*English majors who complete the Creative Writing minor may use their Creative Writing track courses for both the major and the minor.

Two Introductory Courses:

• English 71 . Fiction Writing

English 72. Poetry Writing

Two Sections of the Practicum Course:  

• English 91. Literary Review Practicum

One Advanced Course:

• English 171. Advanced Fiction Writing or English 172. Advanced Poetry Writing (may not double dip)

Three Electives From the Following:

• English 73. Lifewriting
• English 74. New Forms for Creative Writing
• English 170. Writing for Children and Young Adults
• English 171. Advanced Fiction Writing
• English 172. Advanced Poetry Writing
• English 173. Screenwriting
• English 175. Creative Nonfiction
• English 176. Creative Writing and Social Justice
• English 177. Writing Genre Fiction
• English 178. Creative Writing and Performing
• English 179W. Playwriting
• English 179. Advanced Playwriting

All SCU students have the opportunity to work on the University’s literary magazine. Published twice a year,  the Review includes fiction, essays, poetry, book reviews, art and photography from the Santa Clara University Community and the Bay Area. In the Literary Magazine Practicum, one-unit courses offered every quarter, students discuss submissions.

Each year three department literary prizes for undergraduates are given: the McCann Prize for the best short story, the Shipsey Prize for the best poem or group of poems, and the Academy of American Poets “Tamara Verga Poetry Prize” for the best poem or group of poems. In addition, SCU participates in the Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize, choosing three finalists to compete with other California university undergraduates. The winning manuscripts receive cash awards and maybe published in the Santa Clara Review.

The Writing Forward Reading Series  brings creative writers with international, national, and regional reputations to the Santa Clara University campus for readings, classroom discussions, informal meetings with students, and interviews with the Santa Clara Review literary/arts magazine. This collaborative program between the English Department’s Creative Writing Program and the student-run Santa Clara Review is grounded in the Department’s and University’s commitment to involving undergraduate students in research collaboration with faculty, and is dedicated to reaching out to both the campus and local communities.

Poets and writers brought to campus include  Robert Hass  (U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize),  Carolyn Forché  (Yale Younger Poets, NEA and Lannan grants),  Khaled Hosseini  (NYT Bestseller List, SCU alumnus),  Viet Thanh Nguyen  (Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur Grant),  Tobias Wolff  (Pen/Faulkner Award, National Medal of the Arts),  Reyna Grande  (American Book Award, International Latino Book Award),  Gerald Stern  (National Book Award, Guggenheim),  Juan Felipé Herrera  (American Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, US Poet Laureate),  Dana Gioia  (American Book Award, Chair of NEA),  Rigoberto Gonzalez  (American Book Award, Guggenheim),  Raina Leon  (Cave Canem and MacDowell Fellow),  Jim Shepard  (Guggenheim Award, The Story Prize)  Alexandra Teague  (Stegner and NEA Fellowships), Norma Cantú (MLA Distinguished Scholar Award), and  Cheryl Dumesnil  (Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize, SCU alumna).

Students majoring or minoring in English and/or Creative Writing and those working on the Santa Clara Review from a variety of majors are actively engaged in planning, inviting, and organizing the series, in close collaboration with faculty. This involvement gives undergraduates hands-on experience with the fields of writing, publishing, and public relations, while also ensuring that the series continues to speak to our campus population. The faculty-student collaboration that undergirds the series is also mirrored in interdisciplinary collaboration on campus and in community collaboration off campus. 

In the last few years, over two dozen SCU students who have studied Creative Writing have been accepted into M.A., M.F.A., and Ph.D. programs in Creative Writing at University of Virginia, University of Iowa, Syracuse University, New York University, San Francisco State, University of Denver, University of Montana, University of Arizona, Bennington College, UC Davis, Brown University, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, USC, among others. Several have received prestigious fellowships and teaching assistantships to these universities. English major alumni include Neal Jimenez, who won first prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his film, Waterdance, and Jeff Brazil, who won a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism.

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Kirk Glaser, Claudia MonPere McIsaac, Cory Wade, Juan Velasco

Fiction and Screenwriting:

Kirk Glaser, Ron Hansen, David Keaton, Claudia MonPere McIsaac, Tim Myers, Juan Velasco

Nonfiction:

Simone Billings, Diane Dreher

For more information, contact:

Kirk Glaser

Director Creative Writing Program (408) 554-4384 Direct (408) 554-4837 Fax [email protected]

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No directory results. check spelling or press "enter" to search ., there was an error. press enter to search google, download or view full directories: personnel and departments . request changes to this directory ., creative writing contest winners announced at national poetry month celebration.

By Linda Brown

© Western New Mexico University

The WNMU J. Cloyd Miller Library and the Humanities Department held the annual National Poetry Month celebration on Thursday, April 4, 2024. The winners of the WNMU Humanities Creative Writing Contest were announced at the event. Winning first place in both the poetry and prose categories was English major Brandon Lee Miller. Tying for second place in the poetry category were English major Ariana Zuniga and art major Felix Gutierrez. Winning second place in the prose category was art major Gabe Farley.

Presenters at the celebration included Miller Library Director Samantha Johnson, Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education/Spanish Gregory Robinson Guerra, Assistant Professor of English Heather Frankland, students from Frankland’s English 097 class, the WNMU Writer in Residence, JJ Amaworo Wilson, Outreach and Instruction Librarian Maddy Nittmo and the former poet laureates of Grant County.

Miller’s winning poem, “The Joys of Cycling,” focuses of the exhilaration of riding a bicycle. “I have been an avid cyclist for roughly seven years,” said Miller, “and I wanted to write a poem that summarized what my experience has been. Aside from being my main source of transport, I enjoy riding around town, particularly in the evenings. Silver City is a nice town to cruise in, with all the mountains, trees, and neighborhoods.”

Miller said it felt surreal to win the contest. “I never thought I would even become a writer,” he said. “When I first started this process back in 2017, it wasn’t a hobby or anything. It was therapy. I had a lot of fears and worries that I didn’t know how to express, so I bought a pen and journal from Walmart one day, wrote my first entry that night, and the rest is history.”

Miller added that his goal now is to be a professional writer, and he said that the contest affirmed his decision. “This contest gave me the chance to expose more of my material,” he said, “To be the winner of a writing contest, to be first place in both categories no less, is a testament to how far I’ve come. It feels like I’ve earned my place.”

Zuniga’s award-winning poem, “Ode to Praise,” also stems from her real-life experiences, especially her passion for music. “Music has always had such a massive place in my life and I cannot go a day without it,” she said. “Ever since I was a little kid, my mom would play popular music from her era and my brother introduced me to a lot of older songs as well.”

Like Miller, Zuniga said she felt affirmed by the award. “To have my writing recognized is an absolute honor especially because I wrote that ode of praise when I was in high school,” she said, “It also made me realize that maybe I’m not such a bad writer.”

All of the contest-winning works will be published in a forthcoming edition of the student-led journal The Maverick. Excerpts from each work are printed below.

From “The Joys of Cycling”

By Brandon Lee Miller

There is something about the way the wind passes by,

The adrenaline that course through my veins,

The exhilaration of drifting in my vessel,

Grazing through graveled pastures,

Journeying through all manner of twists and turns,

Highs and lows, ups and downs,

To the top of the highest hills,

All the way down to the lowest valleys

Of trenches, rivers, creeks, and troughs

From “Ode to Praise”

By Ariana Zuniga

If it’s to last

The getting of knowledge

Should be tangible

It should have a smell

As you lie on the bathroom floor

Seeing the world

Without your eyes

From “Realities Escape”

By Felix Gutierrez

Jordan grasp for the glasses and locks them in place. A black hole in darkness where light does not escape is what greets him. Turn on, he says, with the click of a button. Not once but twice the button is pressed, then he holds on to it with the slightest of pressure. Before his eyes the light swirls on. His hands flick up with excitement. He is ready to be swallowed into color and bright glow.

His avatar, his body has changed, wings crawl along his back as he shifts his eyes from side to side. He gets used to the shift in reality, as he moves with one step forward to this new world that he has not seen in quite a time. What he is welcomed to before him are bright skies with floating mountains and a soft tune from singing foothills.

From “Kid in a Candy Story”

I got to go to a casino for the first time in my life. I went with my father. It was an Indian casino on a reservation so there were a lot of natives and Latinos. We figured we stop there to make some extra cash, show me something different. I did say I want to enjoy life. I didn’t want to miss my chance. So, I went in. I signed up for my card and got $20 worth of credits. We walked around and approached the nearest slot machine. I gazed at the rainbow of gold and neon. All I can think to myself is, “This is like an adult Chuck E’ Cheese.”

From “Floor Time

By Gabe Farley

I am myself from the past.

I am lying on the floor in my unfinished living room of my apartment, and my body hurts. My lungs hurt and my chest muscles are sore. I inhale. This room is a mess of partially finished construction projects and tools. Strewn clothing and dust covers everything, including my small bookshelf and coffee table. My reality is folding on itself as I lie here, but not in a dramatic way. I am not perceiving time as I feel like I should be. I should be going about my day like any other person, like someone who worked through their day, had time to go to the store to pick up groceries, plan out dinner with their partner or family, leisure time, bed time. But here where I am lying, my arms flat against the cold, flaky linoleum floor, my face laying sideways in a thin layer of concrete dust, time isn’t working well for me. I want the minutes to pass in a measurable way; a predictable, logical method. Where one minute takes the same amount of time as the minute before, the same for the previous. But I can’t make that happen.

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University of Notre Dame

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2024 MFA in Creative Writing Final Thesis Reading

Time: Sat Apr 20, 2024, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Location: Philbin Studio Theatre (View on map )

Join us in celebrating the work of our graduating second-year MFA students! Readers will include Gussie Beaver, Rose Darline Darbouze, Tim Fab-Eme, Alaina Johansson, Chibuike Ogbonnaya, Jamjun Rorsoongnern, and Taylor Thomas.

This is a free, but ticketed, event. 

Get Tickets

Gussie Beaver received her B.A. in English from Duquesne University in 2022, Summa Cum Laude. She was the 2021 recipient of the O’Donnell Undergraduate Research Award and the Carroll Creative Writing Scholarship. This enabled her to attend the Elk Rivers Writer’s workshop in Livingston, Montana. She was a Duquesne University Writing Center consultant. Gussie was featured in Duquesne’s alumni magazine Much Ado and was the treasurer of the Duquesne Poet’s Society. Her work has been published multiple times in the literary magazine Lexicon. She is interested in the personification of animals and objects and experimenting with formation. Her favorite poets are Emily Dickinson and e. e. cummings.

Rose Darline Darbouze   is from Béraud, Haiti. She is an MFA candidate in creative writing and is a recipient of a grant from the Graduate School Professional Development Awards at the University of Notre Dame. She was the 2022-2023 Sparks Editorial Fellow at Notre Dame Review , and her work is forthcoming in the Birmingham Poetry Review .

Tim Fab-Eme is an engineer and poet who experiments with poetic forms on environmental and social justice themes. He’s the Issue 7 poetry editor of Reckoning: Creative Writing on Environmental Justice , and Cove Park’s 2022 funded writer-in-residence on climate action. Tim loves exploring nature, gardening, and fishing in the mangrove swamps of his island home, Egun-Okom (Ogonokom). His work has appeared in The Malahat Review , The Fiddlehead , Magma , New Welsh Reader , About Place Journal , Reckoning: Creative Writing on Environmental Justice , Channel: Ireland’s Environmental Literary Journal ; apt , Planet in Crisis Anthology , Deep Wild Journal: Writing from the Backcountry , Land and Territory Anthology , Delmarva Review , FIYAH , and The Future of Black: An Afrofuturism & Black Comics Poetry Anthology , Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review , FU Review , The Maine Review , etc. His other projects center on the lore, myth, and experiences of marginalized folks and communities.

Alaina Johansson  lives in Indiana with dogs, Brigit and Søren. Previous work is published in Early American Literature , Psaltery & Lyre , and 3:AM Magazine . An MFA student studying Poetry at the University of Notre Dame, Johansson works as an editorial assistant at Action Books.

Chibuike Ogbonnaya writes stories that explore humanity, gender and sexuality. They obtained combined honors in English and Literary Studies and History and International Studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Their unpublished collection of thematically linked short stories featuring women, feminine gay men, and gender queer was a finalist for the Iron Horse Literary Review First Book Prize. Chibuike is an alumni of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Workshop. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Green Mountains Review, The Forge Literary Magazine , Taint Taint Taint Magazine , Stellium , Akuko Magazine , Black Femme Co , and elsewhere.

Jamjun Rorsoongnern is a ลูกครึ่ง (Thai american) writer gripped by the musings of nondiscursive knowledge building. At times, their writing dons normative white religious aesthetics in a subversive exploration/queering of sensuality & disidentification. Admittedly a theory nerd, she finds herself fangirling over Barthes, Vuong, Muñoz, Baldwin, & Derrida. Jam writes towards literary/linguistic openings in hopes of creating liminal utopias/liberation/depths with their reading/cultivated communities.

Taylor Thomas (she/her) is a biracial emerging writer from Indiana. Her work has been published in Bayou Magazine , Salt Hill Journal , The Journal , So to Speak Journal , and many more. She was the runner-up for the 2024 Nicholas Sparks Prize Fellowship. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She lives in South Bend, Indiana with her husband, Herschel, and her dogs, Bella & Buster. Website: taylornoellethomas.com

Originally published at english.nd.edu .