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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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A PhD in creative writing opens doors to a variety of career paths that may not be available to talented writers without this degree. If you want to enhance your writing skills and discover new employment opportunities, getting a PhD online can be an excellent solution.

An online Ph.D. in creative writing is a great option for students who aren’t ready to give up personal and professional commitments to pursue a degree. By attending classes online and watching recorded lectures, you can finish your studies without leaving the comfort of your own home.

The key to getting an online PhD is choosing the best option for your needs. Let’s take a closer look at the selection process.

When considering an online Ph.D. you need to understand what this degree entails as well as the opportunities it offers. This terminal degree focuses on the advanced study of creative writing. It is designed for individuals with a passion for writing who aspire to become professionals in the writing industry.

A doctor in creative writing goes beyond the traditional creative writing workshops. It explores the theoretical and critical aspects of the craft. It combines creative writing with scholarly research. The studies allow students to develop their writing skills by engaging in in-depth analysis and reflection on the creative process.

One of the key components of this PhD is writing a creative dissertation. This work demonstrates the student’s mastery of the craft and often takes the form of a novel, a collection of short stories, poetry, or a screenplay. The creative dissertation involves a critical component that demonstrates the student’s understanding and analysis of their creative work. It’s done within the context of existing literary traditions and theories.

In addition to the creative dissertation, students pursuing a doctorate in creative writing engage in rigorous coursework that covers multiple topics. These may include:

• Literary theory
• Genre studies
• Literary criticism
• Research methods

The coursework provides a strong foundation in the theoretical and critical aspects of creative writing. It provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to the field.

This PhD also offers opportunities for professional development and networking. Many courses provide teaching or editorial assistantships, allowing students to gain valuable experience in the classroom. These opportunities not only provide financial support but also enhance the student’s teaching and mentoring skills. Such an approach prepares them for careers in academia or writing-related fields.

A doctorate in creative writing opens doors for students who are interested in pursuing careers as writers, editors, or literary agents. The degree demonstrates a high level of expertise and dedication to the craft. This turns graduates into highly sought-after professionals in the publishing industry. It also provides opportunities for collaboration with established writers through conferences, workshops, and literary events.

Students who opt for an online doctorate enjoy the flexibility and convenience of the format. Online schedules provide access to quality education and resources, allowing students to engage in coursework and research from anywhere in the world. Online learning platforms facilitate interaction with faculty and foster a supportive and collaborative environment.

Career Opportunities with an Online PhD in Creative Writing

After completing an online PhD in Creative Writing, you can either pursue your current career or explore other opportunities. Positions that graduates of online PhD programs can consider include:

Many graduates go on to teach at the university level. They can become professors of creative writing to teach aspiring writers and share their expertise. These positions often involve mentoring students, leading workshops, and conducting research in the field.

Graduates may secure positions as writers-in-residence at universities, organizations, or cultural institutions. In this role, they have the opportunity to work on their own writing projects while also engaging with the community through public readings, workshops, and literary events.

With their deep understanding of the craft of writing, doctoral graduates can pursue careers in editing. You may choose to work as an editor for a publishing house, literary magazine, or online publication. Alternatively, you can start your own editing business and offer services to writers.

Graduates can also explore careers as literary agents. With your knowledge of the publishing industry and the ability to identify exceptional writing talent, you can help other authors navigate the publishing world and build successful writing careers.

Many doctoral graduates choose to pursue freelance writing careers. They may write for magazines, newspapers, websites, or other publications. By leveraging advanced writing skills and critical thinking abilities, you can produce high-quality content across various genres.

After finishing an online PhD program, some people go on to become poet laureates or poetry consultants. In these roles, they promote and celebrate poetry within the community, organize events, and engage in public speaking engagements.

Graduates with a doctor of philosophy in Creative Writing can pursue careers as literary critics or reviewers. They can write book reviews for newspapers, magazines, or online platforms. Their skills allow these professionals to conduct insightful analyses and provide valuable commentary on contemporary literature.

Some doctorate program graduates choose to work in nonprofit organizations related to the literary arts. They may become directors, coordinators, or administrators. Your responsibilities can include organizing writing workshops, author events, and literary festivals.

With their strong writing skills and ability to craft compelling narratives, creative writers with a Ph.D. can excel in content writing and strategy roles. They may work for marketing agencies, businesses, or organizations. In these roles, you may be responsible for creating engaging content for websites, social media, and other platforms.

Graduates can explore careers in screenwriting. They can write scripts for television shows, films, or web series. By leveraging your storytelling abilities and understanding of narrative structure, you can come up with high-quality entertainment content.

Is Getting an Online PhD in Creative Writing a Good Idea?

Obtaining an online doctor of philosophy in creative writing can be a highly rewarding process. It can offer numerous benefits for aspiring writers. Here are a few reasons why it’s worth considering:

A PhD allows you to deepen your understanding of the craft and take your writing skills to an advanced level. Through rigorous coursework, critical analysis, and the production of a creative dissertation, students gain a comprehensive knowledge of the field. They also learn how to develop a unique writing voice.

An online PhD in creative writing can open up many interesting career opportunities. It can qualify graduates for positions as:

• Professors of creative writing
• Writers-in-residence
• Literary agents
• And many more.

This degree demonstrates a high level of expertise and dedication and backs the writer’s talent. When interviewing for a dream job, writers with a PhD have the upper hand.

Pursuing a PhD in creative writing is not just about professional development. It is also a journey of personal growth and self-discovery. Engaging with advanced coursework and exploring new literary theories allows writers to push the boundaries of their creative abilities.

Overall, if you love your writing experience and want to continue your career as a writer, a creative writing doctorate is worth pursuing. It can help you achieve career goals, learn new writing tactics, and explore valuable collaborations.

Top Online PhD Programs in Creative Writing

When choosing the best courses, you need to pay attention to the school’s location (in case occasional visits to the campus are required), accreditation, and time of schedule completion.

This list contains the top online PhD programs in creative writing to help you make the most suitable choice for your needs.

Located in Birmingham, UK, the University of Birmingham offers a solid doctorate program in Creative Writing . The duration of the course is three years if you decide to study full-time. If you enroll in a part-time course, it will take six years to complete.

The creative writing program involves collaboration with published writers, the development of creative writing knowledge, honing critique skills, and discovering new forms of writing for yourself.

The admissions requirements include:

• Master’s degree or relevant experience
• Description of creative project
• Description of the likely critical inquiry
• Examples of creative work
• Personal statement

The school is accredited by the Accredited Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Located in Nottingham, UK, the University of Nottingham has a strong online creative writing PhD program . The full-time schedule takes four years while part-time studies will require eight years. You will be studying independently while getting assistance from faculty through online supervision meetings. By the end of the course, you will complete a 100,000-word written thesis.

Admissions requirements include:

• English proficiency tests if you aren’t a native English speaker
• A PhD proposal
• Summary of research experience

The school is accredited by the Accredited Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Located in Lancaster, UK, Lancaster University offers an online PhD program . The full-time program only takes two years to complete while the part-time program is four years long. During the program, you will work with renowned published writers to hone your writing and creative skills. Lancaster University graduates have published multiple pieces of work and have exciting careers in the writing industry.

Admission requirements include:

• Master’s degree or equivalent (for students from the US, a bachelor’s degree will be sufficient)
• Research proposal
• Portfolio of original writing

Located in Manchester, UK, Manchester Metropolitan University has a distance PhD program in Creative Writing . The program allows you to hone your writing skills together with research training. You can study online but may need to attend some offline workshops and seminars.

• Two letters or recommendations
• A research proposal
• Master’s degree or bachelor’s degree
• Official transcripts
• Examples of your work

Requirements for international students may be different.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the advantages of pursuing an online PhD program in Creative Writing? An online PhD program offers flexibility by allowing students to study at their own pace regardless of their location. It also provides access to a diverse community of writer and industry professionals remotely. Are online PhD programs in Creative Writing as reputable as traditional on-campus programs? Yes, many online PhD programs in Creative Writing are offered by reputable universities and institutions. Accredited online programs often have the same rigorous curriculum and faculty as their on-campus counterparts. How does the online format impact the quality of education in a PhD program? Online PhD programs leverage various interactive technologies to deliver engaging learning experiences. Students have access to digital libraries, research databases, and other valuable information resources. Can I pursue an online doctorate in Creative Writing while working full-time? Yes, online programs offer flexibility that allows students to balance their studies with professional and personal commitments. You can usually access course materials and participate in discussions at your convenience. How long does the online PhD program in Creative Writing usually take to complete? The duration of online PhD programs in creative writing varies from school to school. For full-time format, it usually takes two to four years. If you choose to study part-time, the duration increases.

PHD in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Business Process Management, Faculty of Market Technologies IOM

• Utility Menu

• Creative Writing

The vital presence of creative writing in the English Department is reflected by our many distinguished authors who teach our workshops. We offer courses each term in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, and television writing. Our workshops are small, usually no more than twelve students, and offer writers an opportunity to focus intensively on one genre. 

Apply to Creative Writing Workshops

Workshops are open by application to Harvard College undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and students from other institutions eligible for cross registration. Submission guidelines for workshops can be found under individual course listings; please do not query instructors.  Review all departmental rules and application instructions before applying.  

Fall 2024 Application Deadline: 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, April 7, 2024. Spring 2025 Application Deadline: TBD

Please visit our course listings for all the Fall 2024 workshops.

Our online submission manager (link below) will open for Fall 2024 applications on Friday, March 22 , 2024.

Students who have questions about the creative writing workshop application process should contact Case Q. Kerns at [email protected] .

Featured Faculty

Teju Cole  is a novelist, critic, and essayist, and is the first Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice. "Among other works, the boundary-crossing author is known for his debut novel “Open City” (2011), whose early admirers included Harvard professor and New Yorker critic James Wood." 

Faculty Bookshelf

How to change your mind: what the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence by michael pollan (2018).

Find Me by Laura van den Berg (2015)

Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon (2014)

Once the Shore by Paul Yoon (2009)

Creative Writing Workshops

• Spring 2024

English CACD. The Art of Criticism

Instructor: Maggie Doherty Wednesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site

This course will consider critical writing about art–literary, visual, cinematic, musical, etc.—as an art in its own right. We will read and discuss criticism from a wide variety of publications, paying attention to the ways outlets and audience shape critical work. The majority of our readings will be from the last few years and will include pieces by Joan Acocella, Andrea Long Chu, Jason Farago, and Carina del Valle Schorske. Students will write several short writing assignments (500-1000 words), including a straight review, during the first half of the semester and share them with peers. During the second half of the semester, each student will write and workshop a longer piece of criticism about a work of art or an artist of their choosing. Students will be expected to read and provide detailed feedback on the work of their peers. Students will revise their longer pieces based on workshop feedback and submit them for the final assignment of the class. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7) Supplemental Application Information:  Please write a letter of introduction (1-2 pages) giving a sense of who you are, your writing experience, and your current goals for your writing. Please also describe your relationship to the art forms and/or genres you're interested in engaging in the course. You may also list any writers or publications whose criticism you enjoy reading. Please also include a 3-5-page writing sample of any kind of prose writing. This could be an academic paper or it could be creative fiction or nonfiction.

English CACW. Advanced Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Paul Yoon TBD | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Advanced fiction workshop for students who have already taken a workshop at Harvard or elsewhere. The goal of the class is to continue your journey as a writer. You will be responsible for participating in discussions on the assigned texts, the workshop, engaging with the work of your colleagues, and revising your work. Supplemental Application Information:   * Please note: previous creative writing workshop experience required. * Please submit ONLY a cover letter telling me your previous creative writing workshop experience, either at Harvard or elsewhere; then tell me something you are passionate about and something you want to be better at; and, lastly, tell me why of all classes you want to take this one this semester. Again, please no writing samples.

English CBBR. Intermediate Poetry: Workshop

Instructor:  Josh Bell   Monday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: Barker 018 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site

Initially, students can expect to read, discuss, and imitate the strategies of a wide range of poets writing in English; to investigate and reproduce prescribed forms and poetic structures; and to engage in writing exercises meant to expand the conception of what a poem is and can be. As the course progresses, reading assignments will be tailored on an individual basis, and an increasing amount of time will be spent in discussion of student work. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a portfolio including a letter of interest, ten poems, and a list of classes (taken at Harvard or elsewhere) that seem to have bearing on your enterprise.

English CCEP. Ekphrastic Poetry: Workshop

Instructor: Tracy K. Smith Wednesday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: Lamont 401 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site What can a poem achieve when it contemplates or even emulates a work of art in another medium? In this workshop, we'll read and write poems that engage with other art forms--and we'll test out what a foray into another artistic practice allows us to carry back over into the formal methods and behaviors of poetry. With poems by Keats, Rilke, Auden, Hughes, and Brooks, as well as Kevin Young, Evie Shockley, Ama Codjoe and other contemporary voices. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, August 26) Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a writing sample of 5-10 poems and an application letter explaining your interest in this course.

English CCFC. Poetry Workshop: Form & Content

Instructor: Tracy K. Smith Tuesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: Sever 112 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site

In this workshop, we’ll look closely at the craft-based choices poets make, and track the effects they have upon what we as readers are made to think and feel. How can implementing similar strategies better prepare us to engage the questions making up our own poetic material? We’ll also talk about content. What can poetry reveal about the ways our interior selves are shaped by public realities like race, class, sexuality, injustice and more? Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, August 26)   

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a writing sample of 5-10 poems and an application letter explaining your interest in this course.

English CCIJ. Intermediate Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Jesse McCarthy Thursday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: Barker 269 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site This is an intermediate course in the art of writing literary fiction. Previous experience with workshopping writing is encouraged but not required. The emphasis of the course will be learning how to read literature as a writer, with special attention given to the short story, novella, or short novel. We will read these works from the perspective of the writer as craftsperson and of the critic seeking in good faith to understand and describe a new aesthetic experience. We will be concerned foremost with how literary language works, with describing the effects of different kinds of sentences, different uses of genre, tone, and other rhetorical strategies. Together, we will explore our responses to examples of literature from around the world and from all periods, as well as to the writing you will produce and share with the class. As a member of a writing community, you should be prepared to respectfully read and respond to the work of others—both the work of your peers and that of the published writers that we will explore together. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, August 26) Supplemental Application Information:  This course is by application only but there are no prerequisites for this course and previous experience in a writing workshop is not required . In your application please submit a short letter explaining why you are interested in this class. You might tell me a bit about your relationship to literature, your encounter with a specific author, book, or even a scene or character from a story or novel. Please also include a writing sample of 2-5 pages (5 pages max!) of narrative prose fiction.

English CCFS. Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Teju Cole Spring 2024: Tuesday, 6:00-8:45pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Spring 2025: TBD This reading and writing intensive workshop is for students who want to learn to write literary fiction. The goal of the course would be for each student to produce two polished short stories. Authors on the syllabus will probably include James Joyce, Eudora Welty, Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Diane Williams.

Supplemental Application Information:   Please submit a cover letter saying what you hope to get out of the workshop. In the cover letter, mention three works of fiction that matter to you and why. In addition, submit a 400–500 word sample of your fiction; the sample can be self-contained or a section of a longer work.

English CLPG. Art of Sportswriting

Instructor: Louisa Thomas Spring 2024: Tuesday, 9:00-11:45am | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Spring 2025: TBD

In newsrooms, the sports section is sometimes referred to as the “toy department” -- frivolous and unserious, unlike the stuff of politics, business, and war. In this course, we will take the toys seriously. After all, for millions of people, sports and other so-called trivial pursuits (video games, chess, children’s games, and so on) are a source of endless fascination. For us, they will be a source of stories about human achievements and frustrations. These stories can involve economic, social, and political issues. They can draw upon history, statistics, psychology, and philosophy. They can be reported or ruminative, formally experimental or straightforward, richly descriptive or tense and spare. They can be fun. Over the course of the semester, students will read and discuss exemplary profiles, essays, articles, and blog posts, while also writing and discussing their own. While much (but not all) of the reading will come from the world of sports, no interest in or knowledge about sports is required; our focus will be on writing for a broad audience.  Supplemental Application Information:  To apply, please write a letter describing why you want to take the course and what you hope to get out of it. Include a few examples of websites or magazines you like to read, and tell me briefly about one pursuit -- football, chess, basketball, ballet, Othello, crosswords, soccer, whatever -- that interests you and why.

English CALR. Advanced Screenwriting: Workshop

Instructor: Musa Syeed Spring 2024: Wednesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBA Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Spring 2025: TBD

The feature-length script is an opportunity to tell a story on a larger scale, and, therefore, requires additional preparation. In this class, we will move from writing a pitch, to a synopsis, to a treatment/outline, to the first 10 pages, to the first act of a feature screenplay. We will analyze produced scripts and discuss various elements of craft, including research, writing layered dialogue, world-building, creating an engaging cast of characters. As an advanced class, we will also look at ways both mainstream and independent films attempt to subvert genre and structure. Students will end the semester with a first act (20-30 pages) of their feature, an outline, and strategy to complete the full script.

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a 3-5 page writing sample. Screenplays are preferred, but fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and plays are acceptable as well. Also, please write a short note to introduce yourself. Include a couple films/filmmakers that have inspired you, your goals for the class, as well as any themes/subject matter/ideas you might be interested in exploring in your writing for film.

English CNFR. Creative Nonfiction: Workshop

Instructor: Darcy Frey Fall 2024: Wednesday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students. Course Site Spring 2025: TBD

Whether it takes the form of literary journalism, essay, memoir, or environmental writing, creative nonfiction is a powerful genre that allows writers to break free from the constraints commonly associated with nonfiction prose and reach for the breadth of thought and feeling usually accomplished only in fiction: the narration of a vivid story, the probing of a complex character, the argument of an idea, or the evocation of a place. Students will work on several short assignments to hone their mastery of the craft, then write a longer piece that will be workshopped in class and revised at the end of the term. We will take instruction and inspiration from published authors such as Joan Didion, James Baldwin, Ariel Levy, Alexander Chee, and Virginia Woolf. This is a workshop-style class intended for undergraduate and graduate students at all levels of experience. No previous experience in English Department courses is required. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm ET on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:   Please write a substantive letter of introduction describing who you are as writer at the moment and where you hope to take your writing; what experience you may have had with creative/literary nonfiction; what excites you about nonfiction in particular; and what you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Additionally, please submit 3-5 pages of creative/literary nonfiction (essay, memoir, narrative journalism, etc, but NOT academic writing) or, if you have not yet written much nonfiction, an equal number of pages of narrative fiction.

English CKR. Introduction to Playwriting: Workshop

Instructor: Sam Marks TBD | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students This workshop is an introduction to writing for the stage through intensive reading and in-depth written exercises. Each student will explore the fundamentals and possibilities of playwriting by generating short scripts and completing a one act play with an eye towards both experimental and traditional narrative styles. Readings will examine various ways of creating dramatic art and include work from contemporary playwrights such as Ayad Aktar, Clare Barron, Aleshea Harris, Young Jean Lee, and Taylor Mac, as well established work from Edward Albbe, Caryl Churchill, Suzan Lori-Parks, and Harold Pinter. Supplemental Application Information:  No experience in writing the dramatic form is necessary. Please submit a 5-10 page writing sample (preferably a play or screenplay, but all genres are acceptable and encouraged). Also, please write a few sentences about a significant theatrical experience (a play read or seen) and how it affected you.

English CACF. Get Real: The Art of Community-Based Film

Instructor: Musa Syeed Wednesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 student Course Site

“I’ve often noticed that we are not able to look at what we have in front of us,” the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami said, “unless it’s inside a frame.” For our communities confronting invisibility and erasure, there’s an urgent need for new frames. In this workshop, we’ll explore a community-engaged approach to documentary and fiction filmmaking, as we seek to see our world more deeply. We’ll begin with screenings, craft exercises, and discussions around authorship and social impact. Then we each will write, develop, and shoot a short film over the rest of the semester, building off of intentional community engagement. Students will end the class with written and recorded materials for a rough cut. Basic equipment and technical training will be provided.

Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a brief letter explaining why you're interested to take this class. Please also discuss what participants/communities you might be interested in engaging with for your filmmaking projects. For your writing sample, please submit 3-5 pages of your creative work from any genre (screenwriting, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc.)

English CAFR. Advanced Fiction Workshop: Writing this Present Life

Instructor: Claire Messud Thursday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Intended for students with prior fiction-writing and workshop experience, this course will concentrate on structure, execution and revision. Exploring various strands of contemporary and recent literary fiction – writers such as Karl Ove Knausgaard, Rachel Cusk, Chimamanda Adichie, Douglas Stuart, Ocean Vuong, etc – we will consider how fiction works in our present moment, with emphasis on a craft perspective. Each student will present to the class a published fiction that has influenced them. The course is primarily focused on the discussion of original student work, with the aim of improving both writerly skills and critical analysis. Revision is an important component of this class: students will workshop two stories and a revision of one of these. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm ET on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit 3-5 pages of prose fiction, along with a substantive letter of introduction. I’d like to know why you’re interested in the course; what experience you’ve had writing, both in previous workshops and independently; what your literary goals and ambitions are. Please tell me about some of your favorite narratives – fiction, non-fiction, film, etc: why they move you, and what you learn from them.

English CAKV. Fiction Workshop: Writing from the First-Person Point of View

Instructor:  Andrew Krivak Tuesday, 9:00-11:45 1m | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site This course is a workshop intended for students who are interested in writing longer form narratives from the first-person point of view. The “I” at the center of any novel poses a perspective that is all at once imaginatively powerful and narratively problematic, uniquely insightful and necessarily unreliable. We will read from roughly twelve novels written in the first-person, from Marilynne Robinson and W.G. Sebald, to Valeria Luiselli and Teju Cole, and ask questions (among others) of why this form, why this style? And, as a result, what is lost and what is realized in the telling? Primarily, however, students will write. Our goal will be to have a student’s work read and discussed twice in class during the semester. I am hoping to see at least 35-40 pages of a project —at any level of completion—at the end of term.  Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7) Supplemental Application Information:  Please write a substantive letter telling me why you’re interested in taking this class, what writers (classical and contemporary) you admire and why, and if there’s a book you have read more than once, a movie you have seen more than once, a piece of music you listen to over and over, not because you have to but because you want to. Students of creative nonfiction are also welcome to apply.

English CCSS. Fiction Workshop: The Art of the Short Story

Instructor: Laura van den Berg Tuesday, 12:00-2:45 pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site This course will serve as an introduction to the fundamentals of writing fiction, with an emphasis on the contemporary short story. How can we set about creating “big” worlds in compact spaces? What unique doors can the form of the short story open? The initial weeks will focus on exploratory exercises and the study of published short stories and craft essays. Later, student work will become the primary text as the focus shifts to workshop discussion. Authors on the syllabus will likely include Ted Chiang, Lauren Groff, Carmen Maria Machado, and Octavia Butler. This workshop welcomes writers of all levels of experience. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7) Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a letter of introduction. I’d like to know a little about why you are drawn to studying fiction; what you hope to get out of the workshop and what you hope to contribute; and one thing you are passionate about outside writing / school. Please also include a very brief writing sample (2-3 pages). The sample can be in any genre (it does not have to be from a work of fiction). 

Write an Honors Creative Thesis

Students may apply to write a senior thesis or senior project in creative writing, although only English concentrators can be considered. Students submit applications in early March of their junior year, including first-term juniors who are out of phase. The creative writing faculty considers the proposal, along with the student's overall performance in creative writing and other English courses, and notifies students about its decision in early mid-late March. Those applications are due, this coming year, on TBA . 

Students applying for a creative writing thesis or project must have completed at least one course in creative writing at Harvard before they apply. No student is guaranteed acceptance. It is strongly suggested that students acquaint themselves with the requirements and guidelines well before the thesis application is due. The creative writing director must approve any exceptions to the requirements, which must be made in writing by Monday, February 7, 2022. Since the creative writing thesis and project are part of the English honors program, acceptance to write a creative thesis is conditional upon the student continuing to maintain a 3.40 concentration GPA. If a student’s concentration GPA drops below 3.40 after the spring of the junior year, the student may not be permitted to continue in the honors program.

Joint concentrators may apply to write creative theses, but we suggest students discuss the feasibility of the project well before applications are due. Not all departments are open to joint creative theses.

Students who have questions about the creative writing thesis should contact the program’s Director, Sam Marks .

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Creative Writing

"Creative writing offers the students an opportunity to explore life’s many landscapes, both outward and inward.”

— Yiyun Li

The Program in Creative Writing offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to craft original work under the guidance of some of today’s most respected practicing writers including Michael Dickman , Katie Farris , Aleksandar Hemon , A.M. Homes , Ilya Kaminsky , Christina Lazaridi , Yiyun Li , Paul Muldoon , Patricia Smith and Susan Wheeler .

Small workshop courses , averaging eight to ten students, provide intensive feedback and instruction for both beginners and advanced writers, and each year 25 to 30 seniors work individually with a member of the faculty on independent creative work: a novel, a screenplay, or a collection of short stories, poems or translations. Writers of national and international distinction visit campus throughout the year to participate in the Althea Ward Clark W’21 Reading Series and to discuss their work. The Lewis Center presents the biennial Princeton Poetry Festival drawing poets from around the world. The C.K. Williams Reading Series puts Princeton seniors at the podium alongside a lineup of established guest writers curated by seniors in the program. The Leonard Milberg collections and Princeton’s unparalleled library and archives also provide world-class opportunities for the study of contemporary literature.

Learn more about Program in Creative writing faculty , news , events , & courses .

Upcoming Creative Writing Events

Tue Apr 30, 2024 · 4:30 pm

2024 senior readings in poetry, translation, screenwriting, wed may 1, 2024 · 4:30 pm, 2024 senior readings in fiction.

Browse the events calendar to see all upcoming events from the Program in Creative Writing or arts partners across campus.

Creative Writing News

Apr 17, 2024

Announcing the winners of the 2023-24 princeton university high school poetry contest.

Apr 11, 2024

Princeton arts fellows for 2024-2026 announced.

Program in Creative Writing Celebrates National Poetry Month 2024

Apr 9, 2024

Lewis center for the arts presents readings of new work by students in princeton’s creative writing program.

Read more creative writing news

Climate & Inclusion

Learn more about the Lewis Center for the Arts' efforts on addressing Climate & Inclusion .

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Department of Creative Writing

MFA Residential Program

The Undergraduate Program

The Online MFA in Creative Writing

Faculty - Profesorado

Creative Writing Awards

Welcome to the creative writing department.

The Creative Writing Department at UTEP offers the only Bilingual MFA in the world. We understand bilingualism not as the requirement that our students speak Spanish and English but rather as the coexistence of both languages in the classroom. Students from Latin America, Spain and the USA come to our department to develop as writers under the guidance of an award-winning faculty. Our department also offers an online MFA in Creative Writing. In addition to our residential faculty, our online program offers classes and workshop by well-known visiting writers such as Heather Hartley, Laurie Ann Guerrero, Natalie Diaz, Liz Sched and Dennis Bush.

Bienvenidos al Departamento de Creación Literaria

El Departamento de Creación Literaria de UTEP ofrece la única Maestría Bilingüe en Creación Literaria en el mundo. Entendemos el bilingualismo no como el requerimiento que nuestros estudiantes hablen español e inglés sino como la coexistencia de los dos idiomas en el aula de clase. Estudiantes de Latino América, España y los Estados Unidos llegan a nuestras aulas para desarrollarse como escritores bajo la guía de una plana docente que ha recibido muchos premios literarios. Nuestro departamento también ofrece una Maestría en Creacíon Literaria en línea. Además de nustros profesores permanentes, nuestro programa en línea ofrece clases y talleres por reconocidos escritores tales como Heather Hartley, Laurie Ann Guerrero, Natalie Diaz, Liz Sched y Dennis Bush.

UPCOMING EVENTS

25 APR 2024 AT 5:00PM  |  Bloomberg Auditorium  |  Emerging Voices is the annual event of our Creative Writing department at UTEP. This year we will have the CRW Awards 2024, the 2022-2023 incoming student anthology presentation, poetry, essay, and fiction readings, and even live music.

LATEST NEWS

Creative Writing Awards 2024

• Convocamos a enviar trabajos para nuestro Bilingual Creative Writing Awards en 2024, más detalles aquí .

Zazil Collins

• Participará en el II Seminario de escrituras contemporáneas: El signo en tu frente ,  del Programa de la Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana en la Ciudad de México, el miércoles 21, a las 12:00 horas (CDMX) y 11:00 (Hora de la Montaña). Se transmitirá aquí: El Claustro TV .

Natasha Rangel

• Estudiante de nuestro MFA in Creative Writing, resultó ganadora de la sexta edición del premio  Lo Mejor de Nos  en Venezuela.  Asimismo, su noveleta Estorninos negros fue seleccionada en la convocatoria Breves sismos de la editorial uruguaya Dospájaros y será publicada en formato libro para el catálogo 2024.

Iliana Pichardo

• Estudiante del MFA in Creative Writing, publicó el ensayo Los Bath Riots o cómo construír una Frontera en la Revista de la Universidad de México UNAM   y tres poemas en el portal Digo.Palabra.TXT

Carlos Tapia

• Valparaíso Ediciones publicó en 2022 el Libro finalista del III Premio Hispanoamericano de Poesía Francisco Ruiz Udiel: El Payaso Bélico del poeta y estudiante del MFA in Creative Writing, Carlos Tapia . La presentación del libro se realizará en el marco del 15 Encuentro Internacional de Poetas “Poesía en Paralelo Cero” del 19 al 25 de noviembre del 2023 en Quito, Ecuador.

Natalia Soriano

• La editorial Sincronía Casa Editorial, publicará el libro de poesía: Peces de patio, de la poeta y estudiante del MFA in Creative Writing Natalia Soriano. El lanzamiento se realizará en Bogotá, Colombia, el 9 de diciembre en la librería las Cigarras. Algunos de los poemas que componen el libro obtuvieron el premio ciudad de poesía de Bogotá en el 2021. 

Cheyanne Lozano

• Was a Finalist for the 2023 Poetry Northwest James Welch Prize realized by In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets—. poetrynw.org

Israel Holtzeimer

El Premio Vanguardia en Artes y Ciencias 2023, organizado por la Secretaría de Cultura del estado de Chihuahua, le fue otorgado al escritor Israel Holtzeimer en la categoría de Literatura. La ceremonia se llevará a cabo a principios de diciembre en la ciudad capital, precedida por la gobernadora María Eugenia Campos. El autor, quien ha ganado premios como el Border of Words y el David Alfaro Siqueiros, ha publicado las novelas Artemisa café (FETA, 2012) y Balada de los ángeles caídos (Ediciones B, 2018), así como cuentos en distintas antologías y revistas literarias de México y Estados Unidos.

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Recent publications.

Granja Animal by George Orwell translated by José de Piérola

Lluvia Editores, the oldest, better-known independent publisher in Peru, with offices now in Spain, has been publishing books of fiction, literary essay, poetry, and monographs, often discovering new voices, such as the recent best-seller El espía del Inca by Rafael Dumett. Granja Animal is part of the series Rosetta Stone, directed by José de Piérola, meant to bring back classics still relevant to our times.

Demasiada luz para hacer poesía by Paula Cucurella with a prologue by Jacques Lezra and images by Felipe Cooper, is a hybrid poetic work (poetry, vignettes, narratives, images) that explores scenes that border and exhort absence and resistance in language. This book coordinates various techniques to highlight a limit, a point of contact, relationships, borders and edges, where language in its communicative function unravels inviting its re-articulation.

Balsa and Tissue Paper by Lex Williford.  Ploughshares is an award-winning journal of new writing. Since 1971, Ploughshares has discovered and cultivated the freshest voices in contemporary American literature, and now provides readers with thoughtful and entertaining literature in a variety of formats. Find out why the New York Times named Ploughshares "the Triton among minnows."

Entre los rotos by Alaíde Ventura (Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, 2019) is a novel about the intimacy of violence, the complicity between siblings and the labyrinth, whether gloomy or bright, that every memory is.

Kafka in a Skirt is not your ordinary short story collection. In his newest work, Daniel Chacón subverts expectation and breaks down the walls of reality to create stories that are intriguing, hilarious, and deeply rooted in Chicano culture.

On En las praderas del fin del mundo  (Valparaíso Ediciones, 2019), Andrea Cote pursuits her self-knowledge through a reflexive, but evocative verse.

Fabulations  by José de Piérola (New York: Kernpukt Press, 2018). Flowers that grow from light bulbs. Bullets stopped by an iPod. A ship and woman taken apart piece by piece. Fabulations is a collection of minimalist short stories that straddle history and fiction, fact and imagination. 

New and Selected Poems of Cecilia Vicuña  edited by Rosa Alcalá (Kelsey Street Press, 2018). Cecilia Vicuña has embodied a life of political and social activism through poetry, visual art, film and performance. New and Selected Poems of Cecilia Vicuña is a telling of old cultures, modern nation states and lives in exile.

All They Will Call You by Tim Z. Hernandez (The University of Arizona Press, 2018), is the harrowing account of “the worst airplane disaster in California’s history,” which claimed the lives of thirty-two passengers, including twenty-eight Mexican citizens—farmworkers who were being deported by the U.S. government.

Connect With Us

The University of Texas at El Paso Department of Creative Writing University Towers, Room 520 Additional Emails English: [email protected] Español: [email protected] MFA Online: [email protected] Undergrad: [email protected] 500 W University Ave El Paso, Texas 79968

E: [email protected] P: (915) 747-5713

Rice English integrates creative and critical practice through training in close reading, analytical writing, cultural history, and craft/form. Our faculty research and pedagogy cover the breadth of the study of British and American literatures and cultures ranging from the medieval era to the present.

Welcome (Start Here)

Creative writing @ rice.

Creative Writing has always played an influential role in the intellectual development of our undergraduates’ curiosity, imagination, and desire for collaboration. The discipline will enhance your skills for inquiry and independent research, enlarge your capacities for imaginative thinking and idea generation, and expand your knowledge of genre, literary history, poetics, and narrative form. As a member of our artistic and intellectual community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside other emerging writers to understand, investigate, and influence the most pressing social, political, environmental, and spiritual issues of contemporary life.

The Department of English offers two credentials in Creative Writing: the Minor in Creative Writing (6 courses) and t he Major Concentration in Creative Writing (11 courses). As Creative Writing faculty, we are committed to expanding and deepening your investigations through a dynamic curriculum that goes beyond introductory courses in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry to include offerings in literary translation, screenwriting, cultural criticism, food writing, the graphic novel, podcasting, nature writing, narrative medicine, literary journalism, book arts, as well as courses in literary editing and publishing. Our students are able to build upon their work in the classroom through collaborations within the Digital Humanities, the Medical Humanities, Environmental Studies, The School of Architecture, The Shepherd School of Music, The Moody Center for the Arts, The Visual and Performing Arts, and other academic units across campus, Houston, and beyond. At the upper level, topics courses in the poetry chapbook, the novel and the novella, and screenwriting allow interested students to steer longer-form projects toward publication and to use their final products as part of applications to a variety of graduate programs and professions. Regardless of career path, Creative Writing graduates leave Rice equipped with the formal writing, editing, and communication skills that are increasingly valuable in today’s idea-driven fields.

Legacy & Mission

Rice University has a long tradition of producing and supporting award-winning authors including Larry McMurtry (Class of 1960), the only author to have won a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award; Joyce Carol Oates, who first began work on her National Book Award-winning novel, Them , while a Ph.D. student at Rice University; William Broyles Jr. (Class of 1966) founding editor of Texas Monthly , editor of Newsweek and co-author of the Academy Award-nominated best-adapted screenplay, Apollo 13 , as well as the creator of the television series, China Beach , and the original screenplay, Castaway . Faculty past and present include a MacArthur Fellow, New York Times Best-Selling authors, a two-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, recipients of fellowship grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Whiting Foundation, the Academy of American Poets, the Mellon Foundation and PEN America. Our recent graduates have gone on to study at top-ranked MFA programs such as USC, UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television, The New School, Ohio State, and the University of Houston, among others. As stewards of this important tradition, we seek to honor, uphold and expand the influence and presence of Creative Writing on campus, and to elevate the voices of others - at Rice, across Houston, and throughout the wider world.

The Creative Writing Program

The PhD in English Literature with Creative Dissertation at the University of Georgia is for writers who wish to advance their expertise and sophistication as scholars. Our students are accomplished poets, fiction writers, essayists, translators, and interdisciplinary artists who are ready to move beyond the studio focus of the MFA to a more intensive program of literary study. Over the course of the five-year program our students develop research specialties that complement their writing practice and prepare them professionally for a teaching career at the university or college level.

Our creative writing faculty are nationally and internationally recognized writers and translators with academic specializations in a variety of literary and theoretical fields, including Genre Theory, Poetics, Global Literature, Native American Literature, African American Literature, Postcolonial Literature, and Translation Studies. Our program fosters serious conversations among our students about aesthetics and criticism, experience and culture, and politics and history—not only in the classroom but through public readings and lectures. Our faculty and students play an active role in the cultural life of Athens, both as artists and organizers.

Program Overview

During the first two years of study our Ph.D. candidates select from course offerings in the English Department, seminars that signal both our faculty’s recognition of intellectual and disciplinary change and our abiding commitment to traditional literary history. Each student takes at least one Creative Writing course a year in addition to courses in various literary specialties. A list of our department’s recent graduate course offerings can be found here .  Prior to beginning their third year, students prepare reading lists for comprehensive exams in three academic research fields of their choosing. Every CWP student chooses “Forms and Craft” as one of their exam areas. This reading list serves as a research field unique to each writer’s approach to their particular genre. Some of the “Forms and Craft” lists designed recently by CWP students include, “The Midwestern Novel”; “Occult and Visionary Poetics”; “History of Surrealism”; “Monstrosity in Epic Poetry”; and “Literary Translation: Theory and Practice.” The two other exam fields should complement and expand the student’s areas of expertise beyond craft in order to broaden their historical and theoretical understanding of literature. In recent years, CWP students have elected to take exams in fields such as, “A Global History of the Novel,” ”Modernism and the Historical Avant-Garde,” “Aesthetic Theory,” ”African American Literature,” “Latinx Literature,” “Ecopoetics,” “The Southern Novel,” “Lyric Theory,” and “Science Fiction.”

Typically the exam committee is headed by a member of the creative writing faculty and two other professors from the department at large, experts in the respective exam areas. During the third year students read in preparation for written and oral exams. Each written exam takes the form of a twenty-page written exhibit in which the student answers a directive question formulated in conjunction with the exam area’s director. This exhibit should demonstrate the student’s grasp of the field as a whole and serves as a demonstration of their ability to teach in this area at the undergraduate level. Once the student has passed written exams, they are admitted to an oral exam overseen by the exam committee as a whole. Once the student passes both oral and written exams, they are admitted officially to candidacy for the PhD and begin working on their dissertation.

During their fourth and fifth years CWP students complete a creative dissertation with a critical introduction. The dissertation typically is a full-length work in a single genre—a work of fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry. The introduction is the author’s scholarly address to their audience. In the past students have used the introduction as a scholarly analysis of the state of the genre, a critical meditation on process informed by literary history, or a theoretical tracing of literary influence.

CWP Faculty

[email protected] | 706-542-1261

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Upcoming Events

April 25 a flaw in the design: writing the literary thriller with nathan oates, april 30 sentimental touring club: graduate reading series, latest news.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Creative Writing Program's Nneoma Ike-Njoku described as 'incredibly exciting new talent'signs novel with Scribner

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Professor LeAnne Howe Delivers Plenary Talk at The 50th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Creative Writing Student Sayantika Mandal's poem published in Glassworks Magazine

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Department of English

College of humanities and sciences, creative writing faculty.

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

Geoff Bouvier, PhD

[email protected]

Creative Writing

Gretchen Comba, MFA

Teaching Professor

and Associate Chair

[email protected]

20th/21st Century

Gregory Donovan, PhD

[email protected]

Kathleen Graber, MFA

and Director, MFA in Creative Writing

[email protected]

Sonja Livingston, MFA

Associate Professor

[email protected]

Clint McCown, MFA

[email protected]

Jessica Hendry Nelson, MFA

Assistant Professor

[email protected]

SJ Sindu, PhD

[email protected]

creative writing

David Wojahn, MFA

[email protected]

Yale Creative Writing

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Online Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Access faculty made up of award-winning, world-renowned poets and fiction writers in one of the only 100% online MFAs in Creative Writing. No GRE is required.

Become a Published Author. Pursue a Career in Writing/Teaching.

This is a highly competitive program for serious writers who have the potential for great literary significance. It’s perfect if you:

Want to work full-time and want to go on to pursue a career in writing or teaching at the university level.

Are a serious writer who wants to publish your work.

Need to learn strategies to become a better writer.

Want to be a part of an international community of writers without borders.

We help you achieve your goal by creating an exclusive community that includes well-known literary personalities and published authors. Note that we also offer an optional low-residency opportunity every summer in Europe, in such cities as London, Paris and Madrid.

Learn With Award-Winning Faculty

Our department is filled with world-renowned, award-winning, bilingual faculty who bring their talent to the classroom; among our ranks are Andrea Cote Botero, José de Piérola, Tim Z. Hernandez, Sasha R. Pimentel, Jeff Sirkin, Lex Williford, Sylvia A. Zéleny and Daniel Chacón. We currently have two visiting faculty members: Jessica Powers and JD Pluecker, who teach children’s/YA literature and poetry respectively. In the past, we have had award-winning writers who have served as visiting faculty and shared their expertise with our students: this list includes Natalie Diaz, Laurie Ann Guerrero, Heather Hartley and Carolina Ebeid.

• 100% online
• One of the only fully online MFAs in Creative Writing
• Designed for writers with great talent and drive in fiction and poetry
• Provides a graduate degree needed to teach at the university level
• Provides access to a stellar faculty including world-renowned poets and fiction writers
• No GRE required
• Highly affordable and flexible program
• Tuition: $490/credit hour (in-state students) or $575/credit hour (out-of-state students)

Meet Selected Faculty

Andrea Cote-Botero

Cote-Botero is the author of the poetry collections: “La ruina que nombro” (2015), “Port in Ashes,” “Fragile Things” and “Chinatown 24 hours” (Object Book). She has also published books of prose: “A Nude Photographer: A Biography of Tina Modotti” and “Blanca Varela or Writing From Solitude.” She has obtained the following recognitions: The National Prize of Poetry from the Universidad Externado of Colombia (2003), the Puentes de Struga International Poetry Prize (2005) and the Cittá de Castrovillari Prize (2010) to the Italian edition of Port in Ashes. Her poems have been translated into English, French, German, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Macedonian, Arabic, Polish and Greek. Her first poetry book, “Puerto Calcinado,” was published in French by the prestigious Quebecois press Ecrist de Forge. This book was presented at the 2015 International Poetry Festival of Montreal.

Tim Hernandez

An award-winning writer and performance artist, Hernandez has written three volumes of poetry, two novels, and most recently, a documentary novel based on the 1948 Los Gatos plane crash. As a performance artist, he has worked with Grammy Award-winners, hip-hop performers and Latin Rock artists; his work has been featured in a variety of venues including the Getty Center. Hernandez’s first poetry collection and first novel both won awards—the 2006 American Book Award and the 2010 Premio Aztlán Literary Prize respectively. In 2011, the Poetry Society of America named him one of sixteen New American Poets and he has been featured extensively in news media including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, CNN, C-Span Book TV, Public Radio International, and National Public Radio.

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Creative Writing

Creative Writing is the expression of one’s ideas, observations, and imagination through the genres of poetry and prose (including fiction and nonfiction). Students who pursue a B.A. with a concentration in Creative Writing or a minor in Creative Writing will work alongside award-winning faculty to learn the techniques of the craft, study published writers, create their own original work in a series of workshops, and craft courses designed to introduce students to the basics of each genre and allow for their individual growth as they advance in their practice.

Learn about our B.A. Creative Writing Concentration

Learn about our Creative Writing minor

Creative Writing faculty

The Creative Writing faculty is comprised of award-winning poets, playwrights, and fiction and nonfiction writers whose honors include fellowships from the Lannan and Guggenheim foundations, the NEA Literature Fellowship in Fiction, the Kingsley Tufts Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the U.S. Artists Simon Fellowship, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. The faculty works closely with undergraduates and M.F.A. students in both creative writing workshops and traditional literature courses.

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Creative Writing Professor Education Requirements

The educational requirements for a creative writing professor are a master's or doctorate in a relevant field. According to Dr. Mona M. Diab, Associate Professor of English at George Mason University, "a Ph.D. in English or a related field is usually required for teaching writing at the university level, though an M.F.A. in creative writing or a related field can also be sufficient."

What education do you need to become a creative writing professor?

What degree do you need to be a creative writing professor.

The most common degree for creative writing professors is master's degree, with 40% of creative writing professors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 40% and bachelor's degree degree at 7%.

• Master's , 40%
• Bachelor's , 40%
• Doctorate , 7%
• Associate , 7%
• Other Degrees , 6%

What should I major in to become a creative writing professor?

The best majors for a creative writing professor include writing, English, liberal arts, biology, photography, and journalism. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, postsecondary teachers typically need a Ph.D. or other doctorate in their field, with some institutions hiring those with a master's degree.

• Writing , 44%
• English , 25%
• Liberal Arts , 13%
• Biology , 6%
• Other Majors , 12%

Most common colleges for creative writing professors

Creative writing professors often get their degrees at University of Colorado at Boulder, Knox College, and Southern Connecticut State University. Here are the most common colleges for creative writing professors in the US based on their resumes.

Best majors for creative writing professors

Best colleges for creative writing professors.

When it comes to creative writing professors, the college you attend matters. The best colleges for creative writing professors include University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Northwestern University, Harvard University, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Stanford University. These colleges offer advanced education, which is typically required for higher salaries and better job opportunities in the field.

1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

5. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

6. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

7. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

8. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

10. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

20 best online courses for creative writing professors

1. Creative Writing

This Specialization covers elements of three major creative writing genres: short story, narrative essay, and memoir. You will master the techniques that good writers use to compose a bracing story, populated with memorable characters in an interesting setting, written in a fresh descriptive style. You will analyze and constructively evaluate peer writing. In the Capstone, you will draft, rewrite, and complete a substantial original story in the genre of your choosing.\n\nOur courses are...

2. Creativity Toolkit II: Creative Collaboration

Creativity requires us to collaborate with others, and this course helps you be a better creative collaborator. We need to be able to pitch our creative ideas so that others are excited rather than baffled or dismissive by them. We need to be able to evaluate the ideas of others so we identify rather than miss creative solutions. We need to be able to work with our teams such that creativity thrives rather than is suppressed. This course addresses each of these needs, identifying challenges and...

3. Creative Writing For Beginners - Writing Creative Prose

Creative Writing For Beginners : Beginners Creative Writing Tips : Creative Writing : Writing Creative Prose - Beginners...

4. COMPLETE Creative Writing - All Genres - THE FULL COURSE!

Learn to write engaging Fiction, Poetry, Drama, & Creative Non-Fiction and become the successful writer you want to be...

5. Creativity And Entrepreneurship

Creativity & Entrepreneurship will help you tap into your inner creativity and learn how to leverage it for career development or business innovation. Presented by Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship founder Panos Panay, this course features interviews with world renown entrepreneurs, innovators, songwriters, producers, creative directors, educators, performers, visual artists and chefs as they discuss parallels between the creative and entrepreneurial journeys. The course...

6. Unleash Student Creativity with Buncee

By the end of this project, you will be able to use Buncee to unleash your students’ creativity. Buncee is “a creation and communication tool… to create interactive content, allowing those of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively.” With Buncee, learning becomes more personalized as students are able to share through engaging multimedia projects using Buncee’s templates, stickers, and animations. Throughout this project, we will work together to ensure that you are confident...

7. Creative Writing - Get Writing, Keep Writing

Unlock your creative writing ability...

8. Creativity Course by a Creativity Coach Art & Innovation

Creativity & Innovation for Innovators, Artists, Entrepreneurs, Writers, & Students - By a Professional Creativity Coach...

9. Creative Thinking Exercises: Improve Your Creative Thinking

Creative exercises to boost your creativity and brainstorm new ideas with design thinking, writing & drawing exercises...

10. Creative Thinking: How to Think More Creatively

Learn to Use Mind Mapping and Creative Problem Solving...

11. Writing: Book Writing: Creative Writing Skills: Punctuation

Writing: Creative writing skills: Novel/non-fiction book writing: Punctuation: Writing/outlining: Fantasy world building...

12. Creative Writing: how to write a novel. The full course.

A full creative writing course: create engaging characters, use a 3 act narrative structure and write smart dialogues...

13. Skyrocket Your Creativity and Get Better Ideas: 7 Easy Ways

Learn how you can develop your creativity muscles with basic but effective techniques to get better ideas in just 1 hour...

14. Poetry Primer - Survey of Poetic Writing Styles and Projects

The verse writing techniques and terms you need to write poems in various styles and become the poet you want to be...

15. Disciplined Dreaming: Lead Breakthrough Creativity at Work

Use Josh Linkner's Disciplined Dreaming system to learn how to use creativity & innovation to drive results...

16. Unleash Your Creative Mind

Improve Your Professional and Personal Life By Unleashing Your Creative Mind...

17. Adobe Creative Cloud Ultimate Guide

Adobe Creative Cloud Ultimate A-Z Guide. Go From Basic to Advanced with Creative Cloud and 10 Projects From Scratch...

18. 365 Days of Creativity

A totally new learning experience that will teach you 365 creative skills...

19. Creative Problem Solving Tools

Creative Strategies for Solving Problems...

20. Creativity, Design Thinking, and Innovation for Business

Creativity that Create an Innovative Corporate Culture Using Design Thinking & Problem Solving for the Workplace...

Top 10 most affordable universities for creative writing professors

The most affordable schools for creative writing professors are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for creative writing professors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for creative writing professors.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

Cost of Attendance

2. Hunter College of the City University of New York

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

5. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

7. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

8. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

9. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

10. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for creative writing professors

The hardest universities for creative writing professors to get into are Northwestern University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Some great schools for creative writing professors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for creative writing professors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Admissions Rate

SAT Average

2. Columbia University in the City of New York

3. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

4. Harvard University

5. cornell university, 6. university of pennsylvania, 7. university of southern california.

8. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

9. Duke University

10. New York University

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for creative writing professors.

The easiest schools for creative writing professors to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, notre dame de namur university, and barry university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a creative writing professor without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for creative writing professors.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

3. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

4. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

5. Centenary University

Hackettstown, NJ • Private

6. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

7. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

8. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

9. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

10. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Average creative writing professor salary by education level

According to our data, creative writing professors with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $82,983 annually. Creative writing professors with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $68,574.

Creative Writing Professor Education FAQs

What is the best college for creative writing professors, search for creative writing professor jobs.

Updated April 5, 2024

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Undergraduate creative arts

Study creative arts and be part of the creative economy. Meet like-minded peers in our exciting community, work on real-world projects, and graduate with a unique and employable skill set.

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Bachelor of fine arts.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree provides in depth knowledge in one of nine study areas - the largest combination of creative disciplines in Australia. Collaborate with students and teaching staff from across disciplines to reflect industry practice, and work on real-world projects briefed by real clients.

Bachelor of Creative Industries

Study across creative practice, design and communication in one degree. Our Bachelor of Creative Industries, the first degree of its kind in Australia, allows you to choose a combination of study areas to suit your creative interests and aspirations.

Double degrees

A double degree can help develop a portfolio of skills and capabilities so you will be flexible and prepared for change in the real world. Save time and money instead of completing two separate degrees. Maximise your career opportunities and create your own specialist career niche within the creative industries by combining your degree with a complementary study area that interests you.

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Why study creative arts?

Tour the creative industries precinct, creativity for the real world, explore our fine arts study areas, creative industries precinct.

The Creative Industries Precinct is made up of purpose-built teaching and learning spaces, including performance spaces, visual art galleries and music studios. The spaces are designed to make the creative process more visible, with windows and viewing panels allowing anyone to watch the work as it happens.

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Double degree. Double opportunities.

A double degree can help you develop a portfolio of skills and capabilities to prepare you for the real world. Maximise your career opportunities and create your own specialist career niche within the creative arts by combining a degree with a complementary study area.

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The job-ready skills you’ll learn in creative industries

Learn all the secrets of studying creative industries, and the job-ready skills you'll pick up along the way.

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Learn about the experience QUT Creative Arts students were given to collaborate with Vizion, an industry-leading virtual production powerhouse.

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QUT’s exclusive Rainbow Reid program helps fund directors, writers, actors and more from industry to help train students for the real world.

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QUT is a global leader in the creative arts. Our Bachelor of Creative Industries, the first degree of its kind in Australia, allows you to choose a combination of study areas to suit your creative interests and aspirations.

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Charif Shanahan on the relevance and rewards of poetry

• Expert Viewpoint
• Weinberg College

April is National Poetry Month. To celebrate, Northwestern Now sought out Charif Shanahan, assistant professor of English at Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, to discuss the craft of poetry as a tool for knowledge generation and the rewards of writing and reading it.

Shanahan recently was honored with the 2024 Whiting Award in Poetry for his second book of poems, “Trace Evidence” (Tin House, 2023). The highly selective $50,000 award recognizes writers for their early accomplishments and promise of great work to come. Past recipients have gone on to win top literary awards including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and PEN awards.

“Trace Evidence” also has been recognized by several prestigious literary foundations. The collection was longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award; was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry awards; is a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry and the Publishing Triangle’s Thom Gunn Award, and topped The Guardian list of best poetry books of 2023 .

Shanahan happened to arrive at Northwestern during the height of the pandemic in 2020 as he was growing, shaping and editing the poems that would become “Trace Evidence.”

The youngest of three sons, Shanahan was born in the Bronx to a Moroccan mother and Irish American father. On his father's side his heritage is third-generation white Irish American from New York City. His mother was born in Casablanca and raised in a family at the intersection of Arabness and Blackness. This combination of cultures, race, nationality and queer identity has been the wellspring of his poetry and creative practice.

“Inhabiting the interstices — racially, culturally — required me to look hard at the world in an effort to understand the reasons, both historical and current, for that ‘positioning’,” Shanahan said. “It has also been enormously generative creatively.”

The book’s probing center poem, “On the Overnight from Agadir,” which tracks his quest to locate himself in his mother’s homeland, also explores a devastating bus accident he survived while conducting genealogical research as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Morocco.

Shanahan chose the title “Trace Evidence” because it works as both noun and verb, thing and action. It also references the language used at a crime scene.

“Trace evidence is generated by contact between surfaces, a drop of blood, or some DNA, and are the vestiges of what has occurred in the space,” Shanahan said. “It felt like an operative metaphor for thinking about race and identity in a postcolonial context and from a mixed-race perspective, and about what can be seen and what can’t be seen.”

In the Q&A, Shanahan talks about sources of inspiration, what poetry can teach us and how to approach a poem.

“Trace Evidence” captures moments from childhood to explore questions of identity. What makes memories a fruitful source for poetry?

Memory-driven poems are, in my view, less “about” the earlier moment and more about how the individual later in life has integrated, or not integrated, that memory into their understanding of themselves and human experience. The question is why a certain memory has stayed with you, what gives it life. The poem, if it does its work, can touch the answer to the question, which ideally then casts light on the questions of others.

What do you hope you do as well as your mentors?

It is important to me to convey the sense of discovery inherent to the process of making poems. When we sit down to write a poem and know exactly what we mean to say, the draft might be competent, but is usually dead on arrival, spiritually. I want my students to know that poetry enables them to discover the answers to questions that they may not have consciously known to ask, that, whatever those questions are, the answers are inside them. For students who won’t continue writing poems, I hope that they come to see the utility and relevance of poetry to their lives and will continue to be poetry readers.

Why do you take the risk to craft and deeply consider things when there is a possibility that people may misinterpret or miss the point?

The failures of language are exciting to me. It means that we are at the edge of something real and important that is hard to convey and therefore worth finding a way to transmit. The difficulty of its expressability is related to its particularity, its value, its worth. As a poet, I’m inspired when I arrive at a place where language fails because it means something is there worth discovering and giving shape to through the means of poetry.

For those who are resistant and feel like poems are too abstract, what's your guidance for reading poetry?

There are so many kinds of poems. Some are immediate and clear and accessible and want to be understood, known, seen, even useful. We might not entirely understand a poem when we first hear or read it, but we can still take something from it. It’s a cultivated misconception that poems are puzzles waiting to be “figured out”— poetry is the human voice, and all we’re being asked to do — at first, at least — is listen.

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• Sufi Art Through Data Science: Creative Expressions Using Statistical Software R

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The City and Writer: A Global Gathering  was hosted in the NYUAD Blue Hall on March 6, 2024.

The evening featured a diverse lineup of award-winning writers who celebrated and shared their writing., the slideshow below showcases some of the posters designed for the event., posters were designed by: erin collins, marta pienkosz, goffredo puccetti and shahd nigim., design was led and curated by  goffredo puccetti..

Posters featured the works of NYU Abu Dhabi’s Nathalie Handal (USA-France) Award-winning poet and curator of “The City and the Writer,”as well as Alain Mabanckou (Congo-France-USA) Grand prix littéraire d’Afrique noire; Amanda Michalopoulo (Greece) Academy of Athens Prize winner; Carlo Lucarelli (Italy) Best-selling novelist and television presenter; Angie Cruz (Dominican-American) Gold Medal Latino Book Award winner; Rana Kazkaz (Syria-USA), Award-winning filmmaker; David Henry Hwang (American) Tony Award winner; Isabella Hammad (British) Granta Best of Young British Novelists; Fernanda Trías (Uruguay) Bartolomé Hidalgo Prize winner; Shahad Al-Rawi (Iraq) Edinburgh Prize for First Fiction; Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) Nobel Prize winner; Rachel Holmes (United Kingdom), award-winning biographer.

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5 in-demand freelance jobs you can do from home—some pay over $200 an hour

More Americans are freelancing — and as demand for independent workers surges, so has the availability of high-paying freelance opportunities. 

The number of professionals freelancing in the U.S. hit an all-time high in 2023, increasing to 64 million people, or 38% of the U.S. workforce, from 60 million the year earlier according to recent research from Upwork. 

Businesses are increasingly relying on freelancers to save on headcount and real estate expenses, Yoav Hornung, head of verticals and innovation at Fiverr, recently told CNBC Make It . 

Many of these project-based jobs can come with six-figure payouts. The number of independent workers making $100,000 or more a year grew by 53% between 2021 and 2023, according to an October 2023 report by MBO Partners, a provider of back-office services to independent workers.

But the services people are hiring independent contractors for are constantly changing. To help freelancers find the best opportunities, Freelancer.com has identified five in-demand freelance jobs , based on more than 250,000 listings posted on its database between January and March 2024. The earnings information comes from this sample of projects.

All of these jobs can be done from home and pay over $100 per hour:

1. Programming 

Average hourly rate: $250 

2. eCommerce development and management 

3. graphic design .

Average hourly rate: $140 

4. Transcription

Average hourly rate: $200 

5. Creative writing 

While coding, programming and other tech specialties have long been sought-after freelance services, demand for e-commerce contractors has "exploded" in recent months, Sebastián Siseles, international vice president at Freelancer.com, tells CNBC Make It .

The global e-commerce market has been steadily growing over the last several years, a trend that was accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic when more companies had to shift to online business models. This has sparked demand for other freelance services related to running an e-commerce site, Siseles points out, including user interface design and copywriting. 

If you're interested in freelancing, make sure you understand the timeline of the job you're applying for and how you'll be compensated. Freelance jobs may last for part of a day, a week, a month, a year or even longer — and while some jobs are priced hourly, others might have a fixed project rate. 

You can also set yourself apart as a freelancer by creating a digital portfolio of work samples to share with prospective clients. To find out where the jobs are and list your own services, consider creating a profile on Upwork, Freelancer.com, Fiverr, TaskRabbit or a different website advertising freelance jobs.

Want to land your dream job in 2024?  Take  CNBC's new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview  to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay.

Plus, sign up for   CNBC Make It's newsletter  to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.