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Graduate Certificate in Creative and Professional Writing

Graduate Certificate

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About this course.

The program offers postgraduate training in writing as a preparation for creative and professional practice and/or advanced study. The program fosters skills needed for work as a creative writer, social commentator or narrative journalist and for careers in speech writing, public advocacy, information and media communication. You will gain certified expertise in the theory and practice of creative writing and be introduced to the international cross-currents of writing and information publishing industries. You will develop the techniques of creative and professional written expression, learn concepts and methods in creative research and gain the foundations for advanced study in writing and related fields.

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Graduate Certificate in Creative and Professional Writing

Griffith university.

Type of institution: University/Higher Education Institution Level: Postgraduate CRICOS: 00233E

The program offers postgraduate training in writing as a preparation for creative and professional practice and/or advanced study. The program fosters skills needed for work as a creative writer, social commentator or narrative journalist and for careers in speech writing, public advocacy, information and media communication.You will gain certified expertise in the theory and practice of creative writing and be introduced to the international cross-currents of writing and information publishing industries. You will develop the techniques of creative and professional written expression, learn concepts and methods in creative research and gain the foundations for advanced study in writing and related fields.

• Advanced Public Writing
• Advanced Research in Creative Writing
• Writing Contemporary Fiction
• Writing Creative Nonfiction: Places, People and Journey

Standard entry requirements

Any Bachelor degree or higher

Recognition

Griffith University grants credit and recognition of prior learning which may relate to prior formal learning or prior informal and non-formal learning. For more information, please visit the following website: Credit transfer Griffith's innovative Credit Precedent Database allows you to find out what credit decisions have been made in the past. These precedents will give you an idea of what you can expect. View credit precedents for this program

Study pathways

This program is designed as a pathway to either a coursework or research-based Masters degree

Study information

Related courses.

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Creative writing and literary studies

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Key databases

• Arts and Humanities Database (ProQuest) Subjects covered include anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art, classical studies, cultural studies, design, geography, history, literature, modern languages, music, philosophy.

• Gale Literary Sources Provides biographical information, literary criticism, reviews, topic and literary work overviews, as well as selected primary sources. more... less... Includes content from the following Gale databases, each of which can be searched separately from the 'What's Inside' page: Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online, Literature Resource Center, Literature Criticism Online, LitFinder, Something About the Author Online, Scribner Writer Series, Twayne's Authors Series.
• JSTOR Full text journals, books, images, and primary sources from the humanities, social sciences and life sciences. more... less... JSTOR is a fully-searchable database containing ebooks and current and back issues of scholarly journals in a wide variety of subject areas, concentrated in the arts, social sciences and humanities. JSTOR offers access to various discrete subject-based collections.
• Literature Compass (Wiley) Literature Compass publishes peer-reviewed articles on the most important research and current thinking from across the entire discipline.
• MLA International Bibliography With Full Text (EBSCOhost) MLA International Bibliography With Full Text indexes articles covering modern languages, literatures, dramatic arts, folklore and linguistics. more... less... Content includes millions of detailed bibliographic citations, access to the MLA Thesaurus, and full-text for around 1,000 journals with complete backfiles for around 50 journals. A number of journals have 12- or 18-month embargoes on the current content.
• Project MUSE Collects peer reviewed humanities and social science resources primarily published by American Universities. Discipline coverage includes arts, social sciences, Asian studies, economics, film, theatre and performing arts, history, literary studies, music, philosophy and political science.

Helpful databases

• Arts and Humanities Citation Index Multidisciplinary index covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities. To search Arts and Humanities Citation Index separately in Web of Science, click 'Editions: All' and leave only 'Arts and Humanities Citation Index' checked.
• Gale Academic OneFile A premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources across a wide range of subjects. more... less... With millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML full-text with no restrictions, researchers are able to find relevant information quickly. Gale Academic OneFile also offers videos, podcasts and transcripts, and full-text of The Times, Financial Times and The Economist from 1998 to the present and the New York Times from 1985 to the present. Gale Academic OneFile includes the Gale database Expanded Academic ASAP as a subset. In July 2019 this subset (Expanded Academic ASAP) was rebranded as Gale Academic OneFile Select.

Key journals

• Going down swinging Going Down Swinging is one of Australia’s longest-running and most respected literary journals.
• Griffith review A quarterly of writing and ideas
• Kill Your Darlings Kill Your Darlings is one of Australia’s leading arts and culture magazines.
• Meanjin For over 80 years, Meanjin has fostered a rich and rigorous national conversation by remaining true to its founding principles: ‘to talk poetry’, ‘to work for a healthy climate of opinion and literary activity’, and ‘to make clear the connection between art and politics.’

• New writing : the international journal for the practice and theory of creative writing New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing is a leading international journal in the field of Creative Writing Studies and publishes both critical and creative work.
• Overland Overland – Australia’s only radical literary magazine – has been showcasing brilliant and progressive fiction, poetry, nonfiction and art since 1954. The magazine has published some of Australia’s most iconic writers, and continues to give space to underrepresented voices and brand-new literary talent every single day.
• Poetry Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Monroe's "Open Door" policy, set forth in Volume I of the magazine, remains the most succinct statement of Poetry's mission: to print the best poetry written today, regardless of style, genre, or approach.
• Southerly : the magazine of the Australian English Association, Sydney Launched in 1939, Southerly is one of Australia’s oldest continuous literary journals. Dedicated to publishing new literature of the highest standard, Southerly provides a link between the academy and the garret.
• TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses TEXT is an international peer reviewed journal published by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs.

Social Science Research Network

"SSRN s a world wide collaborative of over 241,000 authors and more than 1.7 million users that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science research.   SSRN supports the Open Access movement.   All scholars may submit papers for free, and author-submitted content is downloadable at no charge by users worldwide."

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• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 2:00 PM
• URL: https://libraryguides.griffith.edu.au/creative-writing

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Browse Hierarchy CWR110: Creative Writing, Forms and Structures

• OUA: Open Universities Australia
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Creative Arts Research Institute

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The Creative Arts Research Institute

The Creative Arts Research Institute (CARI) is a diverse community of arts-engaged researchers. Our work is connected through artistic practices; social, cultural, and environmental justice; and sensing new opportunities for imagining, making and thinking in and through the arts.

Our expertise is grounded in music, performing arts, visual arts, design, animation, film, experimental practices, gaming, and theatre. Through collaboration and connection, we communicate our interdisciplinary research with other ways of knowing. Our work is articulated through practice and theory, doing and writing, experimentation and reflection.

We share this work in our communities of practice, cultural institutions, industry partners, and in a variety of creative and traditional publications.

Grappling with some of the most complex questions of our time, our artistic approaches offer new innovative solutions and creative pathways forward. CARI acknowledges the creative contributions of the First Nations people of the lands on which we work and commits to making space for many voices to be present in our artistic conversations.

Image credits (top & bottom): Performance art by Justene Williams (QCAD), P.L.A.C.E . by Vanessa Tomlinson (CARI), Farsh-e-Parandeh (Flying Carpet) by Leila Honari (GFS) performed at FilmHarmonic; KAM by Zeynep Akcay (GFS), watercolour projection by Kathryn Seaton (HDR-QCA), musicians Will Smith, Alexandra Gorton and Flora Wong (HDR-QCGU), T.H.E.M. by the Interactive Media Lab Team.

Creative Works

Discover creative research outputs from CARI members on the research-sharing platform Creative Works.

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What we represent

CARI represents the collective voice of creative arts research at Griffith University, establishing opportunities for meaningful engagement with industry and communities, through local and international partnerships, towards a culture of excellence, rigour and risk-taking in arts-based research.

Our commitment

CARI acknowledge that the lands we work on are places of wisdom that have been sung, danced and listened to by First Nations people for thousands of years. We aim to nurture a diverse, inclusive and equitable  environment to build relationships, share work, transform practices and collaborate with our communities. CARI is committed to the ongoing development of cultural respect in our membership and in our activities.

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Contact us to find out more about CARI or to subscribe to our fortnightly e-newsletter

[email protected]

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this Country on which we live and work. We recognise their continuing connection to place and culture, and pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

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Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition

Griffith Review  has a distinguished track record of nurturing new voices, publishing creative thinkers and supporting our writers to establish enduring industry connections.

Our annual Emerging Voices competition calls for original submissions of fiction and creative non-fiction from 3,500 to 5,000 words. Entrants can write to any theme – but we're looking for new ideas, fresh voices and bold perspectives. We look for work that commands our attention.

The 2024 competition is now open! Visit our For Writers page for more information and links to submit.

Competition Terms and Conditions

Frequently Asked Questions

The Emerging Voices Competition is generously supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund .

2023 Winners

Supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Alex Cothren holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Flinders University. He is a winner of the Carmel Bird, William van Dyke and Peter Carey Awards for short fiction, and he has writing published in  Meanjin , Island , Overland , Griffith Review , Ruminate and Australian Book Review. His unpublished short story collection,  Let's Talk Trojan Bee , was shortlisted for the 2021 Speculate Prize.

Alex's winning story will be published in 2024.

Scott Limbrick is a writer based in Naarm (Melbourne). His fiction has appeared in Electric Literature ,  Debris Magazine ,  Westerly ,  The Furphy Anthology ,  The Suburban Review ,  Going Down Swinging ,  Kill Your Darlings' New Australian Fiction  and elsewhere. His collection-in-progress was shortlisted for the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.

Read Scott's winning story here .

Brooke Maddison is a writer and editor working on unceded Turrbal and Yuggera land. She has a Masters of Writing, Editing and Publishing from The University of Queensland, and is the founder and co-editor of Crackle , the university’s anthology of creative writing. Her writing has been published in  Kill Your Darlings ,  Antithesis ,  Mascara Literary Review ,  Verity La , the Spineless Wonders  Queer as Fiction Anthology , and  ACE III: Arresting Contemporary Stories by Emerging Writers , among others. She has been awarded a Wheeler Centre Next Chapter Fellowship, a UQP mentorship, a Curtis Brown Creative HW Fisher scholarship and was highly commended for the 2023 Peter Blazey Fellowship.

Read Brooke's winning essay here .

Beau Windon is a neurodivergent author of Wiradjuri heritage based in Naarm. Unafraid of any writing form, he duels with them all. His creative non-fiction work has seen him awarded a 2021 Grace Marion Wilson Writeability Fellowship and a Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Award for self-told stories. Find him at  www.beauwindon.com

Read Beau's winning essay here .

2022 Winners

Stephanie Barham is a graduate of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT (2018). She has been published in Overland and The Sleepers Almanac, and was shortlisted for The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award in 2015.  

Read Stephanie's winning story here .

Melanie Myers won the Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Award for an Emerging Writer in 2018. Her winning manuscript was published as  Meet Me at Lennon’s  (UQP), which was shortlisted for the 2020 Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance and The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Award.  Her short stories and non-fiction have appeared in  Kill Your Darlings ,  Overland ,  Arena Magazine ,  TEXT  and  Hecate , among many others.

Read Melanie's winning story here .

Emily O’Grady is a writer from Brisbane. Her first novel, The Yellow House won the 2018 Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award, and in 2019 she was awarded a Queensland Writers Fellowship. Her second novel will be published by Allen & Unwin in 2023.

Read Emily's winning story here .

Alex Philp is a writer of both screenplays and prose. Working with her frequent collaborator, Luisa Martiri, she wrote the short films Milk  (2018) and  Pools  (2020).  Pools  premiered at Flickerfest (2021) and was also an official selection for Show Me Shorts Film Festival New Zealand and CinefestOZ. Her short fiction has been published in  Overland, Westerly, Voiceworks  and in the  Review of Australian Fiction . She won the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction in 2017. 

Read Alex's winning story here .

Isa Shirokawa is a writer of Asian and European descent. She has a background in law and in journalism for an international news organisation and is currently at work on her first novel.

Read Isa's winning story here .

2021 Winners

Declan Fry is a writer, poet, critic and essayist.  Born on Wongatha country in Kalgoorlie, he has written for  The Guardian ,  Saturday Paper, Overland, Australian Book Review ,  Meanjin ,  Liminal ,  Sydney Review of Books ,  Cordite ,  Kill Your Darlings  and  Westerly ,   among others.  His essay ‘Justice for Elijah or a Spiritual Dialogue with Ziggy Ramo, Dancing’ received the 2021 Peter Blazey Fellowship and he has been shortlisted for the Judith Wright Poetry Prize. 

Read Declan's winning story here .

Alison Gibbs runs her own writing consultancy producing copy for United Nations agencies and the not-for-profit sector.  Her short stories have been published and broadcast in Australia and the UK, and have received numerous shortlistings and awards.  Her debut novel  Repentance  was published by Scribe in January 2021. 

Read Alison's winning story here .

Vijay Khurana spent several years as a radio presenter and journalist before leaving broadcasting to focus on writing.  His stories have been shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize (2021), the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize (2019–20) and the I’ll Show You Mine sex-writing prize (2019), among others. His writing is published or forthcoming in  NOON ,  The Lifted Brow  and  Seizure . 

Read Vijay's winning story here .

Andrew Roff was the winner of the 2020 Peter Carey Short Story Award. His short fiction has appeared widely, and his first collection will be published in 2022 by Wakefield Press.  

Read Andrew's winning story here .

Creative Writing Program Marks Three Decades of Growth, Diversity

By Luisa A. Igloria

2024: a milestone year which marks the 30 th  anniversary of Old Dominion University’s MFA Creative Writing Program. Its origins can be said to go back to April 1978, when the English Department’s (now Professor Emeritus, retired) Phil Raisor organized the first “Poetry Jam,” in collaboration with Pulitzer prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass (then a visiting poet at ODU). Raisor describes this period as “ a heady time .” Not many realize that from 1978 to 1994, ODU was also the home of AWP (the Association of Writers and Writing Programs) until it moved to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The two-day celebration that was “Poetry Jam” has evolved into the annual ODU Literary Festival, a week-long affair at the beginning of October bringing writers of local, national, and international reputation to campus. The ODU Literary Festival is among the longest continuously running literary festivals nationwide. It has featured Rita Dove, Maxine Hong Kingston, Susan Sontag, Edward Albee, John McPhee, Tim O’Brien, Joy Harjo, Dorothy Allison, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sabina Murray, Jane Hirshfield, Brian Turner, S.A. Cosby, Nicole Sealey, Franny Choi, Ross Gay, Adrian Matejka, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Ilya Kaminsky, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Jose Olivarez, and Ocean Vuong, among a roster of other luminaries. MFA alumni who have gone on to publish books have also regularly been invited to read.

From an initial cohort of 12 students and three creative writing professors, ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program has grown to anywhere between 25 to 33 talented students per year. Currently they work with a five-member core faculty (Kent Wascom, John McManus, and Jane Alberdeston in fiction; and Luisa A. Igloria and Marianne L. Chan in poetry). Award-winning writers who made up part of original teaching faculty along with Raisor (but are now also either retired or relocated) are legends in their own right—Toi Derricotte, Tony Ardizzone, Janet Peery, Scott Cairns, Sheri Reynolds, Tim Seibles, and Michael Pearson. Other faculty that ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program was privileged to briefly have in its ranks include Molly McCully Brown and Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley.

"What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here." — Luisa A. Igloria, Louis I. Jaffe Endowed Professor & University Professor of English and Creative Writing at Old Dominion University

Our student body is diverse — from all over the country as well as from closer by. Over the last ten years, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of international students who are drawn to what our program has to offer: an exciting three-year curriculum of workshops, literature, literary publishing, and critical studies; as well as opportunities to teach in the classroom, tutor in the University’s Writing Center, coordinate the student reading series and the Writers in Community outreach program, and produce the student-led literary journal  Barely South Review . The third year gives our students more time to immerse themselves in the completion of a book-ready creative thesis. And our students’ successes have been nothing but amazing. They’ve published with some of the best (many while still in the program), won important prizes, moved into tenured academic positions, and been published in global languages. What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here.

Our themed studio workshops are now offered as hybrid/cross genre experiences. My colleagues teach workshops in horror, speculative and experimental fiction, poetry of place, poetry and the archive — these give our students so many more options for honing their skills. And we continue to explore ways to collaborate with other programs and units of the university. One of my cornerstone projects during my term as 20 th  Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth was the creation of a Virginia Poets Database, which is not only supported by the University through the Perry Library’s Digital Commons, but also by the MFA Program in the form of an assistantship for one of our students. With the awareness of ODU’s new integration with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and its impact on other programs, I was inspired to design and pilot a new 700-level seminar on “Writing the Body Fantastic: Exploring Metaphors of Human Corporeality.” In the fall of 2024, I look forward to a themed graduate workshop on “Writing (in) the Anthropocene,” where my students and I will explore the subject of climate precarity and how we can respond in our own work.

Even as the University and wider community go through shifts and change through time, the MFA program has grown with resilience and grace. Once, during the six years (2009-15) that I directed the MFA Program, a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) university-wide review amended the guidelines for what kind of graduate student would be allowed to teach classes (only those who had  already  earned 18 or more graduate credits). Thus, two of our first-year MFA students at that time had to be given another assignment for their Teaching Assistantships. I thought of  AWP’s hallmarks of an effective MFA program , which lists the provision of editorial and publishing experience to its students through an affiliated magazine or press — and immediately sought department and upper administration support for creating a literary journal. This is what led to the creation of our biannual  Barely South Review  in 2009.

In 2010,  HuffPost  and  Poets & Writers  listed us among “ The Top 25 Underrated Creative Writing MFA Programs ” (better underrated than overrated, right?) — and while our MFA Creative Writing Program might be smaller than others, we do grow good writers here. When I joined the faculty in 1998, I was excited by the high caliber of both faculty and students. Twenty-five years later, I remain just as if not more excited, and look forward to all the that awaits us in our continued growth.

This essay was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of Barely South Review , ODU’s student-led literary journal. The University’s growing MFA in Creative Writing program connects students with a seven-member creative writing faculty in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

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Poetry Is For Everyone: Students Display Their Creative Writing at Rogers Free Library

As part of their Creative Writing Studio class, RWU students from diverse academic disciplines are sharing their poems with the public through the end of May.

BRISTOL, R.I. – A dozen Creative Writing majors and minors are currently displaying their poetry at the Rogers Free Library in downtown Bristol, R.I., in what they are calling a “Wandering Magazine,” an installation that is open to the public.

The project began after Ann Kathrin Weldy, Adult Programming & Outreach Coordinator at the library, asked Renee Soto, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at RWU, if her students wanted to share their work with the library for National Poetry Month in April. Soto said she brought the idea to the students in her Poetry Studio course and a dozen volunteered to participate. The installation was originally scheduled to run until the end of April, but it proved so popular, library staff are keeping it up through the end of May.

“Projects such as this enrich the library and the community in myriad ways. I’m impressed by the creative spirit of the poetry students, and it’s valuable for them to have a platform where their work can be discovered and seen. It’s a real joy to witness patrons and passersby stop to read their words and be inspired,” Weldy said. “We always look forward to collaborating with the amazing students and faculty of Roger Williams University. The university is a treasure in Bristol.”

As part of the installation, each student submitted one poem that they were proud of, which library staff hung on the walls in the foyer entryway and throughout the building for library patrons to read as they browse for books. Soto explained that there were no restrictions on the content or style of the poetry submissions, leaving the choice entirely up to the students. Though some of the students may have been inspired by prompts given in class, it was ultimately their decision which poem they wanted to submit, leading to a diverse array of work.

“The Creative Writing Studio classes are exciting because they are spaces where students emphasize making their own work, and that’s the most important thing for them as artists,” said Soto. “The focus is on developing, reviewing, revising, and – in many ways – recreating work so that it’s ready for an audience. This is perfect because this (installation) at Rogers Free Library is a publication they can put on their résumés.”

Soto noted that she was surprised by how many students in her class weren’t Creative Writing or English Literature majors; some are studying Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, History, and Psychology. “They are just taking it for fun,” she said. “Poetry really is for everyone. It’s incredible.”

Sophomore Lourdes Rodriguez, a Computer Science major with a minor in Creative Writing from Woonsocket, R.I., shared that the inspiration for her poem, “Parasol,” came from a moment in class when her professor said the word during a lecture. “It was so weird to me because Spanish is my first language. He said it, and I was sitting in class and my mind was just blown. From there, my brain was like, ‘wait, I gotta write, I gotta write.’” Rodriguez said that her poems are typically more emotional, but for this project she wanted to challenge herself to write something out of her comfort zone. That challenge produced a poem that was more whimsical and playful in nature. It is also her first poem – of many, Rodriguez hopes – to include Spanish words and phrases. “I'm just really proud of this piece,” she said.

When Rodriguez started at RWU, she first majored in Journalism but then switched to Computer Science. Not wanting to let go of writing, she said she decided to incorporate her passion into a minor. Now deciding whether to go into coding for mobile apps or software development, she knows that writing will always be part of her life. “It would be great to get published in the future or even just keep writing my poems and short stories for myself,” she said.

For sophomore A. Lee, an English Literature and Creative Writing double major from Acton, Mass., the inspiration for their poem came from a prompt that Soto brought to the class, which they tweaked to suit their needs, they said. Their poem, titled “An Assortment of Nonsensical Meeting Places,” was inspired by their time at summer camp growing up but more specifically by the memories they share with their partner. “We have a lot of really fun, really strange memories that I wanted to capture,” said Lee. Snapshots include a moment where Lee got a nosebleed while hiking the Appalachian Mountains, in which the only solution was to shove tampons up their nose, as well as a six-day biking trip. “It's a nostalgia-heavy piece, where I am sort of reflecting on all the fun times we had together,” they said.

For both Lee and Rodriguez, this is the first time either of them has shared their writing in such a public format. The Wandering Magazine helped boost Lee’s confidence as a writer, they said, sharing that they would love to publish a collection of their own work one day.

“It’s nerve-wracking, but it means a lot,” Rodriguez said.

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2024 creative writing prize winners.

Please join the Department of English and Creative Writing in congratulating the 2024 Creative Writing Prize winners!

Andrea Cohen at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Professor Matthew Olzmann at Creative Writing Prizes Reading. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Ulla-Brit Libre reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Sanjana Raj reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Ethan Gearey reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Maeve Kenney reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Zhenia Dubrova at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Anne Rhee at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Jessica Yang at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Judge Andrea Cohen at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

The 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony was held on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. in Sanborn Library, and included readings from the prize winners and this year's judge, Andrea Cohen .

Andrea Cohen's poems and stories have appeared in  The New Yorker, Poetry, The Threepenny Review ,  The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Glimmer Train ,  etc. A new book of poems,  The Sorrow Apartments,  is forthcoming from Four Way Books. Other collections include  Everything  (Four Way, 2021),  Nightshade  (Four Way, 2019).  Unfathoming ( Four Way, 2017),     Furs Not Mine  (Four Way, 2015),  Kentucky Derby  (Salmon Poetry, 2011),  Long Division (Salmon Poetry, 2009) , and  The Cartographer's Vacation  (Owl Creek Press, 1999). Awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship,  Glimmer Train's  Short Fiction Award, and several fellowships at MacDowell. Over the years, she has taught at The University of Iowa, Emerson College, UMASS-Boston, Boston University, The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and Merrimack College, where she was the founding director of the Writers' House. She directs the Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge, MA, and will be teaching at Boston University in the spring of 2024.

The Sidney Cox Memorial Prize

• Sanjana Raj, "The Museum of Unnatural History"

Honorable Mentions:

• Maeve Kenny, "The Four Seasons"
• Eloise Langan, "Oh, Rats."

The Academy of American Poets Prize

• Maeve Kenney, Poems

The Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry

• Ethan Gearey, "I've Been in Love"

The Mecklin Prize

• Maeve Kenney, "The Four Seasons"
• Armita Mirkarimi, "Nostalgia is a Wishing Well"
• Eloise Langan, "Saint Bonnie"
• Natala Schmitter-Emerson, "A Story that Never Ends"

The Grimes Prize

• Yevheniia Dubrova, "Blue Heron"

The Lockwood Prize

• Anne Rhee, Poems
• Jessica Yang, "Pacific Ghosts"

William C. Spengemann Award in Writing

Erskine Caldwell Prize

Ralston Prize

• Ulla-Brit Libre

• Programs and courses

Advanced Research in Creative Writing (7155LHS)

This course explores the dynamic relationship between scholarly inquiry and creative writing practice. As postgraduate students interested in gaining an advanced qualification in writing, the course will foster your understanding of what it means to pursue creative writing in an academic context. You'll deepen your understanding of key methods and approaches used in creative inquiry; receive guidance in developing creative writing within a research framework; be encouraged to explore the relationship between writing and wider social and cultural concerns, and explore writing industry practices. PREREQUISITE: NIL. CO-REQUISTE: NIL. INCOMPATIBLE: 7115LHS Advanced Research in Creative Writing.

Course study information

Credit points (awarded), study level.

Postgraduate

Student contribution band

Usually available.

Online Trimester 1

Course offerings and timetables

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Now Available: Ancestral Futures Arts & Literary Magazine

The inaugural issue of ancestral futures is now available.

Ancestral Futures is an arts & literary magazine published by Special Collections & University Archives that invited contributors to reimagine the archive through artistic lenses such as poetry, creative writing, photography, and collage.

This year’s theme was on inclusive speculative fields such as Afrofuturism, Latinx/Chicanx Futurisms, and Indigenous Futurisms. Each piece is inspired by archives, including those held at UCR and on Calisphere .

We invite you to dive in and explore these fantastic re-imaginings of the archive by viewing the digital zine , available here: https://scalar.usc.edu/works/ancestral-futures/index

In addition, free print copies of Ancestral Futures will be available for pick-up at UCR Special Collections & University Archives while supplies last (one per person) until Friday, June 14 at 4 p.m. 

To get your copy, visit Special Collections on the fourth floor of Rivera Library during open hours (10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Friday) until Friday, June 14. No need to register in advance, walk-ins are welcome. 

If you have questions, please reach out to project organizer and librarian, Sandy Enriquez, at [email protected] .

Sacrifice Zone: A Wild, Wonderful, and Honest Zine of West Virginia

Zines are making a comeback in the creative writing world. 

If you open Etsy on your web browser and simply type “zine” in the search bar, you’ll discover a wonderland of beautifully crafted, pocket-sized art/writing made by genuine artists and creatives. A zine exists for any niche interest now: ranging from fanzines about the 90s TV show Frasier, to literary analyses on the cross-cultural implications of fan fiction in the literary world, to carefully curated handbooks for thrift shopping, among so many others. Chances are, if you’ve ever browsed an indie bookstore or explored a local art fair, you’ve probably come across a zine in the wild! 

And if you’ve never heard of a “zine” before, you might be wondering what exactly this art form is. As defined by Purdue University, “A zine (pronounced ZEEN) is short for ‘fanzine’ and is usually a small-batch, independently published work that circulates less than 1,000 copies. Anyone can be a zinester (aka ‘someone who creates a zine’), and most people make zines for the love of creating rather than for seeking a profit. In general, a zine is a pamphlet-like publication that can include text, images, artwork, found objects, or any other creative material that helps to express the author's message” ( Purdue ).

Matt Powney, a recent graduate of West Virginia University’s MFA program in the Poetry track, has spent the last year designing and creating a zine of his own making with his partner, Kay, aptly titled Sacrifice Zone . As a creative with a deep respect for the honest nature of writing, and the importance of producing work that deconstructs the extractive nature of corporate, economical culture in West Virginia society today, producing a zine tailored to Matt’s own interests seemed like the natural way to share his work with others.

After purchasing a copy of the first issue of Sacrifice Zone in fall 2023, I knew that Matt had found a metaphorical creative goldmine for himself. The collage artwork within the first issue of Sacrifice Zone features a fractured urban/rural landscape of our West Virginia that has been literally and metaphorically gutted by Big Pharma, corporate greed, incarceration, and predatory coal companies. The kaleidoscope-esque imagery is haunting and powerful, and pairs beautifully with the crisp poetry and painfully tender creative nonfiction on the page. I had the pleasure of learning more about Sacrifice Zone from Matt in the following Q&A:

You talk a lot about your intention for creating Sacrifice Zone in the first installment, and what it means to you and your readers – would you care to share any more insight about your intention for creating this zine, and what you hope to get out of it with each installment?

Mostly, I just hope to create some level of community and discussion about prison in Appalachia, and making art in Appalachia. I just want to give people a voice and platform for their art. Both Appalachians in general and people in prison are a silenced group of people, so the more amplification they can get, the better in my eyes. My main goal for this zine is to undo stereotypes, and sharing stories is a great way to do that.

Sacrifice Zone seems like a really collaborative project! How did you go about choosing pieces for the zine, arranging them in the order they’re in, as well as the art/images that were used in the zine? Did you and Kay work together in the making of Sacrifice Zone?

Sacrifice Zone is a collaborative project. I relied on a lot of friends and mentors to have this project come together. For this first installment, I just asked a bunch of my friends for submissions - people from all over Appalachia, with different relationships to the prison system. I got the inspiration for the art and for the general vibe of the zine from Thomas Martin’s zine , Martha Stewart Mixtapes, which Kay contributes to regularly. Their zine feels alive. It is what I wanted for Sacrifice Zone, so naturally, it became a model of what I wanted the zine to look like. Knowing that Thomas uses collage art from Martha Stewart Magazine to make Martha Stewart’s Mixtapes, I started thinking about what I could use for our magazine and realized I’d thrifted stacks of the perfect magazine already -  old copies of Wonderful West Virginia.

As for selection of the specific art we used, Kay and I spent an evening going through all of the magazines and matching them to our submissions. We had a lot of fun doing it, and found images we loved that weren’t right for this issue that we are excited to use for future volumes.

You mentioned that Thomas Martin, a previous MFA student, was an influence for Sacrifice Zone . Are there any other zines or forms of media that inspired you to create your zine?

• Yes! I read Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration around the time I began working on this project. It is a book of art made by people in prison. It was also a huge inspiration. One of the poems I included in the zine, also called “Marking Time,” was inspired by this book.

Do you have an idea of what themes you want to cover in future installments for the zine?

Right now, we are open to any art that fits the project. Maybe in the future, we will think about themed volumes, but right now, we’d like to make as many connections as we can.

Do you have a current submission window for the next installment of Sacrifice Zone ? Or a future pub date?

• I have already received some submissions for the next installment and am still open to receiving more. We are hoping to put another one out in May, but with Kay and my first child due in early May, there could be some delay. [As of this blog post, Matt and Kay are officially parents!]

How can people purchase this zine and future zines in the series, and for how much?

Right now, I am personally selling copies. The easiest way would be to contact the instagram page, @sacrifice.zone , and a copy can be mailed to you. In the future, we hope to have an online store and to sell them through local vendors.

If you want to support Matt Powney and Sacrifice Zone , you can stay up to date by following the zine’s official Instagram page: @sacrifice.zone 

Stay tuned for more news, events, and happenings among WVU’s Creative Writing program!

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Creative and Professional Writing

Undergraduate | GRF-COM14 | 2023

Course information for 2023 intake Learn more about course intake

Think about how your creative voice can fit across a variety of writing genres. Dissect plot, character and narrative structure. Learn to self-edit and incorporate feedback. Script dialogue, produce promotional writing and draft short fiction pieces.

HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available Learn more about financial options

About this subject

What you'll learn.

 At the completion of this subject you will be able to:

• recognise different types of creative and professional writing
• understand how these different types of writing are produced
• be able to develop and use a set of writing tools that can be applied to writing in any situation
• appreciate the complexities of writing creatively and professionally
• see an improvement in your generic writing skills and have developed an understanding of how to apply ideas in a creative and professional context
• see an improvement in your written communication skills, have a greater informed independence of thought and have developed your ability to conduct research.

Topics covered

• Writing as communication
• Ethics and issues within the public arena
• Different types of writers
• Writing paths and genres
• Getting started
• Creating your own writing space and time
• Handling feedback
• The importance of reading and research
• Creative writing: Genres and practice
• Short fiction
• Scripting dialogue
• Professional writing
• Blurbs, flyers and adverts
• Writing reviews
• Where to from here?

Description

Creative and Professional Writing is a foundation subject that enables beginner and more experienced writers to develop their creative and professional writing skills across a range of genres. Throughout the Study Period, you will examine the role of structure, plot, opening lines, character development, dialogue and settings in the production of exciting and effective writing.

Through a series of voluntary writing and learning tasks and formal assessment pieces you analyse and critique the following writing styles: Short story writing, dialogue and promotional writing, critical reviews. You are encouraged to become part of an online writing group and to share your work with each other in response to set writing tasks.

Assessments

• Learning Tasks and Reflection (20%)
• Professional Writing (40%)
• Creative Writing Assignment (40%)

For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).

About Griffith University

With a network of campuses spanning three cities in South East Queensland, Griffith University is committed to progressive multidisciplinary teaching and research and a valuable online provider with Open Universities Australia. Already attracting students from over one hundred countries, Griffith's dedication to academic excellence is available across Australia through OUA.

Learn more about Griffith University .

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Entry requirements

Proficiency with reading and writing English.

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.

Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.

Single subject FAQs

What’s a single subject.

Single subjects are the individual components that make up a degree. With Open Universities Australia, you’re able to study many of them as stand-alone subjects , including postgraduate single subjects , without having to commit to a degree.

Each of your subjects will be held over the course of a study term, and they’ll usually require 10 to 12 hours of study each week. Subjects are identified by a title and a code, for example, Developmental Psychology, PSY20007.

How can I use single subjects to get into a full degree?

First, find the degree that you would like to study on our website.

If that degree allows entry via undergraduate subjects, there will be information about this under the Entry Requirements section. You will find a list of 2-4 open enrolment subjects you need to successfully complete to qualify for admission into that qualification.

Once you pass those subjects, you will satisfy the academic requirements for the degree, and you can apply for entry.

Our student advisors are here to help you take that next step, so don’t hesitate to reach out when you’re ready! We’ve also made it easier to figure out the right way to get started on our pathways page .

Can anyone help me choose a subject?

Our student advisors are more than happy to help you plan your online study. Get in touch with an advisor by:

- Booking a free one-on-one consultation

- Calling, messaging or chatting with us today

How do I pay for my subjects?

You can pay up front with your credit card, or you may be eligible for a HELP loan from the Australian government depending on your citizenship status and where you’ll live during your studies.

For more information about how to pay for your studies visit our fees page or contact a student advisor .

How do I enrol?

When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Enrol now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.

Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.

If you get stuck at any time, reach out to us and we’ll talk you through it.

You can also take a look at our online self-service enrolling instructions .

When is the cut-off date for enrolling?

Close of enrolment times vary between universities and subjects. You can check the cut-off dates for upcoming study terms by visiting key dates .

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New Scholarship Supports Western’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing

The Mari Sandoz Emerging Writer Scholarship will be awarded every year.

Students with a passion for writing about the people and landscapes of the West will have a new scholarship opportunity when they enter Western Colorado University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing (GPCW), thanks to the generosity of the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society.

The Mari Sandoz Emerging Writer Scholarship will be available to one qualified first-year graduate student in the GPCW’s Nature Writing concentration starting in the summer of 2024. The scholarship will be granted each academic year, awarding the winner $3,000 each semester for a total of $6,000.

According to Mari Sandoz Heritage Society board member and director of the GPCW Nature Writing Concentration, Laura Pritchett, the scholarship aims to memorialize Mari Sandoz’s legacy as someone who had a passion for writing and loved the landscapes and peoples of the West. Through the scholarship, the board hopes to support significant writing about the West in the contemporary literary landscape.

“Sandoz’s writing emphasized the environmental and human landscape of the West and was recognized for her no-nonsense yet deeply evocative style,” Pritchett said. “She was passionate about sharing her hard-earned and well-honed writing skills. We’re fortunate to have the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society support this scholarship.”

Applying to the GPCW’s Nature Writing program will also serve as an application for the scholarship. For more information about the GPCW Nature Writing Concentration, visit western.edu/program/nature-writing .

Author credit: Seth Mensing

Photo credit: Courtesy

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