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Low-Residency MFA Mountainview Master of Fine Arts Fiction or Nonfiction

Go write your book:.

• Affordable tuition rates
• Each term begins with a weeklong residency
• Award-winning, nationally recognized faculty
• Only about 16 students per cohort
• Alumni have gone on to win major prizes
• Curriculum designed to help each student complete a publishable book

Low-Residency MFA Program Overview

Write the book you're meant to write, as you earn your Mountainview Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in fiction or nonfiction .

Our two-year, low-residency program allows students to live anywhere and work a full-time job. We never allow the number of students to exceed 65 total – about 16 per cohort – so our students develop close and sustaining relationships with faculty during our intensive weeklong residencies in the summer and winter .

During the rest of the year, our students work with faculty one on one, receiving thorough, regular editorial letters supplemented with video calls.

Our two principal goals:

• Create a close and vibrant writing community
• Graduate every student with an excellent manuscript in hand

Students choose to focus on fiction or nonfiction. Some choose specializations like young adult fiction and environmental writing.

Our full-time faculty members have won numerous awards, published books with major publishing houses and received international acclaim in every literary category from young adult to lyric essay to crime. Their work appears in such forums as The New Yorker, Harper's, The New York Times Magazine and Best American Short Stories.

Our alumni include a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Whiting Award winner, and numerous other authors whose work is published by major publishing houses. 

Our faculty members, often referred to as "mentors," work to help each student find a literary voice, master their craft and produce a book-length manuscript of high literary quality.

With a Mountainview MFA, you'll get:

• An award-winning, nationally recognized faculty
• Flexibility of schedule
• A curriculum designed to help each student finish an excellent, publishable book (see some of our many successful alumni below)
• A vibrant and supportive creative writing community
• Visiting agents and editors from the best agencies and publishing houses at each residency
• Faculty members who specialize in young adult literature and environmental writing
• Highly competitive tuition costs

Looking for a fully-online program? Check out our online MFA and our online MA in Creative Writing .

Start Your Journey Toward a Low-Residency MFA

Director of Mountainview MFA, Associate Professor

Benjamin Nugent, the director of Mountainview, and an associate professor of English at SNHU, is the author of “Fraternity: Stories” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020), which was named one of the ten best books of 2020 by New York Magazine, and an Editor's Choice by The New York Times Book Review. His nonfiction has been published in Harper's and The New York Times Magazine, and his fiction received the 2019 Terry Southern Prize from The Paris Review.

Marcus Burke

Marcus Burke grew up in Milton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Susquehanna University where he played four years of varsity basketball. Burke went on to receive his MFA at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop where he was awarded a Maytag Fellowship, an Iowa Arts Fellowship, and upon graduation, a competitive grant in honor of James Alan McPherson from the University of Iowa MacArthur Foundation Fund.

Burke’s debut novel, “Team Seven”, was published in 2014 by Doubleday Books. “Team Seven” received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, was longlisted for the 2015 PEN Open Book Award and was one of the “10 Titles to Pick Up Now,” in O, The Oprah Magazine.

Rachel B. Glaser

Rachel B. Glaser is the author of the story collection “Pee On Water,” the novel “Paulina & Fran” and the poetry books “Moods” and “Hairdo.”

In 2017, she was on Granta’s List of Best Young American Novelists. Her fiction has been anthologized in “30 under 30” and “New American Stories.”

She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Amy Irvine is the author of numerous essays and four nonfiction books addressing environmental, Indigenous and feminist concerns. She is a contributing editor for Orion Magazine, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Outside, Orion, Pacific Standard, Best American Science & Nature Writing, and Best American Food Writing. Her first memoir, “Trespass”, received the Orion Book Award, and the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award. Her memoir, “Almost Animal”, will be published by Spiegel & Grau in Spring 2023. Irvine, a Mountainview MFA alumnus, lives, writes and teaches off-grid on a remote mesa in southwest Colorado.

Jo Knowles is an award-winning young adult and middle-grade novelist. Her young adult books include "Living with Jackie Chan," "Pearl", "Jumping Off Swings", "Lessons from a Dead Girl" and "Read Between the Lines." Her middle grade/tween novels include "See You at Harry's," "Still a Work in Progress," "Where the Heart is," and "Meant to Be" (coming 2022). Some of her awards include a New York Times Editor's Choice and Notable Book, an American Library Association Notable Book, an IndieBound Summer Top 10, Bank Street College's "Best Book" list, Amazon's Best Middle Grades, an International Reading Association Favorite, New England Children's Booksellers Advisory Top Title, two SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards, Kirkus's Best Teen Books, the PEN New England Children's Book Discovery Award and YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her books have appeared on numerous state book award lists for schools and libraries.

Andrew Martin

Andrew Martin is the author of the novel “Early Work”, a New York Times Notable Book of 2018 and a finalist for the Cabell First Novelist Award. He is also the author of the story collection “Cool For America”, which was longlisted for the 2020 Story Prize. His fiction has been published in The Paris Review, The Atlantic, The Yale Review, ZYZZYVA and The Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, and his essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Review of Books, Harper's, The New York Times Book Review, T: The New York Times Style Magazine and VICE. He has received fellowships from MacDowell and the UCross Foundation. He earned his MFA from the University of Montana and has a BA in English from Columbia University. He lives in New York.

Tracy O'Neill

Tracy O'Neill is the author of “The Hopeful”, one of Electric Literature's Best Novels of 2015, and “Quotients”, a New York Times New & Noteworthy book, TOR Editor's Choice and Literary Hub Favorite Book of 2020. In 2015, she was named a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, long-listed for the Flaherty-Dunnan Prize and was a Narrative Under 30 finalist. In 2012, she was awarded the Center for Fiction's Emerging Writers Fellowship. Her short fiction was distinguished in the Best American Short Stories 2016, and earned a Pushcart Prize nomination in 2017. Her writing has appeared in Granta, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, the New Yorker, LitHub, BOMB, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Believer, The Literarian, the Austin Chronicle, New World Writing, Narrative, Scoundrel Time, Guernica, Bookforum, Electric Literature, Grantland, Vice, The Guardian, VQR, the San Francisco Chronicle and Catapult. She holds an MFA from the City College of New York; and an MA, an MPhil and a PhD from Columbia University. While editor-in-chief of the literary journal Epiphany, she established the Breakout 8 Writers Prize with the Authors Guild.

Nadia Owusu '17

Nadia Owusu is a Ghanaian and Armenian-American writer and urbanist. Her first book, “AFTERSHOCKS”, topped many most-anticipated and best book of the year lists, including The New York Times, The Oprah Magazine, Vogue, TIME, Vulture and the BBC. It was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice.

Nadia is the recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The New York Times, The Lily, Orion, Granta, The Paris Review Daily, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Catapult, Bon Appétit, Travel + Leisure, and others. She lives in Brooklyn.

Lydia Peelle

Lydia Peelle is the Whiting Award-winning author of the novel “The Midnight Cool” and the story collection “Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing”, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice book which received an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award and was a finalist for The Orion Book Prize. Peelle is also a recipient of the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" honor and the Anahid Award for Armenian American writers. She will be Writer in Residence at Vanderbilt University in fall 2021.

Rebecca Schiff

Rebecca Schiff is the author of the story collection "The Bed Moved" (Knopf 2016), a finalist for an LA Times Book Award in First Fiction and a Sami Rohr Prize.

Her fiction has appeared in Electric Literature, n+1, The Guardian, Washington Square and BuzzFeed, and it was anthologized in The Best Small Fictions 2017.

She lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Katherine Towler

Katherine Towler is author of a trilogy of novels: “Snow Island,” Evening Ferry” and “Island Light”. Praised by the Boston Globe as “luminous and moving,” “Snow Island” was chosen as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers title.

Towler is also the co-editor, with Ilya Kaminsky, of “A God in the House: Poets Talk About Faith,” a collection of interviews with prominent American poets. Her memoir, “The Penny Poet of Portsmouth” was published by Counterpoint Press in 2016.

Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman is the author of the novels “Girls on Fire” and “Mother Daughter Widow Wife”, a finalist for the 2021 Pen/Faulkner Award. A former children’s book editor, she is also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than ten novels for young adults. Her nonfiction has appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books, Tin House and The New York Times. Wasserman lives in Los Angeles, where she works as a TV writer, most recently as a co-producer on the forthcoming, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”.

Adam Wilson

Adam Wilson is the author of three books, including, most recently, the novel “Sensation Machines”. He is a National Jewish Book Award finalist, and a recipient of the Terry Southern Prize. His work has appeared in Harper’s, the Paris Review, the New York Times Book Review, Tin House, Bookforum, VICE and the Best American Short Stories, among many other publications. In addition to Mountainview, he teaches regularly in Columbia University's MFA program. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.

Many of our Mountainview graduates have gone on to success in the publishing world.

Notable alumni include:

• 2019 Whiting Award winner Nadia Owusu '17
• 2020 Edgar Award finalist John Vercher '16
• 2019 Pulitzer finalist Elizabeth Rush '11
• Raymond Carver Short Story Contest Morgan Green '21
• LA Times Book Prize for First Novel Kevin Keating '18
• Alumni published by Simon & Schuster, FSG, Bloomsbury, and other major publishers

Learn more about Mountainview graduates and what they've accomplished:

Kevin Keating '18

Since starting the Mountainview Low-Residency MFA, Keating has been awarded the Creative Workforce Fellowship, one of the most substantive awards for writers in the United States, and the Cleveland Arts Prize, the oldest award of its kind in America and a testament to the standard of excellence and quality of artists in Northeast Ohio. Previous winners include Toni Morrison, Rita Dove and Harvey Pekar. He has also been a featured speaker at the Miami Book Fair International.

David Moloney ’17

He earned his MFA from SNHU’s Mountainview Low-Residency program, where he won Assignment Magazine’s student writing contest. He was also awarded the Lynn Safford Memorial Prize.

His debut novel, "Barker House," was published by Bloomsbury in 2020. His work can be found in The Yale Review, Guernica, Lithub, Electriclit, The Common, Salamander, CrimeReads and GEN. He currently teaches writing at SNHU.

Elizabeth Rush '11

Her work explores how humans adapt to changes enacted upon them by forces seemingly beyond their control, from ecological transformation to political revolution.

Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in the New York Times, National Geographic, the Guardian, the Atlantic, Harpers, Guernica, Granta, Orion, Creative Nonfiction, The Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique and the New Republic, among others.

John Vercher '16

John’s debut novel, Three-Fifths , launched September 10th, 2019, from Agora, the diversity-focused imprint of Polis Books and has received praise from Kirkus and starred reviews from the Library Journal and Booklist.

Three-Fifths was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Chicago Tribune. In the U.K., Three-Fifths was named a Book of the Year by The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, and The Guardian.

Three-Fifths has been nominated for:

• The Crime Writers’ Association’s (UK) John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger (Shortlisted, 2021)
• The Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best First Novel
• Best Debut Novel (2019) for The Strand Magazine’s Critics’ Awards
• The Anthony Award for Best First Novel

Rights to Three-Fifths have been sold in France, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Germany, Mainland China, and the U.K.

In 2021, Three-Fifths was added to the curriculum of the course “Crime in American Film & Literature” at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. In addition, Wilton High School in Wilton, Connecticut added Three-Fifths to their curated collection of titles for their 2021 town-wide reading program.

His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, will be published by Soho Press June 7, 2022 and Pushkin Press July 2022.

Low-Residency MFA Courses & Curriculum

Our two-year program is built around one-on-one study between students and faculty, allowing you to write from home most of the year and be part of a supportive writing community during our twice-yearly weeklong residencies.

During these two years, students work toward completing their creative thesis, a book-length manuscript of publishable quality, turning in monthly submissions to their mentors, and receiving detailed feedback via correspondence and conferencing.

Each semester, students work with their individual faculty mentors in developing reading lists. Students read approximately two books a month, focusing their attention on craft analysis. Every part of the curriculum is designed to help students hone their writing craft and finish excellent theses.

Upon completion of the program, students will have earned a 60-credit graduate degree, which is considered ''a terminal degree'' in creative writing. The Mountainview MFA degree prepares students and qualifies them for applying for college teaching positions.

Required Texts for MFA Program

Complement your mfa with a certificate, frequently asked questions.

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A Q&A with Solstice Low-Residency MFA’s Founding Director

In this Q&A, we spoke with Meg Kearney, Founding Director, and Quintin Collins, Assistant Director, at Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program.

What exactly is a Master of Fine Arts degree, and why do I need one?

It’s the terminal degree necessary for those who wish to teach at the college level. Most of our students want to earn an MFA for three reasons: community, networking opportunities, and—this is the main one—to become the strongest writers they can be.

What concentrations do you offer?

Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and writing for young people. We are also building a cohort to start our comics & graphic narratives concentration in summer/fall 2021.

What does “low-residency” mean, and what are the benefits of a low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program?

It means you don’t need to move to Boston to earn your degree. Our students want to learn not only the craft of writing but also how to make writing and reading a regular practice alongside life’s other obligations. During our two-year program, students attend five 10-day residencies, then work 1:1 with a mentor each semester. By graduation, they have a craft foundation, an understanding of how to publish their work, and a supportive community of fellow writers, many of whom become lifelong friends.

What makes the Solstice MFA Program different from other low-residency programs out there?

Our community. You’d be hard-pressed to find a friendlier, more supportive group. And from our founding in 2006, we’ve been dedicated to a diverse faculty of world-class writers who love to teach—in a setting intimate enough to have real conversations. We’ve found that intimacy exists even when our residencies are virtual because of COVID! Our Pedagogy Track also sets us apart. There’s more—writers should contact us to learn more .

Say more about how you encourage cross-genre work.

We certainly encourage students to take craft classes across genres during our residencies. Also, students may focus on a completely different genre in semester two than they did in semester one. Writers who have an MFA can check out our Post-Grad Programs to study in another genre.

You say you support diverse voices. How?

By featuring a diverse faculty. Solstice also offers Fellowships and our Writers Helping Writers Scholarships. Plus, our flexible schedule enables students to complete our program at a pace best suited to them.

What is a typical residency like/how is it structured?

Virtual or on-campus, the basic schedule is the same: students spend three hours a day in workshop. They fill the rest of the time with craft classes, elective sessions (including publishing-related events), and readings. By day seven, students receive mentor assignments and begin creating their semester plans.

Because of COVID-19, you held a virtual residency in July 2020. How did that go? Will you go virtual again this winter 2021?

We went virtual, and we waived our application fee because of the economic stress most are under. The virtual residency went smoothly; we were all surprised by how intimate Zoom can feel. We ensured that everyone felt comfortable with the technology. So yes, we’ll be virtual again this winter; it’s best for everyone’s health and safety.

How much contact do I have with my mentors?

Quite a lot. Often, they are your workshop leaders. When on campus, students and faculty typically share meals and attend readings and social events together. Students and mentors then exchange packets once a month. By the end of the semester, students have a treasure-trove of written feedback.

So students send five packets to their mentor during each semester—please say more about that?

Year one, packets are a combination of the students’ creative work plus short craft essays based on what they’re reading. During semester three, students write a critical thesis, also craft-based—or pedagogy based if the student is in our Pedagogy Track. In semester four, students complete their creative thesis—say, a full-length collection of poems or short stories or the first 130 to 150 polished pages of a novel or memoir.

That’s the second mention you’ve made of the Pedagogy Track. What is that, exactly?

The Pedagogy Track gives students training to teach at the college level—at no extra charge . As one of the few low-residency programs to offer this Track, Solstice gives its grads a leg up as they seek work in higher education.

How would you describe the typical Solstice MFA Program student?

They hail from 15 different states and beyond and range in age from 22 to 60-plus. Their backgrounds are as various as their geographic locations! But they all share a passion for the written word and seek a community that is friendly, open-minded, and supportive.

How do you support students financially?

Through Fellowships and our Writers Helping Writers Scholarships, which are need-based. And we keep our tuition and fees low—Solstice is quite competitive in that regard compared to most other low-residency MFA programs.

How do you support students academically?

Our community is purposely small; students get lots of individual attention. Workshops are kept to ten or fewer; our student-to-mentor ratio is 5:1. And we offer students myriad resources. Again, writers should contact us to learn more.

How do you support your alumni?

We love our alums, and they love us, too ! We write them monthly, feature an alumni event at every residency, crow about them in our e-newsletter and on social media, and offer a “grad buddy” program to help see new alums through those first post-graduation months. Our alumni also organize a reading at every annual AWP conference.

You mentioned a post-grad program and a certificates—say a bit more?

People take advantage of our Post-Grad Semester when they’re working to complete a manuscript . Our Post-Grad Certificate enables writers to study for one year on a genre other than the one they concentrated on as students. Both are open to anyone with an MFA.

How do your alumni fare in the publishing and academic job market?

While a number of them are landing teaching jobs, 30 percent have published at least one book since graduation. That amazing statistic covers many genres: books of poetry, memoirs, short story collections, and novels for adults and for young people.

Is there anything new in the works that you’d like to mention?

We’re excited about the Writing Social Justice Track launching in 2021. It’s going to be like nothing else, and we can’t think of a more crucial time to offer this sort of programming.

To find out more, visit Solstice MFA’s site .

Contact: Meg Kearney, Founding Director & Quintin Collins, Assistant Director

Email: [email protected]

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Catalog 2019-2020 > Graduate and Continuing Studies > Graduate and Continuing Studies Degree Programs > Graduate Study in the College of Arts and Letters > Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Catalog 2019-2020

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Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

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The University of Tampa’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program is a two-year, four-term course of individualized study designed to help poets, fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers advance their command of craft through exposure to literature from a writerly perspective and with supportive critique and mentoring. The program also encourages the rich interplay of participation in an extended literary community, and it seeks to deepen the understanding of writing as an ongoing engagement with discovery and transformation.

Mission Statement

The College of Arts and Letters (CAL) seeks to cultivate in students the inner recourses for the truly creative life: physical and emotional discipline, moral imagination, aesthetic receptivity, practiced memory, broad sympathy and intellectual courage. An education in the arts and letters is an engagement with the rigors and powers of devising forms and grasping the shapes of meaning. A deepening of this engagement is an undertaking to which CAL faculty are passionately dedicated. Students are immersed in their chosen fields of study not merely as learners but as practitioners of their respective disciplines.

Graduate Retention Standards

To remain in good academic standing, students must receive a satisfactory narrative evaluation from their assigned mentor and an award of credit for the most recent term of study. A student receiving a “U” grade (Unsatisfactory) is automatically placed on academic probation.  Two successive “U” grades will result in dismissal from the program.

A student may receive an “I” grade (Incomplete) at the discretion of the instructor and program director. The deadline for filing an “I” grade (Incomplete) is March 15th for the January term, September 15th for the June term. Students must satisfactorily complete the “I” term before they are permitted to enroll in a subsequent term.

The deadline for receiving a “W” grade (Withdrawal) is March 15th for the January term, September 15th for the June term.

If a student is unable to continue with the plan of study in a given term, the student may apply through the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies for “enrollment maintenance” (EM). With the approval of the program director, the EM student’s plan of study is revised to allow for completion of the outstanding contracted work over the course of the succeeding term.

To return to regular student status in the program after an EM period, students must have completed the outstanding requirements of their plan of study for the term in which they applied for enrollment maintenance. Unless given special permission, students may remain on enrollment maintenance for one term only. Students returning to the program after an EM period may be assigned to a subsequent student cohort.

The entire program must be completed within seven years.

Each student will be assigned to the program director for advising purposes pertaining to academic guidance. For matters related to registration, withdrawal and other administrative issues, students are assigned an advisor in the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Residency participants and mentoring faculty are distinguished practitioners and accomplished instructors from the on-campus faculty of The University of Tampa and from around the world. (Visit  www.ut.edu/mfacw/faculty  for the roster of current faulty and distinguished guests.)

MFA Admission

Students wishing to be considered for admission to the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program must provide the following:

• Completed application.
• Application fee.
• Official transcripts of all previous college work (received directly from each institution). Undergraduates who are in the process of completing degrees may apply for admission, with full acceptance contingent upon completion of a baccalaureate degree.
• Personal statement articulating education experience not evident in your official transcripts. The personal statement should consist of three typed, double-spaced pages and address these topics: the role writing has played in your life; your aspirations as a writer and how you see this MFA program helping you meet your goals; and evidence of your ability to work well independently. Include your name and contact information on the upper right corner of each page. If the sample is submitted digitally, the file should be in PDF format and labeled: lastnamefirstnamePersonal_Statement.pdf.
• Sample of your creative writing in the genre in which you seek admission (10 pages of poetry, 20 pages of fiction or 20 pages of creative nonfiction). These samples should be typed (using a 12-pt. font) and double-spaced. Include your name and contact information on the upper right corner of each page. If the sample is submitted digitally, the file should be in PDF format and labeled: lastnamefirstnameCreative_Sample.pdf.
• Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can comment on your writing and your ability to work independently.
• Résumé.

Please send required documents to:

Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies

The University of Tampa

401 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33606-1490

For admission assistance, contact an admission counselor in the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies at or (813) 258-7409. For program-specific information, contact the program director’s office at [email protected] or (813) 257-6311.

Transfer and Transient Credit Policy

Effective with January 2013 admissions, students who have qualified for admission to the program may transfer the equivalent of one term's worth of credit (12 credit hours) from another graduate English or creative writing program when approved by the program director and the MFA Committee. Only credits earned with grades of "B" or better will be considered. Coursework completed more than seven years prior to admission is ineligible for transfer consideration. Transfer credit requests are reviewed by the MFA Committee on a case-by-case basis.

Program and Course Requirements

Satisfactory completion of the MFA program requires a minimum of 52 credit hours of graduate work (12 credit hours per term over four terms, and four credit hours for the fifth culminating residency). Partial credit is not awarded. At the conclusion of each term, each student receives a narrative evaluation from the faculty mentor and the award of credit/no credit for completion of the work. Students must attend the entire residency and complete all contracted tutorial period work to the faculty mentor’s satisfaction. Mentor responses to tutorial period submissions, as well as final evaluations, are a matter of record and will be maintained in each student’s file.

Students may begin the program with either the January or June residency.

Residency and tutorial periods

Term One — 12 Credits ( WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction: WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

A 10-day residency initiates term one, with program faculty delivering formal talks on elements of craft, as well as seminars on aesthetic issues and works from the literary canon. Students participate in faculty-guided genre and mentee workshops, and discussion sessions. They also attend readings and lectures by guest faculty and visiting writers and talks by editors and publishers. Assigned readings focus on principles of craft and techniques appropriate to the genre, providing the opportunity for deeper analysis from a writer’s point of view and a broader understanding of literary traditions.

The residency is followed by a five-month tutorial period with four submissions, at prescribed intervals, of original creative writing and annotations on readings. These submissions are critiqued by the faculty mentor. The nature and direction of the reading and writing projects during the tutorial period are planned and agreed upon during the residency through individual conferences with the faculty mentor, and are tailored to the specific needs of the student.

Term Two — 12 Credits ( WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction; WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

Term two extends the student’s accomplishments in term one and begins with a 10-day residency. In plenary sessions and smaller group settings, program faculty offer presentations on elements of craft, as well as seminars on aesthetic issues and works from the literary canon, often involving pertinent concerns across genres. Students participate in faculty-guided genre workshops, small group sessions with mentors, individual conferences and more general discussion sessions. They also attend readings and lectures by guest faculty and visiting writers and talks by editors and publishers. As in term one, assigned readings focus on principles of craft and techniques appropriate to the genre and the development of the writing life, providing the opportunity for deeper analysis of works from a writer’s point of view and a broader understanding of literary traditions. Each term two student also assumes a more central role in seminars by serving as respondent in at least one session.

The term two residency is followed by a five-month tutorial period with four submissions, at prescribed intervals, of original creative writing and annotations on readings. These submissions are critiqued by the faculty mentor. The nature and direction of the reading and writing projects during the tutorial period are determined by a plan of study worked out by the student and faculty mentor during the residency. Each plan is tailored to build upon work thus far accomplished, as well as to address the specific needs and interests of the student.

Term Three — 12 Credits ( WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction; WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

Term three begins with a 10-day residency, with activities similar to those outlined above. But in addition to the residency program, and a leadership role as an advanced respondent in a workshop or presentation, students attend a seminar on writing critical essays in preparation for the subsequent tutorial period focused on the writing of an extended critical essay (25 pages). With his or her faculty mentor, each student agrees upon an appropriate topic for the critical paper, as well as supporting readings and a schedule of draft submissions that will occur during the tutorial period. The completed critical paper is due at the end of the tutorial period. The student also submits drafts of original work and annotations in accordance with the negotiated plan of study.

Term Four — 12 Credits ( WRI 600 Workshop in Fiction; WRI 610 Workshop in Poetry; WRI 620 Workshop in Non-Fiction)

Term four starts with a 10-day residency, with activities similar to those outlined above. Each student takes on additional responsibilities as senior respondent in a residency session, but special emphasis is placed on preparation for teaching a graduating student seminar during the culminating residency and on completing the graduate thesis manuscript. Part of the tutorial period plan of study includes approval and signing of a thesis plan with a thesis director and a second faculty reader, as well as approval of the student’s culminating residency seminar topic. Term four students attend a pedagogy workshop to aid them in the preparation of the seminar each will conduct during the culminating residency.

Capstone Residency—4 credits ( WRI 800 MFA Thesis and Capstone)

Upon completion of their fourth term, students are required to attend a fifth, capstone residency at which they present a graduate seminar, present their thesis (a minimum of 125 pages of fiction or nonfiction, 55 pages of poetry) and their annotated bibliography, give a public reading of original work and complete all required program documentation. After approval by the program director, graduating students are required to submit an electronic version of their thesis to the Macdonald-Kelce Library for inclusion in the digital repository.

Graduation Requirements

All students must satisfactorily complete the four-term, five-residency program and all requirements as articulated above.

15 Best Low Residency MFA Programs

Author: Natalie Harris-Spencer Updated: February 18, 2023

The best low residency MFA programs offer you a more cost-effective way to complete a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. The difference between a low residency and a fully remote program is that you’ll be expected to stay on campus for short periods throughout the year, giving you greater flexibility than if you’d have either been living on campus, or full-time in front of a computer screen.

What can you expect from the best low residency MFA programs?

These programs will force you to juggle your writing time around your day job , family, and cats, while still plunging you into that writers’ life you so crave. In many ways, they’re harder than the traditional brick-and-mortar school program, in that they give you a truer flavor of what it’s like to pursue a writing career with a million other things going on in your life. They’re also far more immersive than an online-only program.

You’ll be hit with a combination of remote and in-person learning. A typical school year comprises two semesters, of which there is usually a 10-day intensive residency on campus per semester (so, two residencies per year, for two years). The time in between residencies is remote i.e. spent from your writing desk at home, where you will be paired with a mentor or smaller groups of writers. In fact, the 1:1 mentorship is a huge benefit of a low residency MFA program ; you’ll get closer attention than you would if you were in a traditional college class.

The best low residency MFA programs will offer a variety of genres , including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, popular fiction, scriptwriting, literary translation, graphic novels and comics, and writing for young people, while some allow for a dual-genre path.

While MFAs are not cheap, low residency programs are certainly on the more affordable side. Read on for 15 best low residency MFA programs, listed in alphabetical order.

1. Antioch University

Offered by AU Los Angeles, Antioch University’s low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program is dedicated to the education of literary and dramatic artists, community engagement, and the pursuit of social justice. It offers two, 10-day residencies in June and December.

2. Bard College

Bard College offers MFAs for artists in a variety of disciplines, not just writing. Each summer session runs for eight intensive weeks (there is no winter residency), and does not follow the traditional semester schedule. Most students receive some amount of financial aid, making it an attractive option for candidates.

3. Bennington College

Bennington College is widely regarded as one of the best low residency MFA programs in the United States. Residencies take place in picturesque Vermont, and their prestigious faculty includes many multi-published authors and literary prizewinners. You can elect to pursue a dual-genre path. Bennington’s residencies take place in January and June.

4. Cedar Crest College

This pan-European MFA offers a single 15-day residency at the beginning of July that rotates between Dublin, Ireland, Barcelona, Spain, and Vienna, Austria, with new locations coming soon. Unlike other programs, you’ll only attend three residencies in total, and you won’t go to the university campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania. But…you get to travel to Europe.

5. Goucher College

The only program dedicated solely to nonfiction writing, this low residency MFA attracts applicants and faculty interested in pursuing narrative, memoir, personal essay, and literary journalism. Literary agents and editors attend the two 10-day residencies in Baltimore, Maryland, and there are sponsored trips to New York to meet top publishing professionals.

6. Institute of American Indian Arts

Now in its tenth year, the emphasis with this particular Creative Writing MFA is on Native writers, voices, texts, and experience, although applications are open to all. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, it offer two 8-day residencies in January and July.

7. Lesley University

While the nine-day residencies take place in the “literary mecca” of Cambridge, Massachusetts, there’s also the opportunity for students to study abroad at a 12-day residency in rural Wales. Lesley has relationships with literary agencies and presses , so that you get a fast-track into publishing on submitting your thesis when you graduate.

8. Lindenwood University

Located in St. Charles, Missouri, Lindenwood University is unique in that there is no formal residency requirement: you can take classes fully on campus, online, or choose the low residency model. The program is more affordable than others due to its flexibility, and offers financial aid to teachers and candidates over the age of sixty.

9. New York University

Based on NYU’s campus in Paris, France, there are five, 10-day residencies held in January and July. This is one of the more expensive programs, with limited funding available. However, its faculty line-up is always incredible, and you’re paying for the prestige of Paris.

10. Pacific University

Based in Portland, Oregon, Pacific University’s MFA program places a strong emphasis on craft . It offers multiple full and partial merit-based scholarships to qualifying candidates. Residencies are in January and June.

11. Sewanee School of Letters

The model at Sewanee School of Letters in Tennessee is slightly different: you complete a single, six-week residency over the summer , which in turn is spread over the course of three to five summers, making it more affordable than other low residency programs.

12. University of New Orleans

Despite positioning itself as online MFA, the University of New Orleans is actually low residency, in that it offers a month-long residency every summer at various international locations, including Ireland and Italy.

13. University of Southern Maine (Stonecoast)

My alma mater . Stonecoast at USM offers two 10-day residencies in January and July, alongside a concurrent writers’ conference, in the picturesque town of Freeport, Maine. Its popular fiction program is especially popular with writers of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, and its WISE program (writing for inclusivity and social equity) is at the heart of its ethos. In my humble opinion, it will always be one of the best low residency MFA programs.

14. Vermont College of Fine Arts

Another Vermont entry: proof that this beautiful state inspires creativity. Residencies are nine days and take place in December and July, with past residencies going further afield: Slovenia, Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Mexico, Rome, and Asheville, North Carolina. Literary translation and dual-genre paths are available.

15. Warren Wilson College

Established in 1976, Warren Wilson is the original low residency MFA program, introducing the format to North America and the rest of the world. Consequently, it’s on the pricier end, but there are multiple grants and financial aid available. It offers two, 10-day residencies in January and July near the wonderful town of Asheville, North Carolina, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Recommended reading

Here at Aspiring Author , we love recommending bestsellers and fawning over hot new releases. On this real time recommended reading list, you will find a list of top rated books on the publishing industry, craft, and other books to help you elevate your writing career.

The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

The System of Lust Is Helping Me Catch Up To This SSS-Rank World Volume One

50 States, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do

Complex PTSD Activity Workbook: From Trauma to Transformation: Navigating the Journey of Healing (Spirited Serenity)

The Associated Press Stylebook: 2024-2026

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Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing

Master of fine arts in creative writing and poetics (low-residency).

Our low-residency MFA provides the structure, support, and professional development you need to take your writing to the next level .

Program Overview

Naropa’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing is designed for writers ready to hone their craft and earn their Master of Fine Arts degree through rigorous, cross-genre study. Students who can’t relocate to our Colorado Campus can acquire a quality asynchronous education with in-person residencies.

Whether you have a novel in progress, are preparing for a PhD program, or looking to strengthen your prose, poetry, and hybrid writing, our low-residency creative writing MFA program provides you with resources, accountability, and inspiration that fit your schedules.

Naropa takes traditional low-residency MFA programs a step further with our history of experimental and innovative writing, critical study, and cross-genre publishing. Our unique cross-genre online writing courses, generative residencies, and one-on-one mentorship provide students with a writing community, no matter where they live.

Cross-Genre Curriculum

Unlike other Creative Writing MFA programs, our low-residency MFA is open-genre. This means that writers can work in fiction, poetry, prose, non-fiction, playwriting, and hybrid forms throughout their degree program. Students experiment with narrative structures and forms that fit their unique voices. Writers develop their unique style, critical ear, and vast knowledge of contemporary trends across literary genres.

One-on-One Mentorship

One-on-one mentorship and small online writing classes help writers develop their style, refine their editing skills, and publish their work. Each writer dedicates their final semester to a thesis manuscript. Working one-on-one with their thesis mentor and workshopping with classmates through written exchange, students finish their MFA with a completed manuscript in the genre of their choice.

Generative Residencies

Every semester, our Low-Residency MFA students gather in Boulder, Colorado, for enriching and energizing residencies. MFA students meet one-on-one with mentors, enjoy master classes with guest writers, attend readings, and bond with writers. Residencies also overlap with our spring and fall symposiums, providing students with a rich 4-days of community and inspiration. Each academic year culminates in a week-long writing intensive at Naropa’s Summer Writing Program. This annual festival brings over 60 artists, writers, and thinkers to Boulder, for workshops, readings, panels, and professional development.

Quick Facts

• Fifteen annual days of residency in Boulder, CO
• Open-genre curriculum
• One-on-one mentorship with accomplished faculty
• Unique Experimental Approach
• Participation in the Summer Writing Program
• Cohort model developing a strong sense of community among MFA students
• Several Scholarship and Financial Aid Opportunities
• Applications open for August 2024

Program Format

Naropa’s Creative Writing MFA is a rigorous, generative, low-residency two-year program with 4 writing residencies in beautiful Boulder Colorado. The program combines asynchronous craft courses with on-campus residencies. 

Annual fall and spring residencies allow writers to connect with other writers and faculty , deepen their craft, and participate in symposium readings and panels with other MFA students in Boulder, CO. Spring and Fall Residencies run from Saturday through Tuesday during the Spring and Fall JKS Symposiums.

The summer residency immerses writers in a full week of the Jack Kerouac School’s world-renowned Summer Writing Program . Here, students attend workshops, lectures, panels, and readings by numerous visiting writers to hone their craft, make connections, speak on student panels, and prepare for the next step in their writing career.

Course Spotlight

Craft of writing: rooting in the archive.

This course delves into the Naropa University Archive and its rich offerings to explore traditions, movements, and/or schools of writing that inform or extend the aesthetic vision of the Jack Kerouac School toward mindful writing. Possible recent historical examples include New American Poetry, the Beats, San Francisco Renaissance, the New York School, Black Mountain Poetics, the Black Arts Movement, and Language poetry, among others.

Degree Requirements

Unlike many online creative writing MFA programs, our asynchronous classes build community through writer-to-writer feedback and a structured curriculum.

Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Requirements

26 credits of online asynchronous craft courses.

Students work one-on-one with a mentor, exchanging packets —consisting of letters, bibliographies, contemplative reflections, creative manuscripts, and critical essays—throughout the semester.

• WRI-631E Craft of Writing: Rooting in the Archive(6)WRI-648E Craft of Writing: Contemplative Experiments(6)
• WRI-678E Craft of Writing: Cultures & Communities(4)
• WRI-735E Craft of Writing: Contemporary Trends(6)
• WRI-755E Craft of Writing: Professional Development(4)

6 credits of MFA Thesis

6 credits of MFA Thesis (faculty mentorship on a book-length creative manuscript)

4 credits of the Summer Writing Program

Two eight-day summer residencies are completed at Naropa’s Boulder campus. Choose two of the following:

• WRI-751 Summer Writing Program(2)
• WRI-752 Week Two Summer Writing Program(2)
• WRI-753 Summer Writing Program(2)

4 credits of fall and spring residencies in Boulder, CO.

• WRI-789WE Fall Residency(1)
• WRI-791WE Spring Residency(1)

Why Choose Naropa?

Strong writing tradition.

Founded in 1974 by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics encourages experimental forms across genres , pushing for innovation inside and outside the classroom.

Career Readiness

Whether a student plans to teach, write, edit, or work in publishing, our low-residency program provides the framework they need to develop their professional skills alongside a vibrant and supportive writing community.

In-house Publishing

The Kerouac School’s student-run Bombay Gin literary journal publishes work from promising students and distributes it nationally through Small Press Distribution. Students interested in fine-craft letterpress printing can learn at Naropa’s Harry Smith Print Shop and Kavyayantra Press.

How this Program Prepares You

Professional dossier.

Graduates from our low-residency Creative Writing MFA emerge from the program with a solid record of written work . The pieces that make up their dossier are workshopped with peers and perfectioned with guidance from their tutor.

Critical Analysis

You’ll emerge from the program with critical analysis skills that go beyond reading between the lines of a written work. The program will teach you to recognize the role of intersectionality in the literary arts, looking at the wider spectrum that surrounds a piece, and identifying bias, assumptions and stereotypes.

Unleashing creativity

Our workshops, classes and Summer Writing Program encourage students to harness their creativity by exploring experimental forms . Low-residency students receive on-on one mentoring to help them develop their creative writing skills to the fullest, as well as feedback from their writing community, be it online or during their residency.

What You'll Learn

Highly developed writing craft.

Hone your voice in every step of the writing process.

Skill in Critical Analysis

Learn to discuss literary works through a variety of critical lenses.

Contemplative Writing Practice:

Use your writing practice as a tool for self-inquiry and discovery.

Social and Cultural Awareness

Recognize the role of race, class, and gender in literary history and works.

Career Preparedness

Graduate with a publishable manuscript and/or professional dossier.

Career Opportunities with a Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing

• Lyricist: write words for songs, matching melody and rhyme.
• Poet: use language to creatively express emotion, ideas and experiences.
• Proofreader: check written work for errors and inconsistencies.
• English Teacher: teach at the postsecondary level.
• Author: craft and publish original material.
• Editor: review and improve written work for publication.

Hear from a Graduate

Jackie henrion, faqs about the low-residency mfa in creative writing, what is a low residency mfa in creative writing, why choose a low residency mfa creative writing program, how long does it take to complete a low residency mfa in creative writing, how is naropa’s low residency mfa in creative writing different from other programs, what types of funding are available.

Funding includes the Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Anselm Hollo Graduate Fellowships.

The fellowships are awarded annually to three incoming MFA Creative Writing and Poetics students (residency program). Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Anselm Hollo fellowship recipients will receive full funding (tuition and fees), plus an additional $5,000 scholarship as well as a $4,500 stipend. Fellowship recipients may not simultaneously hold a Graduate Assistantship.

Additionally, partial funding is provided for students who have applied for and been offered graduate assistantships with the Naropa Writing Center.

Visit our Graduate Scholarship page to read more about funding, fellowships and scholarships for the Low-Residency Creative Writing & Poetics MFA and other degrees.

Learn More About the Program

Connect with your counselor

Olivia phipps.

Graduate Admissions Counselor

• [email protected]
• Schedule an Appointment
• Attend An Info Session

Ready to Apply?

Admission requirements.

Naropa University values both academic excellence and critical self-reflection . Our application process not only evaluates academic performance but also candidates’ openness and willingness to engage in contemplation.

Learn more about admission requirements and the application process for our Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA.

Graduate Students

Prospective students who have completed an undergraduate degree are welcome to apply to Naropa. When applying, candidates must submit a transcript of their undergraduate coursework, a statement of interest, a resume, two letters of interest and a creative writing sample. They may also apply for financial aid at this stage. Discover all admission requirements.

International Students

If you obtained your undergraduate diploma from a non-US university, we require additional documentation to review your application. Learn how to apply to Naropa as an international student.

Costs and Financial Aid

Naropa University students have access to several financial aid opportunities and scholarships – over 75% of our graduate students receive some sort of financial support to pursue their studies. Use our calculator to estimate your tuition, housing, materials and other costs.

Graduate Scholarship Opportunities

Interested in our Low-Residency Creative Writing MFA?

Read our blog or listen to our podcast, heartfire festival returns to naropa university, episode 92. andrew schelling: writing as a spiritual practice, womxn of naropa celebrates national poetry month, summer writing program from the archives, together in spirit, student support and resources, academic support, online student support, career services, financial aid, accessibility, related programs, mfa in creative writing, ba in creative writing and literature, request information, plan a visit, about naropa, events & community, user information, support naropa.

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Naropa campuses closed on friday, march 15, 2024.

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.

• Back to Hood.edu

Introducing the New Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing

Hood College is excited to launch the low-residency MFA in creative writing beginning June 2024, a 48-credit program in fiction or poetry that includes four remote mentorship semesters and three 10-day summer residencies.

Inaugural Residency Launches June 2024

• English & Communication Arts
• Graduate School
• Graduate Student

Elizabeth Knapp, Ph.D., program director, discusses the new Creative Writing MFA below.

How did you get the idea for the low-residency MFA at Hood College?

The day of my interview in May 2008 (which was also the last day of classes), as I was walking across campus with my future colleagues, I said to one of them, “You know, this would be a lovely place for a low-residency MFA in creative writing,” and with that, the idea for the program was born. It’s been 15 years in the making now.

What’s unique about Hood College’s low-residency MFA in creative writing?

There are several key features of our program that we think make it stand out:

First, we are the only low-residency MFA in the state of Maryland that offers concentrations in both fiction and poetry; second, our program includes summer residencies on Hood College’s beautiful campus, which is within walking distance of Downtown Frederick (and one hour from Baltimore and Washington, D.C.), with its lively historic district featuring great restaurants, shops and a wonderful independent bookstore ; third, for the second of the three summer residencies, students have the option of attending the Prague Summer Program for Writers ; fourth, in addition to scholarships and other funding opportunities, we offer students the chance to help launch and serve on the staff of our new online literary magazine, Pergola ; fifth, our program focuses on literary publishing, and by the end of the program, students will be submitting their work to literary journals and magazines and may even be starting to publish it; finally, our program features dynamic permanent and guest faculty, including award-winning poets and fiction writers.

Students in the program will play an essential role in its development, and we look forward to welcoming writers from a variety of backgrounds and professions.

Why did you choose to partner with the Prague Summer Program?

The nation’s oldest study-abroad program for creative writers in the English language, the Prague Summer Program has been on our radar since the inception of our program. Now operating as an LLC, the Prague Summer Program had been affiliated for many years with the University of New Orleans and then Western Michigan University. As a Ph.D. student at the latter, I attended the PSP in summer 2005 and served as a teaching assistant for the poet Anne Marie Macari , so I have first-hand knowledge of the program’s outstanding faculty , including two MacArthur Fellows and a National Book Award Winner in fiction. In addition to the option of a three-week second summer residency through the PSP, we’ll also be offering teaching assistantships in the program.

What is the program’s philosophy?

Central to our program’s philosophy is the idea of balance—between writing and the demands of everyday life, between periods of solitude and social interaction—as well as the presence of a diverse and cohesive literary community. The latter in particular is essential to our identity as a program, as we believe that while we may write in solitude, we work together as a community to bring our art into the world.

The idea of balance is also central to the way we’ve structured our program. Our 10-day summer residencies are designed to immerse students in activities and subjects central to the writing life and to foster a sense of community and fellowship with other writers. At the end of the residency period, students return to their individual writing lives reenergized and recommitted to the practice of writing. They then commence a period of concentrated reading and writing in the semester between residencies under the close guidance of a faculty mentor.

Along with the residency experience, literary mentorship is a hallmark of our program. The mentorship semester is designed to help students develop close working relationships with experienced teachers and published authors who can direct them in all matters of literary craft, criticism and publishing. As immersive experiences, the mentorship semesters also provide students with a solid foundation in literary history, theory and practice, and students are expected to read broadly and deeply both within their genre and across genres.

Learn more about the new low-residency MFA in creative writing.

Are you ready to say Hello?

Choose a pathway.

Information will vary based on program level. Select a path to find the information you're looking for!

The purpose of the MFA program is to provide an engaging, rigorous, and culturally responsive learning environment for emerging writers and to showcase and support the work of Alaskan, Indigenous, and Northern writers. The low-residency MFA is a 36-credit program combining intensive, individualized study with on-campus summer residencies. Summer residencies—approximately 2 weeks in length, and introduced by online learning sessions—are comprised of workshops, seminars, lectures, panels, and readings. In summer residencies, students engage in the process of giving and receiving constructive feedback, all while nurturing an artistic intuition to guide them on the right track beyond their studies. Fall and Spring semesters in the program involve one-on-one, mentor-directed study plans, advancing individual writing goals. As they work through individualized study plans, students hone their craft with the goal of producing publishable works. 

Over the course of two years and three summers, students gain a comprehensive understanding of their chosen genre (fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry) along with their place among the notable writers who have gone before them. Through residencies on APU’s campus, the program strives to honor the Dena’ina people and their traditional lands upon which APU sits, as well as Alaska Native storytelling traditions that have thrived and continue to inspire.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the degree, students will have:

• Produced a polished book-length manuscript of creative work in their chosen genre of study (fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry).
• Demonstrated disciplinary understanding of the elements of craft that distinguish their genre.
• Developed appreciation for Alaska Native traditions of storytelling and other Alaska-based narrative traditions
• Expressed the distinctive qualities of their own style and voice.
• Identified productive research and methods to gather and present information ethically and accurately.
• Synthesized information, applying it in a real-world setting, and assessing results to refine the thesis.
• Used effective oral and written communication to present an overview of their completed thesis.
• Demonstrated understanding of the publication process as it applies to their manuscript of creative work.

The low-residency MFA admits students to the Summer semester only. The admissions deadline is April 1.

The general requirements for admission to graduate studies at APU are found in the Admissions section of the catalog. In addition, there are supplemental requirements for the low-residency MFA as follows:

• A portfolio of the student’s best creative work.
• Poetry: Ten pages of poetry. Only one poem per page. 
• Fiction: One story; 15 pages or less in length (double spaced) or a chapter of a novel accompanied by a brief synopsis. 
• Literary Nonfiction: One piece; 15 pages or less in length (double spaced), if part of a larger work accompanied by a brief synopsis.
• Personal Statement that highlights the applicant’s strengths and interests. This essay is reviewed by the Program Director as a demonstration of writing competence, critical thinking, and the ability to articulate goals. 
• Two letters of recommendation addressing your capability to complete advanced work through a Master of Fine Arts program. In addition, letters should address your critical thinking, analytical and communication skills. Recommendation letters must include the writer’s address, telephone number, title, and relationship to you. Letters should be dated within the past twelve months. 
• No Standardized Test Scores required. 

Students are adequately prepared for low-residency MFA entry if they have earned a bachelor’s degree in any field, and have demonstrated proficient writing ability in their portfolio and personal statement. 

Low-Residency MFA Format and Program Delivery

The Master of Fine Arts is a 36-credit program of individualized, mentor-directed studies with three summer terms, each inclusive of a low-residency requirement. The program includes three areas of study: Fiction, Literary Nonfiction, and Poetry. Students maintaining full-time enrollment status can complete the program in 2 years, over the course of three summer semesters (with residencies) and four Fall/Spring semesters of one-to-one mentorship. Maximally, students have up to 7 years to complete the program.

Master of Fine Arts Degree Requirements (36 credits)

The program consists of three areas of coursework, with courses structured in 3 and 5 credit increments for each course and study plan. A total of 36 credits is required as outlined below:

• CRWR 60100    , CRWR 60200    , or CRWR 60300     Graduate Writer’s Workshop (10 credits required)
• CRWR 60500     Form and Theory (15 credits required)
• CRWR 69900     Thesis (8 credits required)
• CRWR 60400     Thesis Writer’s Workshop (3 credits)

CRWR 60100-60300 Graduate Writer’s Workshop must be taken two times in the same genre (fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry). Failure to attend a residency will result in a delay of graduation by one year. Should any student find themselves in such a situation, they will be given the opportunity to continue their studies in MAP, with the possibility of retaining their mentor, as they complete all thesis components still required of the MFA program. In this case, the student would then receive a Master of Arts degree upon graduation, not a Master of Fine Arts degree.

CRWR 60500 Form and Theory and CRWR 69900 Thesis will be taken more than once, as designated by unique, documented, and approved individual study plans.

Successful completion of CRWR 60400 Thesis Writer’s Workshop includes approval of the thesis (with craft essay, creative work, and annotated bibliography) and the colloquium presentation.

Academic Study Plan and Self-Designed Courses

Learning outcomes and activities in CRWR 60500 Form and Theory are structured through the program’s required study plans.  The study plan is used by the student and the mentor as a guide for the fall and spring semesters. The study plan must be approved by the student, the mentor, and the program director prior to the start of the semester. The semester study plan is a fully developed outline that includes quantifiable learning outcomes that are then assessed by the mentor through narrative transcript evaluation.

Study plans will designate that students remain in contact with their mentors on a bi-weekly basis. Plans will also include deadlines at least once a month, when students will submit completed assignments and pages of creative work, for which they will receive ongoing feedback from their mentors.

For every semester of CRWR 60500 Form and Theory, the study plan will include the following requirements:

• submit 60-80 pages of prose, or 20-30 pages of poetry, with the intention of incorporating some of it into the creative manuscript section of the thesis
• submit 20-30 pages of critical analysis focused on the assigned reading list, with the intention of incorporating some of it into the craft essay section of the thesis
• read 10-12 books or manuscripts and complete an annotation for each, to be compiled later in the annotated bibliography segment of the thesis, with a growing appreciation for Alaska Native, Alaskan, and/or Northern Latitude traditions

In CRWR 69900 Thesis, students focus solely on completing the sections of the thesis itself deriving from work completed in prior semesters: revising and polishing the final draft of the creative project; drafting and editing the craft essay; refining and finishing the annotated bibliography; and preparing the culminating colloquium presentation.

MFA Mentors

Students may express interest in working with specific mentors; however, the pairing of students to mentors will ultimately be decided at the discretion of the director and mentors, based on fit and teaching load considerations. The student can request a change in mentor, just as a mentor can request a change in student, for the sake of better furthering the goals of the student’s creative project and/or scholarship.

Student Evaluation

The Low-Residency MFA at APU is not a traditional letter-graded academic program; rather, it is evaluated as Credit/No Credit, with narrative evaluation on the transcript. “Credit” is understood to represent a grade of B- (2.67) or better. Students receive a narrative evaluation of their progress at the end of each fall and spring semester for each semester study plan. At the end of the summer session, they receive a narrative evaluation based on their participation in the online component and the residency period. These evaluations, in turn, become part of the student’s official transcript.

In these evaluations, mentors (and thesis committee members) document and comment upon the student’s learning outcomes. Success or failure is measured in relation to the accomplishment of goals and outcomes as established in individual study plans. In the case where a student does not meet the academic standards of the university or the study plan objectives, ‘No Credit’ is recorded on the transcript, and no academic credits are awarded.

Students are expected to perform at the graduate level and to demonstrate written and oral communication, critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as content knowledge and the ability to apply theoretical concepts consistent with a graduate program.

Required Courses:

• CRWR 60100  ,  CRWR 60200  , or  CRWR 60300   Graduate Writer’s Workshop (10 credits required)
• CRWR 60500   Form and Theory (15 credits required)
• CRWR 69900   Thesis (8 credits required)
• CRWR 60400   Thesis Writer’s Workshop (3 credits)

Minimum Graduation Credit Hour Requirement: 36

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2018 MFA Index: A Guide to More Than 200 Programs

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If you’ve weighed the costs and benefits, considered the pros and cons, and finally arrived at the conclusion that, yes, you want to pursue an MFA degree, your homework has only just begun. Now that you know you want to attend an MFA program, you are faced with another set of decisions: To which programs (among the more than 200 that are currently offered by colleges and universities around the world) do you want to apply?

The MFA Index is intended as a place to start, a reference to help you begin narrowing down your choices. The programs listed in the following pages are pulled from the free MFA Programs database at pw.org, which includes the information presented in the as well as important details such as core faculty and specific funding opportunities. There are, of course, certain elements of any given program that might make it the perfect (or, conversely, a less-than-ideal) place for you as a person and as a writer. The MFA Index offers enough information about the genre tracks, location, size, amount of available funding, cost of living, and residency requirements for you to determine whether you want to do additional research on a program, gathering the details that matter the most to you. Once you’ve identified a program or several programs in the MFA Index that you think are worth a closer look, investigate them further using the MFA Programs database , then visit each program’s website, requesting more information from program coordinators and directors, if necessary.

The level of funding a program offers is of particular interest to many prospective students, and rightly so. The MFA Index lists the level of financial support students receive toward their tuition (full or partial), including tuition waivers, fellowships, scholarships, and/or teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and graduate assistantships. Many programs cannot guarantee full funding for all students, as funding often depends on university budgets that change unpredictably each year. If a program has funded all or nearly all of its students for the past several years, it is listed in the MFA Index as offering “Full” funding. “Partial” funding can mean as little as “one student receives a small scholarship” to “80 percent of students receive full funding.” When programs are not fully funded, it is important to calculate the cost of tuition. One program’s tuition might be so high that even if all students are offered a partial tuition waiver, it would cost those students less to attend a program that has fewer funding opportunities. Further research will bear out these details and comparisons.

Deciding to pursue an MFA is a big decision. Choosing which programs you will apply to is an even bigger one. Use the MFA Index ( Full-Residency and Low-Residency ) to consider the full field of programs, then narrow down your choices. Take your time. Do the research. We wish you the best of luck.

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Creative Writing Currently: Introducing the New Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing at Hood College

Elizabeth knapp | september 2023.

Hood College is excited to launch the Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing starting June 2024, a forty-eight credit program in fiction or poetry that includes four remote mentorship semesters and three ten-day summer residencies.

Q: How did you get the idea for the Low-Residency MFA at Hood College?

A: The day of my interview in May of 2008 (which was also the last day of classes), as I was walking across campus with my future colleagues, I said to one of them, “You know, this would be a lovely place for a low-residency MFA in creative writing,” and with that, the idea for the program was born. It’s been fifteen years in the making now.

Q: What’s unique about Hood College’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing?

A: There are several key features of our program that we think make it stand out:

First, we are the only low-residency MFA in the state of Maryland that offers concentrations in both fiction and poetry; second, our program includes summer residencies on Hood College ’s beautiful campus, which is within walking distance of downtown Frederick (and one hour from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore), with its lively historic district featuring great restaurants, shops, and a wonderful independent bookstore ; third, for the second of the three summer residencies, students have the option of attending the Prague Summer Program for Writers ; fourth, in addition to scholarships and other funding opportunities, we offer students the chance to help launch and serve on the staff of our new online literary magazine, Pergola ; fifth, our program focuses on literary publishing, and by the end of the program, students will be submitting their work to literary journals and magazines and may even be starting to publish it; finally, our program features dynamic permanent and guest faculty, including award-winning poets and fiction writers.

Students in the program will play an essential role in its development, and we look forward to welcoming writers from a variety of backgrounds and professions.

Q: Why did you choose to partner with the Prague Summer Program?

A: The nation’s oldest study-abroad program for creative writers in the English language, the Prague Summer Program has been on our radar since the inception of our program. Now operating as an LLC, the Prague Summer Program had been affiliated for many years with the University of New Orleans and then Western Michigan University. As a PhD student at the latter, I attended the PSP in the summer of 2005 and served as a teaching assistant for the poet Anne Marie Macari , so I have first-hand knowledge of the program’s outstanding faculty , including two MacArthur Fellows and a National Book Award Winner in Fiction. In addition to the option of a three-week second summer residency through the PSP, we’ll also be offering teaching assistantships in the program.

Q: What is your program’s philosophy?

A: Central to our program’s philosophy is the idea of balance—between writing and the demands of everyday life, between periods of solitude and social interaction—as well as the presence of a diverse and cohesive literary community. The latter in particular is essential to our identity as a program, as we believe that while we may write in solitude, we work together as a community to bring our art into the world.

The idea of balance is also central to the way we’ve structured our program. Our ten-day summer residencies are designed to immerse students in activities and subjects central to the writing life and to foster a sense of community and fellowship with other writers. At the end of the residency period, students return to their individual writing lives reenergized and recommitted to the practice of writing. They then commence a period of concentrated reading and writing in the semester between residencies under the close guidance of a faculty mentor.

Along with the residency experience, literary mentorship is a hallmark of our program. The mentorship semester is designed to help students develop close working relationships with experienced teachers and published authors who can direct them in all matters of literary craft, criticism, and publishing. As immersive experiences, the mentorship semesters also provide students with a solid foundation in literary history, theory, and practice, and students are expected to read broadly and deeply both within their genre and across genres.

The Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing at Hood College will begin accepting applicants in Fall 2023 for the inaugural June 2024 residency. For more information, please contact program director  Elizabeth Knapp .

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Low-Residency MFA Writers Workshop in Paris

Write in paris.

The NYU Creative Writing Program has distinguished itself for over forty years as a leading national center for the study of writing and literature, inviting promising new writers to work closely with a faculty of today's finest writers of poetry , fiction , and creative nonfiction .

That tradition continues with the low-residency MFA Writers Workshop in Paris, which offers students the opportunity to develop their craft under the guidance of internationally-acclaimed faculty—including Catherine Barnett, Alex Dimitrov, Nathan Englander, Jonathan Safran Foer, Tess Gunty, Uzodinma Iweala, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Katie Kitamura, Hari Kunzru, Raven Leilani, Leigh Newman, Matthew Rohrer, Nicole Sealey, Parul Sehgal, Darin Strauss, and Brandon Taylor —while writing and studying in one of the world's most inspiring literary capitals.

Recent visiting writers and editors include Kaveh Akbar, Jericho Brown, Anne Carson, Sandra Cisneros, Rachel Cusk, Edwidge Danticat, Lydia Davis, Hernan Diaz, Geoff Dyer, Mariana Enríquez, Melissa Febos, John Freeman, Terrance Hayes, Mira Jacob, Leslie Jamison, Donika Kelly, Etgar Keret, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Rachel Kushner, Nick Laird, Édouard Louis, Valeria Luiselli, David Mitchell, Nadifa Mohamed, Maggie Nelson, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joyce Carol Oates, Meghan O'Rourke, ZZ Packer, Claudia Rankine, Taiye Selasi, Kamila Shamsie, Brenda Shaughnessy, Leila Slimani, Tracy K. Smith, Zadie Smith, Ocean Vuong, and Kevin Young, among many others . 

PROGRAM FORMAT

The MFA Writers Workshop in Paris constitutes an intimate creative apprenticeship that extends beyond traditional classroom walls.

Over two years, students and faculty convene regularly in Paris for five intensive ten-day residency periods held biannually in January and July ( click  here  for a sample residency calendar ). While in residency in Paris, students participate in a vibrant community engaged in all aspects of the literary arts, including workshops, craft talks, lectures, individual conferences and manuscript consultations, as well as a diverse series of readings, special events and professional development panels. The city of Paris itself—with its literary history and rich cultural attractions—provides an ideal opportunity for students to learn the art and craft of writing, immerse themselves in the creative process, and live the writer’s life.

During the intervals between residencies, students pursue focused courses of study, completing reading and writing assignments under the close supervision of individual faculty members. These ongoing dialogues with faculty are tailored to specific student interests and needs; students are mentored by a different professor each term and work closely with four different writers during the two-year program.

Unlike the traditional MFA, the low-residency program offers both freedom and rigor, balancing the intense and stimulating community of each residency and the sustained solitary work completed in the intervals between. Students are expected to complete substantial writing and reading assignments each term, regularly submitting packets of work in exchange for detailed feedback and critique. Graduating students leave the program with four new literary mentors and a portfolio of letters written by acclaimed writers in response to their work.

Detailed program structure, curriculum, and requirements can be found here .

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

In order to receive the MFA, students must attend five residencies, successfully complete 32 credits of coursework, and submit a special project of at least 70 pages of fiction or creative nonfiction, or 25 pages of poetry. This project  consists of a substantial piece of writing—a novel, a collection of short stories, a memoir or essay collection, or a group of poems—submitted before the final residency. The project requires the approval of the student's faculty advisor and the program director.

The online application for the January 2025 residency will become available in the coming months. Students may apply for either the MFA in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry. All applicants must submit online using the GSAS Application Form (for the “Spring 2025” term) by September 01, 2024. 

Faculty Members Include:

Catherine Barnett is the author of four poetry collections,  Solutions for the Problem of Bodies in Space (2024 Graywolf); Human Hours  (2018 Believer Book Award in Poetry and New York Times "Best Poetry of 2018" selection),  The Game of Boxes  (James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets) and  Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced (Beatrice Hawley Award). A Guggenheim fellow, she received a 2022 Arts and Letters Award in Literature, which honors exceptional accomplishment. Her work has been published in the  New Yorker ,  The New York Review of Books , The Nation , and  Harper’s , among many other places. She teaches in the NYU Program in Creative Writing and works as an independent editor.

Nathan Englander 's most recent novel is  kaddish.com . He is also the author of the  Dinner at the Center of the Earth , the collection  What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank , as well as the internationally bestselling story collection  For the Relief of Unbearable Urges , and the novel  The Ministry of Special Cases  (all published by Knopf/Vintage). He was the 2012 recipient of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for  What We Talk About . His short fiction and essays have appeared in  The New Yorker,  The New York Times , The Atlantic Monthly ,  The Washington Post ,   Vogue,  and  Esquire, a mong other places. His work has been anthologized   in The O. Henry Prize Stories and numerous editions of  The Best American Short Stories , including  100 Years of the Best American Short Stories . Translated into twenty-two languages, Englander was selected as one of “20 Writers for the 21st Century” by  The New Yorker , received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a PEN/Malamud Award, the Bard Fiction Prize, and the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. He’s been a fellow at the Dorothy & Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, and at The American Academy of Berlin. In 2012 Englander's translation of the  New American Haggadah  (edited by Jonathan Safran Foer) was published by Little Brown. He also co-translated Etgar Keret's  Suddenly A Knock at the Door  and  Fly Already , published by FSG. His play  The Twenty-Seventh Man  premiered at the Public Theater in 2012, and his new play,  What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank , winner of a 2019 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and the 2020 Blanche and Irving Laurie Theatre Visions Fund Prize, was commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater and was supposed to be running at The Old Globe in San Diego right now—sigh. He is Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University and lives with his family in Toronto.

Alex Dimitrov  is the author of three books of poems,  Love and Other Poems ,  Together and by Ourselves , and  Begging for It . His poems have been published in  The New Yorker , the  New York Times ,  The Paris Review , and  Poetry.  In addition to NYU, he has taught writing at Princeton University, Columbia University, and Barnard College. Previously, he was the Senior Content Editor at the Academy of American Poets, where he edited the popular series  Poem-a-Day  and  American Poets  magazine. With Dorothea Lasky he is the co-author of  Astro Poets: Your Guides to the Zodiac.  He lives in New York. 

Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of the bestselling novel Everything Is Illuminated , named Book of the Year by the Los Angeles Times and the winner of numerous awards, including the Guardian First Book Prize, the National Jewish Book Award, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Prize. His other novels include Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and, most recently, Here I Am . He is also the author of the nonfiction books, Eating Animals , and We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast (2019). Foer was one of Rolling Stone's "People of the Year" and Esquire's "Best and Brightest,” and was included in The New Yorker magazine's "20 Under 40" list of writers. He lives in Brooklyn.

Tess Gunty ’s debut novel, The Rabbit Hutch, is a New York Times Bestseller and the recipient of the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction. It has been translated into a dozen languages. The novel also received the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize, the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and the British Book Award for Debut Fiction, The Rabbit Hutch was named one of twelve Essential Reads by The New Yorker , and a best book of the year by The New York Times , People , TIME , Oprah Daily , LitHub , the Chicago Tribune , Kirkus, and NPR. It is currently a finalist for the inaugural Inside Literary Prize and the Open Bank Vanity Fair Award for best new author in Spain. The novel has been optioned for film rights by Richard Brown and Fremantle. Tess is the youngest recipient of the National Book Award for fiction since Philip Roth won in 1960.

Tess holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University, where she was a Lillian Vernon Fellow and a Graduate Institute Research Fellow in Paris. Recently, she was a Paul La Farge fellow at MacDowell, where she worked on her second novel. She currently lives between Los Angeles and New York.

Uzodinma Iweala is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and medical doctor. He is the CEO of The Africa Center in New York, promoting a new narrative about Africa and its diaspora through a focus on culture, policy and business. Uzodinma is the Co-Founder of Ventures Africa Magazine, a publication that covers business, policy, culture and innovation spaces in Africa. He is a member of the Presidents Youth Advisory Group (PYAG) for Jobs for Youth Africa (JfYA) at the African Development Bank (AfDB). He is also on the Board of the NewNow, a subsidiary of the Virgin Group’s charitable arm, Virgin Unite. He has written three books: Beasts of No Nation (2005), a novel also adapted into a major motion picture; Our Kind of People (2012), a non-fiction account of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria; and Speak No Evil (2018), a novel about Washington, D.C.

Jonas Hassen Khemiri is the author of six novels, seven plays, and a collection of plays, essays, and short stories. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages and his plays have been performed by more than hundred international companies. He received the Village Voice Obie Award for his first play  Invasion!  and in 2015 he was awarded the August Prize, Sweden's highest literary honor for the novel  Everything I Don't Remember . In 2017 he became the first Swedish writer to have a short story published in  The New Yorker  and in 2020 his latest novel  The Family Clause  was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Prix Médicis Étranger, France’s highest honor for translated books. Khemiri is currently based in New York, as a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library.

Katie Kitamura ’s most recent novel is Intimacies . One of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2021, it was longlisted for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and was a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. It was also one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2021. Her third novel,  A Separation,  was a finalist for the Premio von Rezzori and a New York Times Notable Book. She is also the author of Gone To The Forest and The Longshot , both finalists for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award.

Her work has been translated into 21 languages and is being adapted for film and television. A recipient of fellowships from the Lannan, Santa Maddalena, and Jan Michalski foundations, Katie has written for publications including The New York Times Book Review, The Guardian, Granta, BOMB, Triple Canopy, and Frieze. She teaches in the creative writing program at New York University.

Hari Kunzru  is a Clinical Professor in the Creative Writing Program. He holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Oxford University and an MA in Philosophy and Literature from Warwick University. He is the author of five novels, most recently  White Tears , a finalist for the PEN Jean Stein Award, the Kirkus Prize, the Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, One Book New York, the Prix du Livre Inter étranger, and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His novel  Red Pill  will be published in September 2020 by Knopf. He is also the author of  The Impressionist ,  Transmission, My Revolutions, Gods Without Men  and a short story collection,  Noise . His novella  Memory Palace  was presented as an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2013. His work has been translated into over twenty languages. His short stories and essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Guardian, New York Review of Books, Granta, Bookforum, October and Frieze. He has written screenplays, radio drama, and experimental work using field recordings and voice-to-text software. He has taught at Hunter College and Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He has been a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library, a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin. He is a past deputy president of English PEN, a judge for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize and has been a frequent presenter, interviewer and guest on television and radio.

Raven Leilani ’s debut novel Luster (2020) was awarded the Kirkus Prize, Dylan Thomas Prize, NBCC John Leonard Prize, VCU Cabell First Novel Prize, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, among others. Her work has been published in Granta , The Yale Review , McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern , Conjunctions , The Cut , and New England Review , among other publications. Leilani received her MFA from NYU and was an Axinn Foundation Writer-in-Residence . She was also selected as a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. In 2022 she served as the John Grisham Fellow at the University of Mississippi and teaches creative writing at NYU.

Leigh Newman 's memoir about Alaska, Still Points North (Dial, 2013) was a finalist for the National Book Critic Circle’s John Leonard prize. Her short stories have appeared in the Paris Review , Harper’s, One Story ,  Tin House , and McSweeney’s. She is the winner of the Paris Reviews’s 2020 Terry Southern Prize for “humor, wit, and sprezzatura” and her story “Howl Palace” was selected for 2019 Best American Short Stories, as well as won the 2020 Pushcart prize and the Paris Review’s ASME-winning award for fiction. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Bookforum, Vogue, O The Oprah Magazine, and other magazines. She has taught creative writing at Pratt, Sarah Lawrence, and New York University and has received fellowships from Yaddo, Breadloaf, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the former books editor of Oprah.com, the co-founder of Black Balloon/Catapult Publishing, and is now the senior editor-at-large at Catapult. Soon to come: the story collection Nobody Gets out Alive (2022) and an untitled novel (2023) from Scribner.

Matthew Rohrer  is the author of  The Sky Contains the Plans  (Wave Books, 2020),  The Others  (Wave Books, 2017), which was the winner of the 2017 Believer Book Award,  Surrounded by Friends  (Wave Books, 2015),  Destroyer and Preserver  (Wave Books, 2011),  A Plate of Chicken  (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2009),  Rise Up  (Wave Books, 2007) and  A Green Light  (Verse Press, 2004), which was shortlisted for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize. He is also the author of  Satellite  (Verse Press, 2001), and co-author, with Joshua Beckman, of  Nice Hat. Thanks.  (Verse Press, 2002), and the audio CD  Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty . With Joshua Beckman and Anthony McCann he wrote the secret book  Gentle Reader! It is not for sale . Octopus Books published his action/adventure chapbook-length poem  They All Seemed Asleep  in 2008. His first book,  A Hummock in the Malookas  was selected for the National Poetry Series by Mary Oliver in 1994. His poems have been widely anthologized and have appeared in many journals. He's received the Hopwood Award for poetry and a Pushcart prize, and was selected as a National Poetry Series winner, and was shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize. Recently he has participated in residencies/ performances at the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) and the Henry Art Gallery (Seattle). Matthew Rohrer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was raised in Oklahoma, and attended universities in Ann Arbor, Dublin, and Iowa City. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at NYU and lives in Brooklyn.

Nicole Sealey was born in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, and raised in Apopka, Florida. She is the author of Ordinary Beast (Ecco, 2017), which was a finalist for the PEN Open Book and Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Sealey’s chapbook, The Animal After Whom Other Animals are Named  (Northwestern University Press, 2016), was the winner of the 2016 Drinking Gourd Chapbook Prize. In 2019, Sealey was named a 2019-2020 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. She has received fellowships and awards from the American Academy in Rome, the Forward Foundation, CantoMundo, Cave Canem Foundation, the National Endowment and New York Foundation for the Arts, an Elizabeth George Foundation, among others. She was the Executive Director at Cave Canem Foundation from 2017–2019. Sealey lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Parul Sehgal  is a staff writer at  The New Yorker . She was previously a columnist and senior editor at  The New York Times Book Review  and a book critic   for  The New York Times.  Her work has appeared in  The Atlantic, Slate, Bookforum, The New Yorker, Tin House,  and  The Literary Review,  among other publications, and she was awarded the Nona Balakian Award from the National Book Critics Circle for her criticism. 

Darin Strauss  is the internationally bestselling author of the novels  Chang and Eng, The Real McCoy ,  More Than it Hurts You , the NBCC-winning memoir,  Half a Life , the comic-book series,  Olivia Twist, and most recently the acclaimed novel, The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story (Random House, 2020). A recipient of a National Book Critics Circle Award, the Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Library Association Award, and numerous other prizes, Strauss has written screenplays for Disney, Gary Oldman, and Julie Taymor. His work has been translated into fourteen languages and published in nineteen countries, and he is a Clinical Professor at the NYU Creative Writing Program.

Brandon Taylor  is the author of the novels  The Late Americans  and  Real Life , which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, and named a  New York Times Book Review  Editors’ Choice and a Science + Literature Selected Title by the National Book Foundation. His collection  Filthy Animals , a national bestseller, was awarded The Story Prize and shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. He is the 2022-2023 Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.

Deborah Landau  (Director) is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently  Skeletons , which was named one of  The New Yorker’s  “Best Books of 2023.” She is also the author of  Soft Targets  (winner of the Believer Book Award),  The Uses of the Body ,  The Last Usable Hour , and  Orchidelirium , selected by Naomi Shihab Nye for the Robert Dana Anhinga Prize for Poetry. Her other honors include a Jacob K Javits Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship.  The Uses of the Body  was featured on NPR’s  All Things Considered , and included on “Best of ″ lists by  The New Yorker, Vogue, BuzzFeed , and  O, The Oprah Magazine . A Spanish edition,  Los Usos Del Cuerpo , was published by Valparaiso Ediciones. Her work has appeared in  The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, New York Review of Books ,  The Nation ,  APR, Poetry, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times , and three volumes of  The Best American Poetry , and anthologized in  Please Excuse This Poem: 100 New Poets for the Next Generation, Not for Mothers Only, Resistance, Rebellion, Life ,  The Best American Erotic Poems , and  Women’s Work: Modern Poets Writing in English . Landau was educated at Stanford University, Columbia University, and Brown University, where she received a Ph.D. in English and American Literature. She is a Professor at NYU, where she directs the Creative Writing Program.

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