creative writing certificate near me

Creative Writing

One of the nation's most prestigious open-enrollment creative writing programs..

Whether you're looking to improve your writing for personal fulfillment, want to be published, or are preparing to apply to an MFA program, the Writers' Program can help you achieve your goals. You will find a supportive community of instructors, academic counselors and fellow students to help you on your journey.

We offer a wide range of open-enrollment courses, all of which may be taken individually. A guide on where to get started is provided below.

We also offer a fully customizable 21-unit Certificate in Creative Writing  where you can develop professional creative writing skills in the genre of your choice.

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Creative Writing Certificate

Develop your skills in the genre of your choice, including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and more.

This customizable program culminates in a capstone project where you will make significant progress on a polished collection of work.

Taught by a prestigious roster of instructors who are published writers and active professionals, courses can be taken onsite, online, or a combination of both.

Annual Writers Studio

4-day in-person, intensive workshops in Creative Writing & Screenwriting.

Perfect for both aspiring and experienced writers looking for new inspiration.

August 1-4, 2024 Registration opens Monday, February 5

Writers' Program Consultations

If you have a completed draft of a manuscript and need feedback for your work, you may consider a one-on-one consultation with a Writers’ Program instructor.

Consultations give you a full cover-to-cover read of your work, a written evaluation, and a follow-up conversation in person, via phone, or web chat.

Expect more from your education.

MFA, fiction writer, author of the story collection Once Removed (UGA Press) and winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. 

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Stay immersed in the Writers' Program community. Our optional membership program offers exclusive access to a range of discounts and benefits, including members-only networking, professional development opportunities, and course discounts. 

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Certificate in Creative Writing

About the Online Creative Writing Certificate

The Certificate in Creative Writing offers an innovative, collaborative course of study for those who have always wanted to unlock their creativity. Each online course is designed as a workshop in which you explore new ideas, tackle new writing tools, generate original insights and discover your own powers of expression. You create, collaboratively discuss and revise your original writing with feedback from your instructors and your peers. You also engage with a range of assigned readings and multimedia that inform and grow your innovative practice.

The Certificate in Creative Writing offers both basic and advanced workshops and appeals to students new to creative writing as well as students with writing experience who want to learn new skills. Through a series of online courses in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting, the Certificate in Creative Writing focuses on creative writing as a form of critical thinking as a way to reimagine audience and as a space of innovation. Taught by professionals in the field, our courses cultivate both individual and group learning, providing an overview of the field as well as deep dives into literary genres. These online creative writing courses are designed as hands-on, intensive study of the subtleties and power of language.

Creative Writing Certificate Requirements

The Certificate in Creative Writing is a 4-course, 4 c.u.* credit program of study taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty. To earn a certificate, students complete any four courses offered, in any order.  Students who complete the basic certificate may pursue an advanced certificate (6-course, 6 c.u.*) by adding two additional creative writing courses.

Flexible Course Schedule and Tuition

Penn LPS Online courses in the Certificate in Creative Writing are offered in accelerated 8-week terms and full terms. Courses in the online certificate program are largely asynchronous with some optional synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors.

You have the option to enroll in individual creative writing courses without committing to the entire online certificate, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and interests. Visit the Cost of Attendance page for course tuition and fee rates.

Watch a video of a recent virtual information session to hear from the program team about the Certificate in Creative Writing.

If you are having trouble viewing this video, watch it on YouTube .

*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.

The Certificate in Creative Writing prepares you to:

• Understand how text conveys meaning across a variety of literary genres and styles
• Explore how to use innovation, flexibility, and collaboration to cultivate a creative writing practice
• Create, revise and edit your original writing in multiple literary genres, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and screenwriting

Online Creative Writing Courses

Certificate students who complete four of the online courses listed below earn a Certificate in Creative Writing. Those students are then eligible to pursue an Advanced Certificate in Creative Writing by taking two additional courses.

• CRWR 1010: The Craft of Creative Writing
• CRWR 1600: Modern and Contemporary US Poetry
• CRWR 2010: Poetry Workshop
• CRWR 2400: The Art of Editing
• CRWR 2500: Writing and Meditation
• CRWR 2600: Fiction Workshop
• CRWR 2800: Narrative Collage
• CRWR 3000: Writing About Place
• CRWR 3200: Screenwriting
• CRWR 3600: Advanced Nonfiction *
• CRWR 3700: Journalism

*This course may not be offered every academic year. Check the course page or our course guide to see when upcoming terms are added.

Courses are subject to change.

See Course Tuition

Meet The Faculty

Julia Bloch

• Faculty Director, Penn LPS Online Certificate in Creative Writing
• Director, Creative Writing Program

• Director, Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing

Laynie Browne

• Poet, prose writer, teacher and editor

Scott Burkhardt

• Lecturer in cinema and media studies

Christy Davids

• Teacher, poet and assistant editor at The Conversant

Lise Funderburg

• Lecturer in creative writing

• 2017-2018 Digital Studies Fellow at Rutgers University-Camden

Dick Polman

• Povich Writer-in-Residence at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing (CPCW)

• Writer, editor, teacher

Zachary Tyler Vickers

Careers related to creative writing.

The Certificate in Creative Writing is designed to enhance your writing and storytelling skills and provide a framework for a creative process that can be applied to a myriad of professional roles including:

• Advertising copywriter
• Fundraising/development consultant
• Author and journalist

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Online Courses

Online courses: creative writing.

Stanford Continuing Studies' online creative writing courses make it easy to take courses taught by instructors from Stanford’s writing community. Thanks to the flexibility of the online format, these courses can be taken anywhere, anytime—a plus for students who lead busy lives or for whom regular travel to the Stanford campus is not possible. These courses are open to all adults, and we encourage all levels of writers to enroll.

Earning A Master’s In Creative Writing: What To Know

Updated: Nov 1, 2023, 1:51pm

Do you want to create written work that ignites a reader’s imagination and even changes their worldview? With a master’s in creative writing, you can develop strong storytelling and character development skills, equipping you to achieve your writing goals.

If you’re ready to strengthen your writing chops and you enjoy writing original works to inspire others, tell interesting stories and share valuable information, earning a master’s in creative writing may be the next step on your career journey.

The skills learned in a creative writing master’s program qualify you to write your own literary works, teach others creative writing principles or pursue various other careers.

This article explores master’s degrees in creative writing, including common courses and concentrations, admission requirements and careers that use creative writing skills. Read on to learn more about earning a master’s degree in creative writing.

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What Is a Master’s in Creative Writing?

A master’s in creative writing is an advanced degree that helps you develop the skills to write your own novel, poetry, screenplay or nonfiction book. This degree can also prepare you for a career in business, publishing, education, marketing or communications.

In a creative writing master’s degree program, you can expect to analyze literature, explore historical contexts of literary works, master techniques for revising and editing, engage in class workshops and peer critiques, and write your own original work.

Creative writing master’s programs usually require a thesis project, which should be well-written, polished and ready to publish. Typical examples of thesis projects include poetry collections, memoirs, essay collections, short story collections and novels.

A master’s in creative writing typically requires about 36 credits and takes two years to complete. Credit requirements and timelines vary by program, so you may be able to finish your degree quicker.

Specializations for a Master’s in Creative Writing

Below are a few common concentrations for creative writing master’s programs. These vary by school, so your program’s offerings may look different.

This concentration helps you develop fiction writing skills, such as plot development, character creation and world-building. A fiction concentration is a good option if you plan to write short stories, novels or other types of fiction.

A nonfiction concentration focuses on the mechanics of writing nonfiction narratives. If you plan to write memoirs, travel pieces, magazine articles, technical documents or nonfiction books, this concentration may suit you.

Explore the imagery, tone, rhythm and structure of poetry with a poetry concentration. With this concentration, you can expect to develop your poetry writing skills and learn to curate poetry for journals and magazines.

Screenwriting

Screenwriting is an excellent concentration to explore if you enjoy creating characters and telling stories to make them come alive for television or film. This specialization covers how to write shorts, episodic serials, documentaries and feature-length film scripts.

Admission Requirements for a Master’s in Creative Writing

Below are some typical admission requirements for master’s in creative writing degree programs. These requirements vary, so check with your program to ensure you’ve met the appropriate requirements.

• Application for admission
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• Transcripts from previous education
• Writing samples
• Letters of recommendation
• Personal statement or essay

Common Courses in a Master’s in Creative Writing

Story and concept.

This course focuses on conceptualizing, planning and developing stories on a structural level. Learners study how to generate ideas, develop interesting plots, create outlines, draft plot arcs, engage in world-building and create well-rounded characters who move their stories forward.

Graduate Studies in English Literature

Understanding literature is essential to building a career in creative writing. This course prepares you to teach, study literature or write professionally. Expect to discuss topics such as phonology, semantics, dialects, syntax and the history of the English language.

Workshop in Creative Nonfiction

You’ll study classic and contemporary creative nonfiction in this course. Workshops in creative nonfiction explore how different genres have emerged throughout history and how previous works influence new works. In some programs, this course focuses on a specific theme.

Foundations in Fiction

In this course, you’ll explore how the novel has developed throughout literary history and how the short story emerged as an art form. Coursework includes reading classic and contemporary works, writing response essays and crafting critical analyses.

MA in Creative Writing vs. MFA in Creative Writing: What’s the Difference?

While the degrees are similar, a master of arts in creative writing is different from a master of fine arts in creative writing. An MA in creative writing teaches creative writing competencies, building analytical skills through studying literature, literary theory and related topics. This lets you explore storytelling along with a more profound knowledge of literature and literary theory.

If you want your education to take a more academic perspective so you can build a career in one of many fields related to writing, an MA in creative writing may be right for you.

An MFA prepares you to work as a professional writer or novelist. MFA students graduate with a completed manuscript that is ready for publishing. Coursework highlights subjects related to the business of writing, such as digital publishing, the importance of building a platform on social media , marketing, freelancing and teaching. An MA in creative writing also takes less time and requires fewer credits than an MFA.

If you want to understand the business of writing and work as a professional author or novelist, earning an MFA in creative writing might be your best option.

What Can You Do With a Master’s in Creative Writing?

Below are several careers you can pursue with a master’s in creative writing. We sourced salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Postsecondary Creative Writing Teacher

Median Annual Salary: $74,280 Minimum Required Education: Ph.D. or another doctoral degree; master’s degree may be accepted at some schools and community colleges Job Overview: Postsecondary teachers, also known as professors or faculty, teach students at the college level. They plan lessons, advise students, serve on committees, conduct research, publish original research, supervise graduate teaching assistants, apply for grants for their research and teach subjects in their areas of expertise.

Median Annual Salary: $73,080 Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree in English or a related field Job Overview: Editors plan, revise and edit written materials for publication. They work for newspapers, magazines, book publishers, advertising agencies, media networks, and motion picture and video production companies. Editors work closely with writers to ensure their written work is accurate, grammatically correct and written in the appropriate style for the medium.

Median Annual Salary: $55,960 Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field Job Overview: Journalists research and write stories about local, regional, national and global current events and other newsworthy subjects. Journalists need strong interviewing, editing, analytical and writing skills. Some journalists specialize in a subject, such as sports or politics, and some are generalists. They work for news organizations, magazines and online publications, and some work as freelancers.

Writer or Author

Median Annual Salary: $73,150 Minimum Required Education: None; bachelor’s degree in creative writing or a related field sometimes preferred Job Overview: Writers and authors write fiction or nonfiction content for magazines, plays, blogs, books, television scripts and other forms of media. Novelists, biographers, copywriters, screenwriters and playwrights all fall into this job classification. Writers may work for advertising agencies, news platforms, book publishers and other organizations; some work as freelancers.

Technical Writer

Median Annual Salary: $79,960 Minimum Required Education: Bachelor’s degree Job Overview: Technical writers craft technical documents, such as training manuals and how-to guides. They are adept at simplifying technical information so lay people can easily understand it. Technical writers may work with technical staff, graphic designers, computer support specialists and software developers to create user-friendly finished pieces.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About a Master's in Creative Writing

Is a master’s in creative writing useful.

If your goal is to launch a career as a writer, then yes, a master’s in creative writing is useful. An MA in creative writing is a versatile degree that prepares you for various jobs requiring excellent writing skills.

Is an MFA better than an MA for creative writing?

One is not better than the other; you should choose the one that best equips you for the career you want. An MFA prepares you to build a career as a professional writer or novelist. An MA prepares you for various jobs demanding high-level writing skills.

What kind of jobs can you get with a creative writing degree?

A creative writing degree prepares you for many types of writing jobs. It helps you build your skills and gain expertise to work as an editor, writer, author, technical writer or journalist. This degree is also essential if you plan to teach writing classes at the college level.

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Creative Writing Certificate

A Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing is offered through the Master of Arts in Professional Writing Program in the English Department, Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, at Kennesaw State University. A unique four-course, non-degree program, its mission is to provide instruction and membership in a community of writers to qualified writing students in metro Atlanta and North Georgia who seek intensive creative writing practice but who do not want to matriculate in a graduate degree program.

This Graduate Certificate program allows qualified writers to study in graduate-level writing workshops taught by professional writers on the Kennesaw State University faculty.

Program Snapshot

This program is a part of the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences .

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Creative writing.

The Creative Writing Department offers writing workshops in fiction writing, poetry, and nonfiction writing. Courses are also offered in film writing, structure and style, translation, and the short story.

For questions about specific courses, contact the department.

Registration Procedures and Course Approval

All creative writing classes have limited enrollments and require instructor or departmental approval prior to registration.

Students should visit the Writing Department's website for details and instructions.

Registration Procedures

INTERMEDIATE FICTION WORKSHOP WRIT2100W001 3 pts

Intermediate workshops are for students with some experience with creative writing, and whose prior work merits admission to the class (as judged by the professor). Intermediate workshops present a higher creative standard than beginning workshops, and increased expectations to produce finished work. By the end of the semester, each student will have produced at least seventy pages of original fiction. Students are additionally expected to write extensive critiques of the work of their peers. Please visit  https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate  for information about registration procedures.

Course Number

Times/location, section/call number, intermediate fiction workshop writ2100w002 3 pts, intermediate nonfiction wrkshp writ2200w001 3 pts.

The intermediate workshop in nonfiction is designed for students with some experience in writing literary nonfiction. Intermediate workshops present a higher creative standard than beginning workshops and an expectation that students will produce finished work. Outside readings supplement and inform the exercises and longer written projects. By the end of the semester, students will have produced thirty to forty pages of original work in at least two traditions of literary nonfiction. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate  for information about registration procedures.

INTERMEDIATE POETRY WORKSHOP WRIT2300W001 3 pts

Intermediate poetry workshops are for students with some prior instruction in the rudiments of poetry writing and prior poetry workshop experience. Intermediate poetry workshops pose greater challenges to students and maintain higher critical standards than beginning workshops. Students will be instructed in more complex aspects of the craft, including the poetic persona, the prose poem, the collage, open-field composition, and others. They will also be assigned more challenging verse forms such as the villanelle and also non-European verse forms such as the pantoum. They will read extensively, submit brief critical analyses, and put their instruction into regular practice by composing original work that will be critiqued by their peers. By the end of the semester each student will have assembled a substantial portfolio of finished work. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate  for information about registration procedures.

BODY & WORD WRIT3037W001 3 pts

Our writing often appears primarily as a product of cognitive faculties, and we easily overlook the profound influence our bodies exert on our thoughts and, consequently, our writing. Our perception of language itself is tied to how we perceive our physical selves. We can understand our bodies materially, as intricate structures of bone, muscle, and cells, or kinesthetically, through movement, force, and tone, intertwined with a spectrum of sensations like pain and pleasure, which intersect with our psychological and emotional landscapes. Through a series of movement exercises, readings, and writing assignments, this seminar delves into the profound impact a deeper understanding of our bodies and their movement can have on our writing, and conversely, how writing can influence our bodily experiences. Using various artistic mediums such as dance, film, literature, and fine arts, we aim to enhance our ability to articulate and write the body's presence and movement through space and time. Students from all concentrations are encouraged to join.

ADVANCED FICTION WORKSHOP WRIT3100Q001 3 pts

Building on the work of the Intermediate Workshop, Advanced Workshops are reserved for the most accomplished creative writing students. A significant body of writing must be produced and revised. Particular attention will be paid to the components of fiction: voice, perspective, characterization, and form. Students will be expected to finish several short stories, executing a total artistic vision on a piece of writing. The critical focus of the class will include an examination of endings and formal wholeness, sustaining narrative arcs, compelling a reader's interest for the duration of the text, and generating a sense of urgency and drama in the work. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures.

ADVANCED FICTION WORKSHOP WRIT3100Q002 3 pts

Senior fiction workshop writ3101q001 4 pts.

Seniors who are majors in creative writing are given priority for this course. Enrollment is limited, and is by permission of the professor. The senior workshop offers students the opportunity to work exclusively with classmates who are at the same high level of accomplishment in the major. Students in the senior workshops will produce and revise a new and substantial body of work. In-class critiques and conferences with the professor will be tailored to needs of each student. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate for information about registration procedures.

HOW TO BUILD A PERSON WRIT3121W001 3 pts

Apocalypses now writ3125w001 3 pts, the ecstasy of influence writ3132w001 3 pts.

What does it mean to be original? How do we differentiate plagiarism from pastiche, appropriation from homage? And how do we build on pre-existing traditions while simultaneously creating work that reflects our own unique experiences of the world?

In a 2007 essay for Harper ’ s magazine, Jonathan Lethem countered critic Harold Bloom’s theory of “the anxiety of influence” by proposing, instead, an “ecstasy of influence”; Lethem suggested that writers embrace rather than reject the unavoidable imprints of their literary forbearers. Beginning with Lethem’s essay—which, itself, is composed entirely of borrowed (or “sampled”) text—this class will consider the nature of literary influence, and its role in the development of voice.

Each week, students will read from pairings of older stories and novel excerpts with contemporary work that falls within the same artistic lineage. In doing so, we’ll track the movement of stylistic, structural, and thematic approaches to fiction across time, and think about the different ways that stories and novels can converse with one another. We will also consider the influence of other artistic mediums—music, visual art, film and television—on various texts. Students will then write their own original short pieces modeled after the readings. Just as musicians cover songs, we will “cover” texts,  adding our own interpretive imprints.

SENIOR NONFICTION WORKSHOP WRIT3201W001 4 pts

Seniors who are majors in creative writing are given priority for this course. Enrollment is limited, and is by permission of the professor. The senior workshop offers students the opportunity to work exclusively with classmates who are at the same high level of accomplishment in the major. Students in the senior workshops will produce and revise a new and substantial body of work. In-class critiques and conferences with the professor will be tailored to needs of each student. Please visit  https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate  for information about registration procedures.

HYBRID NONFICTION FORMS WRIT3214W001 3 pts

Writing about art writ3215w001 3 pts.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. 

This course will introduce students to writing about visual art. We will take our models from art history and contemporary art discourse, and students will be prompted to write with and about current art exhibitions and events throughout the city. The modes of art writing we will encounter include: the practice of ekphrasis (poems which describe or derive their inspiration from a work of art); writers such as John Ashbery, Gary Indiana, Eileen Myles, and others who for periods of their life held positions as art critics while composing poetry and works of fiction; writers such as Etel Adnan, Susan Howe, and Renee Gladman who have produced literature and works of art in equal measure. We will also look at artists who have written essays and poetry throughout their careers such as Robert Smithson, Glenn Ligon, Gregg Bordowitz, Moyra Davey, and Hannah Black, and consider both the visual qualities of writing and the ways that visual artists have used writing in their work. Lastly, we will consider what it means to write through a “milieu” of visual artists, such as those associated with the New York School and Moscow Conceptualism. Throughout the course students will produce original works and complete a final writing project that enriches, complicates, and departs from their own interests and preoccupations.

SCIENCE AND SENSIBILITY WRIT3217W001 3 pts

Life stories writ3225w001 3 pts.

In this seminar, we will target nonfiction that tells stories about lives: profiles, memoirs, and biographies. We will examine how the practice of this kind of nonfiction, and ideas about it, have evolved over the past 150 years. Along the way, we will ask questions about these nonfiction forms: How do reporters, memoirists, biographers, and critics make sense of their subjects? How do they create work as rich as the best novels and short stories? Can criticism explicate the inner life of a human subject? What roles do voice, point-of-view, character, dialogue, and plot—the traditional elements of fiction—play? Along the way, we’ll engage in issues of identity and race, memory and self, real persons and invented characters and we’ll get glimpses of such key publications as The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Esquire, Harper’s, and The New York Review of Books. Some writers we will consider: Frederick Douglass, Louisa May Alcott, Walt Whitman, Henry Adams, Joseph Mitchell, Lillian Ross, James Agee, John Hersey, Edmund Wilson, Gore Vidal, Gay Talese, James Baldwin, Vladimir Nabokov, Janet Malcolm, Robert Caro, Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Henry Louis Gates Jr. The course regularly welcomes guest speakers.

ADVANCED POETRY WORKSHOP WRIT3300W001 3 pts

This poetry workshop is reserved for accomplished poetry writers and maintains the highest level of creative and critical expectations. Students will be encouraged to develop their strengths and to cultivate a distinctive poetic vision and voice but must also demonstrate a willingness to broaden their range and experiment with new forms and notions of the poem. A portfolio of poetry will be written and revised with the critical input of the instructor and the workshop. Please visit https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate  for information about registration procedures.

Ecopoetics WRIT3321W001 3 pts

“There are things / We live among ‘and to see them / Is to know ourselves.’”

George Oppen, “Of Being Numerous”

In this class we will read poetry like writers that inhabit an imperiled planet, understanding our poems as being in direct conversation both with the environment as well as writers past and present with similar concerns and techniques. Given the imminent ecological crises we are facing, the poems we read will center themes of place, ecology, interspecies dependence, the role of humans in the destruction of the planet, and the “necropastoral” (to borrow a term from Joyelle McSweeney), among others. We will read works by poets and writers such as (but not limited to) John Ashbery, Harryette Mullen, Asiya Wadud, Wendy Xu, Ross Gay, Simone Kearney, Kim Hyesoon, Marcella Durand, Arthur Rimbaud, Geoffrey G. O’Brien, Muriel Rukeyser, George Oppen, Terrance Hayes, Juliana Spahr, and W.S. Merwin—reading several full collections as well as individual poems and essays by scholars in the field.

Through close readings, in-class exercises, discussions, and creative/critical writings, we will invest in and investigate facets of the dynamic lyric that is aware of its environs (sound, image, line), while also exploring traditional poetic forms like the Haibun, ode, prose poem, and elegy. Additionally, we will seek inspiration in outside mediums such as film, visual art, and music, as well as, of course, the natural world. As a class, we will explore the highly individual nature of writing processes and talk about building writing practices that are generative as well as sustainable.

21STC AM POETRY & ITS CONCERNS WRIT3365W001 3 pts

The lyric has often been conceived of as timeless in its content and inwardly-directed in its mode of address, yet so many poems with lasting claim on our attention point unmistakably outward, addressing the particulars of their times.  This course will examine the ways in which an array of 21st poets have embraced, indicted, and anatomized their cultural and historical contexts, diagnosing society’s ailments, indulging in its obsessions, and sharing its concerns.  Engaging with such topics as race, class, war, death, trauma, feminism, pop culture and sexuality, how do poets adapt poetic form to provide meaningful and relevant insights without losing them to beauty, ambiguity, and music?  How is pop star Rihanna a vehicle for discussing feminism and isolation?  What does it mean to write about Black masculinity after Ferguson?  In a time when poetry’s cultural relevancy is continually debated in academia and in the media, how can today’s poets use their art to hold a mirror to modern living?  This class will explore how writers address present-day topics in light of their own subjectivity, how their works reflect larger cultural trends and currents, and how critics as well as poets themselves have reflected on poetry’s, and the poet’s, changing social role.  In studying how these writers complicate traditional notions of what poetry should and shouldn’t do, both in terms of content and of form, students will investigate their own writing practices, fortify their poetic voices, and create new works that engage directly and confidently with the world in which they are written.

STORIES WITHIN STORIES WRIT3404W001 3 pts

The science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin, in her sly, radical manifesto of sorts “Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction,” proposes an idea of the “bottle as hero”: instead of conflict serving as our central organizing theory for narrative, she suggests that “the natural, proper, fitting shape of the novel might be that of a sack, a bag.” In other words: a container. These containers needn’t only apply to novels, I contend, but many types of literary narratives, whether they are classified as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or some hybrid of forms.

With this in mind, the generative cross-genre craft seminar Stories within Stories aims to uncover beautiful and practical approaches to gathering small narratives into a larger, cohesive whole. Readings will include Svetlana Alexievich’s devastating novels in voices, Percival Everett’s incendiary novel-within-a-novel Erasure , Ted Chiang’s mesmerizing historical fantasy, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s braided essays of restoration, Nâzım Hikmet’s epic in verse Human Landscapes from My Country , Renee Gladman’s cross-disciplinary approaches to writing and drawing, Yevgenia Belorusets’s dispatches from Ukraine, Edward Gauvin’s identity-memoir-in-contributors’ bios, Saidiya Hartman’s speculative histories, Gary Indiana’s gleefully acerbic roman à clef Do Everything in the Dark , Alejandro Zambra’s standardized test-inspired literature, W. G. Sebald’s saturnine essay-fiction, and Lisa Hsiao Chen’s meld of biography and autobiography, as well as fiction and nonfiction by Clarice Lispector, Vauhini Vara, Eileen Myles, Olga Tokarczuk, and Julie Hecht, among other texts. 

In addition, we will also read essays on craft and storytelling by Le Guin, Gladman, Zambra, Lydia Davis, Walter Benjamin, Garielle Lutz, Ben Mauk, and more. What we learn in this course we will apply to our own work, which will consist of regular creative writing responses drawn from the readings and a creative final project. Students will also learn to keep a daily journal of writing.

FICTION WORKSHOP WRIT5100R001 6 pts

Fiction workshop writ5100r002 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r003 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r004 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r005 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r006 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r007 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r008 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r009 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r010 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r001 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r002 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r003 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r004 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r001 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r002 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r003 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r004 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r005 6 pts, special projects workshop writ5500r001 6 pts, cross-genre seminar writ6010q001 3 pts.

CROSS-GENRE SEMINAR

CROSS-GENRE SEMINAR WRIT6010Q002 3 pts

Cross-genre seminar writ6010q003 3 pts, cross-genre seminar writ6010q004 3 pts, cross-genre seminar writ6010q005 3 pts, cross-genre seminar writ6010q006 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r001 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r002 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r003 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r004 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r005 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r006 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r007 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r008 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r009 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r010 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r011 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r012 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r001 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r002 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r003 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r004 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r005 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r006 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r007 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r001 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r002 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r003 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r004 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r005 3 pts, translation workshop writ6400q001 3 pts, translation workshop writ6400q002 3 pts, translation workshop writ6400q003 3 pts, translation seminar writ6410r001 3 pts.

TRANSLATION SEMINAR

TRANSLATION SEMINAR WRIT6410R002 3 pts

Fiction lecture writ6510r001 3 pts, nonfiction lecture writ6520r001 3 pts.

NONFICTION LECTURE

POETRY LECTURE WRIT6530R001 3 pts

POETRY LECTURE

NONFICTION THESIS WORKSHOP WRIT8200R001 9 pts

Nonfiction thesis workshop writ8200r002 9 pts, nonfiction thesis workshop writ8200r003 9 pts, nonfiction thesis workshop writ8200r004 9 pts, nonfiction thesis workshop writ8200r005 9 pts, research arts writing writ9000qra1 0 pts.

Research Arts for MFA Writing Program - Students Must Have Completed 60 Points to Register

WRIT RESEARCH ARTS INTERNSHIP WRIT9800RRI1 6 pts

Interenship for MFA Writing Research Arts Students

2024-2025 Catalog

Creative writing (m.f.a.), master of fine arts. major in creative writing..

The M.F.A. is the terminal degree for those wishing to teach creative writing at the college or university level; it is also among the credentials expected of those seeking employment in arts administration, editing, and related fields. The curriculum provides theoretical and practical training in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and editing and publishing.

The program’s principle aim is to teach aspiring writers their craft and at the highest possible level. We gladly speak to students about publishing their work, or about teaching or editing, but our first concern is teaching and learning the craft of writing. While we encourage applicants to apply only in one genre, once they are admitted, we encourage them to cross-pollinate: we like to see poets working on narrative pacing in a fiction or nonfiction class, and we like to see prose writers attentive to individual syllables in poetry. We encourage students to experiment and to push themselves in new directions. We also insist that they know where they fit in the continuum of writers, and that they understand and can speak with conviction of where they might place themselves in any of several literary traditions.

A minimum of four semesters in residence is required in addition to the following:

Electives must be relevant to the degree, but they can come from other departments as agreed upon by the student and MP.

Upon completion of the thesis—a collection of poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, or a novel—in acceptable form, each student will take an oral examination designed to test the student's ability to articulately discuss their creative process, intellectual and creative influences, chosen genre, aesthetic perspective, design, and intent.

Please see the English graduate handbook for details and program requirements on earning the Master of Fine Arts in English degree.

1. Students will produce a substantial work of professional-quality literature in poetry, fiction, and/or nonfiction, exhibiting appropriate genre-specific technical skills, the development of a mature literary form, and the evolution of a distinctive voice and individual aesthetic. 

2. Students will analyze their own creative work and situate it within the literary traditions and conventions of their genre(s), and discuss how their work exemplifies, expands, or bridges those boundaries. 

3. Students will present their creative work effectively during a public reading (the thesis defense), and in other optional reading environments. 

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Creative Writing - Certificate Program and Course Offerings

The Creative Writing Program welcomes all writers, whether new or more established. Every semester we offer two or more courses: “Introduction to Creative Writing,” and “Poetry,” “Fiction,” or “Nonfiction”. These courses can be taken in any order (ex. The” Intro” class is not a prerequisite for taking “Fiction” or “Poetry.”)  Please see our website linked below for up-to-date information about our Certificate.   In the spring, we publish a new issue of the Creative Writing Magazine: Open Fruit. More information is available here . We also host Open Mics, a poetry contest, and readings with widely-celebrated authors. More info for these events can be found on our website linked below.

Contact: Joshua Escobar - [email protected] For more detailed info, click here .

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Creative Writing Graduate Programs

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One of the first universities in the country to offer a Ph.D. in Creative Writing, Ohio University continues as home to a thriving, widely respected graduate program with concentrations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Small by design, our graduate program offers a comprehensive curriculum, an award-winning faculty and the intimacy of small classes.

Placement Record

Over the past three years, seven of our nine graduating creative writing Ph.D. students have landed tenure-track jobs, post-doctorates, or prestigious visiting writer posts. Our MA graduates go on to study in the top MFA and Ph.D. programs.

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Students in the Creative Writing M.A. and Ph.D. programs enjoy:

• Graduate stipends, up to $15,000 per year, with opportunities to teach a wide range of courses, including creative writing workshops
• Generous graduate student travel funding
• Editorial fellowships on New Ohio Review , Quarter after Eight , and Brevity
• Opportunities to interact with distinguished visiting writers

M.A. candidates complete two years of study and write a thesis of creative work in their genre. Doctoral candidates complete five years of study, comprehensive exams, a major critical essay, and a creative dissertation.

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The department and its students publish three literary journals:

• New Ohio Review , a national literary journal
• Quarter After Eight , a prose journal edited by graduate students
• Sphere , an undergraduate journal

Annual Events

The department hosts several annual events including an ambitious Spring Literary Festival that brings five nationally distinguished writers to campus for three-days of readings, craft talks, and student discussion. Recent visitors have included Tony Hoagland, Kathryn Harrison, Barry Lopez, Francine Prose, Peter Ho Davies, Kim Addonizio, David Shields, Robert Hass, Charles Simic, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Marilynne Robinson.

Visiting writers engage with our program year-round as well, appearing in both undergraduate and graduate classes, meeting one-on-one with select students, and offering evening readings in the intimate Galbreath Chapel.

In addition to a regular Dogwood Bloom reading series for our graduate students, the creative writing program hosts an annual Writers' Harvest benefit reading for the Southeastern Ohio Food Bank?s Second Harvest, a food distribution program serving Athens, Hocking, Perry, Vinton, Jackson, Gallia, Meigs, Morgan and Washington counties.

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Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing

The Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing focuses on the theory and practice of creating literary works.

The certificate consists of four graduate creative writing workshops, which can be completed in one genre or in more than one genre.

More information on this certificate can be found in the University Catalog .

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The deadline for applying to the Creative Writing Certificate Program was March 1.  We are no longer accepting applications at this time.  The next application window is September 1 - October 1, 2024.

Creative Writing Certificate Program End-of-Semester Reception and Readings

Please join us on Wednesday, May 1 , in the Joynes Reading Room (Carothers Residence Hall) for our end-of-semester celebration.

Reception begins at 12:30pm with food and refreshments.

Writing Awards and Readings begin at 1:00pm

Creative Writing Honors Thesis Readings begin at 2:00pm.

Please feel free to come to all or part of the program.  Family and friends are welcome!

Writing Contest Winners Announced

Congratulations to the Winners of the Kruger Fellowships and Parker Prizes for student writing. 

KRUGER Fiction 

1st Place     Lara Palmqvist - "In Another Life"

Runner-up   Stephanie Degnore - "Where the Light Shines Brightest"

Runner-up   Varun Jawarani - "Lakshana"

KRUGER Poetry  

1st Place     Aguilar Alfredo - "After Three Beers My Tia Talks About The Border"

Runner-up   Safiyya Haider - "Assimilation Is Performance Art" 

PARKER Fiction

1st Place      Molly Tompkins - "Bolt from the Blue"

Runner-up    Charlie Sharpe - "A Horse of Course” 

Runner-up    Ashley Rummel - "The Artists" 

PARKER Poetry

1st Place      Leah Piñon - "The World Ends Through the Mirrors in Your House"

Runner-up    Boppana Pradhitha - "Alternate Methods of Crying"

PARKER Lit Crit

1st Place      Molly Tompkins - "Celestial, Beautiful, and Social Bodies" 

Runner-up    Lane Dent - “Our False Perception of Nature”,

Congratulations to all the contest winners and honors thesis students! 

Ongoing Opportunities

Check back often for more links to publishing, contest, and internship opportunities.

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The Writers' League of Texas provides internship, networking, literary, and educational opportunities in Austin and around the state, as well as an annual conference featuring literary agents and editors. 

The Texas Book Festival , one of the largest in the country, takes place annually in late October / early November, but offers volunteer opportunities throughout the year.

Poets and Writers magazine lists contests, fellowships, grants, and literary journals for writers of all levels. 

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The Creative Writing certificate program will provide students with a focus in the written creative arts including screenwriting and playwriting, the writing of creative nonfiction, poetry, and fiction, and writing for children and young adults. This may culminate in a capstone in one or multiple genres.

Program Goals

By completing this certificate, students will achieve the following learning goals:

• Demonstrate critical knowledge of a wide range of creative writing and a variety of diverse cultural viewpoints;
• Demonstrate expertise in critical analysis of professional works of literature as writers (reading as writers);
• Demonstrate knowledge of genres and aesthetics by learning to write well in many forms. This includes a basic command of grammar;
• Demonstrate intellectual discipline by narrowing one’s creative focus and energies to produce the most effective work while meeting deadlines and managing time effectively; and
• Demonstrate habits of creativity in the forms of creative problem solving, experimentation, inventiveness, and revision.

Completion Requirements

• A minimum of 12 semester credits must be completed at ARCC.
• A minimum grade of C must be earned in all program and additional requirements.
• All course requirements must be complete before a certificate will be awarded.
• To complete your program, please submit the appropriate application found here .
• The requirements of this program are subject to change without notice.

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*Some occupations may require advanced education

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The Best Student Writing Contests for 2023-2024

Help your students take their writing to the next level.

When students write for teachers, it can feel like an assignment. When they write for a real purpose, they are empowered! Student writing contests are a challenging and inspiring way to try writing for an authentic audience— a real panel of judges —and the possibility of prize money or other incentives. We’ve gathered a list of the best student writing contests, and there’s something for everyone. Prepare highly motivated kids in need of an authentic writing mentor, and watch the words flow.

1.  The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

With a wide range of categories—from critical essays to science fiction and fantasy—The Scholastic Awards are a mainstay of student contests. Each category has its own rules and word counts, so be sure to check out the options  before you decide which one is best for your students.

How To Enter

Students in grades 7-12, ages 13 and up, may begin submitting work in September by uploading to an online account at Scholastic and connecting to their local region. There are entry fees, but those can be waived for students in need.

2.  YoungArts National Arts Competition

This ends soon, but if you have students who are ready to submit, it’s worth it. YoungArts offers a national competition in the categories of creative nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, short story, and spoken word. Student winners may receive awards of up to $10,000 as well as the chance to participate in artistic development with leaders in their fields.

YoungArts accepts submissions in each category through October 13. Students submit their work online and pay a $35 fee (there is a fee waiver option).

3. National Youth Foundation Programs

Each year, awards are given for Student Book Scholars, Amazing Women, and the “I Matter” Poetry & Art competition. This is a great chance for kids to express themselves with joy and strength.

The rules, prizes, and deadlines vary, so check out the website for more info.

4.  American Foreign Service National High School Essay Contest

If you’re looking to help students take a deep dive into international relations, history, and writing, look no further than this essay contest. Winners receive a voyage with the Semester at Sea program and a trip to Washington, DC.

Students fill out a registration form online, and a teacher or sponsor is required. The deadline to enter is the first week of April.

5.  John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

This annual contest invites students to write about a political official’s act of political courage that occurred after Kennedy’s birth in 1917. The winner receives $10,000, and 16 runners-up also receive a variety of cash prizes.

Students may submit a 700- to 1,000-word essay through January 12. The essay must feature more than five sources and a full bibliography.

6. Bennington Young Writers Awards

Bennington College offers competitions in three categories: poetry (a group of three poems), fiction (a short story or one-act play), and nonfiction (a personal or academic essay). First-place winners receive $500. Grab a poster for your classroom here .

The contest runs from September 1 to November 1. The website links to a student registration form.

7. The Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest

Looking for student writing contests for budding playwrights? This exclusive competition, which is open only to high school juniors, is judged by the theater faculty of Princeton University. Students submit short plays in an effort to win recognition and cash prizes of up to $500. ( Note: Only open to 11th graders. )

Students submit one 10-page play script online or by mail. The deadline is the end of March. Contest details will be published in early 2024.

8. Princeton University Poetry Contest for High School Students

The Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize recognizes outstanding work by student writers in 11th grade. Prizes range from $100 to $500.

Students in 11th grade can submit their poetry. Contest details will be published this fall.

9. The New York Times Tiny Memoir Contest

This contest is also a wonderful writing challenge, and the New York Times includes lots of resources and models for students to be able to do their best work. They’ve even made a classroom poster !

Submissions need to be made electronically by November 1.

10.  Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest

The deadline for this contest is the end of October. Sponsored by Hollins University, the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest awards prizes for the best poems submitted by young women who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school. Prizes include cash and scholarships. Winners are chosen by students and faculty members in the creative writing program at Hollins.

Students may submit either one or two poems using the online form.

11.  The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers

The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is open to high school sophomores and juniors, and the winner receives a full scholarship to a  Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop .

Submissions for the prize are accepted electronically from November 1 through November 30.

12. Jane Austen Society Essay Contest

High school students can win up to $1,000 and publication by entering an essay on a topic specified by the Jane Austen Society related to a Jane Austen novel.

Details for the 2024 contest will be announced in November. Essay length is from six to eight pages, not including works cited.

13. Rattle Young Poets Anthology

Open to students from 15 to 18 years old who are interested in publication and exposure over monetary awards.

Teachers may choose five students for whom to submit up to four poems each on their behalf. The deadline is November 15.

14. The Black River Chapbook Competition

This is a chance for new and emerging writers to gain publication in their own professionally published chapbook, as well as $500 and free copies of the book.

There is an $18 entry fee, and submissions are made online.

15. YouthPlays New Voices

For students under 18, the YouthPlays one-act competition is designed for young writers to create new works for the stage. Winners receive cash awards and publication.

Scroll all the way down their web page for information on the contest, which accepts non-musical plays between 10 and 40 minutes long, submitted electronically. Entries open each year in January.

16. The Ocean Awareness Contest

The 2024 Ocean Awareness Contest, Tell Your Climate Story , encourages students to write their own unique climate story. They are asking for creative expressions of students’ personal experiences, insights, or perceptions about climate change. Students are eligible for a wide range of monetary prizes up to $1,000.

Students from 11 to 18 years old may submit work in the categories of art, creative writing, poetry and spoken word, film, interactive media and multimedia, or music and dance, accompanied by a reflection. The deadline is June 13.

17. EngineerGirl Annual Essay Contest

Each year, EngineerGirl sponsors an essay contest with topics centered on the impact of engineering on the world, and students can win up to $500 in prize money. This contest is a nice bridge between ELA and STEM and great for teachers interested in incorporating an interdisciplinary project into their curriculum. The new contest asks for pieces describing the life cycle of an everyday object. Check out these tips for integrating the content into your classroom .

Students submit their work electronically by February 1. Check out the full list of rules and requirements here .

18. NCTE Student Writing Awards

The National Council of Teachers of English offers several student writing awards, including Achievement Awards in Writing (for 10th- and 11th-grade students), Promising Young Writers (for 8th-grade students), and an award to recognize Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines.

Deadlines range from October 28 to February 15. Check out NCTE.org for more details.

19. See Us, Support Us Art Contest

Children of incarcerated parents can submit artwork, poetry, photos, videos, and more. Submissions are free and the website has a great collection of past winners.

Students can submit their entries via social media or email by October 25.

20. The Adroit Prizes for Poetry & Prose

The Adroit Journal, an education-minded nonprofit publication, awards annual prizes for poetry and prose to exceptional high school and college students. Adroit charges an entry fee but also provides a form for financial assistance.

Sign up at the website for updates for the next round of submissions.

21. National PTA Reflections Awards

The National PTA offers a variety of awards, including one for literature, in their annual Reflections Contest. Students of all ages can submit entries on the specified topic to their local PTA Reflections program. From there, winners move to the local area, state, and national levels. National-level awards include an $800 prize and a trip to the National PTA Convention.

This program requires submitting to PTAs who participate in the program. Check your school’s PTA for their deadlines.

22. World Historian Student Essay Competition

The World Historian Student Essay Competition is an international contest open to students enrolled in grades K–12 in public, private, and parochial schools, as well as those in home-study programs. The $500 prize is based on an essay that addresses one of this year’s two prompts.

Students can submit entries via email or regular mail before May 1.

23. NSHSS Creative Writing Scholarship

The National Society of High School Scholars awards three $2,000 scholarships for both poetry and fiction. They accept poetry, short stories, and graphic novel writing.

Apply online by October 31.

Whether you let your students blog, start a podcast or video channel, or enter student writing contests, giving them an authentic audience for their work is always a powerful classroom choice.

If you like this list of student writing contests and want more articles like it, subscribe to our newsletters to find out when they’re posted!

Plus, check out our favorite anchor charts for teaching writing..

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Best 2024 Competitions for Students in Grades K-12

Competitions in STEM, ELA and the arts, and more! Continue Reading

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Department of English

M.f.a. creative writing.

English Department

Physical Address: 200 Brink Hall

Mailing Address: English Department University of Idaho 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1102 Moscow, Idaho 83844-1102

Phone: 208-885-6156

Email: [email protected]

Web: English

M.F.A. Students

Raquel Gordon (First Year, Poetry) is a poet from Seattle and has a B.A. in creative writing and dance from the University of Washington. She has performed in music videos, dance films, and choreographed several stage performances including a solo performance in 12 Minutes Max in Seattle. She also loves to sing.

Jason Cahoon (First Year, Fiction) comes from Amherst, Massachusetts. Jason’s work concerns the simultaneous restrictions and empowerments of communal belongingness. He studied English at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Jason taught English at Eaglebrook School, an independent school in Massachusetts. In addition to teaching, Jason served as an editor for The Outlook, the school’s art and literature magazine.

Kathleen Walker (First Year, Nonfiction) grew up in the foothills of South Carolina. Her work explores her childhood spent in rural Appalachia, queerness, witchcraft, and animals both mythical and real. Kathleen was chosen by Nikki Giovanni as the recipient of the 2021 Giovanni-Steger Poetry Prize. Her writing has been published in a variety of publications, including CutBank and Susurrus Magazine.

Annie Burky (First Year, Fiction) calls Colorado home and returns to the West by way of Brooklyn. While earning a M.A. at New York University, she was awarded the Gallatin Review’s prose prize. She writes on gender, religion, and inheritance. She has worked as managing editor at Ms. Mayhem magazine, literacy specialist in Uganda and instructor at China’s Southwest University.

Jennifer Yu (First Year, Fiction) is exploring.

Reid Brown (First Year, Poetry) writes on themes of femininity, mental illness, the human body, and the threads that connect people, place, and memory. She is the Associate Poetry Editor for Fugue. She lives with her husband, Shane, and their kitten BMO, and collects an unhealthy amount of yarn for knitting projects in various states of incompleteness.

Rya Sheppard (First Year, Fiction) is from Kellogg, Idaho. She is a graduate of the University of Idaho where she studied English and creative writing. Rya enjoys coffee shops, painting, and cats of all kinds.

Karissa Carmona (First Year, Poetry) hails from western Montana and writes about rural identity, violence, and surreality in the so-called American West. She is the winner of the 2022 Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry. Prior to University of Idaho, Karissa worked as a bookseller, community arts studio manager, and organizer for a coalition against gendered violence.

Trixie Zwolfer (Second Year, Fiction), is originally from Boise, Idaho. For her undergraduate degree, she attended Montana State University, where she studied writing and literature. She enjoys threading between the reality of our world and the speculative possibility of what it could be in her writing. In her free time, she can be found reading, hiking, and drinking copious amounts of tea.

Tymber Wolf (Second Year, Nonfiction), a Florida Gulf Coast University graduate, is passionate about writing about many things, including philosophy, the environment, personal essays, Judaism, and more. As a Florida native, Tymber is excited to see the environment her namesake inhabits. You can find some of Tymber’s award-winning work in The Mangrove Review. When Tymber isn’t writing, they’re probably doing one (or five) of an indefinite amount of hobbies.

Alicia Gladman (Second Year, Nonfiction), is from Western Canada by way of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has worked in harm reduction for fourteen years, interested in conversations about accountability and personal freedom. She has a dog, two cats, and a lot of plants.

Maggie Nipps (Second Year, Poetry) is a poet and playwright from Wisconsin. Her work appears in Figure 1, Pinwheel, Sporklet, No Contact, Sip Cup, petrichor, and elsewhere. She co-founded and co-edits Afternoon Visitor, a new quarterly journal of poetry, visual art, hybrid text, and visual art.

Spencer R. Young (Second Year, Poetry) is a queer, genderfluid poet obsessed with identity and its transient borders. Their work, published in Terrain.org, 13th Floor Magazine, and elsewhere, encounters these binaric borders of identity and attempts to envision the space beyond them. Twice nominated for Best New Poets, Spencer holds an MA in Literature and Creative Writing from Kansas State University.

Gianna Marie Starble (Second Year, Fiction) is originally from Colorado and received her undergraduate degree in Professional and Creative Writing from Central Washington University. Her work has appeared in Manastash Literary Journal and The Hunger. In 2020 she won second place for best creative nonfiction piece in the Write On The River competition. When she is not writing, she is probably running with her dog, Blue.

Miriam Akervall (Second Year, Poetry) was born in Lund, Sweden, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For the past six years they lived and worked in high country; most recently, the Idaho Boulder Mountains. Lately, they have been thinking about how memory lives in the body. Their work has appeared in Stone Journal, Ariadne Magazine, Voicemail Poems, and Apiary Magazine.

Emily Holmes (Second Year, Nonfiction) has spent most of her life living in wild places, looking for beauty and adventure. She seeks to connect people to place by telling stories about nature and exploring human relationships to wilderness. While studying rangeland ecology at Montana State University, Emily learned more about ski-bum life, trail running, and environmental advocacy about rangelands. These experiences strongly inform her creative projects.

Alex Connors (Second Year, Fiction) is originally from the north shore of Massachusetts. They attended UMass Amherst, where they studied poetry and social thought. They are working on a collection of short stories that explores the complexities of friendship, family, and queerness within working-class communities. Before coming to the University of Idaho, Alex spent many years as a farmer in western Massachusetts.

Natalie Kinkade  (Third Year, Nonfiction) was born and raised in Bend, Oregon. She writes about art, religion, depression, childhood, and her puppy, Pippin, among other things. Before attending the University of Idaho, she earned an M.A. in English from Ohio University. Her work has appeared in Gulf Coast and The Rumpus and is forthcoming in The Harvard Review.

Michael Harper (Third Year, Fiction; Hemingway Fellow) completed his M.A. in English at the University of Vienna. His work has appeared in The Manzano Mountain Review, Litro Magazine, Decomp Journal, and CafeLit. Prior to the University of Idaho, he taught English as a second language in Europe.

Emma Neal (Third Year, Fiction) was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. She attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied creative writing and religion. Currently, she is working on a collection of short stories about young women trying to understand themselves and searching for their communities. Emma enjoys coffee shops, live music, and painting. She taught yoga for two years at Sarah Lawrence College.

Steff Sirois (Third Year, Fiction) is a writer from Connecticut who is currently writing about womanliness, the multiple versions of her Self, and ghosts. Some of her recent work has appeared in Prism Review, LandLocked, and The Washington Post.

Daniel Lurie (Third Year, Poetry) grew up in eastern Montana. He attended Montana State University, Billings, where he received his B.A. in Organizational Communications. Daniel is the Poetry Editor for Fugue. His work has appeared in NewVerseNews, The Palouse Review, and FeverDream. His poem “One Night Only” is stamped into a concrete street in Billings.

Isabel Marlens (Third Year, Nonfiction) grew up in California and Colorado, and studied literature and ecology & evolution at Bennington College. She went on to work in the nonprofit world, writing about local economies and initiatives for community and ecological renewal. She is working on essays that layer the personal with thoughts on literature, psychology, evolutionary theory, history, and politics. She spends most of her free time rock climbing and traversing the rural West.

Christian Perry (Third Year, Nonfiction) is a white, Queer, Midwesterner born and raised in Michigan. They attended Michigan State University, where they studied a myriad of subjects and obtained a B.A. in English/Creative Writing in 2019. In 2020, Christian self-published their undergraduate thesis, thanks. Their free time is often spent playing Nintendo games and going on long walks.

Sam Simmons (Third Year, Fiction) is a writer from California. He is the current web editor for Fugue and teaches first-year composition and introductory creative writing. He is currently at work on a novel.

Cameron Martin (Third Year, Poetry) is a fat and queer writer originally from Michigan. He attended Wayne State University and the University of Idaho, where he studied English. Their writing has appeared in Sonora Review, The Normal School, Palette Poetry, and Afternoon Visitor. He’s currently working on collections of poetry and personal essays. In Moscow, they are one of the co-coordinators of the ‘queer-minded, queer-hearted’ Pop-Up Prose reading series.

Crystal Cox's (Third Year, Poetry) work has appeared in The Shore, Nimrod, Kissing Dynamite, The Bookends Review, and on the Academy of American Poets website. Her poem “Self-Portrait with Dolly Parton” won the 2022 Academy of American Poets University Prize, selected by Andrew Grace. She calls Missouri home.

Katie Ludwig (First Year, Nonfiction) has lived on the Palouse for 18 years. She is a performing singer/songwriter, Mom of 2 teenagers, and Native Plant Landscaper. She does exploratory writing about the Environment, Spiritual Philosophy, Self, Native Practices, and Hard Topics.

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Technical Writing

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology via Coursera Help

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• Introduction
• Module I: From Start to Finish
• This module will help you acquire knowledge about technical writing, which deals with complex topics in precise ways. The module covers issues related to workplace research that you will have to conduct as a technical writer. Regardless of which technique you use, your challenge will be to sort the relevant information from the irrelevant, and the accurate from the bogus. The module focuses on audience, purpose, and measures of excellence in technical documents. In addition, you will learn what it means to be a good technical communicator. The references included at the end this module will serve as a perfect complement to the information described in the video lectures.
• Module II: Organizing the Information
• In this Module, you will learn how to use visuals to communicate a large amount of information quickly and efficiently. The Module provides general guidelines for using graphical tools that you can use to design visuals with the output process of the report in mind. In addition, you will learn how to define a term using various techniques of extended definitions. The Module also provides guidelines for effective planning of technical report writing.
• Module III: Researching Your Subject
• This module will help you develop an enhanced understanding of such types of technical documentation as feasibility and recommendation reports, instructions as well as laboratory research. The module covers issues related to various types of academic and workplace research. The focus is on acquiring the best available information – the most accurate, most unbiased, most comprehensive, and most current.
• Module IV: Capstone Project

Elena Bazanova

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• AA Anonymous 6 years ago The course is worth taking! If you have a logical mindset, like to tease order out of complex situations and enjoy writing well-organized, clear instructions, tech writing may be for you. It's a rewarding career, ideal for team-oriented people with excellent communication skills, and a desire to contribute to the success of an organization. The course provides information crucial in the tech writing field. You'll learn how to produce quality technical documents, including instructions and technical reports. Helpful
• AA Anonymous 2 years ago It has helped me to start a foundation in technical writing. I've always been a freelance writer, but I wanted to learn more skills to improve my income. Coursera courses have always been my favourite since I started University, and I'm happy I'm taking a Coursera course on this skill again. I look forward to learning more! Helpful
• AA Anonymous 1 year ago Your review helps other learners like you discover great courses. Only review the course if you have taken or started taking this course. Helpful

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