creative writing programs baltimore

The Writing Seminars

Learn from the best.

Founded in 1947, the Writing Seminars is the second-oldest creative writing program in the United States and has always been ranked highly in the field. The department is celebrated for the quality of its faculty and its small classes. No course is lecture-sized; all are seminars.

• Degrees Offered BA, MFA
• Major Writing Seminars

Explore the Program

Major in Writing

Study at one of the first major academic institutions to offer a degree for writers.

Master of Fine Arts

Four poets and four fiction writers are admitted annually to this selective two-year program.

The department is celebrated for the quality of its faculty and its small classes. No course is lecture-sized; all are seminars.

Upcoming Events

President’s series, literature of social import: hari kunzru.

Hari Kunzru is the author of seven novels, including Blue Ruin, forthcoming from Knopf on May 14, 2024. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and writes the […]

Robyn Schiff: William J. Sullivan, Jr. and Richard H. Elder Visiting P...

Robyn Schiff is the author of four poetry collections: Worth (University of Iowa Press, 2002), Revolver(University of Iowa Press, 2008),  A Woman of Property(Penguin, 2016), and Information Desk: An Epic (Penguin, 2023), which was […]

News & Announcements

Giovannai Garced-Rosa Featured on The Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day Series

Giovannai Garced-Rosa’s poem, a force is a push or a pull (5.8 million puerto ricans in america), was featured on The Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day Series.

Regan Green, Alejandro Lucero, and Sam Niven Selected for Best New Poets Anthology

Regan Green, MFA ’23, Alejandro Lucero, MFA ’25, and Sam Niven, MFA ’24, will have poems included in the Best New Poets Anthology after being selected from a large finalist […]

Samantha Neugebauer Honorable Mention for Faculty Undergraduate Teaching Award

Samantha Neugebauer, MFA ’22, and lecturer for The Writing Seminars was named honorable mention for the 2023 KSAS Faculty Undergraduate Teaching Award.

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Creative Writing

Our community of writers is a collaborative and creative space that encourages and challenges the next generation to impact human experience through language., choose why choose this program, why study creative writing at goucher.

Goucher has one of the most established undergraduate programs in creative writing in the nation. The program has produced a rich array of authors, editors, performers, teachers, nonprofit managers, and civic leaders. Creative writing concentrators in the English Program must take courses in British and American literature, textual analysis, and critical theory along with core creative writing courses in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and more. Upon graduation, successful creative writing concentrators and minors can expect to become well rounded thinkers and writers who have the tools to gain publication.

Learn What Will You Learn?

What will you learn.

At Goucher, we see ourselves as a community of writers who value learning, self-expression, and diversity. Members of our writing community support one another even as we recognize our differences, and we hope that all members of our community will develop the creativity, innovation, and inherent joy that is the art of writing, by learning to engage ourselves critically as readers, thinkers, and writers. More information can be found at https://blogs.goucher.edu/creativewriting/ .

Goucher’s Creative Writing Program is distinct from its   Academic Writing Program  and its  M.F.A. in Nonfiction Program .

Do What Will You Do?

What will you do.

Goucher’s Kratz Center for Creative Writing complements the Creative Writing Program. The center brings nationally recognized authors like ROBERT STONE, ANN PATCHETT, and EDWARD P. JONES to Goucher College for lectures, readings, and semester-long residencies. These authors work closely with students within the Creative Writing Program to provide a stimulating intellectual and creative environment in which the highest quality of writing is encouraged. The Kratz Center functions cooperatively with the undergraduate creative writing program, enhancing and expanding the curriculum with distinguished visiting guest writers and new course offerings.

Course Curriculum

Creative Writing Minor   Writing Courses

Creative Writing is also available as a major within the Professional and Creative Writing program.

Program Contact

Lana Oweidat

Full-Time and Half-Time Faculty

Edgar Kunz , Assistant Professor: Creative Writing

Sarah Pinsker , Kratz Writer-In-Residence

Phaye Poliakoff-Chen , Program Director: Creative Writing

Madison Smartt Bell , Professor of English: Creative Writing

Walker Smith , Assistant Professor: Composition & Rhetoric, religious rhetoric, queer theory, rhetorical genre studies, professional and technical communication 

Elizabeth Spires , Professor of English: Creative Writing

Charlee Sterling , Assistant Professor: Composition & Rhetoric, American Literature, comics, pop culture and multimodailty, storytelling

Bill U’Ren , Assistant Professor: Fiction Writing and Screenwriting

Part-Time Faculty

Sylvia Jones , Adjunct Professor: Creative Writing (poetry, memoir, flash fiction), African American Lit, post modernism, translation, experimental, conceptualism

Katherine Moulton , Lecturer: Creative Writing

Madeleine Mysko , Adjunct Professor: Academic and Creative Writing

Opportunities & Internships

Internships.

Internships help students explore possibilities, apply classroom learning, and gain experience. Explore internships and credit options .

Student Employment

Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Handshake — a website for job postings, events, resumes/cover letters, and career management.

Major & Career Exploration

Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multi-step process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.

A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page .

Graduate & Professional School

Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page , through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 4+1 BA/MS Program

Goucher College and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School are offering Goucher students a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program. This 4+1 program combines a bachelor’s degree from Goucher with a master of science degree from Johns Hopkins in business analytics and risk management, information systems, health care management, finance, or marketing. Students can apply during their junior year. GRE or GMAT tests have been waived but applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and have passed some quantitative reasoning courses with a grade of B or better.

Kratz Center for Creative Writing

A premier academic program, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing is proud to produce talented and distinguished writers. The Kratz Center offers students many valuable opportunities, like the Fall Visiting Authors Series  and its  Spring Writer-in-Residence Series , during which nationally and internationally recognized authors come to campus to work closely with students. Additionally, the Blueprint Reading Series introduces students to young authors, who share their perspectives on publishing today. The center also offers annual  Summer Writing Fellowships  to select students at Goucher and hosts an array of master classes and symposia each semester. To learn more about Goucher’s distinguished Kratz Center, numerous student fellowship opportunities, and mentoring by award-winning authors, please visit the Kratz Center for Creative Writing website.

Alumni Spotlight Laura Tims '14

Laura Tims '14

“I decided that I wanted to be a writer when I was pretty young. I never really had any backup plan.”

Assistant Professor Kunz reviewed in New York Times

Creative Writing Assistant Professor Edgar Kunz released his second book of poetry, Fixer, with Ecco/HarperCollins on August 22.

Introducing the Kratz 2022-23 summer writing fellowship winners

Each year, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing at Goucher College offers summer writing fellowships that range from between $2,000 to $4,000.

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Writing Seminars

The second-oldest creative writing program in the U.S.

The Writing Seminars program offers a liberal arts education with a concentration in writing. In addition to fiction and poetry, you’ll study literature, philosophy, and history in other departments and demonstrate competency in a foreign language. You’ll compose a portfolio of original writing that not only meets the standards for application to MFA programs, but also serves as the foundation for careers in communication, law, teaching, or other fields where success is a function of skills in close analysis conveyed through lucid and intelligent writing.

CLASSES YOU MIGHT TAKE

Writing the Unreal

In this class, we’ll look exclusively at writing which takes on what hasn’t been seen, and hasn’t been felt. Through reading works of science fiction, magical realism, gothic literature, and speculative fiction, you’ll investigate how the unreal can still speak to our experiences and perceptions of the real and craft your own fantastical worlds through regular writing assignments.

Art of the Personal Essay

This course explores the art and craft of the personal essay from Seneca to Soyinka, Montaigne to Adichie. Through personal narrative exploration, we’ll write about universal themes—family, loss, social justice—through various nonfiction essay forms, such as the braided essay, lyric essay, science essay, or humor essay.

Performing Poetry & Fiction: An Acting Workshop for Writers

This hands-on performance workshop, combining literary and theatrical practice, will look closely at what makes a performance or reading compelling, clear, and resonant. Through textual analysis, vocal technique, and group discussion, you’ll create a pliant and powerful reading style to best serve your work.

Faculty Spotlight

Prof. Danielle Evans

Associate Professor, Writing Seminars

Image: Krieger Arts & Sciences Magazine

Ask the Professor: Danielle Evans

Associate Professor Danielle Evans chats about her writing process and how she drafts her stories.

Prof. Alice McDermott

Academy Professor and Richard A. Macksey Professor of the Humanities

Image: Beowulf Sheehan

New Book: What About the Baby?

Academy Professor Alice McDermott discusses her latest collection of essays, What About the Baby.

PROF. ANDREW MOTION

Homewood Professor of the Arts, Writing Seminars

Poems as Disrupters

Poet Andrew Motion doesn’t care for poems that are “too tidy for their own good.” Rather, he wants them to “imitate the mystery and unpredictability of life.”

Join the Club

Hopkins students are eager to pursue their interests outside the classroom. With 450+ student-led organizations, here are just a few you could join:

• English Club 
• Hopkins Student Science Fiction and Fantasy Association
• JHU News-Letter
• Marque Magazine
• NOON Magazine
• Out of the Blue Jay Magazine
• Witness Theater
• Zeniada Magazine

Hopkins Insider

Defining “Writing Sems Majors” (And Other Mystical Creatures)

Quick links:.

• Majors, Minors & Programs
• Application Deadlines & Requirements
• College Planning Guide

University of Baltimore

Creative writing & publishing arts (m.f.a.).

Don't just write. Publish.

Prepare for a life of writing--and of publishing your own work. In addition to participating in fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction and memoir writing workshops with distinguished faculty and talented fellow students, you'll:

explore book arts, graphic design, the ins and outs of electronic and print publishing, and the horizons of your own creativity

study the publishing process, creating your own print and electronic journals, publishing broadsides and chapbooks, and sending your work out with the guidance of experienced mentors.

As a Master of Fine Arts is a terminal degree, it qualifies you to teach at the university level.

• Program Details
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Creative Writing

A fully funded M.F.A. program that combines creative and scholarly work, undergraduate teaching, and professionalization opportunities.

Quick Links

• Enrolling in Undergraduate Intermediate Workshops
• Creative Writing Minor
• Writers Here and Now Event Series
• Jiménez-Porter Writers' House
• Stanley Plumly Lecture Series

The M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing is nationally ranked and our graduates are the recipients of many distinguished awards and fellowships.

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Our Faculty

Lillian-yvonne bertram.

Associate Professor, English Director, MFA Program in Creative Writing, English

Professor, English

3103 Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes

Associate Professor, English

3120 Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Emily Mitchell

3122 Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Rion Amilcar Scott

3234 Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Joshua Weiner

3113 Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Program Coordinator

Lindsay bernal.

Academic Coordinator, MFA Program in Creative Writing, English MFA Program in Creative Writing, English

2116E Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Emeritus Faculty

Michael collier.

Emeritus Professor, English

Former Faculty

Elizabeth arnold.

3101 Tawes Hall College Park MD, 20742

Program Requirements

The Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing offers concentrations in fiction and poetry and requires a creative thesis. The course requirements include both writing workshops and literature courses.  

Course Requirements

• Four writing workshops in your concentration (poetry or fiction: English 688 or ENGL 689, respectively).
• Four graduate (600- or 700-level) literature courses.
• At least one semester of Studies in Narrative Form (English 789), if your concentration is fiction, or Studies in Poetic Form (English 788), if your concentration is poetry.
• NOTE: Forms courses are repeatable and can be taken outside of your concentration for elective credit.
• One graduate-level (600-level or above) course outside the English Department, or one 400-level English course elective within the English Department.

Beginning in the second year, MFA students register for English 799 (thesis research) under the direction of a member of the creative writing faculty, write as a thesis a book-length manuscript of fiction or poetry.

Mentoring Credit

All MFA students are required to complete one credit of pedagogical or professional mentoring each semester: either ENGL878 or ENGL898.

A Letter from the M.F.A. Program Faculty

Dear Prospective Students,

Our MFA program is committed to social justice and antiracism. Our workshop process decenters whiteness and amplifies BIPOC voices, as we aim to create a space of equity for writing and collaboration and encourage extending creative practice into the world.  What is the writing that is happening now, that is looking to the future and creating a viable community?  The answer starts in the work of your imagination, your dedication to the craft, and your sense that this matters beyond the act of writing. Our commitment is to you. 

Each fall, we welcome three poets and three fiction writers into the MFA Program, a studio-based fine arts program devoted to the development and mentoring of the next generation of poets and fiction writers. 

Our attention is to your original writing and to you, the writer; our aim is to help you become the writer you envision for yourself.  As fully funded writers, selected by the program faculty from an applicant pool of over 200, you’ll spend two to three years taking workshops, literature courses, and creative forms courses, meeting one-on-one with our faculty, and gaining valuable experience teaching undergraduate workshops, academic writing, and literature courses.

Our varied individual teaching philosophies share the conviction that the hard work of drafting and revising original stories and poems is grounded in reading and studying exemplary works.  Literary history, innovative poetic and narrative form, and the experience of the writer all come into play through the shaping hand of art.

During the second and third years of the program, MFA students develop a thesis (a book-length collection of poetry or short fiction, a novel, or a hybrid project) under the direction of the MFA faculty. Students have the opportunity to work closely with each program faculty member in the genre of concentration during their time at UMD.

Completion of the thesis culminates in the occasion of a thesis defense with several faculty members, and a celebratory public reading, at which each student is introduced by their faculty mentor.

The MFA core curriculum includes practica in teaching creative writing (in the first semester) and finishing the thesis (in the last semester), plus a set of professionalization courses to prepare you for a career in creative writing.  Our program emphasizes one-on-one mentoring and personal attention to your development as a writer in the world. 

The Writers Here & Now reading series, co-sponsored and -curated by the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House (UMD’s undergraduate residential college devoted to creative writing), brings writers of national and international prominence to the University of Maryland each year, both to read and meet with students in the graduate and undergraduate workshops. Recent visiting writers include Leslie Nneka Arimah, Jennifer Chang, Jos Charles,  Alexander Chee, Jennine Capó Crucet, Natalie Diaz, Danielle Evans, Ross Gay, Louise Glück, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Terrance Hayes, Mitchell S. Jackson, John Keene, Yiyun Li, Claudia Rankine, Cristina Rivera Garza, Evie Shockley, Ocean Vuong, and Javier Zamora.  We also invite program alumni to read in the series and visit with the MFAs.

Our program faculty and alumni include recipients of the following awards and honors: ●    Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize ●    Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship ●    Guggenheim Fellowship ●    Italo Calvino Prize ●    National Book Award ●    National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship ●    NAACP Image Award ●    National Jewish Book Award ●    National Poetry Series competition ●    New York Public Library Young Lions Prize ●    Rome Prize ●    Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award ●    Whiting Writers’ Award

They have received Stegner, Hodder, Radcliffe Institute, and Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center fellowships, and their work has been featured in the following publications: ●    The Atlantic ●    Best American Poetry ●    Harvard Review ●    Los Angeles Review of Books ●    The Nation ●    The New Republic ●    The New Yorker ●    New York Review of Books ●    New York Times ●    Paris Review ●    Poetry ●    Threepenny Review ●    Washington Post ●    Yale Review

Our alumni have started their own literary journals online and in print: ●    The Account ●    Asian American Literary Review ●    AzonaL ●    B O D Y ●    Leavings ●    Oversound ●    Smartish Pace

They have continued their formal studies in doctoral programs at Florida State University, the University of Houston, the University of Illinois–Chicago, the University of Missouri, the University of Utah, and other top programs. And they have taught in universities, colleges, and high schools around the country and abroad, serving communities and fostering the literary arts.

We thank you for your interest in our program.  We urge you to review the department website to get a further sense of whether or not the MFA at Maryland is right for you.  And we wish you the very best in your writing.

M.F.A. Application Instructions

Submit the complete application and all supporting materials by December 14, 2023 —for the Fall 2024 term. (We do not accept applications for the Spring term.) Please note that the system will close promptly at midnight, so you will be unable to edit your application past 11:59pm on December 14, 2023. 

University of Maryland's Graduate Application Process

The University of Maryland’s Graduate School accepts applications through its application system . Before completing the application, applicants are asked to check the Admissions Requirements site for specific instructions.

As required by the Graduate School, all application materials are to be submitted electronically:

• Graduate Application
• Non-refundable application fee ($75) for each program to which an applicant applies.
• Unofficial transcripts of your entire college/university record (undergraduate and graduate), including records of any advanced work done at another institution. Electronic copies of these unofficial transcripts must be uploaded along with your online application. Official transcripts will be required after an applicant is admitted to the program.
• Three Letters of Recommendation . In your online application, please complete the information requested for your recommenders and ask them to submit their letters electronically. The strongest letters of recommendation are written by individuals who are familiar with your fiction or poetry and can speak about you as a writer.
• Statement of Purpose . The statement, which should not exceed 1000 words, should address your creative interests, relevant aspects of your educational experience, and your reasons for applying to our program.
• A single Creative Writing Sample in the genre in which you are applying: for fiction, 15 pages (double-spaced); for poetry, 10-15 pages (single-spaced). To ensure that your application package is processed accurately, you must specify your genre (fiction OR poetry) in the online application.

Note: We DO NOT require--or recommend--that applicants to the MFA Program in Creative Writing submit GRE scores.

The electronic submission of application materials helps expedite the review of an application. Completed applications are reviewed by a faculty admissions committee in each genre. The recommendations of the poetry and fiction committees are submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School, who will make the final admission decision. Students seeking to complete graduate work at the University of Maryland for degree purposes must be formally admitted to the Graduate School by the Dean.

Information for International Graduate Students

The University of Maryland is dedicated to maintaining a vibrant international graduate student community. The Office of International Students and Scholars Services (ISSS) is a valuable resource of information and assistance for prospective and current international students.  International applicants are encouraged to explore the services they offer, and contact them with related questions.

The University of Maryland Graduate School offers admission to international students based on academic information; it is not a guarantee of attendance.  Admitted international students will then receive instructions about obtaining the appropriate visa to study at the University of Maryland which will require submission of additional documents.  Please see the Graduate Admissions Process for International Applicants for more information.

Applicants are encouraged to direct any technical issues and questions related to the admissions process to the Graduate School ([email protected]; 301-405-3644)

Prospective M.F.A. Student FAQs

If, after reading this list, you still have unanswered questions, please contact us.

• Where do I apply on-line? You can apply now via the Graduate School's website .  
• When is the application deadline?  December 14, 2023 at 11:59 pm (EST)
• Does your program admit students for the Spring semester? No.
• What is the most important part of the application? The creative writing sample is the single most important element of a successful application to the MFA Program in Creative Writing. Of course, the Creative Writing faculty look closely at all of the other materials in the application file.
• Is it possible to meet with the Creative Writing faculty and/or staff to discuss the admissions process? Unfortunately, the faculty and/or staff do not have the time to meet with prospective applicants. We do, however, strongly encourage applicants who have been accepted into the program to visit during the spring semester to meet with faculty, staff, and current students and attend a graduate-level course.
• When are admissions decisions made? Admissions decisions are made in March.
• Should the fiction writing sample be one piece or several pieces? The fiction writing sample can be either a novel excerpt, a short story, or several short stories, as long as the writing sample does not exceed 15 double-spaced pages.
• Can I submit creative work in more than one genre and/or apply in more than one genre? No. All MFA applicants must apply within one genre (fiction or poetry) and submit work only within that chosen genre.
• Does Maryland offer an MFA in Creative Nonfiction? No. However, a workshop in Creative Nonfiction is offered occasionally, and MFA students are welcome to take it as an elective.
• Does the program offer a low-residency option? No.
• What kind of financial award packages does the program offer? Each year, the program accepts 6 applicants (3 fiction writers and 3 poets), who are fully funded by Teaching Assistantships for up to three years of graduate study. Our financial award packages include a stipend of about $25,000 per academic year and 60 credit hours of tuition remission (10 credit hours of tuition remission per semester) over three years of study. MFA students do not teach during their first year in the program. They teach two classes during their second year and four classes during the optional third year of study.
• How do I put myself in the running for funding? No separate application is required. Please see the question above.
• When are decisions made about program-awarded aid (fellowships and teaching assistantships) ?  In March. We fully fund all 6 applicants who we've accepted. Our offer letter details the program-awarded financial package.
• Where can I find information on tuition and fees? Student Financial Services and Cashiering provides a chart of tuition and fees for Graduate Students by credit hour and residency classification (resident and non-resident).
• Do MFA students ever attend the program part-time? No. Since our MFA students are fully funded  they must remain enrolled on a full-time basis (taking at least 6 credits per semester).
• What time do the MFA students take classes? Most graduate English classes are offered once a week, Monday-Thursday, either from 3:30-6pm or from 6:30-9pm. Fiction and poetry workshops are on Wednesdays from 3:30-6pm. Students must be enrolled continuously—unless they petition the Graduate School for a medical leave of absence or for a waiver of continuous registration and such petitions are approved.
• Does your program accept letters of recommendation via Interfolio? The Graduate School does not accept letters of recommendation via Interfolio. However, if Interfolio is your only option to submit your letters of recommendation, then please arrange for Interfolio to send your dossier electronically to the MFA Program Coordinator, Lindsay Bernal: [email protected] . (Lindsay will confirm the receipt of the dossier.) Please note that this alternative is a work-around: though the MFA faculty reviewers will be given access to your Interfolio dossier, your letters will continue to appear as missing from your online application.
• Does your program require applicants to submit GRE scores? No.
• Does your program waive the application fee? The Graduate School, not the Program, processes all application fee waiver requests. For more information about application fee waivers, including the eligibility guidelines, please visit the Graduate School’s website .

Featured Alumni

Poet shara mccallum mfa ’96 named 2023 guggenheim fellow.

The fellowship will support McCallum’s upcoming project, a collection of poems in response to Jamaican visual art.

Elizabeth Acevedo Has Written Her First Novel for Adults–and It’s Full of Magic

Creative Writing M.F.A. alum is profiled in TIME on her newest novel, Family Lore .

Jewish Folklore Goes Queer in Alum’s New Novel

The mystical and mundane meet in story inspired by Temim Fruchter's Eastern European family matriarchs.

Professor Lillian-Yvonne Bertram and Hoa Nguyen ’91 Receive Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists

Accepting submissions: sadat poetry and music for justice and peace competitions, umd creative writing at awp 2024, poetry nfts are having a moment, lillian-yvonne bertram to read from 'negative money', kathryn maris on wave house by elizabeth arnold, umd english launches new stanley plumly lecture series in creative writing, professor joshua weiner shortlisted for 2023 national translation award in poetry, upcoming events, writers here and now: alumni book launch & reading.

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University of Baltimore

Maryland, united states.

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts is a unique program, emphasizing the creative process, the craft of writing, and publishing arts. In addition to an array of writing workshops, we offer courses in book arts, small press publishing, and creativity. We offer courses in which students learn to read as a writer and to participate, as a writer, in the dialogue between tradition and experimentation. Through workshops and other classes, students will create a substantial body of writing. In addition, through publishing arts courses, students will also acquire the skills necessary to create, edit, design, and produce a variety of literary publications, from broadsides to chapbooks to journals. The culminating project (what's known as the "thesis" in most other programs) is a work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction that students write, design, and produce as a publication (print or electronic), using the skills developed in the program's writing workshops and publishing art courses.

The MFA program's reading series brings visiting writers to the university each semester for readings (and talks to classes). In addition, the series includes talks by editors, agents, book designers, and others involved in the field of publishing.

Students in the MFA program edit, design, and produce Welter, the university's literary magazine. Students may also have an opportunity to work as interns on Passager, a national literary journal, as well as Passager Books.

Contact Information

1420 N. Charles St. Klein Family School of Communications Design Baltimore Maryland, United States 21201 Phone: (410) 837-6272 Email: [email protected] http://ubalt.edu/cla_template.cfm?page=1465

Bachelor of Arts in English/Literature/Creative Writing/Integrated Arts/Professional Writing/Digital Communication +

Undergraduate program director, minor / concentration in creative writing +, master of fine arts in creative writing +, graduate program director.

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts is a unique program, emphasizing the creative process, the craft of writing, and publishing arts. In addition to an array of writing workshops, we offer courses in book arts, small press publishing, and creativity. We do not require that you take traditional literature courses. Instead, we offer courses in which you will learn to read as a writer and to participate, as a writer, in the dialogue between tradition and experimentation. Through workshops and other classes, you will create a substantial body of writing. In addition, through publishing arts courses, you'll also acquire the skills necessary to create, edit, design, and produce a variety of literary publications, from broadsides to chapbooks to journals. The culminating project (what's known as the "thesis" in most other programs) is a work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction that you write, design, and produce as a publication (print or electronic), using the skills you've developed in the program's writing workshops and publishing art courses.

The MFA program's reading series brings visiting writers to the university each semester for readings (and talks to classes). In addition, the series includes talks by editors and others involved in the field of publishing.

Students in the MFA program help edit, design, and produce Welter, the university's literary magazine. Students may also have an opportunity to work as interns on Passager, a national literary journal, as well as Passager Books.

Jane D. Delury

http://www.ubalt.edu/cla_template.cfm?page=1452

Kendra Kopelke

Eager Street. Carpe Diem, Ants, Bladderville, Hopper's Women

http://www.ubalt.edu/cla_template.cfm?page=1457

Stephen H. Matanle

Author of Nightbook and Patience.

http://www.ubalt.edu/cla_template.cfm?page=1459

Marion Winik

Author of Telling, First Comes Love, The Lunch-Box Chronicles, Rules for the Unruly, and Above Us Only Sky.

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Editor of Baltimore Style Magazine

http://www.ubalt.edu/cas/faculty/alphabetical-directory/betsy-boyd.cfm

Author of The Cook Up, The Beast Side

http://d-watkins.com

Steven Leyva

www.ubalt.edu/cas/faculty/alphabetical-direc…

Publications & Presses +

Passager Books

Visiting Writers Program +

Ann Patchett, Michael Chabon, Mark Doty, Teju Cole, Susan Perabo, Gerald Stern, Carolyn Forche, Abigail Thomas, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Nick Flynn, Patricia Smith, Tony Hoagland, Linda Pastan, Roy Tsung, Gayle Danley, Tim Seibles, Lia Purpura, Amy Hempel, Adam Zagajewski, John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, Michael Martone, Steve Dixon, Cleopatra Mathis, Linda Pastan, Joe Harrison

Reading Series +

MFA Reading Series ( www.ubalt.edu/mfacreativewriting )

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Writing Department

The Loyola Writing Department

The Writing Department at Loyola offers one of the very few undergraduate writing majors in the country. Rather than learning how to write within the structures of a single discipline, our students can explore, study, and practice a wide variety of forms including rhetoric, professional writing, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction prose. 

Department Chair Brian Murray [email protected]

Department Address Writing Department Maryland Hall 043 Loyola University Maryland 4501 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Md. 21210 Phone: 410-617-2228  Fax: 410-617-2934

The Loyola Writing Center

Run by the Writing Department but open to all Loyola students, the Writing Center offers assistance to students who need help in all stages of writing – brainstorming, organizing, and revising. The Writing Center also offers students an opportunity to begin learning how to teach writing as consultants. Visit the Writing Center page for more information.

Statement Against Anti-Black Oppression

The Loyola University Maryland Writing Department stands with members of the Black community as they mourn and protest the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. We grieve with you. To our dismay, their violent deaths at the hands of current and former police officers are not aberrations, but part of larger patterns of anti-Black violence and oppression in the United States. Indeed, it has only been five years since Freddie Gray was fatally injured while in Baltimore Police custody, sparking an uprising that rightly shook our city. These patterns are the result of a centuries-long project in which American society has been structured to privilege the White few at the expense of Black and other people of color. As writers and rhetoricians, we are well equipped to see the ways that anti-Black structures are created and maintained through language: how events are framed, which narratives prevail, whose words are heard and respected. As a department, we commit to identifying, and helping our students identify, language choices, patterns, and ideologies that perpetuate anti-Black oppression. We also commit to employing our academic and creative expertise to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy racist and white supremacist systems. Specifically, we commit to teaching courses that robustly include and even center Black voices, perspectives, and experiences, to furnishing students with the linguistic tools they need to construct a more just and equitable society for all, and to restructuring our spaces—classrooms, offices, the Writing Center, events—such that they affirm the dignity of Black people. In making these commitments, we ask that students, alumni, and friends of the department hold us accountable.

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GameChangers

Patrice hutton helps baltimore students express themselves through creative writing, hutton founded writers in baltimore schools, an in-class program that has expanded to offer writers’ workshops, mini retreats, and a summer camp..

By Max Weiss | GameChangers 2023

The students also create zines, anthologies, and share some of their poetry on the back page of indie newspaper, the Baltimore Beat . We sat down with Hutton to discuss what she’s built.

Can you share some of the Writers in Baltimore Schools success stories? One of our alums, Bryonna Reed, graduated from Davidson College in the spring of 2020 and now she’s the new development director of the Baltimore Abortion Fund . Another one, Jamesha Caldwell, just finished her first year of law school at Penn State Dickinson. This girl got like 10 law school acceptances and this summer she’s interning for Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett on Capitol Hill. We have another kid, one from the very first workshop, who has become really big in the Baltimore drag scene. He’s performing all over. We have alumni doing some really cool stuff.

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The Village

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CityLit invites local, regional and state-wide organizations that serve readers and writers to display their information at our signature events and on our website.

We realize how many of you — individuals and organizations … bookstores, entrepreneurs, reading series, and more — are doing your level best to provide services, information, and opportunities to grow and enhance the lives of poets and writers.

This is the Village.

CityLit displays information from The Village organizations and their services to the literary community at our:

• Day-long CityLit Festival
• Three-day CityLit Stage
• CityLit Studio, where emerging and established writers convene

Let our audiences know about what you do, your mission, purpose and who you are. We will provide tables designated for your materials, and in some cases, your presence, as dictated by you and your availability. If you’d like to assign someone from your group to make a more meaningful connection, we have space for that, too. This is what we consider a Village concept.

Celebrate our literary scene

Explore and attend any of our events!

The Village Directory

Artists U is an artist-run incubator for building sustainable lives. We offer workshops, conversations, and one-on-one planning sessions. All of our programs are free and open source. clarity + community = power www.artistsu.org

A Revolutionary Summer

A Revolutionary Summer is an intensive critical reading and writing program dedicated to shifting harmful narratives about Black women and girls through literature, art, and self-inquiry. www.arevolutionarysummer.com

The Baltimore Review

The Baltimore Review, founded in 1996, is a literary journal publishing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The journal publishes quarterly online issues as well as an annual print compilation. baltimorereview.org

Doerr & Co.

Our mission is to create a clear and cohesive written narrative for brands and organizations that is clearly linked to their mission and vision to create a better world. We provide strategy, storytelling, and social impact services to help them do elevate their written content to the level of thought leadership. www.doerrandco.com   |  www.elizabethdoerr.com

Furious Flower Poetry Center The Fight & The Fiddle (journal)

The Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University is the nation’s oldest academic center dedicated to the study of Black poetry. We host readings, workshops, seminars, a decennial conference, and the online journal,  The Fight & The Fiddle , all focused on celebrating Black literary contributions and history. www.jmu.edu/furiousflower www.fightandfiddle.com

Howard County Poetry & Literature Society

Founded in 1974, HoCoPoLitSo is a community-based not-for-profit arts organization that produces live and recorded readings and other literary events for the general public, including students, seniors, and inclusive audiences. www.HoCoPoLitSo.org

Iceland Readers Retreat

The Iceland Readers Retreat offers lectures and talks by renowned authors while we learn about the rich literary heritage of this book-loving nation. Our 2020 event features award-winning writer Adam Gopnik. www.icelandwritersretreat.com/about-the-retreat

Libraries Without Borders

Libraries Without Borders is a non-profit organization that believes that regardless of circumstances, people should have equal access to information and life enhancing resources. www.librarieswithoutborders.us

Maryland Writers’ Association

The Maryland Writers’ Association (MWA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit association of writers at all levels dedicated to supporting the art, business, and craft of writing in all its forms. www.marylandwriters.org

Mason Creative Writing

Mason Creative Writing is a fine arts program and literary arts community based at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. In addition to graduate and undergraduate degree programs, Mason Creative Writing includes the Fall for the Book literary festival, Stillhouse Press, Poetry Daily, the New Leaves Writers’ Conference, and the literary journals phoebe and So To Speak. www.creativewriting.gmu.edu

Midwest Writing and Editing

We help creative business owners write better content in less time without the overwhelm. www.midwestwriting.com

The Modell Lyric

The mission of the Modell Lyric education program is to provide quality arts education opportunities for middle and high school students in the Greater Baltimore region. Our theater and digital storytelling curricula support the voice, agency, and creativity of youth while cultivating their participation in the arts as audience members. modell-lyric.com/education

Passager is a nonprofit literary journal and press dedicated to writers over age 50. Our mission is to empower the imagination in older people by giving a forum for expression in publications that are distinctive and beautiful. passagerbooks.com

Pen Parentis

A nonprofit that helps writers stay on creative track after they start a family. penparentis.org

Poe Baltimore, The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum

Poe Baltimore was created to fund and maintain the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Poe House os open to visitors to Baltimore throughout the year, as well as offering virtual tours online. PoeBaltimore.org

The Poet & The Poem from The Library of Congress

“The Poet and the Poem" is an ongoing series for public radio, 30-minute programs, featuring poets reading work and sharing their craft, now available on podcasts and iTunes. 2021 is the 43rd consecutive year on-air without interruption. gracecavalieri.com

The Inner Loop

A literary reading series and network for creative writers in the DC/Baltimore area. www.theinnerlooplit.org

Writers & Words

Writers & Words is a Baltimore reading series that features four readers each month, one in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and the genre-defying “wild card” category which in the past has included a playwright, a scientist, and a children’s book author (and everything in between). Writers & Words’ mission is to connect writers to other writers in the Baltimore literary community and beyond. www.writersandwords.net

Yellow Arrow Publishing

Yellow Arrow is a Baltimore-based nonprofit supporting women writers. www.yellowarrowpublishing.com

Zora’s Den

A community of Black women writers that offers social engagement, support and encouragement. In Our Own Words is a reading series that further celebrates prominent and rising Black, female voices. www.facebook.com/ZorasDen

JOIN THE VILLAGE

If you’d like to join The Village, submit your request using this form:

Organization Name*: (Your group, reading series, journal, service, etc.)

Describe your organization in one or two sentences*:

I am interested in: Displaying information (only) Displaying information AND having someone present CityLit Event Participitation: CityLit Festival (one day) CityLit Stage (three days) CityLit Studio (where emerging and established writers convene) Upload your organization's logo: *When you sign up to join The Village, you are also added to our mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Steven Leyva, CityLit Project Board Member , Assistant Professor, University of Baltimore

• Back to Hood.edu

Steven Leyva | Guest Writer for MFA Program

Hood’s creative writing MFA program welcomes Steven Leyva as guest writer for June 2024 residency.

• Creative Writing (MFA)
• English & Communication Arts
• Graduate School

Steven Leyva is a Baltimore-based poet and professor. He is the author of Low Parish and The Understudy’s Handbook , which won the Jean Feldman Poetry Prize. His latest collection, The Opposite of Cruelty , is forthcoming from Blair Publishing in spring 2025. Leyva earned his MFA from the University of Baltimore, where he is currently an associate professor in the Klein Family School of Communications Design.

Leyva will serve as a guest writer for the inaugural summer residency of the creative writing MFA program at Hood College. In the conversation below, Leyva discusses his new collection, the relationship between anime and poetry, and how MFA programs build transferable skills for students.

When did you first become interested in writing and what sparked your passion for poetry?

During my junior year in undergrad, my closest friend switched majors from theater to English/creative writing. He asked me if I’d consider writing some poems, so he would have at least one person to talk with about poetry. I gave it a shot and never looked back. Which is to say, I was relatively late to the party. So, for me, poetry and my passion for it have always been connected to friendship and community.

What inspired your forthcoming collection, The Opposite of Cruelty ?

I wrote some of the foundational poems in The Opposite of Cruelty during the early months of COVID quarantine—a Crown of Sonnets called “Halo,” an invocation made of false starts, a few self-portraits. In those poems, there seemed to be a question arising, “What is the opposite of cruelty?” The book and the other poems try to answer that question in small and larger ways.   

How does your love of anime and comic books influence your writing and scholarship?

Well, for one, it means I don’t really compartmentalize my life. I write scholarship about my hobbies. I let comic book characters populate my poems, and I let comic theory shape my poetics and aesthetics about how poems are shaped on the page. The stanza and the comic book panel aren’t that different.

What are your plans and hopes for your time as a guest writer at the low-res MFA program at Hood College?

I hope that I can make it an inch easier for the poets and writers there to remain curious about their creative process and the artifacts they are writing.

What do you see as the benefits of the low-residency model?

This is a difficult question to answer, but I think the benefits of the low-res model are permutations of the more general benefits of an MFA. This model provides a way to organize a person’s time around some intensive learning and writing experiences—it sort of squeezes the accordion of apprenticeship to fit a certain sensibility and to sound a certain useful “note.” Low-res does allow for a community from across many different regions, which does an interesting thing to a group’s sense of place and placemaking.

How do you think students can leverage their creative talents into professional careers?

Creative writers are often skilled problem solvers, and because the art of writing involves how you engage an audience, they are often decent at communicating creative solutions to old problems. That’s a transferable skill and one that can apply to many different professions. There are others as well. Revising, giving feedback, receiving feedback, developing a sustainable process of making—all those skills are invaluable in various professions. So, I’d say that students should be just as creative in thinking about what and how an MFA builds transferable skills as they are about how to invent new poetic forms, or how to resolve a conflict with the protagonist, or which voice works best for which genre.

Learn more about Hood’s new low-residency MFA in creative writing here .

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Young Writers' Camp

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Young Writers' Camp 10-day

Young Writers’ Camp is a 10-day summer program designed to inspire creative thinking and promote a love of writing. Campers will experiment with different kinds of writing for a variety of audiences and purposes.

San Diego Area Writing Project teachers share the belief that writing is a process. Young Writers’ Camp engages students in that process and allows them to discover their own style, voice and potential and nurture joy in their writing. Our goal is that each young writer, regardless of skill level, has the time and space to experiment in a variety of genres while developing creativity and confidence. Students of any writing ability are invited to participate in Young Writers’ Camp. 

Grades 3-9 Fall 2024 (Classes will be grouped with grade level bands: 3-5, 5-7, 7-9) Dates: July 8-19, 2024 (10 days) Time: 8:30am-12:00pm Cost: $500 Register Now: ucsdywc.eventbrite.com

Young writers will:

• build self-confidence and fluency as writers
• write in a relaxed community environment designed to inspire creativity
• receive individual attention in small groups from SDAWP credentialed writing teachers
• engage in process writing —drafting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing
• make new friends and write and share with other young writers

What previous campers have said...

• "At camp I learned to show instead of tell. At first I thought it was hard, but now it's easy." (Grade 3)
• "I learned to use my sensory writing details like what I see, smell, taste, feel, and what I hear, to make the story more interesting." (Grade 4)
• "At camp I learned to put more detail in giving feedback. I also learned what blackout poetry is." (Grade 5)
• "My favorite part of camp was sharing writing with others and using the beautiful outdoor spaces at UCSD during our daily writing time." (Grade 8)
• "I learned to expand my vocabulary, match my writing pace with my thoughts. I also learned many new ways to write." (Grade 7)
• "My favorite part was everything! I was extremely surprised but I really enjoyed it, and I will definitely be doing it next year." (Grade 9)

What parents have said...

• "Before she started this camp she did not like writing much because she had no idea what to write without help. Only two weeks yet she feels different towards writing. She is able to express herself in writing much better."
• "He would always tell us stories at dinner about camp! His enthusiasm for writing grew. He felt like he could do anything —empowering."
• "All of my girls LOVE to write and the camp was enriching and allowed them to tap into their creativity and learn new skills. They came home everyday telling us how awesome it was."
• "He was very hesitant about doing a writing camp. I can confidently say by the end of his 10 days at camp he has grown confident and enjoyed writing camp. He has learned new ways to write. Thank you for making this camp fun for him."

Register Now

Young Writers Camp 10-day @ UC San Diego July 8-19 8:30-12:00pm

Click here to register: ucsdywc.eventbrite.com

• Young Writers in Nature
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• Young Writers' Camp 5 day

Informal Creative Writing for Adults

Upcoming dates

• Monday, April 15, 2024, 4 - 5 PM
• Monday, April 22, 2024, 4 - 5 PM
• Monday, April 29, 2024, 4 - 5 PM

This is an informal  creative writing workshop for adults . Writing prompts will be provided at the beginning of the 1 hour program to help your ideas to flow. But you may start writing with your own prompt or own creative idea(s). This will be a space for all writing levels to come together to peacefully write and share ideas, ask for feedback, etc. Writing materials will be provided. Please be aware this is not an instructional program. Please view flyer for more information. Thank you.

• Audience: Adults, 50+

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Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships

Graduate fellowships and teaching assistantships.

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Teaching Assistantships

First-year students are eligible to apply for a Klein Family School of Communication Design (KFSCD) teaching aide position. Students receiving this award will receive a nominal stipend to assist a professor with a KFSCD undergraduate class. This part-time position does not offer tuition remission.

Students will gain hands-on experience in:

• developing syllabi and materials
• mentoring students
• teaching classes (or parts of classes)
• evaluating student work.

Students in their second and third year who have successfully completed CWPA 761 Teaching Writing are eligible to apply for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) in the  University Writing Program . In exchange for a tuition waiver and a small stipend, each GTA will teach two sections of WRIT 101 or WRIT 200 per semester. Students apply in the spring for a position in the following fall semester.

(pictured l. to r.): 2016-17 graduate assistants John Tobin, Gary Sieck and Frank Caputo

For more information on graduate teaching assistantships and fellowships in the  M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts  program, contact Betsy Boyd , program director, at [email protected] .

Graduate Fellowships

2016 Michael F. Klein Fellowship in Creative Writing & Social Justice

Michael F. Klein, a 1976 graduate of the University of Baltimore, has established and funded a fellowship award that promotes an awareness of social justice through creative writing and also provides the winner an opportunity to gain teaching experience. The fellowship was awarded to two students whose writing demonstrated artistic merit and a strong interest in the pursuit of social justice.

The 2017 Creative Writing & Social Justice recipients are poet Jalynn Harris and memoirist Kimberly Uslin (pictured below with Michael F. Klein).

(pictured l. to r.): Kimberly Uslin, Michael F. Klein and Jalynn Harris

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