Emerson’s Creative Writing (MFA) program focuses on the practice of writing and its literary foundations and is one of the longest-running programs of its kind.

We know writing is your life. That’s why our Creative Writing (MFA) focuses on the actual practice of writing, as well as its literary foundations. Our MFA program boasts some of the most impressive faculty in writing and publishing, is home to two award-winning literary journals and is strongly connected to the Boston publishing community.

Focus on your passion, choosing from the areas of literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and explore writing as both an art form and a professional pursuit.

Find your inner voice and tell your story. With exceptional writing opportunities available at your fingertips, by the time you graduate you will have completed a professional thesis, a novel or novel excerpt, a nonfiction book or excerpt, or a collection of poems, short stories, or essays—ready for consideration by agents and publishing houses or for digital publication.

Program highlights include:

• Focus on your genre of choice: poetry, nonfiction, or fiction
• Develop your literary voice and explore the history and context of your chosen genre
• Explore different forms of writing through your electives, including fiction to nonfiction, poetry to screenwriting, digital to traditional publishing, and more
• Experiences outside of the classroom include teaching creative writing in our Writing Studies Program and editing journals such as Ploughshares and Redivider
• No GRE requirements to apply
• Full-time and part-time options and classes are offered evenings and nights to fit your schedule

Faculty

As one of the longest-running creative writing MFA programs in the country, our Writing, Literature, and Publishing Department has attracted an industry-active faculty that offers a diverse range of perspectives and expertise.

Our creative writing faculty are all actively writing and publishing in their respective genres. Recent faculty accolades include:

• Pulitzer Prize in Biography and Memoir
• Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
• Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Arts
• Fiction Honors from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association
• Massachusetts Book Award in Nonfiction

Emerson Advantages

Emerson College offers everything aspiring writers need to hone their talents and refine their craft in a world-class city brimming with professional and artistic opportunities. We allow you to pursue your interests in teaching, editing, interning, or showcasing your own work.

• Writing Studies Program
  The Writing Studies Program provides you with opportunities to mentor, teach and train undergraduate Emerson writing students.
• Ploughshares
  Ploughshares is an award-winning literary journal offering exclusive job opportunities to Emerson writing students in editorial, marketing, production, and design.
• Redivider
  Redivider is an award-winning literary journal produced by graduate students in the Creative Writing and Publishing and Writing programs. You can gain editing experience, publish your own work, and collaborate with other writers.
• emersonWRITES
  emersonWRITES is a creative writing program offering free college-style workshops to students grades 8-12 enrolled in a Greater Boston public or charter school. Classes are taught by Emerson’s Creative Writing and Writing and Publishing graduate students.

Alumni

Our Alumni have gone on to establish successful writing careers, publishing work ranging from poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and more. Recent alumni who have gone on to publish their work include:

• Ciera Burch ’20, The Inevitability of Home (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
• Madeline Sneed ’20, The Light of West Texas (HarperCollins)
• Stephanie Wrobel ’19, The Recovery of Rose Gold (Penguin Random House)
• Noe Alvarez ’17, Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land (Catapult)
• Brionne Janae ’15, Blessed Are The Peacemakers (Northwestern University Press)
• Amber McBride, Me (Moth) (Macmillan)