Shows
MFA WritersRone Shavers — Application Series — MFA vs. PhD RereleaseRone Shavers joins Jared for our annual application episode to discuss the differences between MFA and PhD applications and programs. Rone and Jared talk about how to choose the right program, put together the best application, and get the most out of your time in a program. Before that, they discuss Rone’s “funky” novel Silverfish and how getting over the pressure of making a commercially viable book allowed him to write the book he wanted to write.Rone Shavers is the director of the creative writing program at The University of Utah, which offers both an MFA an...
2025-11-1847 minMFA WritersSpencer Robert Young — University of IdahoSpencer Robert Young sits down with Jared to talk about their path from punk music concertgoer to writing a chamber opera. Plus, Spencer and Jared discuss pattern and rupture in poetry, the pros and cons of staying in academia versus taking time off, the beauty and collaboration of editing, and life in Moscow, Idaho.Spencer Robert Young (they/them) is a poet, essayist, and editor. They write about embodiment, punk music, queerness, climate change, and good books. Spencer holds an MA in Creative Writing and Literature from Kansas State University and an MFA in Poetry from the...
2025-10-0750 minMFA WritersRone Shavers — Application Series — MFA vs. PhDRone Shavers joins Jared for our annual application episode to discuss the differences between MFA and PhD applications and programs. Rone and Jared talk about how to choose the right program, put together the best application, and get the most out of your time in a program. Before that, they discuss Rone’s “funky” novel Silverfish and how getting over the pressure of making a commercially viable book allowed him to write the book he wanted to write.
Rone Shavers is the director of the creative writing program at The University of Utah, which offers both an MFA an...
2024-11-0547 minMFA WritersRerelease: Rachelle Toarmino — UMass AmherstThe podcast team is on vacation! In the meantime, we invite you to listen to one of our favorite episodes from Season 3. Wishing you all a great summer, friends.
As the editor-in-chief of Peach Mag, Rachelle Toarmino is consistently focused on the work of others. She chats with Jared about her own writing career, including finding and using playfulness in her poetry, coping with MFA faculty turnover through collective cohort support, and how learning a second language opened her mind to poetic craft.
Rachelle Toarmino is a poet, editor, and educator from Niagara Falls, New...
2024-06-0445 minMFA WritersEric Larsh — Portland State UniversityIt’s the Season 4 finale! On this episode, Eric Larsh tells Jared about writing into obsessions, whether he’s focusing exclusively on sonnets or, for the last two years, diving into a long poem about the Mojave Desert. Eric also discusses how his music compositions and editorship at Portland Review inform his poetry, deciding between a graduate degree in rhetoric or creative writing, and Portland State’s built-in opportunities to connect with faculty and visiting writers.
Eric Larsh is a writer, bookseller, and musician living in Portland, Oregon. He is currently serving as Editor in Chief at Portla...
2024-05-2144 minMFA WritersMax Delsohn — Syracuse UniversityFormer stand-up comedian Max Delsohn sits down with Jared to talk about how humor and detailed line-level revision show up in his work for the stage and the page. Plus, he discusses a pleasure-forward writing process, switching MFA programs after the first year, and his experiences with big-name faculty like George Saunders and Mary Karr.
Max Delsohn is a third-year MFA candidate in fiction at Syracuse University. His writing appears in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, VICE, Joyland, The Rumpus, Passages North, Nat. Brut, and the essay anthology Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games, edited by J. Robert Lennon...
2024-05-0755 minMFA WritersAbhijit Sarmah — University of GeorgiaWhat’s involved in an English PhD with a creative dissertation? Abhijit Sarmah tells Jared about how this path allows him to pursue his research on global indigenous literatures while continuing to craft poetry on identity and insurgency in Assam, India. Abhijit also discusses postmemory, or the memories we inherit from earlier generations, writing about your homeland when you live far from it, and the strong literary scene in Athens, Georgia.
Abhijit Sarmah is a poet and a researcher of Indigenous literatures with particular focus on Native American women writers and writings from the Northeast of India. Cu...
2024-04-2336 minMFA WritersSam Herschel Wein — University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleOn this episode, Sam Herschel Wein tells Jared about their path to finding poetry outside of academia, co-founding and editing Underblong, and their approach to collaboration and humor in their writing. Plus, they discuss the nuances of MFA program decisions (Two or three years? English or Art departments?) and whether creative writing should live within institutions of higher education at all.
Sam Herschel Wein (he/they) is a lollygagging plum of a poet who specializes in perpetual frolicking. They have an MFA from the University of Tennessee (2021-2023) and were the recipient of a 2022 Pushcart Prize. They...
2024-04-0959 minMFA WritersRerelease: Gina Chung — Debut Author Series — Sea ChangeThe podcast team is on spring break, giving us (and you) the perfect opportunity to revisit an episode we love. In celebration of her new short story collection, GREEN FROG, we invite you into this conversation with Gina Chung who spoke to Jared last season about her debut novel, SEA CHANGE.
Gina Chung, debut author of the speculative novel SEA CHANGE, tells Jared how the book began with a writing prompt in her MFA program and how her fellow students encouraged her to turn it into a novel. She and Jared discuss how her experience in publishing...
2024-03-2648 minMFA WritersDeborah Jackson Taffa — Faculty Series — Institute of American Indian ArtsMemoirist and director of the Institute of American Indian Arts MFA program Deborah Jackson Taffa talks to Jared about her new book, Whiskey Tender. Deborah shares how memoir writing is a form of familial and historical preservation, and offers advice on having difficult conversations with the real people who appear in our creative nonfiction. Plus, she discusses the value of the low-res IAIA program for both indigenous and non-indigenous writers, offers strategies for sustaining creative energy, and describes methods to avoid falling into a common misstep for MFA students: social comparison.
A citizen of the Quechan (Yuma...
2024-03-1255 minMFA WritersJamie Li — Vermont College of Fine ArtsDrawing from her decade-long career in Silicon Valley, Jamie Li tells Jared about writing tech satire that struck her MFA colleagues as far-fetched and her tech friends as totally realistic. Plus, Jamie talks about how her background as a Chinese immigrant and the model minority myth shape her interest in writing about in-group/out-group behaviors, and her attraction to VCFA’s emphasis on experimental and cross-genre writing.
Jamie Li is a Southern California-based fiction writer and product marketer. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and is pursuing her MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He...
2024-02-2743 minMFA WritersRerelease: Luna Adler — Brooklyn CollegeThe podcast team has been busy at the annual AWP conference, so we’re bringing you a rerelease of a great conversation from Season 2. A new episode will be in your feed in two weeks.
Luna Adler talks to Jared about moving between fiction and non-fiction, Brooklyn College’s unique novel-writing workshop aimed at accommodating the long form, the tension between a slow revision process and rapid MFA deadlines, and the benefit in recording one’s writing time while allowing grace for a broad definition of writing time that may or may not include thinking time.
Luna...
2024-02-1359 minMFA WritersKate Brody — Debut Author Series — Rabbit HoleKate Brody, debut author of the literary thriller RABBIT HOLE, sits down with Jared to talk about crafting a true crime novel that focuses on the victim’s family. Drawing from her own experiences with publishing, she also offers advice for choosing an agent, pivoting if your book doesn’t sell, and marketing your work. Finally, she shares the most memorable pieces of advice from her own MFA teachers, including Mary Gaitskill, E.L. Doctorow, and Amy Hempel.
Kate Brody holds an MFA from NYU and her work has been published or is forthcoming in The New...
2024-01-3049 minMFA WritersNoah Evan Wilson — Rutgers University-NewarkNoah Evan Wilson spent ten years finishing his undergraduate degree while developing as a musician and a photographer. On this episode, he talks with Jared about how that decade of experiences animates his current writing, how the craft of music and photography overlaps with and informs his fiction, and how the MFA has provided him the opportunity to experience college in a way he wasn’t able to before.
Noah Evan Wilson is a writer and musician based in New York City, and a second-year MFA candidate at Rutgers University-Newark, in the fiction track. His short stories ha...
2024-01-1643 minMFA WritersRerelease: Kayla Cayasso — University of Central FloridaHappy New Year from the pod team! We’re ringing in 2024 with a vacation, so enjoy this episode from our last season. Regular programming will resume in two weeks.
What’s it like writing historical fiction in an MFA program? On this episode, Kayla Cayasso tells Jared about the family histories and archival research that informed her collection portraying families affected by generational trauma. She also talks about the unique role of Florida in Southern literature, the advantages of multi-genre workshops, and the importance of Black and Brown representation in literature.
Kayla Cayasso is an Afro...
2024-01-0254 minMFA WritersSarah Ann Noel — NYU Writers Workshop in ParisWhen she became a mother, Sarah Ann Noel turned to autofiction as a way to process her own childhood. In this episode, she sits down with Jared to share how those reflections became a novel about teenagers growing up in a high-control Evangelical environment. Plus, she talks about shifting from magazine editing to creative writing, attending jet-lagged residencies in Paris, and getting feedback on her work from her literary heroes.
Sarah Ann Noel is a writer and editor of fiction and non-fiction. She holds an MFA from NYU’s Writers Workshop in Paris. Her first short story wi...
2023-12-1945 minMFA WritersMatt Farley — Miami University (of Ohio)Finance proofreader turned full-time poet Matt Farley joins Jared to share how his transition out of the corporate world affects his perspective on his MFA program and future career. Plus, Matt talks about his manuscript on mycology and post-traumatic growth, becoming a parent during the MFA, setting up a thesis committee, and Miami University’s emphasis on play, practice, and experimental learning.
Matt Farley is a queer poet, activist, and multimedia artist from Ohio. He is currently studying to earn his MFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His work explores liminality, queer identity, family, and shame. He...
2023-12-0544 minMFA WritersRerelease: Jonathan Escoffery — Debut Author Series — If I Survive YouDuring this season of gratitude, we are grateful for all of you, dear listeners, writers, and friends. We’re also grateful for a university-sponsored break from our laptops. So, as we take a pause from the screens, we hope you enjoy one of our favorites from Season 3. We’ll be back to our regular programming in two weeks.
Jonathan Escoffery, author of the highly acclaimed debut collection If I Survive You, sits down with Jared to discuss how this book grew out of his MFA writing sample and how he plays with form while exploring “the unsolvable proble...
2023-11-2152 minMFA WritersKrista Diamond — University of Nevada, Las VegasThis week, an MFA with an international focus! Krista Diamond sits down with Jared to talk about UNLV’s required (and funded) study abroad component and its emphasis on translation. Plus, Krista shares lessons learned as a freelance writer, info on the Vegas literary community, and how her experience working and living in national parks informs her fiction and nonfiction alike.
Krista Diamond is a Las Vegas based writer whose work has appeared in or is forthcoming in The New York Times, Longreads, Hazlitt, Catapult, Electric Literature, Joyland, and elsewhere. Her writing has been supported by Tin Ho...
2023-11-0756 minMFA WritersJess Silfa — Application Series — MFA DraftHappy MFA Application Season to all who celebrate! Jess Silfa returns to the show bringing seven years of experience with the MFA Draft Facebook Group. On this episode, Jess and Jared offer advice for applicants across a wide range of topics: teaching, funding, health insurance, fees, faculty, letters of recommendation, writing samples, statements of purpose, negotiations, timelines, and more. Good luck, friends.
Jess Silfa is a writer and poet from the South Bronx. They hold an MFA from Vanderbilt University in Creative Writing (Fiction) and are currently pursuing their Ph.D. in Creative Writing at the University...
2023-10-241h 20MFA WritersRerelease: Lindsay Bernal — Application Series Admissions Coordinator EditionSpooky season? More like application season! To help ease your fright, we've got our annual MFA application episode in preparation. Before then, we invite you to check in with last year's episode featuring MFA Admissions Coordinator Lindsay Bernal. Our new episode will be in your feed in two weeks.
It’s the third annual MFA application episode! This time, Jared is joined by Lindsay Bernal, poet and Academic Coordinator for the MFA program at the University of Maryland. She answers listener questions (starting at 27:15), including: What makes a personal statement good? Should I submit similar or varied po...
2023-10-1049 minMFA WritersBrandon Blue — Arizona State UniversityPoetic forms are sometimes considered limiting, but can we find freedom within the constraints? On this episode, Brandon Blue tells Jared about how recontextualizing traditional forms through the lens of identity creates an additional, sometimes subversive, layer of meaning. Plus, he discusses writing about intimacy and eroticism within and outside of sexual relationships; how he decided to pursue an MFA after teaching middle and high school for seven years; and the importance of advocating for your needs and goals in an MFA program, writing community, and career.
Brandon Blue is a black, queer poet, educator and MFA...
2023-09-2648 minMFA WritersJess Silfa — Vanderbilt UniversityWhat can you learn from a veteran of two MFA programs and an admin of the MFA Draft Facebook page? A lot! Jess Silfa joins Jared to talk about how living in New York, growing up in a Caribbean oral storytelling tradition, and being disabled has influenced their writing. They also discuss their decision to leave one MFA program for another, explain what makes Nashville a surprisingly supportive community, and offer advice for disabled applicants.
Jess Silfa is a writer and poet from the South Bronx. They hold an MFA from Vanderbilt University in Creative Writing (Fiction) a...
2023-09-1251 minMFA WritersRoss Gay — Faculty Series — Indiana University BloomingtonPoet, essayist, and Professor Ross Gay talks to Jared about his new book, The Book of (More) Delights. Together, they discuss how social connection evokes joy, grief, humility, and heartbreak, and the value of practicing radical empathy in our writing and our daily lives. Plus, they talk about Ross’s approach to the creative writing classroom, a space he conceives of as generative, experimental, and cooperative. Finally, he offers advice for students and emerging writers.
Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN Am...
2023-08-2957 minMFA WritersRerelease: Bryan Byrdlong — Helen Zell Writers' Program, University of MichiganThe pod team is wrapping up our summer vacation. In the meantime, we’re rereleasing one of our favorite episodes from our first season. We’ll be back with new and exciting episodes in two weeks.
How is the zombie of Haitian folklore a poetic metaphor for how society treats Blackness? Bryan Byrdlong of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan tells Jared about his project on the traditional and modern conceptualization of zombies, whether poetry can transcend fake news, and how his MFA program gave him an inner editorial voice.
Bryan Byrdlon...
2023-08-1555 minMFA WritersRerelease: Alejandro Puyana — Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas at AustinThe pod team is on summer vacation! While we rest, recharge, and record some fabulous Season 4 episodes, we hope you enjoy this rerelease from our first season.
With political and social unrest rocking his home country of Venezuela, Alejandro Puyana turned to writing as a way to process. He applied to MFA programs four times before landing an acceptance at the Michener Center for Writers. Now, you can read his work in The Best American Short Stories anthology for 2020. Alejandro and Jared talk rejection, revision, and reimagining the world through fiction.
Alejandro Puyana is a second-year fellow at the Michener C...
2023-08-011h 01MFA WritersAmanda E. Scott — Western Michigan UniversityProse encompasses fiction and nonfiction, but how does the genre affect our process? On this episode, Amanda Scott discusses her “fragmented” approach to the page both across genres and with hybrid techniques. Plus, she discusses how diverse family backgrounds have shaped her identity and writing, as well as how her background in technical communication and her editorial experience informs her current PhD work. Finally, Amanda and Jared chat about the thriving literary scene in Kalamazoo and the challenges and rewards of being a student after spending years as an instructor.
Originally from Houston, Amanda E. Scott is a La...
2023-07-1843 minMFA WritersKayla Cayasso — University of Central FloridaWhat’s it like writing historical fiction in an MFA program? On this episode, Kayla Cayasso tells Jared about the family histories and archival research that informed her collection portraying families affected by generational trauma. She also talks about the unique role of Florida in Southern literature, the advantages of multi-genre workshops, and the importance of Black and Brown representation in literature.
Kayla Cayasso is an Afro-Latina writer and poet from North Florida. She is a recipient of the 2012 Hollins Creative Writing Book Award, the Florida A&M University Graduate Feeder Fellowship, and placed first in Fiction in...
2023-06-2055 minMFA WritersNeil Griffin — University of VictoriaMFA Writers is going to Canada! Neil Griffin, wildlife biologist turned poet and essayist, tells Jared about how both ecology and writing require patience, openness, and vision. Plus, Neil talks about whether “creative nonfiction" is a useful label, the pros and cons of a small program, and UVic’s emphasis on training students in creative writing pedagogy.
Neil Griffin is a poet, essayist, and former wildlife biologist. A former finalist for CBC's Poetry Prize and multiple Alberta Magazine Awards, his writing has appeared throughout Canada and Western Europe. He's an MFA student at the University of Victoria, work...
2023-06-0654 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! Maurice Carlos Ruffin — The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love YouMaurice Carlos Ruffin, author and faculty member at two MFA programs, joins Jared for this special episode about Maurice’s multi-year journey from corporate lawyer to professional writer (with plenty of rejection in between), the role of a creative writing professor in guiding students’ work, and the criticality of retaining joy in our writing, despite the challenges of publication, deadlines, and stories that just aren’t working. Finally, Maurice offers advice on what makes someone a successful MFA student, and where emerging writers should devote their energy.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of The Ones Who Don’t...
2023-05-2341 minMFA WritersSuli Holum — Goddard CollegeWhat’s it like to pursue a low-residency MFA when you’re a collaborative playwright and performer? On this episode, Suli Holum describes devised work, partnerships between writers and actors, and how she created a piece based on her research in the oil fields of North Dakota. She and Jared also talk about the details of Goddard’s creative and craft assignments, and how students in this low-res program still get teaching experience.
Suli Holum is a Philadelphia-based director, performer, choreographer and playwright who recently graduated with an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Goddard College in Vermont where...
2023-05-0939 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! Gina Chung — Debut Author of SEA CHANGE
Gina Chung, debut author of the speculative novel SEA CHANGE, tells Jared how the book began with a writing prompt in her MFA program and how her fellow students encouraged her to turn it into a novel. She and Jared discuss how her experience in publishing shaped her understanding of the business of writing and the importance of a trusted writing community. Plus, Gina offers advice for making the most of your MFA experience.
Gina is a Korean American writer from New Jersey currently living in New York City. Her debut novel SEA CHANGE was...
2023-04-2548 minMFA WritersRerelease: Steven Duong — Iowa Writers’ WorkshopSchool's out for spring break! The pod team is resting and recharging this month, so we're bringing you one of our favorites from earlier this season. We'll be back with new episodes in two weeks.
Welcome to Season 3! It’s finally time to tackle the oldest and most famous MFA of them all: the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. On this episode, Steven Duong and Jared discuss whether Iowa lives up to its competitive stereotype, the challenges and freedoms of playing with writing conventions and constraints, and why he—a long-time poet—decided to pursue a fiction degree.
Steven...
2023-03-2850 minMFA WritersRerelease: Taylor Byas — University of CincinnatiThe podcast team is on spring break, so we're rereleasing one of our favorite episodes to celebrate Dr. Taylor Byas's successful defense of her dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Byas!
On the season 2 finale, Taylor Byas talks to Jared about how her fiction background helps her develop sharp images and accessible lines in her poetry while her poetic knowledge taught her to take more risks in her fiction. She also describes the value of a social media writing community (and how to build one), whether publishing success eliminates imposter syndrome (spoiler: it does not), and how her scholarly studies...
2023-03-1455 minMFA WritersErica Reid — Western Colorado UniversityPoetic constraints may feel limiting to some, but for others, they spark creativity. In this episode, Erica Reid discusses the freedom and discovery of poetic forms. Plus, she talks with Jared about returning to school 15 years after her undergraduate degree, attending a low-res program with a strong sense of community and a dedication to centering the writer in workshop, and how her experience working at a literary magazine shaped her understanding of rejection.
Erica Reid lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. She earned her MFA at Western Colorado University (‘22) and serves as assistant editor at THINK Journal. In 2022 sh...
2023-02-2849 minMFA WritersCaroline Catlin — Pacific UniversityOn this episode, Caroline Catlin talks about how her cancer diagnosis motivated a career change from social worker to nonfiction writer. She also describes how she pairs photography with writing, and how she found herself photographing death, grief, and loss. Plus, after transferring from one MFA program to another during the first year, she tells Jared about advice she has for other writers considering this option.
Caroline Catlin is a writer, photographer, and care worker who believes in the power and impact of shared truths. Her work has previously been published in The New York Times, Teen...
2023-02-1443 minMFA WritersEdward Daschle — University of MarylandIn a small program with a cohort of just three students, who you’re around makes a world of difference. On this episode, Edwards Daschle talks about finding a writing community, a welcoming environment to write both realism and fantasy, and inclusive workshops. Plus, he and Jared talk about mining our lives for stories, drumming up motivation to write, and what it’s like to get into an MFA on your fifth try.
Edward Daschle (he/him/his) is a second year creative writing MFA candidate studying fiction at the University of Maryland. He grew up in the...
2023-01-3149 minMFA WritersMary Kate McGrath — Boston UniversityMost MFA programs last 2-3 years, so what’s it like to earn this degree in just 1-1.5 years? Mary Kate McGrath describes the pros and cons of Boston University’s accelerated program. Plus, she and Jared discuss voice-driven fiction, coping with workshop anxiety, and wheelchair accessibility in literary spaces.
Mary Kate McGrath is a writer, journalist, and disability advocate from Massachusetts. She recently earned an MFA in fiction from Boston University. Her short fiction has appeared in The Florida Review, Booth, Phoebe Journal, and Tin House. Her short story "Gorgeous Vibrations" was nominated for a Pushcart Priz...
2023-01-1738 minMFA WritersRerelease: Chibuihe Obi Achimba — Brown UniversityThe podcast team is on winter break. Thanks for listening, friends. We wish you all a great end of the year. We'll be back with a new episode in two weeks.
Chibuihe Obi Achimba sits down with Jared to talk about the anguish and extreme joy of transferring a poem from imagination to language, using writing to explore the impacts and losses of modernization and civil war in his home country of Nigeria, and the necessary balance between encouraging independence and fostering community in an MFA program.
Chibuihe Obi Achimba grew up in southeastern Nigeria. H...
2022-12-201h 02MFA WritersKaitlyn Airy — University of VirginiaOn this episode, Kaitlyn Airy talks about how her experience as an adoptee shapes the themes of her work on abandonment, identity, and history. Plus, she and Jared discuss the benefits they have both reaped after taking breaks from their rigorous writing habits, and Kaitlyn describes how UVA students get to design and teach their own undergraduate creative writing class.
Kaitlyn Airy is a Korean American poet. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she was raised in the San Juan Archipelago off the coast of Washington State. In Spring 2020, her poem “Demilitarized Zone” was selected by Elizabeth Austen as the...
2022-12-0648 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! Jonathan Escoffery — Debut Author of If I Survive YouJonathan Escoffery, author of the highly acclaimed debut collection If I Survive You, sits down with Jared to discuss how this book grew out of his MFA writing sample and how he plays with form while exploring “the unsolvable problem of family.” A recent MFA graduate and current PhD student, Jonathan also offers advice for emerging writers and shares what it’s like to go on your first book tour.
Jonathan Escoffery is the author of the linked story collection, If I Survive You, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and an Indie National Bestseller. If I Surviv...
2022-11-2252 minMFA WritersNikki Lyssy — University of South FloridaOn this episode, Nikki Lyssy tells Jared about how, as a blind writer, she uses research to access the sighted world and fill her fiction with vivid imagery, while in her nonfiction, she explores her own experience with blindness and plays with ideas about which forms translate between braille and the page. Plus, Nikki talks about diversity and disability representation in young adult fiction, formal training in creative writing pedagogy, and support from faculty, friends, and family when she decided to change her thesis at the last minute.
Nikki Lyssy is a third-year MFA candidate at the...
2022-11-0851 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! Lindsay Bernal — MFA Applications Admissions Coordinator EditionIt’s the third annual MFA application episode! This time, Jared is joined by Lindsay Bernal, poet and Academic Coordinator for the MFA program at the University of Maryland. She answers listener questions (starting at 27:15), including: What makes a personal statement good? Should I submit similar or varied poems? How do I know whether a program is truly invested in anti-racist work? Plus, Lindsay describes her path to an MFA, taking time between degrees, and the pros and cons of academic jobs, including positions beyond the tenure track.
Lindsay Bernal was born and raised in Rochester, NY, an...
2022-10-2550 minMFA WritersRerelease: Special Episode! Gregory Spatz — MFA Applications Faculty EditionHappy MFA application season to all who observe! As you craft and revise your applications, here's last year's annual MFA application episode from a faculty member's perspective. We hope it provides you with insight, solace, and direction. The new (third annual) MFA application episode will be in your feed in two weeks.
The annual MFA application episode is back! This year, Jared is joined by Gregory Spatz, Professor and Program Director of the MFA program at Eastern Washington University, who explains what the application process looks like from a faculty member’s point of view. Answering listener qu...
2022-10-111h 01MFA WritersSean Dolan — Western Washington UniversityIt’s increasingly common for writers to get accepted in their second (or third) attempts at MFA applications. In this episode, Sean Dolan shares what he did differently his second time around that strengthened his application and landed him a spot in a fully-funded, genre-flexible program. Plus, he and Jared talk about how they return to the page even when it’s hard, the blurred line between autofiction and fiction, and, in Sean’s words, “the ephemeral experience of a short story.”
Sean Dolan is a fiction writer from Missouri. His work has appeared in Hobart, 805 Lit + Art, The L...
2022-09-2746 minMFA WritersEmily St. Martin — UC Riverside, Palm Desert Low-ResidencyCan you find a close community in a low-res program? Emily St. Martin, having met her best friends in her MFA, says absolutely yes. She joins Jared to talk about how her program has helped her craft her memoir-in-progress, the fear and reward of vulnerability in creative nonfiction, and how writing lets us acknowledge and redefine our pasts.
Emily St. Martin is an independent journalist based in Los Angeles, CA. She has written for the New York Times, InStyle Magazine, Cosmopolitan, VICE, Los Angeles Magazine, The Fix, The Hollywood Reporter, People and elsewhere, including for the Southern...
2022-09-1344 minMFA WritersRachelle Toarmino — UMass AmherstAs the editor-in-chief of Peach Mag, Rachelle Toarmino is consistently focused on the work of others. She chats with Jared about her own writing career, including finding and using playfulness in her poetry, coping with MFA faculty turnover through collective cohort support, and how learning a second language opened her mind to poetic craft.
Rachelle Toarmino is a poet, editor, and educator from Niagara Falls, New York. She is the author of the poetry collection That Ex (Big Lucks Books, 2020) and the chapbooks Comeback (Foundlings Press, 2021), Feel Royal (b l u s h, 2019), and Personal & Generic (PressBoardPress, 2016...
2022-08-3045 minMFA WritersSteven Duong — Iowa Writers’ WorkshopWelcome to Season 3! It’s finally time to tackle the oldest and most famous MFA of them all: the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. On this episode, Steven Duong and Jared discuss whether Iowa lives up to its competitive stereotype, the challenges and freedoms of playing with writing conventions and constraints, and why he—a long-time poet—decided to pursue a fiction degree.
Steven Duong is a writer from San Diego, California. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Watson Foundation, and the University of Iowa, and his poems, stories, and essays can be found...
2022-08-1650 minMFA WritersRerelease: George Saunders — Story ClubThis week, as the pod team enjoys the last of our vacation, we’ve got a rerelease of a special episode from Season 2 of the podcast: Jared's conversation with George Saunders. This episode is full of advice for emerging writers, especially those considering an MFA. We’ll be back in two weeks with an all-new episode, the first of Season 3.
MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.
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2022-08-0253 minMFA WritersRerelease: Adachioma Ezeano — University of KentuckyPod's out for summer! We wrapped up Season 2 on our last episode and are busy planning Season 3. In the meantime, enjoy one of our favorite episodes from this past season. We’ll be back in August with brand new episodes.
Jared talks to O. Henry Prize winner Adachioma Ezeano of the University of Kentucky about finding her love of literature through Nigerian novels and folktales, learning craft from strong women, and workshopping without the gag order in favor of Crystal Wilkinson’s wild card critique musings.
Adachioma Ezeano is a 2021 O. Henry Prize recipient. She is a...
2022-07-1939 min
MFA WritersTaylor Byas — University of CincinnatiOn the season 2 finale, Taylor Byas talks to Jared about how her fiction background helps her develop sharp images and accessible lines in her poetry while her poetic knowledge taught her to take more risks in her fiction. She also describes the value of a social media writing community (and how to build one), whether publishing success eliminates imposter syndrome (spoiler: it does not), and how her scholarly studies in her PhD program inform and enrich her creative work (and how to survive the comprehensive exam). MFA Writers will be back in your airwaves in August. Wishing you all...
2022-07-0555 minMFA WritersLuna Adler — Brooklyn CollegeLuna Adler talks to Jared about moving between fiction and non-fiction, Brooklyn College’s unique novel-writing workshop aimed at accommodating the long form, the tension between a slow revision process and rapid MFA deadlines, and the benefit in recording one’s writing time while allowing grace for a broad definition of writing time that may or may not include thinking time.
Luna Adler is a Brooklyn-based writer and illustrator. She’s currently an MFA candidate in fiction at Brooklyn College, where she was a recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. She is a fiction editor for The Brookl...
2022-06-2159 minMFA WritersTaylor Sklenar — Iowa State UniversityTaylor Sklenar of Iowa State University’s MFA in Creative Writing and the Environment talks with Jared about how growing up in a small town influenced his interests in chemistry and theatre, combining those interests in the MFA, and the myriad considerations that go into writing for the stage. Along the way, they talk about the many unique opportunities at ISU, including editing the Flyway Journal, running the Emerging Writers Reading Series, participating in political action through the EcoTheatre Lab, maintaining the Everett Casey Nature Reserve, and going on writer’s retreats to Lake Okoboji.
Taylor Sklenar is a...
2022-06-071h 01MFA WritersJames Craig Hartz Jr. — Oregon State UniversityOn this episode, James Craig Hartz Jr., a Combat Medic turned MFA graduate, tells Jared about flipping the traditional military homecoming story into one filled with resilience, hope, and hard-won healing. He also discusses the role of mythology in modern fiction, the criticality of OSU’s graduate student union for pay and benefits, and his experience of concentrated solitude and intentional boredom at a graduate student writing retreat in the Oregon woods.
James Craig Hartz Jr. earned his MFA in fiction from Oregon State University after serving four years in the US Army as a Combat Medic. Hi...
2022-05-241h 07MFA WritersSiloh Radovsky — UC San DiegoSiloh Radovsky sits down with Jared to talk about her path from anarchistic activism to experimental writing, the blurry line between fiction and nonfiction, and the joys and pains of teaching in an R1 institution.
Siloh Radovsky is a prose writer invested in the overlap between narrative and criticism. A recent graduate of the cross-genre MFA program at UC San Diego, she is currently at work on a collection of linked essays. Her essays, articles, and stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Entropy, [PANK], Sundae Theory, Teen Vogue, Inkwell, Alchemy, Identity Theory, and elsewhere. Siloh is...
2022-05-1057 minMFA WritersGauri Awasthi — McNeese State UniversityGauri Awasthi talks to Jared about how McNeese allowed her to earn an MA and MFA in three years, decolonizing the poetry cannon, and how she first found poems through Bhakti poetry, love poems to the divine.
Gauri Awasthi is an Indian poet and environmentalist who recently graduated with an MFA in poetry from McNeese State University. She has won awards from Sundress Academy For The Arts, Louisiana Office of Cultural Development, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and Kundiman. Her writing has been published in Quarterly West, Notre Dame Review, The Punch Magazine, The Wire, Buzzfeed, and others...
2022-04-2656 minMFA WritersRerelease: Vanessa Chan — The New SchoolJared's taking this week off to focus on finishing his thesis, so enjoy this rerelease with Vanessa Chan who recently signed a fabulous deal for two books, THE STORM WE MADE, and THE UGLIEST BABIES IN THE WORLD. Regular programming will resume in two weeks.
Do we write because we understand or do we write to reach understanding? Jared and Vanessa Chan of The New School unpack this question. Along the way, they discuss writing about home while living in a foreign country, the long arm of colonialism, and the pros and cons of studying in the...
2022-04-1250 minMFA WritersErin Slaughter — Florida State UniversityHow does a creative writing PhD compare to an MFA? Erin Slaughter talks to Jared about the focus on professionalization in her doctoral program at Florida State University compared to the exploration and experimentation she found as part of the inaugural cohort of the Western Kentucky University MFA program. Along the way, she discusses her many experiences in the publishing industry and offers advice for emerging writers to demystify the submission process.
Erin Slaughter is the author of A Manual for How to Love Us, short fiction forthcoming from Harper Perennial in 2023, and two books of poetry...
2022-03-291h 02MFA WritersChibuihe Obi Achimba — Brown UniversityChibuihe Obi Achimba sits down with Jared to talk about the anguish and extreme joy of transferring a poem from imagination to language, using writing to explore the impacts and losses of modernization and civil war in his home country of Nigeria, and the necessary balance between encouraging independence and fostering community in an MFA program.
Chibuihe Obi Achimba grew up in southeastern Nigeria. He's a poet and essayist completing his MFA in Poetry at Brown University. Chibuihe's writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The New York Times, The Paris Review, Harvard Review, Poet Lore, and...
2022-03-151h 01MFA WritersKatie M. Zeigler — St. Mary's College of CaliforniaOver the last ten years, Katie M. Zeigler filled out an MFA application six times and never submitted. Now in her second year at St. Mary’s College of California, she talks to Jared about pursuing her MFA 25 years after finishing her Masters, her program’s emphasis on the business of writing, and crafting a novel about caregiving, dementia, and the sandwich generation.
Katie M. Zeigler is a second-year Fiction student in the MFA program at St. Mary's College of California. Before the MFA, she got a BA and an MA in English Literature from Stanford University. Her...
2022-03-0156 minMFA WritersGabrielle Grace Hogan — The New Writers Project, University of Texas at AustinPoet Gabrielle Grace Hogan of the New Writers Project at the University of Texas at Austin talks with Jared about using images to find theme in poetry, giving ourselves permission to write about happiness, and improving lesbian representation in the literary world. Along the way, they break down the similarities and differences between the New Writers Project and its sister program, the Michener Center for Writers.
Gabrielle is a poet in her third and final year of the New Writers Project MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. She’s been published in the Academy of Am...
2022-02-1559 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! George Saunders — Story ClubJared sits down with author and Syracuse Professor George Saunders to discuss his advice for new and prospective MFA students, the value of trusting your writing intuition, the best (and worst) kind of workshop feedback, and how Saunders is creating community through discussions of craft, life, and process in his new project, Story Club.
George Saunders is the author of eleven books including Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Man Booker Prize, and most recently, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. He s...
2022-02-0153 minMFA WritersJason Rodriguez — School of the Art Institute of ChicagoWith a background in cinema, Jason Rodriguez of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago sits down with Jared to talk about how film influences his poetry. They unpack how Jason captures movement in visual poems, how the bombardment of media and pandemic isolation influence his work, and how he found an MFA program that allows him to investigate all areas of writing without confinement to a single track.
Jason Rodriguez is a second-year MFA in Writing student focusing on design, interactivity, and poetry at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He’s been a...
2022-01-1852 minMFA WritersLuke Larkin — University of MontanaLiterary fiction on Monday, pulp on Tuesday, YA on Wednesday, poetry on Thursday. Luke Larkin of the University of Montana tells Jared about crossing and mixing genres in a program with a literary pedigree, how queerness and Catholicism influence his writing, and surviving (and thriving!) in the natural beauty and long winters of Missoula.
Luke Larkin earned his BA in creative writing at the University of Montana before entering UM's MFA program, where he is a second-year fiction student and editor-in-chief of CutBank Magazine, the program's long-running literary magazine. While he studies fiction primarily, he also writes...
2021-12-0754 minMFA WritersKeely O’Connell — University of Alaska FairbanksSkiing to campus and living without running water may not be typical aspects of the MFA experience, but they are common at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. On this episode, Keely O’Connell tells Jared about her yurt-to-campus commute, writing nonfiction about wilderness experiences, and surviving comprehensive exams.
Keely O'Connell is a third-year MFA student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her focus is nonfiction. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Northwest Review, Hippocampus, and CRAFT.
This episode was requested by Shalini Singh. Thank you for listening, Shalini!
MFA Writers is ho...
2021-11-2357 minMFA WritersRerelease: Special Episode! Cady Vishniac — MFA ApplicationsAs we approach the first application deadlines of this MFA cycle, enjoy this rerelease to help you tackle questions such as: Should I get an MFA? What should I consider when applying? How can I strengthen my application? In this special episode, Jared is joined by Cady Vishniac, Editor-in-Chief of The Workshop and MFA graduate from The Ohio State University. Together, they address MFA applicants’ most common questions and concerns, like crafting a solid statement of purpose and finding a program that accommodates student parents.Cady Vishniac attended The Ohio State University as the first MFA student to...
2021-11-091h 22MFA WritersSpecial Episode! Gregory Spatz — MFA Applications Faculty EditionThe annual MFA application episode is back! This year, Jared is joined by Gregory Spatz, Professor and Program Director of the MFA program at Eastern Washington University, who explains what the application process looks like from a faculty member’s point of view. Answering listener questions, they discuss what to include (and avoid) in your personal statement, what makes a writing sample stand out, why to bother with an MFA at all, and more.
Gregory Spatz is the author of the collection of linked stories and novellas, What Could Be Saved, and of the novels Inukshuk, Fiddler’s Dr...
2021-10-261h 01MFA WritersAdachioma Ezeano — University of KentuckyJared talks to O. Henry Prize winner Adachioma Ezeano of the University of Kentucky about finding her love of literature through Nigerian novels and folktales, learning craft from strong women, and workshopping without the gag order in favor of Crystal Wilkinson’s wild card critique musings.
Adachioma Ezeano is a 2021 O. Henry Prize recipient. She is a second-year fiction candidate in the MFA program at University of Kentucky. She is an alum of Purple Hibiscus Workshop. Her fiction appears or is forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly, Flashback Fiction, Isele Magazine, Best Small Fictions 2020, and The Best Short Stories 2021. Sh...
2021-10-1240 minMFA WritersNatalie Warther — Bennington CollegeNatalie Warther of Bennington College talks to Jared about the potential of flash fiction to introduce literature to nonreaders, making the writer’s life work with a full-time job in advertising, and pursuing a dual-genre degree at her low-residency program.
Natalie Warther is a senior writer at 72andSunny and a recent M.F.A graduate from the low-residency program at Bennington College where she was a dual major in poetry and fiction. She is a prose reader for GASHER Journal and a recent finalist in the Smokelong Grand Micro Contest. Her most recent fiction has appeared in Ho...
2021-09-2850 minMFA WritersAshley Sojin Kim — University of FloridaJared and Ashley Sojin Kim of the University of Florida discuss learning about suppressed historic events through poetry, adding form restrictions to enhance the creative process, and networking with publishers at UF’s annual Visiting Editors weekend.
Ashley Sojin Kim received her MFA from the University of Florida and her BA from The Johns Hopkins University. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Literary Matters, Faultline Journal, RHINO Poetry, Spoon River Poetry Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, and elsewhere. Her honors and awards include a Pushcart Prize nomination and fellowships from Kundiman and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. Find...
2021-09-141h 01MFA WritersKatie Schorr — Hunter CollegeIn this episode, Jared talks with Katie Schorr of Hunter College about overcoming rejection and the failure to sell her first novel, finding her voice through the writing and revising process, and navigating the MFA while raising two kids.
Katie Schorr earned her MFA in Fiction from Hunter College. She’s written for McSweeney’s and Motherly and she has also written and performed one-person shows at the UCB Theater, Ars Nova, and Joe’s Pub. She is an audiobook narrator and the mother of two young children, both of whom wish her stories were scarier. Find her at...
2021-08-311h 01MFA WritersShreya Fadia — Indiana University BloomingtonWelcome to Season 2! Jared is joined by Shreya Fadia of Indiana University Bloomington to discuss incorporating genre elements in literary work, making a career change from law to writing, and how editing Indiana Review has helped Shreya cope with rejection.
Shreya Fadia is a third-year fiction candidate in the MFA program at Indiana University, where she currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Indiana Review. Her fiction appears or is forthcoming in Black Warrior Review, Cream City Review, and The Florida Review Online. Before beginning her MFA, she practiced law in New York City. She is originally from Mumbai...
2021-08-171h 01MFA WritersSpecial Episode! — Jared on Music at MidnightWith deep gratitude, we have reached the end of Season 1. The pod team is taking a little vacation and launching Season 2 in two weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this rebroadcast of Music at Midnight, a podcast published by Hobart's Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. You'll hear an interview between Jared (as interviewee!) and past guest Evan Fleischer (as interviewer!). They discuss MFA programs, what has surprised Jared about making this show, and graduate student unionization. Plus, Lily MacHugh reads an excerpt from a story.
Thank you for tuning into Season 1. Regular programming will return on August 17. Until then, take c...
2021-08-0319 minMFA WritersTarik Dobbs — University of MinnesotaDrawing attention to American and Israeli occupation in the Middle East, Tarik Dobbs of the University of Minnesota crafts experimental poetry based on extensive research and personal experience. Tarik joins Jared to discuss the role of poetry in shaping political perspectives, writing as a collaborative process, and how universities can create a more inclusive and diverse academic community.
Tarik Dobbs is an Arab American queer writer born in Dearborn, MI, on stolen land of the Chippewa, Ottawa, & Potawatomi people. Dobbs's poems appear in AGNI, APR, Best of the Net, Missouri Review Online, & Poetry Magazine. A 3rd-year MFA...
2021-07-2059 minMFA WritersAggie Stewart — Newport MFA at Salve Regina UniversityHow do emotional pacing and narrative structure influence one another in a story? Jared talks to Aggie Stewart of the Newport MFA at Salve Regina University about her memoir, a braided narrative examining family trauma. They discuss embracing false starts and taking the scenic route to her MFA, a low-res program that lets students practice pitches with agents and editors, encourages cross-genre experimentation, and offers a residency in Havana, Cuba.
Aggie Stewart is a Rhode Island-based writer and is going into her final semester in the Newport MFA program at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island...
2021-07-0651 minMFA WritersKeith Enterante — San Diego State UniversityFantasy. Sci fi. Literary absurdist fiction. Keith Enterante of San Diego State University’s novel excerpt has it all. He joins Jared to talk about the support and warmth of his program, the importance of starting and finishing pieces, and how the best writing lights up your nerve endings.
Keith Enterante is a writer with an MFA from San Diego State University, where he spent three years drafting his third book, an absurdist fantasy titled Man-so-called-kind (previously titled Phooka Road). The opening chapter received an Honorable Mention for the AWP Intro Journals Awards; the book will be go...
2021-06-2244 minMFA WritersEvan Fleischer — Emerson CollegePursuing an MFA is not only about improving your own writing, but also that of your peers. Evan Fleischer of Emerson College talks to Jared about how the workshop is like teaching, how editing at Hobart benefits his work, and how the best writing is full of surprises. He also does a pretty good Bob Dylan impression.
Evan Fleischer is set to graduate from Emerson College with a MFA in fiction at the end of 2021. He has been a fiction editor at Hobart Pulp for two and a half years. He has also worked as a ghostwriter...
2021-06-0858 minMFA WritersEllie Black — University of MississippiHumor. Experimentation. Sound play. Ellie Black of the University of Mississippi talks to Jared about how her poetry has gotten increasingly weird, the influence of the Gurlesque movement, and the benefits of a high faculty-to-student ratio.
Ellie Black is a poetry MFA candidate entering her third year at the University of Mississippi and the incoming senior poetry editor of the Yalobusha Review. Her poetry can be found in Black Warrior Review, DIAGRAM, Booth, Best New Poets, and elsewhere. Find her at her website, elliekblack.com, on Twitter at @elliekblack, and Instagram at @ellie.kb.
MFA...
2021-05-2545 minMFA WritersAntonio Villaseñor-Baca — University of Texas at El PasoWhat does a bilingual MFA program look like in practice? Antonio Villaseñor-Baca of the University of Texas El Paso joins Jared to talk about studying cross-genre work in English and Spanish, launching a music magazine between degrees, and how reading a diverse canon helped him take pride in his Xicanx identity.
Antonio Villaseñor-Baca is a Xicanx bilingual journalist, photographer, poet and writer from El Paso, Texas. He spends his time listening to music and working towards his MFA in creative writing at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he taught Rhetoric and Writing St...
2021-05-1152 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! — Felicia Rose Chavez and The Anti-Racist Writing WorkshopCreative writing workshops have remained largely unchanged since their creation in 1936. But what if there’s a better, more empowering, more inclusive way? Jared talks to Felicia Rose Chavez about her new book, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom. They unpack MFA student advocacy, discuss the benefits of collaboration over competition, and reconceptualize the workshop.
Felicia Rose Chavez is an award-winning educator with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Iowa. She is author of The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom and co-editor of The BreakBeat Poets Vo...
2021-04-2757 minMFA WritersAlejandro Puyana — Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas at AustinWith political and social unrest rocking his home country of Venezuela, Alejandro Puyana turned to writing as a way to process. He applied to MFA programs four times before landing an acceptance at the Michener Center for Writers. Now, you can read his work in The Best American Short Stories anthology for 2020. Alejandro and Jared talk rejection, revision, and reimagining the world through fiction.
Alejandro Puyana is a second-year fellow at the Michener Center for Writers whose primary focus is fiction and secondary genre is screenwriting. His non-fiction pieces have been published in The Toast, Tin House...
2021-04-131h 01MFA WritersJemimah Wei — Columbia UniversityIn Singapore, a young nation focused on economic prosperity, the path to the writer’s life can seem uncertain. Against this backdrop, Jemimah Wei of Columbia University tells Jared about her country’s emerging literary canon, how flash fiction taught her restraint, and how open conversations about funding make MFAs more accessible.
Jemimah Wei is a writer and host based in Singapore and New York. Her fiction has received nominations for the 2021 Pushcart Prize, support from Singapore's National Arts Council, and the 2020 Francine Ringold Award for New Writers. She was recently named a 2020 Felipe P. De Alba Fell...
2021-03-301h 04MFA WritersJeremiah Barker — Litowitz MFA+MA, Northwestern UniversityA joint MA+MFA program allows students to deepen their understanding of literary criticism and theory while crafting creative works. Jeremiah Barker of Northwestern University tells Jared how they balance the workload, how they find self-compassion in the face of pandemic-induced writer’s block, and how writing about trauma is and is not like therapy.
Jeremiah Barker is an essayist currently based in Chicago. They are a third-year student in the MFA and MA Litowitz Graduate Program at Northwestern University. Their work has appeared in Ploughshares and StoryQuarterly.
MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack an...
2021-03-1654 minMFA WritersKoyé Oyedeji — Warren Wilson CollegeA low-residency MFA program helped Koyé Oyedeji of Warren Wilson College develop the discipline to work full-time while writing his composite novel. He and Jared discuss the ins and outs of the low-res experience, as well as how being a British person of Nigerian descent living in the US inspires Koyé to write about Black relationships through the lens of identity and class.
Koyé Oyedeji’s writing has appeared in Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, Wasafiri (UK), The Good Journal (UK) and elsewhere. He has contributed to a number of anthologies, received scholarships to attend the Bread...
2021-03-0257 minMFA WritersDanielle P. Williams — George Mason UniversityAn MFA-sponsored trip to the Mariana Islands allowed Danielle P. Williams of George Mason University to reconnect with her ancestral culture. She sits down with Jared to discuss exploring Chamorro history through poetry, learning ancient language through translation, and meeting mentors and allies through her program.
Danielle P. Williams is a Pushcart-nominated poet, essayist, and spoken-word artist from Columbia, South Carolina. She strives to give voice to unrepresented cultures, expanding on the narratives and experiences of her Black and Chamorro cultures. She is an Editorial Coordinator for Poetry Daily, the Poetry Editor for So To Speak, and...
2021-02-1651 minMFA WritersSarah Ruth Bates — University of ArizonaWhat’s it like to work on a research-driven nonfiction book in an MFA while freelancing on the side? Sarah Ruth Bates of the University of Arizona joins Jared to talk about how the nonfiction genre is more than memoir, how science and philosophy inform her work, and how pandemic writing can help us center our shared humanity.
Sarah Ruth Bates is a second-year nonfiction MFA candidate at the University of Arizona, where she edits the program's student-run literary magazine, the Sonora Review, and teaches composition. She's also a writing instructor at Grub Street. Her work is pu...
2021-02-0247 minMFA WritersBryan Byrdlong — Helen Zell Writers’ Program, University of MichiganHow is the zombie of Haitian folklore a poetic metaphor for how society treats Blackness? Bryan Byrdlong of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan tells Jared about his project on the traditional and modern conceptualization of zombies, how poetry can transcend fake news, and how his MFA program gave him an inner editorial voice.
Bryan Byrdlong is a Black poet from Chicago, Illinois. In high school, he was part of Chicago’s Louder than a Bomb poetry slam competition. He graduated from Vanderbilt University where he received an undergraduate English/Creative Writing degree and...
2021-01-1955 minMFA WritersEmily Holland — American UniversityShould I go straight into an MFA or take some time between degrees? Emily Holland of American University talks to Jared about how she decided to go back to school, how the structure of a poem influences the reader, and how she’s thinking creatively about the post-MFA job market.
Emily Holland is a lesbian writer with poems appearing in publications including Nat. Brut, Homology Lit, bedfellows, and Wussy. She is the author of the chapbook Lineage (dancing girl press 2019). Her work has received support from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and Sundress Academy for th...
2021-01-0550 minMFA WritersKaj Tanaka — University of HoustonHave you ever wondered how contest winners are selected? Kaj Tanaka of the University of Houston takes us behind the scenes of Gulf Coast’s Barthelme Prize for Short Prose. He and Jared also talk about building tension in a story, careers in prison education, and what he learned from his BFA and MFA that influences his PhD work today.
Kaj Tanaka is a PhD candidate in fiction at the University of Houston. His fiction has appeared in New South, The New Ohio Review, Joyland and Tin House. His stories have been selected for Best Small Fictions, Be...
2020-12-2256 minMFA WritersMichal “MJ” Jones — Mills CollegeWhat’s it like to write a poem from the perspective of someone you despise? Michal “MJ” Jones of Mills College joins Jared to discuss their thesis project about the 2018 Hart family murders, writing from a place of anger, and pursuing an MFA as a working parent.
Michal "MJ" Jones is a poet and parent in Oakland, CA. Their work is featured or forthcoming at Anomaly, Kissing Dynamite, and Borderlands Texas Poetry Review. They are an Assistant Poetry Editor at Foglifter Press, a journal curating queer and trans voices, and have fellowships from the Hurston/Wright Foundation, VONA/V...
2020-12-0849 minMFA WritersSpecial Episode! Cady Vishniac — MFA ApplicationsShould I get an MFA? What should I consider when applying? How can I strengthen my application? In this special episode, Jared is joined by Cady Vishniac, Editor-in-Chief of The Workshop and MFA graduate from The Ohio State University. Together, they address MFA applicants’ most common questions and concerns, like crafting a solid statement of purpose and finding a program that accommodates student parents.Cady Vishniac attended The Ohio State University as the first MFA student to be awarded a Distinguished University Fellowship. Her stories have been published in Joyland, Glimmer Train, and New England Review, winning th...
2020-11-241h 20MFA WritersDana Liebelson — University of WyomingWhat’s a journalist doing in an MFA program? Dana Liebelson of the University of Wyoming tells Jared how her journalistic habits facilitate and complicate her fiction writing, how her work has become increasingly experimental, and how she wound up with a literary agent.
Dana Liebelson is an MFA candidate in creative writing at the University of Wyoming. Her flash fiction was recently published in Cheap Pop, and she attended the 2020 Tin House summer workshop. She is represented by Sarah Manning of the Bent Agency. Her journalism has appeared in The Atlantic, Insider, ELLE.com, Mother Jones an...
2020-11-1041 minMFA WritersMarcus Jamison — University of South CarolinaCan writing be a form of protest? And if so, is there room for hope? Jared sits down with Marcus Jamison of the University of South Carolina to talk about Confederate monuments and economic justice, as well as finding solace in writing and crafting poetry after our literary heroes.
Marcus Jamison is a poet and scholar from Hamlet, North Carolina. He is in his final year as an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of South Carolina, where he served as a senior editor for Yemassee Journal. His poems have appeared in Barely South Review and...
2020-10-2745 minMFA WritersVanessa Chan — The New SchoolDo we write because we understand or do we write to reach understanding? Jared and Vanessa Chan of The New School unpack this question. Along the way, they discuss writing about home while living in a foreign country, the long arm of colonialism, and the pros and cons of studying in the literary capital of the world.
Vanessa Chan is a Malaysian writer who writes about race, colonization, and women who don't toe the line. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published or are forthcoming in Electric Literature, Conjunctions, The Rumpus, Pidgeonholes, Porter House Review, and more...
2020-10-1349 minMFA WritersHannah Cajandig-Taylor — Northern Michigan UniversityEvery word matters when writing flash fiction and poetry. Jared sits down with Hannah Cajandig-Taylor of Northern Michigan University to talk about writing and revising short works, crafting plot twists and unexpected imagery, taking a course that includes an overnight island trip, and fighting for an increase in stipends and better access to healthcare.
Hannah Cajandig-Taylor is a poet and flash writer residing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she is a 3rd year MFA candidate at Northern Michigan University. She also reads for Passages North and Fractured Lit. She likes to write anything that's less than 1000 words...
2020-09-2947 minMFA WritersMatthew Dougherty — West Virginia UniversitySinger-songwriter turned novelist Matthew Dougherty of West Virginia University joins Jared to talk about writing songs versus writing prose, fictionalizing family lore, and winning three literary contests.
Matthew Dougherty grew up in Ohio, taught elementary school in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas and is now completing his third and final year in the MFA fiction program at West Virginia University. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Sonora Review, Salamander, and Crab Orchard Review—all as contest winners—and have been praised by writers such as Molly Antopol and Lucy Corin. Matthew is a Teach For...
2020-09-1544 minMFA WritersMarcos Damián León — University of California, RiversideWhat’s it like to be a YA writer in an MFA program? Jared talks to Marcos Damián León of the University of California, Riverside about crafting young adult fiction, taking courses outside the department, navigating higher ed as a first-generation student, and helping young readers consider big themes like gender roles and educational equity.
Marcos Damián León is a teacher and writer from the Salinas Valley. He is a first-year Ph.D. student at Texas Tech University, and a recent graduate of the University of California, Riverside's MFA program. He is currently workin...
2020-09-0146 minMFA WritersClancy Tripp — The Ohio State UniversityClancy Tripp of Ohio State University talks to Jared McCormack about what happens when people believe your satire, how OSU encouraged her to experiment in multiple genres, whether humor is thriving or flailing in 2020, and if art can heal wounds.
Tripp is a creative nonfiction, humor/satire, and fiction writer from the Midwest. Most recently, her work has been published in The Rumpus, shortlisted for the SmokeLong Quarterly Flash Fiction Award, and selected as the overall winner of the 2020 Iowa Review Award for Creative Nonfiction by Leslie Jamison. She is a rising second-year MFA student at The...
2020-08-1846 minMFA WritersAli Geren — University of ArkansasJared McCormack talks with Ali Geren of the University of Arkansas about writing accessible poetry, growing up in small-town America, coming out in a poem, working a second job during the MFA, and drawing inspiration from Quentin Tarantino.
Ali Geren is a poet in her second year of the University of Arkansas’ MFA program in Fayetteville. Her work has appeared in Caustic Frolic and in Moon City Review as the winner of their creative writing contest hosted for Missouri State University students.
MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Ha...
2020-08-0447 minMFA WritersPreety Sidhu — Louisiana State UniversityOn this episode, Jared sits down with Preety Sidhu of Louisiana State University to discuss how to finance an MFA (Hidden fees? Healthcare? Cost of living?), how to outline a novel, and how to write stories that publishers want to read.
Preety Sidhu is an intern at Electric Literature. She holds an MFA in fiction from Louisiana State University, where she worked as an editorial assistant at The Southern Review. You can find her on Twitter @_preetysidhu or at her website, preety-sidhu.com.
MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack...
2020-07-2157 min