Why get a Master of Fine Arts in writing?
Do you want to shape your gifts and passion for writing? Work one-on-one with nationally recognized faculty? Get the support of a talented community of peers? Focus on fiction, narrative nonfiction or poetry in our graduate M.F.A. program, which has launched the careers of hundreds of poets, novelists, storywriters, essayists and memoirists. What is notable is not just how hard students work on their own creative writing, but how much effort goes into their response to the work of their peers. Writers here care deeply about each other, and the production of honest work that captures life on the page.
Why choose UNH for your writing degree?
The M.F.A. writing program at UNH is small, highly-ranked and selective. We emphasize one-on-one contact between a nationally recognized faculty and talented students. Many exciting opportunities are available, including a visiting writers’ series, where you’ll have the chance to connect with some of the finest contemporary poets, novelists and essayists currently at work. You can take advantage of paid internships in local arts organizations, editorial positions at our online journal Barnstorm, teaching assistantships, tuition scholarships and grant awards. Our students typically complete the program in two to three years.
Potential career areas
- Academia
- Editing
- Fiction writing
- Journalism
- Literary agencies
- Marketing
- Poetry
- Public relations
- Publishing
- Screenwriting
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Writing M.F.A. (Fiction)Why did you choose UNH? They said yes. The M.F.A. program is one of the best, and I wanted to study under respected and experienced writers. But mostly because they said yes. I've been writing and telling stories since I was a child (though my mother called it lying). I've always wanted to become a storyteller, and wanted to learn how to do it right.Learn More -
Writing M.F.A. | Writer“So be a writer.” These were the words spoken to Rose Whitmore when she was caught between an unfulfilling job and her desire to write full-time, ultimately leading to her enrollment in UNH’s MFA Writing program. A 2013 graduate, Whitmore is now making a name for herself as a writer.Learn More
Curriculum & Requirements
The MFA Program in Writing at the University of New Hampshire has a clear and abiding focus: to help you shape your gifts and passion for the art, and to prepare you for the opportunities and demands that all writers will experience in a long professional career. Over the years, the graduate writing program has launched the careers of hundreds of poets, novelists, storywriters, essayists and memoirists. This is a small, highly-ranked, and selective program. We emphasize one-on-one contact between a nationally recognized faculty and talented students. Students typically complete the program in two to three years.
We are most proud of the supportive community we have created here, one in which cross-genre exploration is strongly encouraged. Six out of ten of our MFA students receive direct financial aid, with most funding taking the form of teaching assistantships, tuition scholarships, and grant awards. Other opportunities include paid internships in local arts organizations, and editorial positions at our on-line journal Barnstorm.
We also run an exciting visiting writers' series, so that students have a chance to connect with some of the finest contemporary poets, novelists and essayists currently at work. Add to all this the fact that we're located in a stunningly beautiful spot, close to mountains and sea coast, but within an hour of Boston and other cosmopolitan areas. We can't imagine that there is a more energizing and congenial place to pursue your talents and dreams anywhere in the country.
The M.F.A. program offers students opportunities to publish in an online journal called Barnstorm, as well as intern at arts/cultural organizations and the university research department, as well as teach in community schools. A select number of students are chosen to teach UNH undergraduate writing courses and to work in the University's Writing Center.
The program admits an average of 15 new students a year, which creates a writing community of 45 student writers.
Fiction
The fiction program centers on your fiction. The one goal of our two years together is to make your fiction stronger, more aesthetically powerful, and yes, more publishable. The small 10-person workshop, intense conferencing with multiple award-winning faculty such as Ann Joslin Williams and Tom Paine, craft seminars that range from "Joyce and Chekhov" to Novellas and Contemporary Short Story Collections", special topics classes on "American Short Fiction by Women" and "Sentence Experiments in Literary Fiction", an esteemed reading series that brings authors such as Dan Chaon and Elissa Schappell to class and campus, our nationally known literary magazine Barnstorm: all of this is here simply to advance your fiction. Maybe it is because we are in the Granite State, but what is notable in our program is not just how hard students work on their own fiction, but how much effort goes into their response to the work of their peers. Writers here care deeply about each other as people, and the production of honest work that captures life on the page.
Nonfiction
Our narrative nonfiction program embraces a wide variety of forms, from memoir to travel writing, literary journalism to the personal essay and all of its permutations. Our focus, however, is not on labels but on nurturing your talent and developing your skills with the goal of helping you craft rich, compelling and publishable essays, stories and books. In short, we toil together to make facts dance. In our workshops and seminars we ask our students to read broadly and push themselves beyond their comfort zone, to experiment and exercise an array of literary muscles, to employ the imagery of a poet, the drama of a novelist and the content drive of a journalist. Our classes are small (average size is ten) and students meet frequently with instructors in individual conferences. As practical as the state of New Hampshire, our program emphasizes not only the art of writing narrative nonfiction, but also how to sell it. In one course students will learn how to write a book proposal and in others how to pitch travel stories and personal essays. The UNH nonfiction faculty is diverse in its expertise but united in its passion for reading and writing the literature of fact, and for sharing that passion.
Poetry
We offer poetry workshops limited to 10 students and small seminars in craft and poetics in a dynamic, individual-oriented system that emphasizes intensive conferencing. Students have the chance to work with master teachers like the award-winning poets Mekeel McBride and David Rivard. We believe in grounding our students in the widest possible range of poetic technique and approach—with seminars offered in areas such as translation, 20th-century poetic movements, and ecstatic poetry—and no preconceived notions as to how anyone should write (other than well!). The poetic tradition of New England—one of the richest and most expansive in the world—serves as a backdrop for all our efforts. This is an area teeming with great poets, with numerous weekly opportunities for students to attend readings and lectures in the art.
Degree Requirements
Students are required to complete four workshops, a form and theory course in their major genre, and electives that may include additional writing courses or courses from the English department's offerings in other fields (such as literature, linguistics, or composition studies), and complete a thesis. There is no foreign language requirement.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FICTION GENRE | ||
| Four Workshops | ||
| ENGL 901 | Advanced Writing of Fiction 1 | 16 |
| Form and Theory | ||
| ENGL 807 | Fiction: Form and Technique | 4 |
| Electives | ||
| Select five courses from the following: | 20 | |
ENGL 804 | Advanced Nonfiction Writing | |
ENGL 805 | Advanced Poetry Workshop | |
ENGL 806 | The Art of Research for Creative Writers | |
ENGL 808 | Nonfiction: Form and Technique | |
ENGL 809 | Poetry: Form and Technique | |
ENGL 812 | Writing the Creative Nonfiction Book | |
ENGL 898 | Special Studies in Creative Writing | |
ENGL 910 | Practicum in Teaching College Composition 2 | |
| Thesis | ||
| ENGL 899 | Master of Fine Arts in Writing Thesis 3 | 8 |
| Total Credits | 48 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| NONFICTION GENRE | ||
| Four Workshops | ||
| Select from the following: | 16 | |
ENGL 804 | Advanced Nonfiction Writing 1 | |
ENGL 812 | Writing the Creative Nonfiction Book 1 | |
| Form and Theory | ||
| ENGL 808 | Nonfiction: Form and Technique | 4 |
| Electives | ||
| Select five courses from the following: | 20 | |
ENGL 805 | Advanced Poetry Workshop | |
ENGL 806 | The Art of Research for Creative Writers | |
ENGL 807 | Fiction: Form and Technique | |
ENGL 809 | Poetry: Form and Technique | |
ENGL 898 | Special Studies in Creative Writing | |
ENGL 901 | Advanced Writing of Fiction | |
ENGL 910 | Practicum in Teaching College Composition 2 | |
| Thesis | ||
| ENGL 899 | Master of Fine Arts in Writing Thesis 3 | 8 |
| Total Credits | 48 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| POETRY GENRE | ||
| Four Workshops | ||
| ENGL 805 | Advanced Poetry Workshop 1 | 16 |
| Form and Theory | ||
| ENGL 809 | Poetry: Form and Technique | 4 |
| Electives | ||
| Select five courses from the following: | 20 | |
ENGL 804 | Advanced Nonfiction Writing | |
ENGL 806 | The Art of Research for Creative Writers | |
ENGL 807 | Fiction: Form and Technique | |
ENGL 808 | Nonfiction: Form and Technique | |
ENGL 812 | Writing the Creative Nonfiction Book | |
ENGL 898 | Special Studies in Creative Writing | |
ENGL 901 | Advanced Writing of Fiction | |
ENGL 910 | Practicum in Teaching College Composition 2 | |
| Thesis | ||
| ENGL 899 | Master of Fine Arts in Writing Thesis 3 | 8 |
| Total Credits | 48 | |
- 1
May be repeated.
- 2
Teaching assistants are required to take ENGL 910 Practicum in Teaching College Composition as one of their electives.
- 3
The M.F.A. thesis is a book-length, publishable manuscript. For fiction writers, the thesis could be a collection of short stories, a story cycle (linked stories), or a novel. For nonfiction writers, the thesis could be a collection of themed essays and/or magazine articles or a book of creative nonfiction. For poets, the thesis would be a book-length collection of poems. The minimum length of the thesis is 150 pages for fiction and nonfiction writers and 45 pages for poets. Students will work closely with a thesis adviser as they write and pass an oral defense of the thesis, a defense conducted by a three-member thesis committee of writing faculty. Students will also conduct a public reading of their thesis in an event organized by the writing faculty.
- Have a firm grasp of all the elements of craft whether fiction, poetry or nonfiction, including narrative structure, imagery, dramatic tension, efficient dialogue, and believable character.
- Demonstrate expertise in the stylistic functions of language, including the use of simile and metaphor, unique language as opposed to clichés, resonating images or details, using all points of view, whether first, third or omniscient.
- Understand the role of research and external content to provide context, layers, and credibility.
- Be able to significantly revise work.
- Have experience reading out loud and presenting to an audience.
- Be able to flourish in the workplace for jobs in publishing, editing, communication, public relations, television, screenwriting, social media, news, advertising or any job where a writer is needed.
Deadlines
Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:
- Fall: Jan. 15
- Spring: N/A
- Summer: N/A
- Special: N/A
Application fee: $65
Campus: Durham
New England Regional: RI VT
Accelerated Masters Eligible: No
New Hampshire Residents
Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission, or you will not be able to register for classes.
Transcripts
If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC.
If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.
If admitted, you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:
- Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
- Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.
Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.
Letters of recommendation: 3 required
Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.
Personal Statement/Essay Questions
Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:
- Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
- Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.
Additional Department Requirements
Fiction: Please submit at least two separate pieces, i.e. two short stories, part of a novel or novella and a short story.
Non-Fiction: At least two separate non-fiction pieces, i.e. feature articles, essays, or newspaper stories.
Poetry: Ten to fifteen poems
Important Notes
All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.
International Applicants
Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.
Explore Program Details
Students in the MFA program are invited to become involved in the production of the UNH online literary journal, Barnstorm. Barnstorm was founded by MFA graduate students and continues to be entirely student run under faculty advisor Tom Payne. The position of Editor-in-Chief pays a stipend of $3,500 per year.
While we do not adhere to a particular style or manifesto, Barnstorm strives to publish the best poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Previous contributors include both renowned and emerging writers. Barnstorm also publishes weekly literary columns from our staff via our blog. To learn more about Barnstorm and its publications, visit our website at barnstormjournal.org.
The Portsmouth Music Hall Internship
A paid, year-long internship at one of New England’s premier arts organizations—The Music Hall’s two literary series, Writers on a New England Stage and Writers in the Loft, employ an MFA student to assist in marketing and production. This is a great opportunity for a literary- and marketing-minded student with sharp writing and interpersonal skills to further develop their skills and resume while working with the Music Hall’s award-winning professionals. The PMH intern engages in a wide range of marketing and event activities, from press release writing and blogging about authors to distributing collateral including posters, as well as researching specialty markets and occasionally going out to pick up a sandwich for the author on an event night. The position pays $4,000 for the year, and is funded through the generosity of an anonymous UNH alumnus.
Visit the Writers on a New England Stage website.
Research Development and Communications Internships
The UNH Office of Research Development and Communications offers a number of internships to graduate English students each year. Interns work an average of at least 10 hours per week over the course of the year (a minimum of 500 hours for the entire year), including the summer. The yearly salary is approximately $6000. Intern responsibilities include reviewing and editing grant proposals to federal funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, writing communications pieces on behalf of the Research Office, and working with graduate students applying for federal funding. Interested candidates should possess excellent writing/editorial skills. Professional experience as a writer/editor is a plus. The positions are open to both current and incoming students, and applications are accepted in late April/early May. Because this position is funded with Work Study funds, you must have filed a FAFSA form in order to apply. Students holding Teaching Assistantships may not apply for this position.
Read Free or Die
Read Free or Die is a monthly reading series created and hosted by the students of UNH's MFA program to showcase writing from across the genres. Traditionally held once a month in the upstairs of The Press Room in historic downtown Portsmouth, NH, the series provides an intimate space and the opportunity for MFA students to share both voice and craft. Each reading features two poets, two fiction writers, and two non-fiction writers. Read Free or Dieis a free event. For more information visit the Facebook page for the series.
December, 2023: Nico Bailey (MFA '22) published their debut story "Pas De Deux" in the Kelsey Review, and it has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Congratulations, Nico!
April, 2022: Austin Bolton's (MFA '22) short story, "If Ever You Should Leave," is getting published by the literary magazine Change Seven at the start of July. Congratulations, Austin!
October, 2021: Christina Keim (MFA '20) has co-authored a book with Sally Benton. The Athletic Equestrian: Over 30 Exercises for Good Hands, Power Legs, and Superior Seat Awareness is set to be released in January, 2022 by Trafalgar Square Books.
https://www.horseandriderbooks.com/store/the-athletic-equestrian.html
September, 2021: Our first student to earn her MFA, Midge Goldberg (MFA '06), has just had her third book of poems published by Kelsay Books. To Be Opened After My Death is available at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Be-Opened-After-My-Death/dp/195435391X/ref=sr_1_3
September, 2021: Samantha DeFlitch's (MFA '18) second manuscript was named a finalist in the National Poetry Series. The news release is at https://nationalpoetryseries.org/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-2021-national-poetry-series/.
February, 2021: Samantha DeFlitch's (MFA '18) first full-length book of poetry has been published! Confluence is available for pre-order at http://broadstonebooks.com/Samantha_DeFlitch.html Congratulations, Sam!
November, 2020: Bill Price (MFA '21) has had four pieces published since joining the MFA program. Congratulations, Bill!
“The Ferryman’s Coin.” Showbear Family Circus, Nov. 2020
“Nature’s Glory.” Ripples in Space, Aug. 2020
“The Knocking.” Beyond Words, May 2020
“I, Leave.” National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, Nov. 2019
November, 2020: Paulna Valbrun (MFA '20) had two pieces published. “Afrodite” and “Church for Sinner’s.” The latter essay was published by a popular literary magazine in Kenya!
https://www.midnightandindigo.com/afrodite/
https://jaladaafrica.org/2020/12/04/church-for-sinners-by-paulna-valbrun/
March, 2020: Morgan Plessner's (MFA '19) manuscript is to be published on March 24th, 2020! Body of the Moon is available at https://www.amazon.com/Body-Moon-Morgan-Leigh-Plessner/dp/B0863TKRQT. Congratulations, Morgan!
February, 2020: Joshua Foreman (MFA '17) and his writing partner Ryan Starrett started working with the History Press while he pursued his MFA at UNH. They have published three narrative history books (https://foremanstarrett.com/books/) with them. The most recent publication - Hidden History of New Orleans - in Feb. 2020. Josh also began teaching in the Communication Department at Mississippi State University in August.
January, 2020: Danley Romero (MFA '21) had his short story, "Fin, or A Thing Like Music" published in the Massachusetts Review's 60th anniversary issue and it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize! Congratulations, Danley!
November, 2019: Heidi Turner's (MFA '21) first book was published by Heritage Future and won the 2019 Great Story Project. The Sacred Art of Trespassing Barefoot is available for purchase at https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Trespassing-Barefoot-Great-Project/dp/1732856419. Congratulations, Heidi!
October, 2019: Congratulations to Tyler Paterson (MFA '20)! The publishing company Retreat West out of London officially nominated his short story "Seedlings" for the Pushcart Prize.
August, 2019: Jason Tandon's (MFA '07) new book of poetry was published by Black Lawrence Press. "The Actual World" is available now. Jason currently teaches in the Writing Program at Boston University. https://www.blacklawrence.com/the-actual-world/ | https://jasontandon.com/
February, 2017: Kaely Horton's (MFA '18) short story "Canvassing" will be published in May's edition of RipRap. Kaely also wrote an article on teaching which is the first runner-up for the Donald Murray Prize and is getting published in the spring issue of Writing on the Edge with commentary from Peter Elbow.
May, 2017: Congratulations to Ben Ludwig (MFA 2017) on the publication of his novel Ginny Moon, Park Row Books, May 2017!
May, 2017: Brian Evans-Jones, Poetry MFA 2016, has won the poetry section of the 2017 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award from Poets & Writers.
May, 2017: Alix McManus's (MFA Fiction) short story "Rosemary and the Red Pens" was recently published in Gravel Magazine. Congratulations, Alix!
April, 2017: Rose Whitmore, Fiction MFA 2013, won a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, 2017.
February, 2017: Amy Sauber (MFA '14) wins Pen/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for her story "State Facts of the New Age". Information about the prize can be found at https://pen.org/2017-penrobert-j-dau-short-story-prize-emerging-writers/ Congratulations, Amy!
November, 2016: Brittany Smith's story 'The Fruit Grove Girl' gets published in The Bangalore Review. The story can be read at http://bangalorereview.com/2016/11/fruit-grove-girl/ Congratulations, Brittany!
September, 2016: Amy Sauber's (MFA '14) story 'State Facts for the New Age' gets published in The Rumpus. Congratulations, Amy! The story can be found at http://therumpus.net/2016/09/rumpus-original-fiction-state-facts-for-th…
April, 2016: Midge Goldberg (MFA '06) recently published a book of poetry, Snowman's Code, which won the Richard Wilbur Poetry Award. Midge was our very first MFA student to earn her degree! The book was published by University of Evansville Press and can be found on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Snowmans-Code-Midge-Goldberg/dp/0930982754/ref=sr…
February 2016: Benjamin Ludwig's FOREVER GIRL, pitched as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime meets Room, told from the perspective of an adopted autistic teenage girl who's plotting to get herself kidnapped by her birth mother, pre-empted by Liz Stein on an exclusive 3-day submission, in a major deal (WE) by Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management; translation rights with Molly Jaffa at Folio Literary Management.
September, 2015: Congratulations to UNH's very first student to earn her MFA in Writing almost 10 years ago! Midge Goldberg recently published a children's book, My Best Ever Grandpa, with Azro Press of N.M. The book was illustrated by Valori Herzlich. Here's s a link to the publisher's announcement page: http://www.azropress.com.
May, 2015: Much congrats to Sonia Scherr, MFA ’13, who has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship! Scherr, who was an alternate in the competition last year, will conduct research in Morocco in order to write a historically informed Young Adult novel about the relationship between Jewish and Muslim Moroccans during the Holocaust.
January, 2015: Benjamin Ludwig's book, titled "Sourdough" won the Clay Reynolds Novella Prize from Texas Review Press. The book is for sale on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Sourdough-Benjamin-Ludwig/dp/1680030140/ref=sr_1_1... Congratulations, Benjamin!
November, 2014: Congratulations to Caro Clark (MFA '13) who recently received a McDowell Fellowship for the spring!
September, 2014: Congratulations to Bryan Parys (MFA '10) for landing a job as an editor/writer at Berklee College of Music in the department of digital strategy and communications. Bryan also recently signed a contract to publish his thesis with Cascade Books. More details to come!
August, 2014: Craig Brown (MFA '11) published an article in Dispatch Magazine called "Cruising the Coast: Three Days Sailing on the Victory Chimes, America's Windjammer". A scan of the article can be found at /sites/cola.unh.edu/files/media/Dispatch_-_Cruising_the_Coast.pdf.
August, 2014: Rose Whitmore (MFA '13) recently had an essay published in The Sun, and was awarded a work-study scholarship in non-fiction to the Bread Loaf Writer's conference.
July, 2014: Congratulations to Caro Clark (MFA '13) who's Glimmer Train story won first place in the new writer's contest! First place won $1500 and publication in issue #94. The announcement of the winners can be found at http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/glimmertrain/May2014SSA-Winners.pdf
July, 2014: Maria Chelko's (MFA '10) poems have appeared in these journals: The Ampersand Review, Anti-, Birdfeast, The Freeman, Revolver, Sixth Finch, and Washington Square Review. She was also awarded a scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference this summer.
July, 2014: Congratulations to Nathan Webster (MFA '09) who was hired as a full time lecturerer for the English department at UNH! Nate has published the following:
- Daily Beast, Jan. 11. "How the War Comes Home.”
- The Rumpus, July 4. "Bedrooms of the Fallen." http://therumpus.net/2014/07/bedrooms-of-the-fallen-by-ashley-gilbertso…
- Wrath Bearing Tree, July 10. "Foreshadows from Iraq." http://wrathbearingtree.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/foreshadowing-in-iraq-…
July, 2014: Erin Somers' (MFA '13) story, "Astronauts in Love" was published by One Teen Story this month. Link: http://www.oneteenstory.com
June, 2014: Congratulations to Karina Borowicz (MFA '09) for winning the Codhill Poetry Award for her book of poetry titled Proof. It was also a finalist for the National Poetry Series! The press release can be found at http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6030-proof.aspx. The Amazon link is at http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Karina-Borowicz/dp/1930337752/ref=sr_1_1?ie…
June, 2014: William Stratton (MFA '12) published his first collection of poems titled Under the Water Was Stone. http://wintergoosepublishing.com/now-available-under-the-water-was-ston…
April, 2014: Great news from Sarah Stickney (MFA '10) that the book she co-translated with Diana Thow and Eugene Ostashevsky, The Guest in The Wood by Italian poet Elisa Biagini just Won the Best Translated Book Award for 2014. Congratulazioni, Sarah!http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?id=…
April, 2014: Caro Clark (MFA '13) won the Luso-American fiction scholarship to attend the Disquiet International writing conference in Lisbon this summer. You can read about the conference here: http://disquietinternational.org. The scholarship pays for transportation to and from Portugal and all fees associated with the two-week program. Caro will have the chance to work with Denis Johnson, Josip Novakovich, Padgett Powell, and others while there. And in further good news: Glimmer Train also picked up one of her stories stories recently.
March, 2014: Emily Bradley, who received her MFA in creative nonfiction from UNH in 2012, published an essay in the March/April issue of Yankee Magazine. The illustrated feature, titled “When My Father Calls,” tells of her father’s relationship with a chipmunk in the years after her mother died while revealing the ways we reconfigure our lives in the wake of grief. http://www.yankeemagazine.com/
November, 2013: Jason Tandon '07 has published his third book of poems, Quality of Life, with Black Lawrence Press. Here's the link to his publishers announcement page: http://www.blacklawrence.com/quality-of-life/
October, 2013: Jennie Latson '13 signed a contract with Simon & Schuster for her book The Boy Who Loved Too Much. This tale of a boy with Williams Syndrome, the so-called "friendliness disorder," and his mother was her MFA thesis project. For over two years she immersed herself in the lives of the two, traveling with them to Michigan for a summer camp, spending weekends with them in their Connecticut home, monitoring how this child who knows no skepticism, loves everyone, navigates a world that requires caution. The book will be published in early 2015.
September, 2013: Rose Whitmore '13 (fiction) has won the William Peden Prize from The Missouri Review for her short story "The Queen of Pacific Tides." Learn more.
September, 2013: Jeremy Parker, a new MFA student this year, was a semi-finalist in the 2013 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest run by Carve Magazine. Out of over 1,000 submissions, the editors chose 5 winners, 5 honorable mentions, and 23 semi-finalists.
July, 2013: Laurin Becker Macios, MFA poetry alum, is the Program Director for Mass Poetry, an organization supporting poets and poetry in Massachusetts. Her poems have recently been published in 34th Parallel, Pif, and Five2One Magazine. In Sept. 2013 she will be spending two weeks at the Martha's Vineyard Writer's Residency in Edgartown.
July, 2013: Alan Schulte, MFA nonfiction alum, was hired for a permanent, tenure track position at Franklin Pierce University as Assistant Professor of Composition and Director of the Wensberg Writing Center. He is also the Faculty Adviser of Nevermore, the University's Literary Journal.
July 2013: Maria Chelko, MFA poetry alum, just won a 2013 PSA New York Chapbook Fellowship for her manuscript, Manhattations. Mary Ruefle selected it. Here's a link to the announcement:
http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/awards/chapbook_fellowship/
June 2013: Congrats to recent grad Erin Somers, who is featured in "Writing Lessons" on the Ploughshares blog. "Writing Lessons" features essays by writing students about lessons learned, epiphanies about craft, and the challenges of studying writing. You can view Erin's post here: http://blog.pshares.org/index.php/writing-lessons-erin-somers/.
March 2013: Congratulations to David Bersell, who has been awarded the much coveted nonfiction scholarship to the Tin House Writer's Workshop this summer. David will spend the week working with Cheryl Strayed, author of the memoir Wild and the Rumpus column Dear Sugar. Quite the coup for David and well deserved.
January 2013: Emily Robbins Bradley, MFA nonfiction alum, was hired at the New Hampshire Institute of Art as their "Instruction and Reference Specialist" in their college library. She also teaches composition there. She had a short essay featured on the video series "In Place" which is part of the larger online journal "Extracts: Daily Dose of Lit."
January, 2013: Kristina Reardon, MFA fiction alum, was awarded the 2012 Aetna Works-in-Progress Grant for a short story collection, awarded by the UConn Department of English. She was also awarded the 2012 Tinker Foundation Pre-Dissertation grant to translate fiction in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her translations of the short story "The Surprise" by Lili Potpara (from the Slovenian) & "The Vision" by Carmen Boullosa (from the Spanish) are published in World Literature Today (September 2012). She also has an essay on literary translation published on WLT's "Translation Tuesday" blog.
January, 2013: Dustin Martin, MFA fiction alum, was hired as a staff assistant to the Donor Relations team for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.
January, 2013: Sarah Stickney, MFA poetry alum, has publications in Rhino, and Portland Review. In October she acted as a simultaneous French interpreter for the Megaflorestais international forestry conference. She was recently hired as a tenure-track professor at St. John's College in Annapolis.
January, 2013: Alan Schulte, MFA nonfiction alum, landed a position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition and Director of the Wensberg Writing Center at Franklin Pierce University. He has also been assigned as Faculty Adviser of Nevermore, the University's Literary Journal.
January, 2013: Edward Manzi, MFA poetry alum, had poems published in Brush Fire, Paper Nautilus, and The Bakery. He also had a poem nominated for the Pushcart Award.
November, 2012: Jennifer Latson, a 3rd-year MFA in nonfiction candidate, has a BIG story in the Nov/Dec issue of Yankee magazine. The subject: Tuttle's farm in Dover, told from Lucy Tuttle's point of view. The story began in an essay writing workshop, was revised in Sue Hertz's people and place workshop last spring and sent to Yankee in the summer. They loved it!
August, 2012: Tim Horvath, MFA alum, landed a full-time teaching gig at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. He also just published his latest, a collection of short fiction called Understories.
June, 2012: Rose Whitmore, a fiction MFA who will graduate in May '13, has THREE success stories! Her short story "The Queen of Pacific Tides" will be published in the summer issue of The Missouri Review and her essay "The Lost Coast" will appear in Fourth Genre. Rose has also been accepted to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference this summer. Nonfiction MFA Jennifer Duffy has also been accepted to Bread Loaf.
June, 2012: Jennifer Latson, a nonfiction MFA who will graduate in May '13, will publish "Blood Ties to the Land," a nonfiction narrative about Tuttle's Farm in Dover told through 67-year-old Lucy Tuttle's point of view, in the December issue of Yankee Magazine.
June, 2012: Alan Schulte, a nonfiction MFA who graduated in December '11, has published his essay "The Point of Failure" in the online journal Junklit.
April, 2011: Ryan Flaherty, MFA '10, has published a new book of poetry, What's This, Bombardier? He also has a poem featured on BOMBlog Word Choice.
February, 2011: Kristina Reardon's (MFA Dec. 2010) essay White Goddess Ghosts will be published in the Montreal Review. Kristina wrote the piece for her UNH travel writing class last summer in Cambridge, England.
February, 2011: Bryan Parys (MFA ’10) won a Fair Trade essay contest, which awarded him $2,000 in fair trade goods. He was also named a contributing scholar for a new online publication called State of Formation. Most recently his article “Superman of the House” was published by the Gooden Men Project Magazine.
November, 2010: Ryan Flaherty, MFA ’10, has three poems in POOL: http://www.poolpoetry.com/, had a poem featured on Verse Daily: http://www.versedaily.org/2010/conditionals.shtml and an essay published in Columbia:
http://columbiajournal.org.
November, 2010: The World after Czeslaw Milosz, a chapbook by Maria Chelko, MFA ’10, won the 2010 Dream Horse Press National Chapbook Contest. Dream Horse Press will publish the book in the Spring/Summer of 2011.
May, 2010: Marla Cinilia was awarded a Bread Loaf Writers Conference scholarship based on the merit shown in her fiction. Only 12 spots are available for the conference, chosen from a pool of hundreds nation-wide.
May, 2010: Kristina Reardon and Sarah Stickney have received prestigious Fulbright Scholarships that will provide them support to conduct research abroad during the 2010-11 academic year. Learn more.
February, 2010: Amy VanHaren, a member of the MFA’s first graduating class in 2007, recently published her piece “Rescue on the Ridge” in AMCOutdoors. While Amy is not working on the book from which this piece is excerpted, she is using her writing skills as the social media manager at Stonyfield Farm, one of the nation’s leaders in organic agriculture and retail dairy products
February, 2010: MFA nonfiction writer Nathan Webster has had his thesis accepted for publication by The Truth About The Fact: International Journal of Literary Nonfiction (Loyola Marymount University, LA). "Suspicions, After Curfew" is slated for publication in the Spring 2010, Volume V Number I issue. Here’s what the editors wrote to Nathan: "We received hundreds of submissions from the international literary community, including impressive narratives about life in South Africa, Sri Lanka, China, Canada, Great Britain and the United States. Your work was one of only 21 pieces selected."
February, 2010: Jason Tandon, MFA ’07, was pleased that Garrison Keillor read one of his poems from his book Give Over the Heckler and Everyone Gets Hurt on The Writer’s Almanac.
February, 2010: Emily Robbins, MFA ’11, published her essay “The Way Home” in the Northern New England Review, Volume 31.
January, 2010: MFA nonfiction writer Ryan Flaherty recently published two chapbooks, Live, from the Delay and Novas. He also has poems coming out this spring in three journals: Colorado Review, Ninth Letter, and Handsome. He has also been awarded PEN New England's Discovery Award in Poetry. Each year, established authors sponsor newcomers in their field and this year poet Peter Covino selected Ryan and will introduce him at the 31st Annual Discovery celebration. The award is based on the promise of the discoveree’s potential.
October, 2009: MFA student Bryan Parys published "The Last Word or, The Eternal Present Tense" in The (Non)fiction 500 section of the journal Like Water Burning.
September, 2009: MFA alum Brian Wilkins '06G, '09G is a poet; his former college roommate, Ian Terrell, is a Web developer. Together, they've created a literary magazine for the iPhone, which plays an audio recording of a poem, essay, or short story as the reader scrolls along with the text. "The best part about poetry or any literature really is going to a reading and getting to hear the author's voice," says Wilkins. The first issue of "Scarab" includes a poem by Charles Simic, UNH professor emeritus. Read the story
June, 2009: MFA fiction writer Kristina Reardon, who will enter her second year in the program this fall, has published two stories, "Easter 1941" and "A Bit of Kindness," in the New Voices section of the summer edition of the Newport Review: http://www.newportreview.org/?new-voices/kreardon.html. Kristina has also won a scholarship from the Centre for Slovene at the University of Ljubljana and will spend the month of July there this summer researching material for her thesis manuscript.
February, 2009: MFA poet Maria Barron won the 2009 LUMINA Poetry contest. LUMINA is a literary journal published by Sarah Lawrence College. The contest was judged by poet, Ilya Kaminsky. Maria's poems placed both first and second, earning Maria the invitation to read at Sarah Lawrence in April.
February, 2009:MFA poet Mark Gosztyla crossed genre lines into nonfiction when he stumbled into a story about two 50-year-old unsolved murders in Somersworth, NH. For over a year Mark pursued the mysterious deaths, both on his own and in nonfiction workshops, publishing a series in Foster's Daily Democrat in June of '08. That series, titled “Shame and Silence,” won first place “for highest achievement in investigative reporting” in New England Press Association’s 2008 Annual Better Newspaper Contest.
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