Tuesday, February 15, 2011

How Do I Choose an MFA Program?

Choosing to move past the "lone ranger" stage of writing and on to an MFA program can be a big step forward for any writer.  But it does represent major changes in terms of the time and effort you dedicate to your work, and you want to make sure you choose an MFA program which fits your needs as a writer.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Starting a Literary Magazine for Johns Hopkins Undergrads

Very soon, I'll be sponsoring an Undergraduate Online Literary Magazine for Johns Hopkins.  The name, format, and submissions process are still to be worked out - my goal is that the undergraduate editors will learn to manage and produce online issues mostly on their own, and I can work more as a supervising editor.  Since Hopkins isn't among the Ph.D. programs I'm applying to for next year, I hope we can make the magazine largely self-sufficient either by the end of the semester or by the end of summer.

If you're a student at Johns Hopkins and would be interested in taking part, please contact me.  For updates on the magazine, visit our Word Planet Literary Magazine and Follow Us on Facebook.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Surviving the Writing Conference - AWP 2011

Have you attended a writing conference? Have you experienced the bug-eyed wonder of a room filled with over a thousand students and writers and writing teachers clumped around the islands of agent booths and presentation tables? Or maybe you've had the choice between six or seven panels you really want to see...except they're all in the same time slot, and you haven't eaten since breakfast, and breakfast was nearly eight hours ago...and it wasn't what you'd call a large bagel...

Ph.D. Programs in Creative Writing Go Global

At AWP this week, I met someone who's looking into a low-residency Ph.D. program in Ireland that - get this - encourages genre writing. You can earn a Ph.D. in Creative Writing with a focus in science fiction, fantasy, or even magical realism from Warnborough College, and the courses are all conducted online. (and don't fall into the trap of thinking this would be an easy course of study - a quick look at the Creative Writing Modules reveals some real meat to the coursework).

But this is part of the growing trend in low-residency education. Bath Spa University also offers a Ph.D. which is open to genre fiction, and they are introducing a new low-residency program starting this fall.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Revising the Website - New Look for IFP

Yes, it's a lot of work putting together a website.  It's even more work making it reliable while looking good.  So I'm very happy to unveil the new look of my Introduction to Fiction and Poetry homepage.  It's even more a product of Blogger now than it was before, but it does look better.  And I took the background photo myself - with an iPhone, no less.

But let's not kid ourselves - the main reason I'm posting this link is because I have to reset the www subdomain yet again.  But that's okay.  Hopefully, it will all be worth it.