Hey friends,

Welcome to another edition of Tell Us Something We Don’t Know… where we ask our favorite literary experts about their area of speciality.

Today, we’re talking about publishing with an indie press with three wonderful editors from BULLSHIT LIT, Thirty West, and Two Sylvias Press.

Our Experts:

is a bi/queer poet, editor, book cover designer, and co-founder of Two Sylvias Press

Veronica Bennett is a writer, editor, visual artist, founder and EIC of BULLSHIT LIT

is a writer, poet, founder and EIC of Thirty West and co-host of the Bring a Blanket reading series in Philadelphia

The Takeaways:

• How the small press selection process works and what indie editors are looking for in submissions

• The benefits of publishing with an indie publishing house — from greater control over editorial decisions to higher royalties!

• Tips on submitting your work to small presses and what to expect from the publication journey

• A quickfire round of ‘ask an editor’ questions, including ‘fastest ever acceptance’ and the most surprising aspect of publishing…

By the end of this Q&A, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what it’s really like to publish with a small press, all the love and hard work that goes into creating such beautiful books, and why you should definitely submit your work to an indie!

Subscribe now

Q. How does the small press process work — from acceptance to publication?

Read more

Us writers mercilessly hunt for the perfect hook. We know how critical it is to catch the attention of an agent, editor, publisher, and yes reader in mere moments. They have no shortage of choices; we want ours to be work they choose. Don’t crumple another sticky note. Stop pulling your hair. I’ve been in your shoes and I’ll show you the way out.

We’re going break down the mechanics of:

• first lines

• first paragraphs

• and the sticky hook

so you always find your irresistible opener!

What makes a compelling first line?

Read more

Welcome to The Forever Workshop’s MFA Newsletter, a monthly column about career advancement in the literary space. Everything published here is free to enjoy, courtesy of our partnered universities. (Not interested? Turn off emails from this column here.)

Ciera here. Wiping the sweat off my brow in this August humidity. Cracking my fingers. Taping the broken stem connecting the lenses of my glasses.

I’ve spent the last month scouring the websites of a bunch of MFA programs to curate an application deadline megalist, and sometimes, finding the MFA’s deadline meant clicking through 15 different pages and reading through a giant paragraph until finally, the deadline jumped out at me. I needed a machete to whack through the webpage jungle. How are you meant to create a quality writing sample, a succinct resume, a thorough statement of objectives, and to plead for recommendation letters when you’ve spent all of your time in search of a deadline?!

Locating an application deadline shouldn’t take up all your time and energy. Here’s a list of the upcoming deadlines for our MFA partners I’ve made so that you can focus on creating the best MFA application ever. If these 20 programs aren’t the best fit, visit the Chill Subs blog and check out this other list I cobbled together, which features 30+ more programs from all around the world.

I promise, you won’t need a machete to find your way through.

Full Residency Program Deadlines

University of Minnesota

Deadline: December 1

In addition to mentorship by their stellar faculty, the top-tier MFA program at the University of Minnesota offers writers three years to fully devote themselves to the creation of a manuscript. Students form a close-knit community of writers, readers, and scholars.

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Deadline: December 15

Among the oldest and most respected MFA programs in the country, the MFA for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst champions the creation of new and important writing, and for over fifty years has been a place for writers to concentrate on their work and to write their books.

Colorado State University

Deadline: January 1

The MFA in Creative Writing at Colorado State University is for students with advanced abilities in the writing of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Their program offers a balance of intimate and intensive writing workshops with courses in literature, form and technique, and related electives.

Florida Atlantic University

Deadline: January 1

The MFA in Creative Writing at Florida Atlantic University is a place for community, experimentation, and exploration. They encourage students to take classes across the genres and to take risks in their writing. It’s home to the Swamp Ape Review.

Bowling Green State University

Deadline: January 15

Founded in 1967, BGSU is home to Mid-American Review and the undergraduate journal Prairie Margins. Graduates have won such awards as the Yale Younger Poets Award, the Guggenheim, NEA Individual Artist Fellowships, and the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

University of Idaho

Deadline: January 15

Situated in the panhandle of Northern Idaho in the foothills of Moscow Mountain and the Palouse Range, the Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Idaho offers the time and support to train in the traditions, techniques, and practice of nonfiction, poetry, and fiction.

University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Deadline: January 15

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s MFA joins students who share a common passion with faculty members who provide critical support. While students focus on one genre, cross-genre study is required. Publishing experience is offered through Lookout Books, and the literary magazines, Ecotone and Chautauqua.

Emerson College

Deadline: February 1 (priority), April 1 (final)

In the Emerson Creative Writing MFA, you can pursue your passion, choosing from the genres of literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and explore writing as both an art form and a professional career.

Northern Michigan University

Deadline: February 1

Create in a supportive community next to big, beautiful Lake Superior, by writing at Granite Island lighthouse or rustic cabin weekend residencies; studying special topics courses such as nature writing and experimental literature; or interning with acclaimed journal, Passages North.

Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop

Deadline: February 1

The Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop is an intentionally small, deeply engaged program that nurtures a vibrant community of literary artists. Emphasizing mentorship, publication, and pedagogy, it provides a supportive home for your writing journey—now and for years to come.

McNeese University

Deadline: February 21

Louisiana’s oldest MFA program in Creative Writing provides a multifaceted path toward creative and academic growth: small class sizes, teaching and editorial experience, one-on-one conferences with visiting writers, and the opportunity to earn a concurrent MA degree in English.

University of Alabama

Deadline: February 21

The University of Alabama MFA Program has long been considered among the best in the nation, renowned for its visiting writers series, for its spirit of experimentation and flexibility, and for housing the award-winning Black Warrior Review, which is run entirely by graduate students.

Butler University

Deadline: May 31

At Butler, writers find a home—a figurative one in our community of mentorship and support, and a literal one in the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing. Students join a vibrant literary ecosystem that includes Booth, an acclaimed visiting writers series, and rich connections to the literary life of Indianapolis.

Low Residency & Online Program Deadlines

Warren Wilson College

Deadline: September 1

The MFA Program at Warren Wilson emphasizes student writing, revision, critical thinking, and reading, and encourages students to see themselves as writers and active participants in the creation and study of literature.

Whitworth University

Deadline: November 1

Launched as the new home for the former Seattle Pacific University MFA, the Whitworth Writers Workshop preserves that program’s excellence while embracing a vibrant, intentionally Christian community.

Brooklyn Writers Foundry

Deadline: November 1

The Brooklyn Writers Foundry seeks writers from across the country and around the world who dedicate themselves to excellence in creative writing, and who want to take advantage of the literary life in New York City.

Wilkes University

Deadline: December 1

The Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University empowers writers through craft, community, and career support, no matter where they are in their writing journeys, in an affordable, low-residency format.

Emerson College

Deadline: March 1 (priority), May 1 (final)

Emerson College’s Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing MFA program is a flexible, online graduate program that allows you to work on your writing from anywhere in the world, with online workshops, literature seminars, and publishing courses that fit your schedule.

University of Nevada, Reno

Deadline: March 1 (priority), May 1 (final)

Each January and August, writers gather on the Lake Tahoe campus, where the surrounding natural beauty becomes a catalyst for literary exploration that dovetails with the environmental stewardship and research efforts across the Tahoe Basin.

Lesley University

Deadline: March 2 (priority), May 1 (final)

The MFA in Visual & Literary Arts program combines both art forms in one MFA degree. Through communal residency work and in-depth semester study, students discover the urgency that drives their stories and train in their ability as makers and thinkers to blend word and image into original new stories.

Western Colorado University

Deadline: May 31

At Western Colorado University, they believe that becoming a writer shouldn’t be a lonely endeavor. Their low-residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing is designed as a literary home, a place where your unique voice is met with the warmth of a vibrant, deeply human community.

You made it to the end! (I hope no machetes were needed to navigate this list.) As a reward, here’s a sneak peek from the list of deadlines featured on the Chill Subs blog—head over now to find even more MFAs and their application deadlines.

DePaul University | Deadline: Rolling

Chicago, IL | Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction | Full residency

Tell your story in long form. DePaul’s MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing will prepare and empower you to write a novel, memoir, or poetry collection. With the opportunity to take publishing and pedagogy courses, you’ll have the choice of a career in publishing or teaching.

Tell us which MFA program you’re hoping to be accepted into!

Leave a comment

Hey friends,

Welcome to another edition of Tell Us Something We Don’t Know… where we ask our favorite literary experts about their specialist subject.

Today, we're talking about the submissions process for indie presses with someone who has experience on both sides of the literary curtain…

Our Expert:

Kelli Russell Agodon (she/her) is a bi/queer poet, editor, book cover designer, and co-founder of Two Sylvias Press.

Two Sylvias Press is an independent press located in the Seattle area that publishes poetry, memoir, essays, books on the craft of writing, and creativity tools, including the bestselling resource for poets, The Weekly Muse.

The Takeaways:

• Why the selection process is just as hard for editors as it is for writers!

• The subjective reasons your work might be turned down (that has nothing to do with its quality)

• How to deal with rejection (without catastrophizing)

• Submission red flags to avoid

• And how to make your poetry collection as strong as it can be

By the end of this Q&A, you'll have some new insights on the submissions process at an indie press, hopefully feel a little less angsty about sending your poetry collections out there!

Read more

Hey friends,

Welcome to another round of Tell Us Something We Don’t Know… where we source a panel of literary experts and ask them questions about whatever the heck. Today, the heck is award nominations and our instructors are experienced editors from three top-tier literary magazines:

The Experts:

• Derek Askey — senior editor at The Sun

• Rachel Dillon — award-winning poet, teacher, and managing editor of Ploughshares

• Steve Chang — co-founder of Lit Match Collective and fiction editor at Okay Donkey

The Takeaways:

• How do lit mag editors decide which pieces to nominate for awards?

• What are the qualities editors look for in an award-winning story or poem?

• How subjective is the whole process? (And how to deal with rejection)

• Advice on crafting and submitting your very best writing

  ---

By the end of this workshop, you might just be inspired to write an award-winning piece of your own…

Let’s Talk Writing Awards…

Every year, lit mag editors put forward their favorite pieces for a variety of writing awards. It’s a badge of honor and a massive confidence boost for writers, but what goes on behind the scenes? How do editors choose? What makes an award-winning story? (And how can we write one?)

We asked three experienced lit mag editors about the whole process and here’s what they had to say:

The Nomination Process

How does it work & what goes on behind the scenes?

Read more

Today’s workshop is brought to you by literary agent Erin Niumata. She’s Senior Vice President over at Folio Literary Management and has been in the publishing world for almost three decades, working on multiple NY Times Bestsellers throughout her career. She’s lectured extensively on this subject for workshops and universities over many years, and we’re excited to bring that experience and expertise into this week’s forever workshop! Welcome, Erin.

There is a single sentence standing between your manuscript and an agent’s inbox. It is not your synopsis or your bio or even your first page. It is your logline or the ‘elevator pitch.’

If you have been querying without one or pasting in a vague blurb that gestures loosely at your story, or just struggling to figure out the best way to pitch your book, then this post is for you. Below, I’ve broken down exactly how to write a logline that hooks agents and editors, expanded with examples and practical advice to help you put it into practice and master the logline.

The rest of this post is for paywalled because paid subscriptions help us keep going. To learn how to craft an excellent logline (with a detailed 7-step process) with annotated real-world examples, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

What is a Logline?

Read more

Hey friends,

Welcome to another edition of Tell Us Something We Don’t Know… where we source a panel of literary experts and ask them questions about whatever the heck. Today, the heck is author marketing and our instructors are three wise women of publishing:

The Experts:

• Jane Friedman — Decodes the publishing industry for writers who'd rather not learn the hard way. Featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and the BBC.

• Karin Gillespie — Simon & Schuster novelist, Substack bestseller, and a working writer who tracks the industry at Pitch Your Novel. 20+ years in the trenches.

• Erin C. Niumata — A literary agent at Folio who's been reading queries for decades and representing NYT bestsellers when she finds the good ones.

The Takeaways:

• How to approach author marketing as a total newbie

• The most important ingredient in your marketing plan

• Where to focus your efforts without getting overwhelmed

• Do you need a publicist? If so, when!?

• How to find extra support and broaden your reach

• How to play to your strengths and use the resources you already have

By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a bunch of ideas on how to put together an author marketing plan that feels authentic and manageable — and maybe even a few ways you can make book publicity fun!

Subscribe now

Let’s Talk Author Marketing…

Wait, as if writing a book isn’t hard enough — we have to figure out the whole marketing thing, too?!

Promoting your work can feel daunting (especially for us introvert writers) but it’s an integral part of being an author. And luckily there are a load of different ways to approach it without feeling like you’re turning into a salesperson.

Because at its core, author marketing is about showing people who you are as a writer, and encouraging them to get just as excited about your stories are you are.

But it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed by the bombardment of advice online, so we turned to our trio of publishing experts to get their take on the most effective ways to approach author marketing in a way that suits you (and doesn’t give you the ick):

Read more

Hey friends,

Welcome to another edition of Tell Us Something We Don’t Know… where we source a panel of literary experts and ask them questions about whatever the heck. Today, the heck is sample pages and our instructors are a trio of publishing mavens:

The Experts:

• Derek Askey — Senior Editor at The Sun

• Rachel Dillon — Managing Editor of Ploughshares, whose work appears in the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, Pleiades, and Poet Lore.

• Steve Chang — Fiction Editor at Okay Donkey and MacDowell Fellow.

The Takeaways:

• Why “experimental” is not the same as decorative, and how to experiment with intention

• How writers can avoid cliché through image

• What editors mean when they say a piece must have a “so what”— and why “weird” isn’t enough

• How different magazines define “experimental” work

• Why successful experimental writing often creates two layers of meaning

By the end of this workshop, you’ll be able to let your strangeness loose while handling the reins of meaning with mastery!

How do you feel about ‘experimental’ writing?

Read more

Welcome to The Forever Workshop’s MFA Newsletter, a monthly column about career advancement in the literary space. Everything published here is free to enjoy, courtesy of our partnered universities. (Not interested? Turn off emails from this column here.)

Low-residency MFAs are hybrid programs that allow for flexibility while earning your degree. Most programs consist of week-long residencies that take place in-person on the university’s campus and happen a few times a year. During these residencies, you’ll meet your professors, attend intensive seminars and workshops, and write alongside your cohort. When you aren’t meeting in-person, you’re writing from home towards deadlines set by a mentor or writing instructor, who may then meet with you virtually or send you a “packet” with feedback on your manuscript. Some low-res programs have you take online courses in between residencies, too, either synchronous or asynchronous, to round out your degree.

Because you only meet in-person a few times, attending a low-residency program means that you can still work full-time, raise a family, and live where you’re comfortable while earning your MFA—plus, you get to take a planned vacation from home life once or twice a year and talk about writing with likeminded people. Low-residency programs often accept less students than traditional MFAs, too, so you’ll have more individualized attention given to your manuscript by your mentor. And the hybrid structure of a low-res program forces you to incorporate your writing into your already busy schedule, which helps you create a writing routine that you can stick with after you receive your degree.

Have we sold you on low-residency programs? If so, here’s a list of low-res MFAs from all over the world (and their upcoming deadlines) that we think you should check out!

Low-Residency MFA Partner Programs

University of Nevada, Reno

Deadline: March 1

Whitworth University

Deadline: November 1

Brooklyn Writers Foundry

Deadline: November 1

Western Colorado University

Deadline: August 1

Lesley University

Deadline: March 2

Warren Wilson College

Deadline: September 2

Low-Res Programs Around the World

Wilkes University

Deadline: December 1

• Offers concentrations in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, spoken word, playwriting, screenwriting, writing for TV, or publishing

• Each thesis is evaluated by a working agent, editor, publisher, or producer

• Has week-long residencies that are “intense, motivating and rewarding”

Rainier Writing Workshop

Deadline: February 1

• Has the choice to complete the program in either two or three years

• Offers four 10-day residencies which take place in the Pacific Northwest

• Faculty includes acclaimed writers, such as Kelli Russell Agodon, Rick Barot, Barrie Jean Borich, and others

Goucher College

Deadline: June 26

• Offers an MFA in nonfiction only

• Faculty specializes in personal essay, literary journalism, memoir, lyric essay, biography, flash nonfiction, and genre hybrids

• Winter residencies meet in New York City, where you learn about the publishing world, meet agents and editors, and pitch your projects

Cedar Crest College

Deadline: August 1

• First graduate program run by an American college that includes exclusive European residencies

• Offers concentrations in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, travel writing, screenwriting, or dual-genre

• Residencies are designed to inspire writing with a sense of place through the study of each European city’s culture

Institute of American Indian Arts

Deadline: February 1

• Emphasizes the importance of Native writers and voicing the Native experience, but open to writers of all backgrounds

• Mentors include Native and non-Native writers who have won Lannan Literary Awards, Whiting Awards, the National Book Award, among others

• Week-long residencies happen twice a year in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Bluegrass Writers Studio

Deadline: August 1

• Summer residencies can take place in both Kentucky and Portugal

• Offers publishing internships with the Appalachian Book Company, Jelly Bucket, Martin Sisters Publishing, and more

• Alumni have been finalists for or won several notable awards, such as The Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction, The Fulbright Scholars Program, The PEN/Bellwether Award for Socially Engaged Fiction, among others

This list too short? Check out the Chill Subs blog for even more low-residency MFA programs!

Have a friend looking for the perfect low-res MFA program? Save them a search and send them this list!

Share

“Writer’s block” gets thrown around a lot in writing spaces but is rarely defined. In theory, it doesn’t need to be defined because we all know the feeling…and giving it too much attention is akin to looking at the monster too closely in a horror movie. It invites the bad thing in. But I think it’s useful to actually talk about what writer’s block means, because it comes in many different forms. Acknowledging this can help defeat it.

Despite the trope commonly found in movies, rarely does writer’s block actually look like literally staring at an empty document or page, slack-jawed and glass-eyed, no thoughts arriving. More often, it looks like getting stuck in a novel draft, unsure what comes next. Writing an essay that feels like it’s moving in circles rather than ever arriving at a coherent point. Knowing a sentiment you want to express in said essay but struggling to find the right words to do so. Concocting a character for fiction who you’re not quite sure what to do with. Having some but not all of the pieces can lead one to feeling stuck, uninspired, and overwhelmed by ideas (yes, I believe blocks are born from an abundance of ideas but lack of focus rather than a dearth of ideas). Blocks can take different shapes and sizes. Which is why I also don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to getting yourself out of them.

The most common advice is to read. That is great advice. It works in many cases and for many people. Engaging deeply with literature gets the gears moving.

But what about the times it doesn’t? Or what if your writing practice already builds in plenty of time to read, so doing so isn’t really a change of course? Because that’s what a block often requires: a disruption. You must do or seek out something slightly out of the ordinary. That’s where your creativity lives and thrives.

For this reason, I often go beyond the old “just read” adage when I feel a block looming over my writing sessions; I seek out inspiration and reinvigoration from other artforms. If you’re a multidisciplinary artist, you already know the power of letting different mediums feed each other. But even for those who work in multiple art forms, my advice is to step outside of all of them and seek out art in areas in which you do not work. See what you can learn from the practices you aren’t constantly trying to master. Story is everywhere: in songs, short films, paintings, tapestries, photographs, a child’s mosaic made of shells. Sometimes, looking at stories that take different shapes than your body of work can help you unlock new ideas and pull you right out of that block.

So yes, read a book, but also go to a museum. Maybe one where you live that you have not been to before; maybe one you’ve been to many times. The beauty of museums is that you likely haven’t engaged deeply with every single piece on display; even the small ones usually have rotating exhibits. And yes, I realize “go to a museum with a notebook and find inspiration” is a frustratingly broad prompt, which is why I won’t send you empty-handed. Here is the writing prompt I’ve used time and again, in all kinds of museums, which begins as a sort of straightforward journaling prompt but has often led to fully realized essays, short stories, and flash pieces.

Read more

What you’ll learn

1. Why Stephen King never lets a character just “grab a beer” — and what he reaches for instead

2. The sensory trick that drops readers straight into your scene

3. How to spot the one unique detail that does the work of a whole paragraph

4. Two exercises to train your eye for what you’ve been walking past

By the end, you’ll have a repeatable way to find details that make readers feel a scene instead of skim past it. The three exercises below are where that starts — and they’re yours to keep.

✰

Subscribe now

Why Do Details Matter So Much

Details are the building blocks of description. The words and bits of information you choose can bring characters, settings, objects, and feelings to life on the page. They create the images readers see in their minds and connect them to the story through their senses and emotions. Details also ground readers by establishing the places and people in the story, distinguishing one character or setting from another, and creating a sense of reality, or in some stories, otherworldliness. Details also support the story’s larger purpose and can serve as meaningful touchstones throughout a piece.

As writers, we often become deeply immersed in our own narratives and stories and can forget that the reader can’t see, sense, or feel what we’ve experienced or imagined. We must continually show them through storytelling, with the action, scenes, and carefully chosen details.

How to Mine for Details

To find the right details for your writing, you need to pay attention, observe closely, and notice what’s happening in the world around you that might otherwise be overlooked or ignored. This takes practice.

Here are two exercises to get you started.

Read more

Hey friends, welcome to The Forever Workshop. First time? Read this. Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today…

A workshop for:

Poets who want to learn the fundamentals of sonnet structure and how to break all the rules to create boundary-pushing, emotive poetry.

Your instructor:

Madeleine Bazil: poet, writer, filmmaker, and author of Field Guide, an ecopoetics newsletter.

Key takeaways:

• Learn how the sonnet works as both a formal container and a site of experimentation

• Learn how to make the volta the emotional engine of a sonnet

• What contemporary poets borrow from traditional sonnet structure (meter, rhyme, 14 lines) and what they deliberately break

• Why constraint in poetry can sharpen language and deepen invention, rather than limit expression

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have a new understanding of how the sonnet structure can be transgressed, manipulated, and played with to create emotionally affecting poetry.

Subscribe now

Read more

Hey there, welcome to The Forever Workshop.

First time? Read this.

Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today…

A workshop for:

Short fiction writers who dream of seeing their work in the Wigleaf Top 50 (and want to peek behind the curtain to find out how it all happens).

Your instructor:

Shome Dasgupta — former Wigleaf Top 50 series editor and author of 13 books

Takeaways:

• How the Wigleaf Top 50 actually works, from reader nominations to the final shortlist

• What one series editor looks for: opening lines, language, and rhythm—and why the first line isn’t a dealbreaker

• What reading thousands of flash pieces taught Shome about his own writing

• Why the Top 50’s annual release brings Shome to tears every year

Few people have seen the Wigleaf Top 50 from both sides. In this Q&A, Shome Dasgupta gives us a peek behind the curtain. You'll walk away with a clearer sense of what the selection process asks of a story, and what the literary community asks of all of us.

So, without further ado, over to Shome…

Read more

Welcome to The Forever Workshop’s MFA Newsletter, a monthly column about career advancement in the literary space. Everything published here is free to enjoy, courtesy of our partnered universities. (Not interested? Turn off emails from this column here.)

Ciera here! I’m the newest addition to the MFA team at Chill Subs. In our previous newsletter, former Tin House editor Elizabeth DeMeo explained how valuable it was to work for her MFA program’s literary magazine while she earned her degree, and I can only echo her sentiment. If I hadn’t worked for Ploughshares while earning my Master’s, I never would’ve met the Chill Subs team and consequently, landed this job only a few months after graduating.

Working for a literary magazine demystifies what happens after you hit submit. You learn who reads submissions (hint: it’s not just the editors!), and the process for deciding whether a sub is chosen or not. You spend hours achingly formatting a piece so that it’s just so and proofread it not once, not twice, sometimes even more than three times…and hope that no errors are found in the polished product. You promote the issue online, in emails, tell everyone in the world about this masterpiece you’ve helped create. You learn how to become a better writer, garner hands-on skills to help you enter the “real world”, and make some pretty cool friends along the way (:

So without further ado, here are some MFA programs that offer students a chance to work on literary magazines, and who you should factor in when application season comes around. Make sure to check out the Chill Subs blog for even more programs!

MFA Partner Programs with Literary Magazines

University of Alabama

Black Warrior Review

Black Warrior Review is the oldest journal to be continuously run by graduate students in the U.S. It nominates and has won awards for Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, PEN America, and Wigleaf’s Top 50.

Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop

Oxford American, Arkana

The Oxford American explores and celebrates the American South's cultural heritage. It received the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2016.

Arkana fosters an inclusive literary tradition that “asks questions, explores mystery, and works to make visible the marginalized, the overlooked, and those whose voices have been silenced.” It nominates and has won awards for Best of the Net and Best Micro Fiction.

University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Ecotone, Chautauqua

Ecotone is a place of danger or opportunity, a testing ground, and welcomes perspectives of historically and currently marginalized writers and artists. It received the AWP Small Press Publisher Award in 2022.

Chautauqua believes that “everyday life should integrate leisure, education, fine arts, and spirituality.” It nominates for the Pushcart Prize.

Northern Michigan University

Passages North

Passages North is run by undergraduate interns, a volunteer graduate student and alumni editors, a graduate assistant, and English department faculty. It nominates and has won awards for the Best of the Net, Best Micro Fiction, Best Small Fictions, Pushcart Prize, and Wigleaf’s Top 50.

Bowling Green State University

Mid-American Review

Mid-American Review publishes contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. It nominates and has won awards for the Best American series, Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Award, New Stories from the South, Poetry Daily, and Harper’s Magazine. Every fall, it hosts the Winter Wheat Festival of Writing, bringing together BGSU writers and widely published guests, for a series of lectures and workshops.

University of Minnesota

Great River Review

Great River Review seeks to publish a diverse range poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and special features that foster connection between local, national, and global communities. In 2002, the journal received the Minnesota State Book Award. It also nominates and has won awards for the Best American series and the Pushcart Prize.

University of Nevada, Reno

Sierra Nevada Review

Sierra Nevada Review believes all art is political. They’re on the search for daring poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, and visual art—urgent writing that makes us feel alive and contends with the present cultural moment.

McNeese University

The McNeese Review, Boudin

The McNeese Review is made possible by faculty and graduate students at McNeese University. Recent issues have featured interviews with Michael Martone and George Saunders, and writing from Gabrielle Bates and Ada Limón, among others.

Boudin is the “spicy online cousin” of The McNeese Review. It publishes fiction and poetry, but welcomes hybrid and other non-traditional forms. Boudin seeks work from women, people of color, LGBTQ+ writers, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

University of Idaho

Fugue

Fugue biannually publishes poetry, fiction, essays, hybrid work, and visual art. Its Annual Writing Contest has been judged by nationally known writers, such as sam sax, Doiranne Laux, Patricia Hampl, and others. It accepts 3.15% of submissions and makes for a damn good read.

Whitworth University

Rock & Sling, Image Journal

Rock & Sling is a Christian literary journal that searches for work which bears witness. They believe that every person is made in the image of God and, for that reason, any witness to a lived human life may let us glimpse a reality beyond us, to catch sight of existence itself.

Image Journal publishes fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and visual art that explore the intersection of art, faith, and the human experience. Author Annie Dillard says the work it publishes is "simple, direct, and without pretension—like the best of all American writing."

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Massachusetts Review

Massachusetts Review publishes work that “provokes debate, inspires action, and expands our understanding of the world around us.” Of the journal, the New York Times wrote, “It is amazing that so much significant writing on race and culture appears in one magazine.” In 2008, MR was named one of the top ten literary journals by The Boston Globe.

Emerson College

Ploughshares, Redivider, Page Turner Magazine

Founded in 1971, Ploughshares is one of the most prestigious literary journals in the U.S. It publishes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, including longform poetry and prose. It nominates and has won awards for the Best American series, Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Award, PEN America, and more.

Redivider is operated by graduate students in the Writing, Literature, and Publishing program at Emerson College. Each issue features a diverse array of content, including short stories, flash fiction, cultural critique, personal essays, and poetry. Its special summer Blurred Genre issue seeks hybrid works.

Page Turner Magazine seeks to spotlight the diverse creativity of students from colleges and universities across the U.S. It publishes student-made art and genre fiction pieces online and in print, and runs a blog that contains reviews, interviews, and articles relevant to genre fiction and the publishing industry.

Colorado State University

Colorado Review

Colorado Review is a national literary journal featuring contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and book reviews. It nominates and has won awards for the Best American series and the Pushcart Prize.

Butler University

Booth

Booth is run by students, faculty, and alumni from the Butler University MFA program. It nominates and has won awards for the Best of the Net and Wigleaf’s Top 50. It’s bold and weird in all the best ways.

Florida Atlantic University

Swamp Ape Review

The Swamp Ape is the smelly southern equivalent of Bigfoot, and Swamp Ape Review works to reflect this creature in its fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art, and “‘swamp’—a fifth category for works that defy form to the extent that the piece’s creator might be unsure of where it belongs.”

More MFA Programs, More Lit Mags

Texas Tech University | Iron Horse Review

Iron Horse Review was founded as an inexpensive way to bring literature to serious readers in the West Texas panhandle, and to provide a space for local writers to be read alongside well-known authors. Today, they’re on the search for energizing work, and pushing to include more women, LGBTQ+ writers, and writers of color in their pages.

Boston University | AGNI

Named after the Vedic god of fire, AGNI is an award-winning literary journal known “among readers around the world,” as PEN America wrote, “for publishing important new writers early in their careers, many of them translated into English for the first time.”

Florida State University | Southeast Review

Southeast Review is a national literary magazine managed by graduate students at Florida State. SER nominates and has won awards for the Best American series, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions, and the Pushcart Prize.

Portland State University | Portland Review

Portland Review publishes prose, poetry, art, and translations that reflect diverse perspectives from both established and emerging writers. It has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission, and CLMP/Amazon Literary Partnerships.

Eastern Kentucky University | Jelly Bucket

Slang for a lunch pail and formerly used by Appalachian laborers, Jelly Bucket is also a literary journal that publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. It is especially committed to publishing writers from, and writing about, marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Bennington College | Bennington Review

Bennington Review publishes “sharp, unexpected, original poetry and prose from a geographically broad and culturally rich spectrum of prominent, up-and-coming, and new voices.”

Speaking of Bennington College… Did you know its MFA program is low-residency? If you’re interested in low-res programs, make sure to check out next month’s newsletter, which will spotlight the benefits of them!

Tell us which literary magazine you’re most eager to work for (:

Leave a comment

Heya, welcome to The Forever Workshop. First time? Read this. Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

A workshop for:

Historical fiction writers who want to find richer story material in their research.

Your instructor:

Emma Darwin - Sunday Times bestselling historical novelist and author of This Itch of Writing

Takeaways:

• A practical guide to unearthing nuggets of inspiration from your research

• A sharper eye for the unexpected details you can develop into scenes

• Ways to develop characters from historical figures without losing your own voice

• How to know when you’ve found something worth following — and when to let it go

• A new habit of noticing you can apply to books, museums, podcasts, and beyond

By the end of this workshop you'll be better equipped to discover the rich seams of material that can be mined from research — and ready to dig into history for new story ideas!

Where to Start with Historical Fiction

We historical fictioneers talk endlessly about doing research to get specific things in our stories right. But when you open a history book or set out to explore a historical site, there’s so much more to be found and worked with, not just for your current story but for future projects. What’s more, because you didn’t find such material in the obvious places, it can bring a real originality and energy to your storytelling.

Whether you have lots of delicious historical sources and material but don’t know what to do with them, you’re on the hunt for new inspiration for your next story, or you don’t feel confident about digging into a history book, this is the workshop for you.

We’ll start by seeing just how many useful, inspiring nuggets we can find in a short extract from a non-fiction history book. We’ll then explore the different ways these nuggets could be useful to a writer, and you’ll then try your hand at growing some of your own writing from what you’ve found.

Read more

Hiya, welcome to The Forever Workshop.

First time? Read this first »

Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

A workshop for:

Writers who want to translate their feelings around grief onto the page with sensitivity and resonance.

Your instructor:

Helene Kiser — certified grief coach, memoirist, creative writing teacher and editor

Takeaways:

• How to convey real emotion to your readers through concrete details

• How to use imagery to create impactful comparisons

• How to capture a devastating moment with quietness

• How to preserve the messy texture of grief with subtlety

• How to use the body to render emotion without naming it

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have the practical tools to write about deeply meaningful experiences with nuance and authenticity, so that readers think, “Yes, that’s exactly how it feels.”

Getting Right (on the Page) the Things Went Wrong

Grief and trauma are among the most universal human experiences in existence, which is precisely what makes them so difficult to render on the page.

When we sit down to write about grief or trauma, we might believe the subject matter alone will carry the writing. Our loss is so enormous, the wound so deep, the reader won’t be able to help but feel our pain. Its weight will transfer automatically from the page to the chest, the way a stone drops into water.

It doesn’t.

Readers don’t share the experience of our suffering simply because it happened. But they do disengage if that experience is written predictably.

Here’s another inconvenient truth: While enormous and all-consuming to those of us in their grip, both are, on the surface, boring. “Someone I loved died and now I’m broken” may be true, but it sure isn’t interesting for a reader. Neither is “a terrible trauma happened to me and it changed my life.” As pieces of writing, they’re locked doors. The reader knocks, waits, and eventually walks away.

Pouring grief or trauma into a journal or talking it through with a therapist serves a real and important purpose. But it isn’t the same thing as crafting an experience for a reader who wasn’t there, doesn’t know you, and owes you nothing.

Getting this right isn’t about being brave enough to go there. It’s about being precise enough, patient enough, and honest enough to stay there and to resist every instinct that pulls you toward the comfortable, the familiar, and the safe.

Before we get to the principles, one structural idea worth holding onto throughout: Grief and trauma writing operates on two levels at once. The first is the surface — what happened. The sequence of events, the basic storyline, the facts as they unfolded. This happened, then this, then this. That layer matters. It’s the architecture your reader moves through.

The level that makes this writing worth reading runs underneath. It’s the meaning layer: what the loss or violation revealed, how it broke the world open, how it rearranged the way you move through your life. The best grief and trauma writing isn’t just a record of events. It’s an attempt (often struggling, often unresolved) to understand what those events did to you. Not to report the wound, but to trace its shape.

With that architecture in mind, here’s where the writing most commonly goes wrong — and how to fix it.

Read more

Hiya, welcome to The Forever Workshop.

First time? Read this first »

Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

A workshop for:

Writers who struggle with starting a new idea and need some surefire methods of jumping right in.

Your instructor:

Erin Karbuczky — writer, workshop facilitator, and creative process expert

Takeaways:

• Explore the question at the heart of your story

• Discover how conflict creates structure

• Use your protagonist’s “authority” to shape their character arc

• Create tension and surprise with cleverly placed details

• Set the mood with atmosphere and tone

• Layer up meaning with symbols and motifs

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have six new clever hacks to help unlock your story, build your plot, and develop your characters, until you’re ready to write!

Find A New Way into Your Story

When it comes to writing prose, I’ve always had an affinity for beautiful sentences and an intuition for voice. That all lent itself well to writing poetry, which is where I got my start, but when I decided I wanted to be a novelist, I had a bit of catching up to do in terms of things like structure, conflict, and characterization.

Always a good student, I spent my time reading a lot of craft books and tried my best to internalize the advice. But the more I read, the more I noticed that many craft books teach the various components of fiction and writing entirely separately from one another, with a chapter or so on each component.

This confused the heck out of my brain, because while I understood what they were saying about each part, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get the parts working together — as a whole body, like a piece of writing should — until I developed my series of “story equation” hacks, which put corresponding elements together from the start, taking out the guesswork. I hope they can help someone else out there who also needs to see it presented differently.

Read more

Hiya, welcome to The Forever Workshop.

First time? Read this first »

Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

A workshop for:

Any writer who wants to make their characters’ first encounters feel memorable, engaging, and full of possibility.

Your instructor:

Steve Chang (fiction editor at Okay Donkey) in conversation with Autumn Watts (former editor at Guernica) — co-founders of Lit Match Collective

Takeaways:

• A guide to basic 4-phase scene construction

• The essentials of pre-meet setups

• How to converting passive readers into participants

• And what every writer should know about tension and consequence

In this workshop, fiction editors Steve and Autumn explore the fundamental elements of a successful meet-cute and break down a real life story excerpt to show you how it all works in real time. By the end, you’ll know how to craft a character encounter that hooks the reader and leaves them feeling invested — earning tension rather than announcing it.

The Art of the “Meet-Cute”

Today you’re getting a masterclass in making character encounters matter as we explore the components of a successful “meet-cute”.

For those not familiar, the meet-cute is the first encounter between potential romantic partners under conditions that are adorable, unusual, or awkward. Basically: they meet. And it’s cute.

The meet-cute is a staple of romance and rom-coms, but can be applied to all genres and make any first encounter more impactful and interesting.

Read more

Welcome to The Forever Workshop’s MFA Newsletter. Today, enjoy an interview with Elizabeth DeMeo, former Tin House editor, about entering the publishing world post-MFA.

Everything published here is free to enjoy, courtesy of our partnered universities. (Not interested? Turn off emails from this column here.)

Justine: I remember when I was interviewing for the Tin House editorial internship, you expressed that you felt your MFA was invaluable in helping you step into the roles you wanted to professionally. Can you first share a bit about your decision to pursue an MFA, including why you chose the University of Arkansas?

Elizabeth: My path to an MFA program was unconventional. I didn’t realize until several years after college that I had an interest in writing, so it was a big change involving a steep learning curve to pursue an MFA. I was pretty into theater and film at that time, so I initially considered studying screenwriting, but ultimately went with fiction because I wanted to learn a broader set of craft techniques.

I chose the University of Arkansas because it was a fully funded program and (at least according to the list I was following at the time) the highest ranked program that admitted me. I’m not sure I chose it for this reason, but it was also helpful that the Arkansas MFA is four years long. Since I had very little experience with creative writing, I needed every minute of instruction I could get.

I was initially waitlisted at Arkansas, which I mention because I want to reduce stigma around this subject. In my opinion, admissions results don’t indicate much about your potential as a writer. Your willingness to learn, to work hard, and to commit to your craft is what’s most important.

Justine: What experiences did you have during your MFA that helped you feel prepared to step into an editorial role at a publishing entity like Tin House?

Elizabeth: The reading I did (both in and outside of class) formed the bedrock of my editorial sensibilities. I learned a lot about what I like in contemporary nonfiction by reading work from Wendy S. Walters, Amy Fusselman, Maggie Nelson, Jeannie Vanasco, Angela Pelster, Elissa Washuta, Jenn Shapland, and Elena Passarello, among others. I believe there is a clear line from writing by these authors to Shze-Hui Tjoa’s The Story Game, a wonderful memoir I acquired and edited at Tin House.

In fiction, my professor Padma Viswanathan assigned us Barbara Gowdy’s The White Bone, which made me fall in love with writing from animal perspectives. Again, there’s a clear line from this assigned book to another book I acquired and edited at Tin House: Talia Lakshmi Kolluri’s amazing story collection What We Fed to the Manticore.

During my first summer in Fayetteville, I met my partner, Anthony Blake, a poet who was a year ahead of me in the MFA program. He had some indie press experience because he’d previously worked at Sarabande Books, and he began to share what he knew with me. Those conversations were my introduction to the publishing world, and then I learned more while working in various capacities for the Arkansas International, our MFA program’s literary magazine. Writing book reviews and interviewing authors, as I did for Ark Int, is something I’d encourage any MFA student to do.

The final experience that really prepared me to work in publishing was an editorial internship with Tin House itself. Through the internship, I learned quite a bit about what an editor does and how I could hone my skills to that end, and also became more familiar with the Tin House list. Having a clear understanding of the press’s mission and the types of books they publish was essential when I began working there full-time during the last semester of my MFA program.

Justine: Many people pursue an MFA in creative writing because they want to be a published, successful author, but of course that’s not a guaranteed outcome for everyone. How do you think students can maximize their experience in an MFA program, not just for improving their writing but to develop themselves for professional opportunities as well?

Elizabeth: If your MFA program has a literary magazine, join the staff. Try to gain not only editorial experience but also hard skills like copyediting, proofreading, layout, and design. Publishing reviews and author interviews, as I mentioned above, is immensely helpful, whether you do so in your MFA’s lit mag or elsewhere.

Additionally, use summers or any semester where you have the bandwidth to intern in the publishing industry. Don’t feel limited to just working at a press; an internship at an agency or literary arts organization can be incredibly valuable. If you can’t find those kinds of positions, working at a local bookstore is a great first step toward a job in publishing.

Once you begin publishing your own work, make a website so agents and editors can find you. Ask your MFA faculty about scheduling agent and editor visits if your program doesn’t already offer those.

Justine: You’re now teaching creative writing at Towson University. Do you feel like your MFA experience remains relevant in this role?

Elizabeth: Yes, absolutely. I taught composition classes for the first two years of my MFA, and during the first semester everyone in my cohort took a pedagogy class. Though not directly related to creative writing, these experiences helped me understand who I am as a teacher and what’s important to me in the classroom.

Later on in the MFA, I was the director of a program called Arkansas WITS (Writers in the Schools), which was my first experience teaching poetry. As a WITS instructor, you learn a few simple, straightforward rules to share with students as they write poems, and though I have some other tricks up my sleeve now, I still often think about the wisdom of the WITS maxims.

I also learned so much from my MFA professors Padma Viswanathan and Toni Jensen that I try to pass on to my students: specific ways of thinking and speaking about craft, exercises for improving your writing, and best practices during a workshop, among other lessons. Padma and Toni also, of course, introduced me to many of my favorite books and authors, and it’s a joy now to be able to teach some of those same books and authors to my students. This semester, for instance, I taught Rachel Cusk’s Outline, a book I read and loved deeply in a class with Padma.

Justine: For MFA hopefuls—what advice would you offer them, whether related to their goals of being an author or a publishing professional?

Elizabeth: I believe that what I said above is the best advice I can offer: MFA admissions results don’t indicate much about your potential as a writer. Your willingness to learn, to work hard, and to commit to your craft is what’s most important.

More concretely, I read MFA vs NYC before deciding to attend an MFA program and remember finding it useful. I’d also ask to have a call with a current student (or do a campus visit, if possible) to learn more about an MFA program before accepting their offer of admission. Unless you’re independently wealthy, make sure there’s stable funding for your program.

To learn more about the publishing industry in the United States, specifically from the mid-20th century onward, I’d suggest reading Dan Sinykin’s Big Fiction. To learn more about contemporary independent presses, I’d study their online catalogs. The Authors Guild has information on subjects like contracts and copyright if you want to better understand them as a publishing professional or an author yourself.

If you want to learn more about literary magazines, I’d spend some time looking through the curated Chill Subs lists. I’ve been recommending these lately to students who are just starting to send out work for publication, and I don’t know of a better way to broaden your horizons in the lit mag world.

Elizabeth DeMeo is a writer and a former editor at Tin House, where she acquired and edited books of fiction and literary nonfiction. Originally from New Hampshire, she holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Arkansas, where she was Managing Editor of the Arkansas International and Director of the Arkansas Writers in the Schools program. She currently teaches creative writing at Towson University in Maryland.

Entering the “real world” can be scary! Share this with your MFA friends to help them prep for post-grad life.

Share

Hiya, welcome to The Forever Workshop.

First time? Read this first »

Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

A workshop for:

Writers who are ready to embrace the constraints of micro memoir and unlock their life story.

Your instructor:

Darien Gee — bestselling author, memoirist, and founder of Writer-ish and Deals, Drafts and Detours

Takeaways:

• Three essential elements of micro memoir and how to put them into practice

• Why writing in micro can break the curse of the blank page

• The snapshot method: focusing on moments to make your life story less overwhelming

• The never-ending bank of micro ideas you can draw from memories, objects, and details

• Turn a collection of micro memoirs into a chapbook — or the seeds of a full memoir.

By the end of this workshop you’ll have a solid grounding in how to use the micro form to create concise, unique, and deeply personal creative non-fiction — one tiny memoir at a time.

Ready to write small but think big? Let’s go!

Why Write Micro Memoir?

We all have stories to tell, but how? Maybe you find yourself paralyzed when staring at the blank page, unsure of where to begin. Maybe you’re overwhelmed at the thought of trying to capture an entire life in a piece of prose. Maybe you have notebooks full of moments that would make good writing, but have no idea how to shape them. Or maybe you’ve started countless memoirs that peter out after the first fifty pages.

After two decades of helping writers tell their stories, here’s what I’ve discovered: the problem isn’t a lack of material but trying to tell too much at once. I’m Darien Gee, and today we’re diving into one of my favorite short forms: the micro memoir.

Our most powerful stories often emerge from small moments and careful attention. Micro prose (300 words or less) is a form that helped me transform a 90k+ novel into an award-winning chapbook of 36 prose poems (Other Small Histories). I’ve also used it to create short vignettes between full-length chapters in my novels, as well as writing and editing micro prose anthologies, including my own collection of micro memoirs, Allegiance.

If you’re new to the micro form in general, you can find my Micro 101 workshop here, but here’s all you really need to know to get started:

“I define micro as 300 words or fewer, not including the title — a simple constraint that changes everything about how you approach your story.

Think of micro as a snapshot, not a movie. You’re capturing one perfect frame that suggests an entire story rather than telling it. Here are a few more elements of micro:

1. Brief but complete: There’s a beginning, middle, and end.

2. Focused on one moment or idea: There’s no room for tangents or multiple stories.

3. Precise in language: Every word must earn its place.

4. Emotionally resonant: It lingers with the reader long after they’ve finished reading.”

Micro is about crafting tiny stories that pack enormous emotional punch — which is what makes it such an impactful form to apply to memoir. It helps with all those stumbling blocks that stop you telling your stories:

Note: You’ll see me use the terms micro memoir, micro essay, and micro prose interchangeably. Much depends on your initial intention and, later, your final draft. What stays constant is honoring the word count constraint and sharing the stories of your life.

Three Essential Elements of Micro Memoir

Read more