uw bothell mfa creative writing

• Become A Member
• Remember Me      Forgot Password?
• CANCEL Login

Association of Writers & Writing Programs

• Writing Programs & Pedagogy
• Community & Calendar
• Magazine & Media
• AWP Conference
• Writers' Conferences & Centers
• Guide to Writing Programs

• Advice Articles
• Campus Visit Video Series

University of Washington Bothell

Washington, united states.

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing & Poetics at the University of Washington Bothell (UW Bothell) is dedicated to helping each student develop their creative work through a course of study that encourages exploration and discovery.

We organize our curriculum into areas of inquiry rather than genres. In contrast to many MFA programs, our writers enjoy the freedom to experiment across genres and media as suits their creative purposes. Emphasizing experimentation and hybridity, our program invites students to participate in a community concerned with the pursuit of creative writing in a rapidly changing society.

In the first year, creative writing workshops and poetics seminars explore diverse genres and writing practices, relationships between imagination and fact, processes of thinking and memory, and writers' research methods.

The second year is thesis-intensive. Students focus on developing independent creative work, in or across the genre(s), form(s), or media of their choosing. They also situate their artistic practice through an individual poetics statement.

Contact Information

17927 113th Ave N Box 358530 Bothell Washington, United States 98011-7909 Phone: 425-352-5380 Email: [email protected] http://uwb.edu/mfa

Bachelor of Arts in English/Literature +

Undergraduate program director.

The School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and the faculty associated with the MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics offer two relevant undergraduate degrees in Culture, Literature, and the Arts and in Interdisciplinary Arts. Within these majors, students can take several creative writing courses as electives counting as credit toward the degree. Some of these courses combine creative writing with other arts and new media explorations. We are dedicated to interdisciplinary studies and arts curriculum, so students are encouraged to pursue curricular paths that build and develop their strengths and interests. As an Interdisciplinary Arts major, students can take creative arts practice courses (including creative writing) in diverse arts.

Minor / Concentration in Creative Writing +

The Minor in Creative Writing is a 25 credit course of study that enables students to explore and engage diverse creative writing practices and to develop artistic, critical and conceptual competence in an interdisciplinary context.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Poetics +

Graduate program director.

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing and Poetics at the University of Washington Bothell (UW Bothell) is dedicated to helping each student develop their creative work through a course of study that encourages exploration and discovery. Through an emphasis on poetics, or why we write how we write, we invite students to participate in a forum and laboratory that focuses on the pursuit of creative writing in a rapidly changing society.

The intensive, first year curriculum is based on areas of inquiry, rather than genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction), creating an alternative to most regional and national MFA programs. Diverse questions are raised: How is creative writing an ethical, political, and aesthetic endeavor? What forms might creative writing take in an interconnected, transnational society? What kinds of creative expression does new media make possible?

In the second year, students pursue a thesis with an advisor and an individualized course of study. Some degree candidates may choose to write their thesis as a single genre; others may elect hybrid modes that utilize multiple genres or media. The second year is designed to give students access to a broad range of interdisciplinary courses so that they can develop an area of expertise pertinent to their written arts and career paths.

Anida Yoeu Ali is an artist whose works span performance, installation, video, images, public encounters, and political agitation. Ali’s artistic work has been the recipient of grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment of the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. Ali’s "The Buddhist Bug," a multidisciplinary work that investigates displacement and identity through humor, absurdity and performance, has been exhibited in Phnom Penh galleries, Singapore International Photography Festival, Malaysia Heritage Centre Singapore, Southeast Asia ArtsFest London, and featured at the 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale where Ali participated as an artist in residence.

http://www.anidaali.com/

Naomi Macalalad Bragin

Naomi Macalalad Bragin's research is published in The Drama Review, Women and Performance, Tropics of Meta, and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Dance. Bragin's writing has won awards from The Drama Review, Congress on Research in Dance, and American Society for Theatre Research. Bragin's current book project Black Power of Hip Hop Dance: On Kinethic Politics studies political aesthetics of streetdance practices emergent in California during the 1970s funk and disco eras and has been funded by the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, Simpson Center for Humanities Society of Scholars Fellowship, UW Royalty Research Fund and National Endowment of the Humanities.

http://www.naomibragin.com/

Amaranth Borsuk

Amaranth Borsuk is the author of Handiwork and, with programmer Brad Bouse, Between Page and Screen, an interactive book of augmented-reality poems. Abra, a collaboration with Kate Durbin, will be published by 1913 Editions in 2014. The recipient of an Expanded Artists' Books grant from the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, Abra is forthcoming as an artist's book and iPad app, created with text/sound/performance artist Ian Hatcher. Another collaboration with Andy Fitch, As We Know, was selected by Julie Carr for the Subito prize and will appear in late 2014.

http://www.amaranthborsuk.com/

Ching-In Chen

Ching-In Chen is a hybrid writer, community organizer and performer. They are author of The Heart's Traffic: a novel in poems; recombinant, which won the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry and to make black paper sing. Their forthcoming Kundiman for Kin :: Information Retrieval for Monsters was a finalist for the Leslie Scalapino Award for Innovative Performance. Chen is also co-editor of The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities and Here Is a Pen: an Anthology of West Coast Kundiman Poets. They have received fellowships from Kundiman, Lambda, Watering Hole, Callaloo, Can Serrat, Storyknife and Imagining America and are a member of Macondo and Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation communities

https://www.chinginchen.com/

Jeanne Heuving

Jeanne Heuving’s cross genre work Incapacity won a Small Press Traffic Book of the Year Award for 2004, and she has recently published Transducer, a book of poetry. She has written widely on twentieth century innovative writing, including the book Omissions Are Not Accidents: Gender in the Art of Marianne Moore. Her book Transmutation of Love and Avant-Garde Poetics is forthcoming from the University of Alabama Press and she recently published her long poem, “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts” in Hambone 20. Jeanne serves as the Director of the MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at University of Washington Bothell.

Ted Hiebert

Ted Hiebert is a Seattle-based visual artist and theorist. His large-scale photographic works have been shown across Canada and in the Pacific Northwest, in group exhibitions internationally. Hiebert is the author of In Praise of Nonsense: Aesthetics, Uncertainty and Postmodern Identity.

http://www.tedhiebert.net/site/

Joe Milutis

Joe Milutis is a writer and media artist. He is the author of Failure, A Writer's Life (Zer0 Books, 2013) and Ether: The Nothing That Connects Everything (Minnesota, 2006), as well as numerous chapbooks, media/literary hybrid works, videos and sound pieces. Most recently, he has been exploring experimental translation, and is working on a scholarly assessment of this emerging area, in tandem with various creative translation projects.

http://www.joemilutis.com/

Visiting Writers Program +

Rae Armantrout

Joshua Beckman

Anselm Berrigan

Christian Bök

Laynie Brown

Richard Chiem

Allison Cobb

Brian Evenson

Lisa Fishman

Anastasia Hill

Tyehimba Jess

Arthur Kroker

Layli Long Solider

Greg Lundgren

Nathaniel Mackey

Dawn Lundy Martin

Donato Mancini

Don Mee Choi

Robert Mittenthal

Adalaide Morris

Tracie Morris

Suzanne Morrison

Charles Mudede

Lance Olsen

Jennifer Scappetone

Aaron Shurin

Tree Swenson

Matthew Zapruder

Charles Bernstein

Rachel Blau DuPlessis

Kathleen Fraser

Elisabeth Frost

Kate Greenstreet

Lyn Hejinian

Cynthia Hogue

K.J. Holmes

Doug Jarvis

Bhanu Kapil

Chris Kraus

Aldon L. Nielsen

Selah Saterstrom

Jordan Scott

Evie Shockley

Ron Silliman

Barrett Watten

Ronaldo Wilson

Reading Series +

from The Convergence Zone ( https://www.uwb.edu/mfa/events/from-the-convergencezone )

Gamut ( https://www.uwb.edu/mfa/events/gamut )

Share this page:

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 by AWP. All rights reserved.

Quick links

• Make a Gift
• Directories

Creative Writing Program

The University of Washington English Department's Creative Writing Program offers a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and a two-year Master of Fine Arts  degrees in Poetry and Prose. 

Founded in 1947 by Theodore Roethke, the Creative Writing Program's tradition of transformative workshops continues with our current faculty:  David Bosworth , Nikki David Crouse ,  Rae Paris ,  David Shields,  and  Maya Sonenberg  (Prose), and  Linda Bierds (part-time) ,  Andrew Feld ,  Richard Kenney,  and  Pimone Triplett  (Poetry).  They include among their many honors fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as prizes such as the Flannery O’Connor Award in Short Fiction and the McCarthy Prize. The list of our alumni publications represents a significant chapter in the history of American literature. To see recent examples of our MFA Program alumni publications, see the article MFA Program Graduates Publish at Impressive Rates in our Spring 2022 English Matters newsletter .

The MFA Program remains purposely small, admitting only ten students per year. The relatively small size of our program (20 students at most at any given time) allows for close associations to develop among students and faculty. The first year is devoted to participation in workshops and literary seminars, and the second year allows for concentrated work on a creative manuscript and critical essay under the supervision of two creative writing faculty members. 

The BA in English with a Creative Writing Concentration prepares students not only to be more effective communicators and artists, but also creative problem solvers and more nuanced critical thinkers. By situating small, student-oriented writing workshops alongside literary models, Creative Writing classes enhance the broader study of literature and critical theory, helping students gain a greater understanding of the social and cultural forces informing their work. A student completing the program is more able to situate themselves in a larger aesthetic and social context and make more meaningful, informed decisions about their own artistic practice. In addition, through the intense practice of creative writing, students are able to see the world more clearly, in a more nuanced and meaningful manner, and apply these skills to a wide variety of work and life situations.

Director:  Nikki David Crouse

Program Coordinator: Shannon Mitchell 

Graduate Program Advisor: Tim Cosgrove

Undergraduate Program Advising: Humanities Academic Services

Creative Writing News

•   Facebook
•   Instagram
•   Twitter
•   Newsletter

• Mission, Values, and Goals
• Diversity Plan
• Scholarship
• How to apply
• American & Ethnic Studies
• Community Psychology
• Conservation & Restoration Science
• Culture, Literature & the Arts
• Data Visualization
• Earth System Science
• Environmental Science
• Environmental Studies
• Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
• Global Studies
• Interactive Media Design
• Interdisciplinary Arts
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• Law, Economics & Public Policy
• Mathematical Thinking & Visualization
• Media & Communication Studies
• Science, Technology & Society
• Society, Ethics & Human Behavior
• Degree Maps
• Minor in Creative Writing
• Minor in Diversity
• Minor in Ecological Restoration
• Minor in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
• Minor in Geographic Information System
• Minor in Human Rights
• Minor in Performance
• Minor in Policy Studies
• Minor in Science, Technology & Society
• Minor in Visual & Media Arts
• Learning Objectives
• Student Feedback
• Petitions and Forms
• Grade Appeal
• Grievances and Complaints
• IAS Degree Portfolio
• Credit Based Learning
• Community Engagement
• D.C. Human Rights Seminar
• Study Abroad
• Global Scholars
• How to Apply
• Thesis Work
• Fall Convergence

Spring Festival

• MFA Publications
• About Cultural Studies
• Cultural Studies: Starting Points
• Graduate Research Conference
• Why Policy Studies?
• Prospective Students
• Graduate Admissions
• Finding an Internship Site
• For Internship Sites
• For Faculty
• Registration
• On leave and withdrawal
• Satisfactory Performance and Progress
• Petitions and forms
• Campus Resources
• Incoming Students
• Technology Resources and Support
• Educational Access & Opportunity Fund
• Global Scholars Fund
• Experiential & Community Based Learning Fund
• Academic Excellence & Emerging Initiatives Fund
• Diane and Mike Gillespie Community Action Fund
• Nony Clark Milmoe Scholarship
• Sandra Martin Roberts Memorial Scholarship
• Washington D.C. Travel Assistance Fund
• Graduate Studies Excellence Fund
• Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program Fund
• American Muslim Research Institute Fund
• All IAS Funds

Quick Links

• Information Technology
• Commuter Services
• Human Resources
• Campus Safety

On this page: 2024 Spring Festival | Festival Schedule | Candidate Bios | Guest Artists | Previous Spring Festival Candidates

The annual Spring Festival for the MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics program features readings and performances by graduating MFA candidates and a guest writer or artist. MFA candidates showcase selections from their MFA thesis projects.

2024 MFA Spring Festival

Saturday, June 1, 2024   |   12:00 PM – 6:00 PM University of Washington Bothell   |   North Creek Events Center (NCEC) This event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested. Register to At tend

Festival Schedule

with Guest Artist, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore ( mattildabernsteinsycamore.com ) is the award-winning author of three novels and three nonfiction titles, and the editor of six nonfiction anthologies. Her book The Freezer Door was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award in 2021. Her memoir The End of San Francisco won a Lambda Literary Award, and her novel Sketchtasy was one of NPR’s Best Books of 2018. Her most recent anthology is Between Certain Death and a Possible Future: Queer Writing on Growing Up with the AIDS Crisis , and her new book, Touching the Art , was just released in November.

Featured Readings by MFA Candidates

• Elisa Balabram, The Lighter Way
• Mae Barbee, Playgod: Entertainment for Fools
• Pria Dalrymple, Greetings from the Meat Aisle
• Phoenix Kai, Trans Universe Theory
• Lindsey Keefer, Propagation
• Farron Knechtel, The Internet Sad Boi Journals
• Melissa M. Knopp, Little Sufferings
• Emma McVeigh, We Might Have Been a River
• Korede Oluwaseyi Oseni, Fractured Personifications
• Felicia Madrid Payomo, T R I N K E T
• Parker Dean Smith, Bird Boy: Evolution at Lightspeed
• Kathryn M. Tran, Fragmentary Mother
• Candace Whitney-Morris, Variable Proximities: calculations of closeness | diagrams of distance
• Gradon Wong, Borrowed Mysteries: Lines Composed on Tantalus

MFA Candidate Bios

Elisa Balabram is an artist, lecturer, entrepreneur, and author of Ask Others, Trust Yourself: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Key to Success and of Mending a Broken Heart: Lili’s Magic Journey . She authored a case study in Family Businesses on a Mission – Attaining the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of Decent Work and Economic Growth (Emerald Publishing) and coauthored Concise Introduction to the Family Firm (Edward Elgar Publishing). Her thesis for the MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics at UWB, The Lighter Way , is a transmedia novel that features the Lighter Web – a web created to serve as a safe and loving space for people to interact with each other with empathy, kindness, and support, instead of with hate, disrespect, and greed. Elisa’s blog about self-love, business, and creative writing can be found at askotherstrustyourself.com.

Mae Ellen Barbee is a writer based out of Tacoma where she lives with her husband and cat. Her favorite topics are women’s rights and women’s wrongs, especially through a horror lens. She also likes writing weird and surreal stories focusing on the cage of femininity. When not writing, she can be found learning new things, trying to learn how to crochet, stuck in traffic, or attempting to teach a cat how to go on walks.

Pria Dalrymple is a second-year MFA candidate in UW Bothell’s Creative Writing & Poetics program. She explores the existential of being young and full of angst through the character of the Meat Aisle. Pria’s thesis, Greetings from the Meat Aisle does just that— through silliness, sadness, and similarity. Her visual expression throughout Greetings from the Meat Aisle includes stuffed creatures made from meat-patterned fabric. Pria also holds a BDes in Design from Eastern Washington University.

Phoenix Kai (they/them) is a queer poet, writer, and multimedia artist located on the unceded Indigenous lands of the Coast Salish peoples in Seattle, WA. their work has appeared in the Henry Art Gallery Interpretive Guide, Bullshit Lit, Beyond Queer Words , and elsewhere. they are currently fascinated by speculative futures, quantum physics, queer belonging, and mythological retellings. In their free time they enjoy reading YA novels, watching cartoons, and playing videogames.

Lindsey Keefer writes fiction and poetry with a focus on science and the natural world. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, she’s a big fan of the rain. She received her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Portland in 2020. Lindsey believes deeply in the power of friendship, and she likes to think she’s best friends with the fish she evolved from. In her fiction, she aims to interrogate the sociology of dystopia, the embodiment of grief, and the relationship between nature and machine. You can find her blog at lindseykwrites.com.

Farron Knechtel is a genderqueer, multiracial writer and poet from the Seattle area. They are fascinated by the strange, often absurd intersections of identity in the digital and physical world. Farron blends poetry, prose, and online ephemera to create eclectic, darkly humorous work. Farron received their Bachelor of Arts in Creative and Professional Writing from Central Washington University in 2021. While at CWU, Farron presented poetry for Healing Spaces: Poems and Prose on Social, Racial, and Environmental Justice and served as an editor and contributor to The Observer , the student newspaper. Farron is a current candidate for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Poetics at University Washington Bothell, graduating in spring 2024. From autumn 2023 to spring 2024, Farron served as a curator for Gamut: A Literary Series. Farron joins with their fellow students in demanding University of Washington divest from Israel and cut ties with Boeing.

Melissa M. Knopp is a writer and hobby photographer originally from Kennewick, Washington. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from La Sierra University, where she also studied French language and vocal performance. Her work is deeply rooted in themes of place, relationship, and self. Her work has been featured in Roadrunner Review, The River, and Spectrum Magazine . Her photography has appeared in stay mag. Upon completion of this program, Melissa hopes to spend many hours drinking coffee in sunshine and cuddling her cat, Gandalf.

Emma McVeigh (she/her) is a poet, sound artist, and musician living in Seattle. Her work explores embodiment and liberation through a combination of ritual and the investigation of systems through language and sound. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, she finds her home between the mountains and the sea, water being her first teacher. Her poetry and prose have been published in Clamor Literary Journal, Silly Goose Press, and CAM News . She is the co-host of the House Reading, a bi-monthly poetry series in Seattle centered around community and home.

Korede Oseni is from Nigeria and earned a Bachelor of Law degree from Lagos State University. She specializes in poetry, prose, and multimedia, and her recent work explores the intersections of people, places, and objects. Korede uses Lagos and Washington State as points of activation for these conversations. She is interested in spotlighting African and Nigerian stories.

Felicia Payomo is a Filipino-American artist who began writing poetry ten years ago. Originally from Oakland, California, Felicia has been pursuing the arts in various modalities since an early age. She received her undergraduate degree in English and Creative writing at Mills College. In the past, she was awarded the Mary Merrit Henry Prize for a collection of poems in 2020 and was selected to represent Mills College in the Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest in 2021. Throughout her studies, Felicia has encouraged herself to bend poetry to break the monotony of writing. Besides experimentation, at the forefront of her creation is writing to illustrate color into the small moments in life that go overlooked. Her love for the strength of words, romanticizing the mundane, and building connection with the reader through honest storytelling is what continues to inspire her writing to this day.

Parker Dean was born in the High Desert of SoCal, and moved to Seattle three years ago to enjoy the rain. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and English Literature from the University of Redlands, and he is the Co-Founder of Silly Goose Press, an online literary magazine he started with his best friends which focuses on whimsy and fabulism. His work explores the self, the connection between human and animal, and LGBTQ+ storytelling. He is a bird lover, a nature enjoyer, and a believer in the Oxford comma. Please approach with caution, he will share bird facts with you.

Kathryn Tran is a multi-media artist. She brings her passion for storytelling into each medium she works with. She is a Marine Corps veteran whose work often reflects themes of her military experience. Beyond creative writing, Kathryn works with audio, video, and visual art. She primarily writes creative nonfiction and essay. Often her subject matter discusses the human experience, family, and nature. Kathryn is a mom to a newborn baby and her current work focuses on motherhood and all of the profound moments that come with it.

Candace Whitney Morris is an archivist artist and writer compelled by the forgotten or quieted voice of what remains. Working in interdisciplinary/hybrid form and within the poetic school of documentary and erasure, Candace is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and Poetics at the University of Washington Bothell. Her work explores liminal spaces, seeks to give form to hidden abstraction, and interrogates humanity’s social structures of belonging, grief, and relational hierarchies. This fascination with the epistemology of human connection drives Candace into forensic investigations of the past, and she uses its remnants to recodify and reimagine what it means to be a human bound by time. Candace also uses her decades-long corporate communication and marketing skills to help artists find their voice and promote their work through publishing author interviews and book reviews. Connect with Candace at candacewhitneymorris.writer@gmail.com.

Gradon Wong spent most of his time in Hawaiʻi before coming to Washington. He writes mostly poetry about things he does not understand. He is not sure whether poetry helps with understanding, but that at the very least it makes something of misunderstanding. Probably the kind of poet that you should not let into your ideal city.

Guest Artists

Every year, our graduating cohort nominates a guest artist to serve as a benedictory reader at Spring Festival. These guests are nominated from among those visitors they have interacted with during their time in the program.

Previous Spring Festival MFA Candidates

Congratulations to our previous graduating cohorts!

Featured Guest Artist: Robert Farid Karimi

• Alexandria Simmons ,  Fantasy and Folklore: The Education of Half-Orc Scarlette Urrug
• Alysa Levi-D’Ancona ,  Mist Manifesto
• Amy Eldridge ,  The Panther
• Bujinlkham Erdenebaatar , Veiled Street
• Connor James , The Carolyne Project: A Speculative Experiment of Narrative Structure
• Marwah M. Shebl , The Last of Our Days
• Matt Livezey Whitehurst , Anti-Parietal Epithalamus
• Raelynne Woo , Beyond the Curtain

Featured Guest Artist: Selah Saterstrom

• Amy Hirayama , Japanese Blood in the Heart of the Gothic: An Anthology of Gothic Stories from the Japanese Diaspora .
• Meta LeCompte , Life Could Be What It Is Right Now .
• Emily J. Mundy , What Blooms in the Dark .
• Tricia Goetschius Fuentes , Sabotage of the Sunflowers .
• Carson Thomas , Suspension .
• Madison Nikfard , It’s Still You: An Intimate Glimpse into Girlhood and Growth .
• Sky O’Brien , Beginners .
• Maria Delgado Stevens , He Died in the House, A Performance .
• Harrison Lee , PLEASE .

Featured Guest Artist: Diana Khoi Nguyen

Graduates: .

• Yuan Zhuang , Feather Coat .
• Scott Bentley , Bwai \ Remapping .
• Gregory Buck , … S& W8 .
• Annika G. Rundberg Bunney , Long Exposure .
• Alec Gabin , The Son .
• Troy Landrum Jr. , Dreaming of the Great Migration .
• Chris Ryan Lauer , La Fin du Monde .
• Sanika Nalgirkar , Memories- A Grief Journal .
• Joseph Niduaza , Chimera .
• Rose K. O’Connor , Dutch Boats .
• Julie Voss , A Woman’s Mutation .
• Cliff Watson , 6-foot pine .
• Simon Wolf , Charging .

Featured Guest Artist: Don Mee Choi

• Eric Acosta , Virgo .
• Marina Burandt , A Tiny Miniature World Where the Proportions Are Slightly Off .
• Nicolas Hauser , A sk the Doctor, He Might Know! .
• Sabina Livadariu , Behind the Curtain .
• Abigail Mandlin , Muses .
• Ashley Noelle , Asymptomatic .
• Matt Porter , A Soft-Boiled Potato .
• Stephanie Segura , Open Door Behind You .
• Nicholas Sweeney , Bed of Leaves .

Featured Guest Artist: Dao Strom

• Woogee Bae , Mung .
• Aya Bram BonnLuders , North of Nothing .
• Peter Buller , Pterratactile .
• Amy Jones , AOTA: all of the above .
• Reed Lowell , The Summer Years .
• dana middleton , the corridor closes at both ends .
• Virginia Soileau , Versus Jane Doe .

Featured Guest Artist: Suzanne Morrison

• Jacq Marie Babb , WEYOUI .
• Michael Warren Bagby , Weighing Words .
• Cristina Cortez , Unbound .
• Jessica Hagy , Watermarks .
• Dylan Hogan , The Streets Around Here Tell You Exactly Where You Are .
• Mitchell Kopitch , Din’s Grimoire: Of Games, Gender, Memories, and Self Acceptance .
• Amanda Lybeck , Black Lake .
• Tomm McCarthy , Selections from Dakopeta .
• Subha Nair , To the Moon I Go and Other Stories .
• Katelyn Oppegard , Near Before and After .

Featured Guest Artist: Renee Gladman

• Corbin Louis , No Way Out But Through .
• Yohandra Cabello , The Anatomical Grip .
• Brent Cox , The River Twice .
• Terrell Fox , This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things .
• Liezel Moraleja Hackett , Matindi .
• Amanda Hurtado , POST .
• Nicole McCarthy , The Blueprints of Memory. 
• Denise Calvetti Michaels , The Things Downriver .
• Allison Morton , The Missing Hour .
• Joshua Osborn , Mother, Memory, Monotony .
• September Thorlin , A Nursery Rhyme from Another Summer .
• Cora Walker , Hindsight 2050 .

Featured Guest Artist: Nathaniel Mackey

• Ben Burland , The Tuck .
• Andrew Carson , Self Taut .
• Ellen Donnelly , Bag of Flesh .
• Tracy Jane Gregory , Helene .
• Andy Hoffman , Black Medicine .
• Anthony Johnson , Beastiarium .
• Greg S. Prichard , Stand-To .
• Dave Sanders , County .
• Carol Anderson Shaw , On My Mind .
• David Shrauger , Images of a Broken World .
• Natalie Singer-Velush , California Calling .
• Jack Wyss , Divine Immolation .
• Kaitlin Young , We/Me .

Featured Guest Artist: Julie Carr

• Sarah Baker , Water’s Work .
• Breka Blakeslee , Probably It Will Not Be Okay .
• Scott Brown , Private Browsing .
• Laura Burgher , The Researcher’s Book of Her/mes .
• Samuel Iniguez , HisJazzRaptoMe: Hip Hop Vignettes & Quarter Waters .
• Denise Coville , Chairs .
• Lynarra Featherly , The Feminology of Spirit .
• Colin MacArthur , The Boatman of Hades .
• Megan McGinnis , Newness and Nowness .
• Penny Quinteros , Toeing the Line: A Short Story Collection .
• Travis Sharp , Love Poems to the Poet’s Body .
• Todd Simmons , Still We Rise .
• Christine Smith , The Spirit Cabinet .

Featured Guest Artist: CAConrad

• Ellen Bauer , Ordinary Saints and Monsters .
• Marcus Bingham , Restless .
• John Boucher , The Chirurgeon .
• Susan Marie Brown , Love & Courage: Historic Fiction .
• Chelsea Carter , Read Without Listening .
• Margaret Chiavetta , Untitled Collection of Essays .
• Sandy D’Entremont , The Beauty of Molokai’i .
• Kelle Grace Gaddis , Polishing A Gem On The Surface Of The Sea .
• Aimee Harrison , Autoorthography: identity poetics with poetry .
• Andrew Huskamp , Tales from Here and There .
• Lauren Light , Dieter .
• Jay Loomis, Blade Against the Heart .
• Rev.Tiare L. Mathison , A~Mash~Up: A Poetics of Defiance in the Age of the Internet of Everything .
• Michael Paschall , phrases of the moon .
• Billy Phillips , Fractured Poetics .
• Talena Lachelle Queen , Fourteen .
• J.D. Satlin , A Poetics of Miscommunication .
• Diana Savora , Quivering Tongues .

Featured Guest Artist: Bhanu Kapil

Addidtional featurings:.

Roundtable on “Hybrid Forms, Organisms, Biologies,” with Bhanu Kapil, Jennifer Calkins and Sarah Dowling and Reading & Conversation Workshop with Robert Glück 

Margaret Chiavetta, John Boucher, Sandy D’Entremont, Kat Seidemann, Susan Brown, Kelle Gaddis, Marcus Bingham, Lauren Light, Michael Paschall, Chelsea Carter, Talena Kettrell, Jay Loomis, Tiare Mathison, Ellen Bauer, Andrew Huskamp, Billy Phillips, J.D. Satlin, Aimee Harrison, Diana Savora.

UW BOTHELL INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS & SCI - BOTHELL CREATIVE WRITING - BOTHELL

• Summer Quarter 2024
• Autumn Quarter 2024

BCWRIT 500 Writing Workshop: Between Prose and Poetry (5) Focuses on the cross over between prose and poetry in multiple genres. Considers the prevalence of narrative and alternatives to narrative. Offered: AWSp. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 500

BCWRIT 501 Writing Workshop: Between Fact and Imagination (5) Examines the relationships between fact and imagination in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry writing. Offered: AWSp. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 501

BCWRIT 502 Writing Workshop: Processes of Thinking and Memory (5) Engages the primary processes of thinking and memory as they are affected by divers writing practices and media applications. Offered: AWSp. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 502

BCWRIT 510 Poetics Seminar: Cultural Change and Writing (5) Engages the subject of poetics as writing theory and practice. Focuses on cultural, social, and technological change as these create new challenges and possibilities for creative writing. Offered: AWSp. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 510

BCWRIT 511 Poetics Seminar: Writers' Research (5) Addresses how writers utilize research in their writing and inquires into different kind of research that can be pursued: textual, ethnographic, and performance-based. Offered: AWSpS. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 511

BCWRIT 512 Poetics Seminar: Art, Technology, and Practice (5) Explores relationships among art, technology, and creative practice. Examines connections among diverse art forms, inquiring into their social, philosophical, and aesthetic dimensions. Offered: AWSpS. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 512

BCWRIT 517 Teaching Practicum (3-5) Practicum in which students gain theoretical and practical experience in teaching within community groups and organizations, in elementary and secondary schools, or in community colleges and universities. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 517

BCWRIT 520 Creative Writing and Poetics Internship (2-5, max. 5) Students conduct an internship within an organization in order to develop and extend their writing expertise. Topics and sites vary with student interest. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 520

BCWRIT 530 Community-Based Practicum (2-5) Students initiate, plan, carry through, and evaluate a literary or arts event or series of events for a specific community or arts venue. Topics and sites vary with student interest. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 530

BCWRIT 587 Topics in Creative Practice (5) Focuses on one or more art of disciplinary practices and their applications for creative writing. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 587

BCWRIT 597 Directed Readings (2-10, max. 10) Intensive reading in literature, literary and art criticism, critical theory, or poetics. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 597

BCWRIT 598 Directed Research (2-5, max. 15) Focused inquiry into specific research ideas, issues, or topics and elected analytical and creative methods for pursuing these. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 598

BCWRIT 599 Thesis Practicum (1-5, max. 6) Provides students with career and creative development opportunities and practice in accordance with individualized plans, including but not limited to presenting work-in-progress at salons and readings; submitting work to conferences, residencies, and publications; and interning at arts, education, or media organizations. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 599

BCWRIT 700 Master's Thesis ([1-5]-, max. 20) Includes completion of a creative thesis in one of the following areas: poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or cross genre as well as a poetics essay or artist's statement. Students may elective to engage multiple media or performance venues in partial completion of their thesis. Prerequisite: BCWRIT 500; BCWRIT 501; BCWRIT 502; BCWRIT 510; BCWRIT 511; and BCWRIT 512. Offered: AWSpS. View course details in MyPlan: BCWRIT 700

Landing Page

Master of fine arts in creative writing & poetics.

Thanks for your interest in our program. We’ll be in touch soon.

Brought to you by UW Continuum College

© 2024 University of Washington | Seattle, WA

Get the Reddit app

The Unofficial Subreddit of the University of Washington

MFA in Creative Writing at UW Bothell

I'm an international student looking to do an MFA in Creative Writing at UW Bothell. I would describe my GPA as average but my writing samples are strong (I hope I don't come across as a know-it-all, I just like my writing!) I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the program and if so, what your recommendations would be. Also, as an international student, aside from scholarships I, unfortunately, need to apply for private loans. I've read there are a number of on-campus job opportunities for students, but I was wondering if that was legit.

Thank you in advance for all the answers and help!

We use cookies to enhance the user experience on our website and deliver our services. We also use cookies to show you relevant advertising. Read the UW Privacy Policy and more about our use of cookies .

• Programs & Courses
• Entire Site
• News & Features
• Going Back to School
• Programs for Writers and Editors

If you dream of a career working with words, we have good news. There are many ways to make a living as a writer or editor.

Whether you want to put your own story on the page, shape others’ words or produce consistent copy as a marketer, copywriter or technical writer, we’re here to help you find your path forward. University of Washington Professional & Continuing Education provides numerous opportunities to enter the working world of the written word.

Read on to see which of our various writing-related programs is the right fit for you.

Explore the Programs

Certificate in professional technical writing.

Learn about the styles, formats and requirements for different kinds of technical communication — from white papers and scientific publications to software documentation and web content — and how to adapt for each. In-class projects and peer workshops will help you become a well-trained, confident technical writer ready to hit the ground running in a high-demand field.

• Designed For: Professionals with some writing experience who want to sharpen their technical writing skills 
• Duration:  7-8 months 
• Location: Online

Certificate in Editing

If you have a passion for making written copy shine, then you’re an editor at heart. Explore key techniques for copy editing, line editing, structural editing, content editing and collaborating with writers. The program culminates in developing and carrying out an editorial project with a working writer, giving you first-hand experience with the editorial process.

• Designed For: Professionals with some writing or editing experience who want to break into or advance in the editing field 
• Duration:  8 months
• Location: Online; downtown Seattle

Specialization in API Documentation

API (application programming interface) documentation is like an instruction sheet that helps software developers understand how APIs work. Learn how to create documentation that clearly explains an API’s features and how to use them. Discover how to integrate your documentation with tools like Swagger, Postman and Confluence. You’ll come away with a GitHub portfolio of API documentation that’ll demonstrate your knowledge and skills to potential employers.

• Designed For: Technical writers or software developers, programmers, analysts and architects who have some experience with technical documentation
• Duration:  3 months

Specialization in Developmental Editing

Learn how to work closely with authors to provide feedback on the big picture of a manuscript. Complete the developmental edit of a real, unpublished manuscript and work on other projects developmental editors encounter, such as book proposals and article pitches. You’ll also learn how to create the tools you’ll need to run an editing business, including a website and common business documents.

• Designed For: Writers, editors, publishers and other professionals who want to expand their big-picture editing skills 
• Duration:  11-12 weeks  

Specialization in Grant Writing & Management Strategies

Grants are an important source of funding for projects and programs that benefit communities — and the competition to secure them can be fierce. Explore how to use storytelling and data to write compelling proposals that align your organization with funding opportunities. Hear from fundraising experts about emerging trends in grantmaking, and learn about the post-award process.  

• Designed For: Nonprofit professionals, fundraisers, technical writers and others interested in a career in grant writing 
• Duration:  12 weeks 

Specialization in Regulatory Medical Writing

Gain experience writing documents for regulatory submission and become conversant with the regulations and prescribed formats. You’ll learn how to read, interpret and summarize data from clinical trials. You’ll also hone your writing skills for various audiences, including regulatory agencies, medical professionals and the public.

• Designed For: Technical writers and other communications professionals looking to break into the regulatory medical writing field 
• Duration:  11-12 weeks  

Course in Business Writing: Reports, Proposals & Documents

Clear and engaging writing is a crucial skill in every industry, and this course will help you master the core elements of business writing. Learn how to write documents that are compelling and easy to read. Explore basic layout and design concepts that’ll help keep readers engaged with your content. You’ll have lots of opportunities to practice your writing, both individually and in group settings.

• Designed For: Technical and nontechnical professionals in any field who want to improve their business writing skills 
• Duration: 7 weeks 

Course in Foundations of UX Writing

Companies need to ensure that their products and services are intuitive and easy to navigate. That’s why UX (user experience) writers are some of today’s most in-demand professionals. Learn about voice and tone so that your content matches the needs of the user and the organization. Practice writing inclusive, accessible and appropriate content for a variety of experiences, using tools of the trade.

• Designed For: Content creators, marketers, designers, product managers and other professionals who want to create better user experiences 
• Duration: 9 weeks 

Course in Proofreading Essentials

Even the best writers make mistakes; that's where the proofreader comes in. This course teaches you the difference between proofreading and editing, and explores how to tackle specific grammar, style and design issues. Learn why, when and how to make changes in a document as well as how to find employment opportunities in the field.

• Designed For: Anyone looking to develop or improve their proofreading skills 

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Poetics at UW Bothell

Develop your creative work through a course of study that encourages exploration and discovery. The MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics organizes its curriculum by areas of inquiry rather than genres, giving you the freedom to explore various genres and media. The program emphasizes experimental and hybrid forms of writing, empowering you to participate in a community concerned with the pursuit of creative writing in a rapidly changing society.

• Designed For: Writers who want to develop their creative voice and gain the credentials to teach at the college level 
• Duration: 2 years 
• Location: UW Bothell campus

Keep Learning

If your writing interests lie in a more creative direction, check out our selection of fiction and nonfiction writing courses . Or see our full slate of marketing, communication and design programs and find one right for you.

• Certificate Programs
• Storytelling

For more career tips and industry trends,  visit the News & Features section  of our website, and subscribe to our email list. To learn more about UW Professional & Continuing Education certificates, specializations, degrees and courses,  explore your options  or contact us .

Talk to an Enrollment Coach

Our coaches are here to help you every step of the way — from finding a program to applying and enrolling. Start the conversation!

By submitting my information, I consent to be contacted and agree to the privacy policy .

Subscribe to Keep Learning!

Be among the first to get timely program info, career tips, event invites and more.

By submitting my information, I consent to be contacted and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the privacy policy .

Your browser does not support javascript. Some site functionality may not work as expected.

• Find Creative Writing in Journals & Magazines
• Find Full Length Books and Texts
• Find Articles
• Find Chapbooks
• Find MFA Program Publications
• Book Arts & Artists' Books in the Campus Library
• Book Arts & Artists' Books Resources
• University of Washington Libraries
• Library Guides
• Creative Writing and Poetry

Creative Writing and Poetry: Find Articles

Scholarly articles & creative writing analysis.

Use these databases to find scholarly writing and analysis about creative works, authors, creative movements, and other rellated topics.

Chat with a UW Librarian

• << Previous: Find Full Length Books and Texts
• Next: Find Chapbooks >>
• Last Updated: Oct 9, 2023 10:46 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/bothell/cw

Quick Links: