Ashland University MFA Program

The annual MFA issue of Poets & Writers is out, and Ashland University's MFA program is listed among the 26 low-residency programs featured. Of the 47 low-residency MFA programs currently available in the United States (Association of Writers and Writing Programs), AU ranks second in job placement, fourth in fellowship placement, and 11th in selectivity.  While the program did not place in a six-year popularity survey, it placed 19th in the popularity survey for 2011. We'll take post-graduate successes over applicant popularity any day. The 26 programs that  Poets & Writers  chose to feature "are those that either placed in the first 25 in a popularity survey taken over six years by a total of 302 applicants to low-residency programs or appear in the first 25 in at least two of the following three categories: selectivity (how selective they are in accepting applicants), fellowship placement (which had the most graduates receive any of forty-two creative wr...

Dr. Stephen Haven , professor of English and director of the  MFA in Creative Writing Program at Ashland University , has been awarded a residency in poetry for the fall of 2014 by the Djerassi Foundation, the largest artist residency program in the Western United States and considered among the best in the country. Haven is one of 80 artists selected for the 2014 season from more than 800 applicants, and will spend his residency in the company of 12 other American and international artists at the foundation’s 580-acre ranch located in Woodside, Calif., one hour south of San Francisco. "I was very pleased to receive the offer from the Djerassi Foundation. I am looking forward to the uninterrupted time for work, and to the company of other creative people,” Haven said. “One of the great things about the Djerassi residency is that the foundation provides meals, so fellows don't have to worry about the distractions of daily life, such as cooking and shopping,” Haven said...

Each month, the Ashland MFA Program receives calls for submissions and contest deadlines, which it publicizes in its monthly newsletter. Listed below are this month's calls for submissions, in order of deadlines, where posted. PHILIP LEVINE POETRY BOOK PRIZE 2013 $2000 prize and book publication by Anhinga Press Final Judge: PHILIP LEVINE Postmark Deadline: 9/30/2013 Manuscript should be original poetry, not previously published in book form, 48-100 pages, no more than one poem per page. Include two manuscript title pages: one with name and contact information and one with the name of the manuscript ONLY. Manuscripts are screened and judged anonymously. Multiple submissions are fine as long as the manuscript is withdrawn immediately upon its acceptance elsewhere. The entry fee is $25. Checks should be made out to “Fresno State (Levine Prize).” Poets can submit more than one manuscript, but each will be considered a separate entry and must be accompanied by the $25 fee...

The Ashland University MFA Program announces its roster of visiting writers for the 2014 summer residency: Kristen Iversen Judith Kitchen David St. John Rosanna Warren Visit our website for information about each of these visiting writers.  The 2014 summer residency will take place July 19-August 2, 2014. For information on how to apply to the Ashland University MFA Program, click here .