An Insider's Guide to Creative Writing Programs: Choosing the Right MFA or MA Program, Colony, Residency,Grant or Fellowship [Paperback]

Amy Holman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735204055 | ISBN-13: 978-0735204058 | Publication Date: May 2, 2006

Get the final word on creative writing programs in this unique reference guide.

With detailed information on recent graduates, visiting writers, application requirements, costs, and program highlights, this authoritative guide offers writers of all levels and in all genres-poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction-what they need to know to follow their muses and advance their careers. This in-depth guide covers:

- Low-residency MFA programs-a hot new option
- Which programs have the best reputations, and why
- Which programs offer the most writing time, the best scholarships, and more
- Writers' colonies and residencies in the U.S. and abroad
- The most generous grants and fellowships-and how to get them

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Amy Holman is a published poet and a literary consultant. She regularly teaches at the New School, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and Hudson Valley Writers Center, and travels widely to speak at conferences and graduate schools. Her essays on the writing business have appeared in Poets & Writers Magazine and the AWP JobLetter, and her poetry was selected for The Best American Poetry 1999.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735204055
• ISBN-13: 978-0735204058
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #470,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My book, April 19, 2007

By 

Amy Holman (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Insider's Guide to Creative Writing Programs: Choosing the Right MFA or MA Program, Colony, Residency,Grant or Fellowship (Paperback)

I would like to take this opportunity as the author of this book to say that I was contracted with the publisher to write a book on three kinds of opportunities for writers that give them time, money, and places to write: 1. grad programs 2. colonies & residencies and 3. grants & fellowships. Then it was given a title that made it seem skewed towards graduate programs, when that was only one section. I wrote it to present a horn of plenty to writers. The CD-ROM has problems, and no one is more disappointed than I, but the publisher will only fix it with the next print run. I am working on a way to remedy this through my web site. I believe I have a great book that opens readers up to the possibilities, but still leaves it to them to pursue the ones they deem worthy. I think that Tom Kealey's Creative Writing MFA Handbook has been criticized for being too much about money, when he's offering his specific and helpful viewpoint on what should matter when you apply. I come from a background of information services, where a few books on a subject is the best way to research anything. The definitive book will likely not be written unless you can find someone who has attended all the programs and still has the motor ability and thought processes to write a book. The secret elixir is on Mount Olympus. You need to know that finding a program that will educate you about an artistic endeavor is going to be a personal journey, and those of us who have knowledge about the market can only give you our perspectives. You need always to judge which perspectives are pertinent.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Helpful!, July 7, 2006

By 

Baz (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Insider's Guide to Creative Writing Programs: Choosing the Right MFA or MA Program, Colony, Residency,Grant or Fellowship (Paperback)

If you don't know anything about MFA programs, this guide will be your best friend during the application process. I can't imagine what I would have done without it. Very clear, simple, and easy to read. Filled with tons of valuable information presented in a very friendly and entertaining style. I give it my highest recommendation!!

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guaranteed to reduce stress, July 14, 2006

By 

Lisa Conaughton (Columbia, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Insider's Guide to Creative Writing Programs: Choosing the Right MFA or MA Program, Colony, Residency,Grant or Fellowship (Paperback)

I was totally and completely lost before I found this wonderful book. I'm not even applying to m.f.a programs until next year but i've already started making a list of schools and this little book has just made the whole application process about a hundred times less stressful. Also you get a bunch of great information and facts about writers colonies and residencies and stuff. I couldn't recommend it more.