Western's Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing

Western's Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing A low-residency graduate program offering MFA & MA degrees in Creative Writing. Learn your craft. Elevate your art. Inspire the world. Apply today.

A low-residency MFA & MA degrees in Genre Fiction, Screenwriting, Poetry, Nature Writing, and an MA in Publishing. See the official site at western.edu/mfa.

Elevating women’s voices, one story at a time. ✨We are incredibly proud to tune in today as our own Genre Fiction MFA ca...
04/20/2026

Elevating women’s voices, one story at a time. ✨

We are incredibly proud to tune in today as our own Genre Fiction MFA candidate , represents the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University at the Regional MFA Reading!

Dawn is an accomplished author of the Historic Hotels Collection and holds a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford University and is earning her MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in genre fiction through Western Colorado University. Her work centers on women’s courage and overlooked historical narratives—the exact kind of "meaningful storytelling" we champion in our supportive literary home.

Event Details:

What: Regional MFA Reading featuring rising talents from five Northwest graduate programs.

When: Sunday, April 19 | 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PDT.

Where: Streaming live on YouTube.

Join us to hear Dawn read alongside fellow writers from Boise State, Oregon State, and more. It’s a beautiful afternoon to celebrate the "harmony and rhythm" of our regional literary community.

🔥 The June Advantage: Ready to join a collective of rising talents? Enrollment for our June 4th cohort is the final strategic window to protect your funding under current FAFSA rules.

Inhabit your artist self: www.western.edu/gpcw
Watch the reading: https://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/2HnUf/regional-mfa-reading

In less than two months, your creative life could begin. ✨What is standing between you and the writing life you’ve been ...
04/17/2026

In less than two months, your creative life could begin. ✨

What is standing between you and the writing life you’ve been dreaming of?

On June 4, a new cohort of writers will begin their journey in the Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University. We are a supportive literary home where professional precision meets radical kindness—a place where you can inhabit your artist self without uprooting your life.

The GPCW Advantage:

✅No Relocation: Keep your roots, your community, and your sensory-safe spaces while you grow .

✅Active Mentorship: Work with award-winning faculty in a high-engagement 1:3 student-to-faculty ratio.

✅Sustainable Craft: Build the architecture of a lifelong creative practice.

✅Free Applications open Until June 1st.

Don't let another season go by without honoring your voice. In under two months, your unfolding can begin.

Claim your creative future: 👉 https://western.edu/graduate/graduate-program-creative-writing/

Regeneration, resilience, and... puppies? ✨We are just days away from the @ in Spokane, and we want you to know exactly ...
04/16/2026

Regeneration, resilience, and... puppies? ✨

We are just days away from the @ in Spokane, and we want you to know exactly who to look for! When you visit the Book Fair on Saturday, keep an eye out for Sarah (pictured here with a very good dog). You’ll find her right next to the Puppy Table (obviously) hosted by our friends at —the perfect spot to decompress and talk about your creative future.

Don’t miss these featured sessions with our brilliant Poetry & Nature Writing faculty, Maya Jewell Zeller:

Friday, April 17 @ 7:00 PM: "The Writer’s Memoir" (Ella's Theater).

Saturday, April 18 @ 12:00 PM: "Spirituality & Friendship Across Genres" (Ella's Theater).

Maya is the author of the brand-new memoir-in-essays, Raised by Ferns (Porphyry Press), and was recently honored as a Notable in Best American Essays 2023. She is a master of the confluence between the landscape and the line.

At our table, you can:

Participate in our giant community Co**se Poem 🖋️.

Make your own Spring Seed Bombs 🌸.

Grab an Inspiration Packet to kickstart your creative time.

🔥 The June Advantage: The countdown is on! You have until June 1 to apply for our June 4th cohort and protect your funding under current FAFSA rules.

Inhabit your artist self (and pet a puppy): https://western.edu/graduate/graduate-program-creative-writing/

Learn more about GetLit! and view the schedule: https://inside.ewu.edu/getlit/

"Our connection through Western has outward ripples that never stop." ✨Earlier this month, the GPCW community came to li...
04/16/2026

"Our connection through Western has outward ripples that never stop." ✨

Earlier this month, the GPCW community came to life at Composition Shop in Longmont, Colorado. What began as a discovery in the pages of the new anthology, Notes of Light and Dark: Southwestern Aubades and Nocturnes, turned into a grassroots celebration of craft and connection.

When Poetry alumna Shelli Rottschafer noticed fellow Western poets Carol Guerrero-Murphy (Faculty) and Erica Reid (Faculty) in the same collection, she set to work organizing a reading.

"During the reading, our poetry kept speaking to one another's," says Reid. "You could hear the ways that we've all influenced one another, as writers and as people."

At Western, we don’t just build cohorts; we nurture a lifelong literary home. Our graduates and faculty continue to collaborate, publish, and create space for one another long after the final residency.

Join a network that supports your work for a lifetime.

Start your ripples: 👉 https://western.edu/graduate/poetry/

Support local:
📖 Notes of Light and Dark: https://www.compositionshop.com/
📍 Venue: http://dosgatospress.org/notes-of-light-and-dark

✨Your classroom should be as vast as your ambition.✨At the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado Univ...
04/10/2026

✨Your classroom should be as vast as your ambition.✨

At the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, our faculty members don't just teach from books; they teach from the lived experience of the landscape.

Meet Ana Maria Spagna, a vital member of our low-residency faculty. Ana Maria spent fifteen years on backcountry trail crews for the National Park Service before becoming the award-winning author of nine books, including Pushed and Uplake.

When she isn't teaching and mentoring our writers, Ana Maria lives in Stehekin, Washington—a remote community in the North Cascades accessible only by foot or ferry. Alongside her wife, Laurie, who maintains the historic Buckner Orchard, Ana Maria embodies the confluence of hard work, community, and the creative life.

The GPCW Lifestyle Advantage:

Stay in Your Place: Like Ana Maria, our students and faculty remain rooted in the communities they love.

Diverse Perspectives: Learn from writers whose work is recognized by the Society for Environmental Journalists and the Washington State Book Awards.

A Supportive Home: Join a collective that values your work, your history, and your environment.

Applications open through May 31.
Classes Begin June 4.
Inhabit your landscape: 👉 https://western.edu/graduate/nature-writing/
Read more about Ana Maria Spagna: https://www.anamariaspagna.com/about

A book is more than a manuscript; it is a feat of professional architecture. ✨At the Graduate Program in Creative Writin...
04/09/2026

A book is more than a manuscript; it is a feat of professional architecture. ✨

At the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, we don't just teach you how to write the story—we teach you how the industry actually works. Our Publishing concentration is led by faculty who are currently running a major independent press, WordFire Press.

Under the mentorship of Kevin J. Anderson and Allyson Longueira, our students gain a deep understanding of the professional infrastructure required to bring a work to life:

The Business of Art: From contract negotiation and copyright to the technical precision of interior design and cover art.

Sustainable Careers: Learning how to build a lifelong practice in an ever-evolving digital and physical marketplace.

Active Mentorship: Working one-on-one with publishers who have produced hundreds of titles and navigated every corner of the industry.

We are a supportive literary home where your creative ambition meets industry-level expertise. Whether you want to work for a major house or launch your own press, we provide the blueprints.

Applications open through May.
Classes begin June 4th.

Inhabit your professional self: 👉 https://western.edu/graduate/publishing/

You shouldn't have to leave your sanctuary to find your voice. ✨At the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western C...
04/06/2026

You shouldn't have to leave your sanctuary to find your voice. ✨

At the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, we believe that the best writing happens when you feel safe, seen, and supported.

Traditional graduate programs often demand a move—a disruption of your healthcare, your routine, and your community. For our LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent writers, we know that "home" isn't just an address; it’s a vital support system of chosen family and sensory-safe spaces.

Our low-residency model means:

No Relocation: Keep your roots, your providers, and your peace.

Authentic Witness: Use your energy for your craft, not for the stress of a cross-country move.

We are a supportive literary home where you can inhabit your artist self without losing the ground beneath your feet.

🔥 The June Advantage: Secure your future in the space you love. Apply by June 1 for our June 4th cohort to protect your funding under current FAFSA rules.

Stay home. Grow here: 👉 https://western.edu/graduate/graduate-program-creative-writing/

Regenerating, together. ✨In just two weeks, the low residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado U...
04/04/2026

Regenerating, together. ✨

In just two weeks, the low residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University is heading to Spokane for the !

Join us for the GetLit! Book Fair Preview Party:

🗓️ Friday, April 17 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM

📍 This ticketed event is all about SPRING. Come make seed bombs, take an inspiration packet, and contribute to our community "Co**se Poem" on giant craft paper!

We will be featuring our work in Ecopoetry, alongside all our concentrations in Poetry, Screenwriting, Publishing, Nature Writing, and Genre Fiction.

Learn more about GetLit and purchase you Book Fair Preview Party Tickets here: https://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/2HnM9/book-fair-preview-party

Spring into your creative life with the GPCW: www.western.edu/gpcw

You shouldn't have to choose between your family and your future.At the Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writi...
04/03/2026

You shouldn't have to choose between your family and your future.

At the Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, we believe that your life is the well-source of your work, not an obstacle to it. We are a community that values the confluence of life and art, and that includes the reality of being a parent.

We have had the pure joy of seeing babies and children join our live, virtual classes—whether they are passing through the frame or sitting on a lap while a student discusses their work. We are about family, and we believe that a supportive literary home should have room for everyone you love.

Why Western is the Choice for Parents:

Low-Residency Flexibility: Inhabit your own home and maintain your family rhythms while you learn your craft.

Radical Support: Join a collective that prioritizes human connection and kindness over academic isolation.

Active Mentorship: Work with faculty who understand the balance of a professional creative life.

Inhabit your artist self (and bring the family): 👉 www.western.edu/gpcw

Your best writing partner shouldn't have to stay behind. 🐾✨At the Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at ...
04/03/2026

Your best writing partner shouldn't have to stay behind. 🐾✨

At the Low Residency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, we inhabit the spaces where life and art meet. Because our classes are live and virtual, your "Office Assistant" (the four-legged kind) is always welcome in the classroom.

We’ve moved away from the isolation of traditional models to create a vibrant, deeply human community that respects your landscape and your loved ones.

Inhabit your artist self with your best buddy at your side: 👉 www.western.edu/gpcw

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1 Western Way
Gunnison, CO
81231

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Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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