Creative Writing Certificate Program | College of Liberal Arts
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Creative Writing Certificate Program

Illustration by Valerie Tran

Important Recurring Deadlines

OCTOBER 1: Applications to begin the CRW Certificate Program in Spring Semester (for fiction only). Applications to the Honors Thesis Project in Creative Writing.  MARCH 1: Applications to begin the CRW Certificate Program in the Fall Semester (for poetry and fiction).

The application window for Fall admission to the Creative Writing Certificate Program will open on Feb. 1, 2024, with a deadline of March 1, 2024.  All links and instructions for the application will be available on the Admissions page.

Announcements

 

Admission Applications

The Creative Writing Certificate Program is currently accepting applications for the Fall 2024 semester.  The priority deadline is March 1, 2024, but we will continue to accept applications until available space for the spring semester has filled. 

CREATIVE WRITING CERTIFICATE APPLICATION

The application has TWO parts:

1) Fill out the CREATIVE WRITING CERTIFICATE APPLICATION

2) Upload your Writing Sample to the WRITING SAMPLE FOLDER

WRITING SAMPLE

  • Fiction: up to 2,500 words total (one story, several stories, or a novel excerpt)
  • Poetry: up to 5 poems

        Please include your Name and EID on the writing sample and in the file name: Last_First_EID

Acceptances will be sent out in late March.

 

Writing Contests

The English Department and Creative Writing Program are now accepting applications for the Spring 2024 Writing Prizes.  Please follow the guidelines and links below to submit your entry.

THE JAMES F. PARKER WRITING PRIZE

James Forrest Parker was a Greenville, Texas, native who earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1948. After retiring from the United States Marine Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Parker served as a Professor of English at various University of California campuses for more than 30 years. He was an avid golfer and reader, a member of the Sierra Club, and enjoyed traveling around the world. A great friend to the Department of English, our writing contests are named in his honor.  Categories include Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Criticism.  The Parker contests are open to all UT-Austin undergraduate English majors and Creative Writing Certificate students.

You may submit entries in more than one category, but each entry requires a separate application.

Fiction: submit one story up to 5,000 words.

Poetry: submit one to five poems, no more than 5 pages in length total.

Literary Criticism: submit one essay up to 5,000 words.

The application has TWO parts:

1) Fill out the Parker Prize Entry Form

2) Upload your Parker FICTION submission here.

    Upload your Parker POETRY submission here.

    Upload your Parker LIT CRIT submission here.

IMPORTANT: please put your EID in the filename and on the document

DO NOT include your name on the submission.

 

THE FANIA KRUGER FELLOWSHIP IN WRITING

Fania Feldman Kruger was born in 1893 in Sevastapol, Russia, on the shores of the Black Sea. There, she was witness to atrocities committed by Cossack troops against her family and others. In fear for their safety, Fania’s family escaped to the United States in 1908. These experiences inform her poems, which address persecution, injustice, and terror; they also reveal an abiding love of family and Jewish culture. Through her poetry, Fania demonstrates a deep compassion for all humanity and a commitment to human rights. Later in life, Fania settled in Austin, Texas, and frequented courses and lectures on the UT-Austin campus. The Kruger Fellowship honors Fiction and Poetry that is characterized by the vision of social justice that is the hallmark of Fania’s poems.

The Fania Kruger Fellowship competition is open to all currently enrolled UT-Austin graduate and undergraduate students in any major.

You may submit entries in more than one category, but each entry requires a separate application.

The application has TWO parts:

1) Fill out the Kruger Fellowship Entry Form.

2) Upload your Kruger FICTION submission here.

    Upload your Kruger POETRY submission here.

IMPORTANT: please put your EID in the filename and on the document

DO NOT include your name on the submission. 

 

 

 

 

 

Ongoing Opportunities

Check back often for more links to publishing, contest, and internship opportunities.

The Writers' League of Texas provides internship, networking, literary, and educational opportunities in Austin and around the state, as well as an annual conference featuring literary agents and editors. 

The Texas Book Festival, one of the largest in the country, takes place annually in late October / early November, but offers volunteer opportunities throughout the year.

Poets and Writers magazine lists contests, fellowships, grants, and literary journals for writers of all levels. 

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