Overview

Summer residencies are integral to forming and maintaining our MFA community. The residency is held on the campus of Ashland University and features a rigorous schedule of workshops, seminars and readings. The 2023 Summer Residency will be held at Ashland University from Sunday, July 16 to Friday, July 28.

Image
MFA Summer Residency workshop

Typical Daily Residency Schedule

  • Morning workshop
  • Lunch in the university's dining hall
  • Afternoon craft seminar led by a faculty mentor or a visiting writer
  • Late afternoon thesis defenses, class and individual meetings
  • Catered dinner
  • Evening reading by distinguished visiting writers and faculty mentors
  • After-hours student open mics and social gatherings
Image
MFA Summer Residency students on the Acadmic Corridor

Writing Workshops

Summer workshops are split into two sessions. In each, three to five students spend several days working with one faculty mentor on short writing assignments and readings. During the sessions, you can expect to give and receive peer feedback and discuss assigned readings. In the second week, you will repeat this process with a different faculty member who is an expert in your chosen genre and will spend some time in professionalization workshops.

Image
MFA Summer Residency writing workshop

Visiting Writers & Editors

Each summer, we invite accomplished writers to give readings and craft seminars in addition to our core faculty. We also invite editors from literary journals and presses to hold panel discussions and meet with students individually.

Image
MFA Summer Residency visiting writer speaking to a class

Summer Residency Room and Board

2024 MFA Summer Residency Public Events

Monday July 15 - Thursday, July 25

Schedule of public classes and readings will be available soon.

Previous Visiting Writers & Editors

Visiting writers have included:

Creative Nonfiction

  • Hanif Abdurraqib
  • Gretel Ehrlich
  • Ashley C. Ford
  • Leslie Jamison
  • Terry Tempest Williams

Fiction

  • Dan Chaon
  • Lolita Hernandez
  • Rebecca Makkai
  • Viet Thanh Nguyen
  • Benjamin Percy

Poetry

  • Jericho Brown
  • John Keene
  • Justin Phillip Reed
  • J. Allyn Rosser
  • Patricia Smith

Visiting editors have included:

  • Ibrahim Ahmad, Viking
  • Mary Biddinger, Akron University Press
  • Dan Bourne, The Artful Dodge
  • Kate Gale, Red Hen Press
  • Johanna Ingalls, Akashic Books
  • David Lynn and Kirsten Reach, Kenyon Review
  • Eric Obenauf, Two Dollar Radio Press
  • Jon Parrish Peede, Virginia Quarterly Review
  • Hilary Plum, CSU Poetry Center

Supported by the Ohio Arts Council

The Ashland University MFA Program is grateful for the support of the Ohio Arts Council. Their support enables many events to be open and free to the public so that local writers and those interested in the literary arts can also benefit from the gifted authors and editors who are involved with this program.

Image
Ohio Arts Council