The Low-Residency MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Creative Writing Students

by Lori A. May

The Low-Residency MFA Handbook offers prospective graduate students an in-depth preview of low-residency creative writing MFA programs. Interviews with program directors, faculty, alumni, and current students answer the many questions prospective graduates have, including: What happens during the non-residency semester? What are the brief residencies like? What community is established between faculty and fellow students? What opportunities are there for writers to gain pedagogical training through a low-residency format? And, most importantly, is the low-residency model right for you? These questions, and more, are answered in detail. The guide also clarifies the application process and offers application tips from program directors and alumni. It also considers funding, program structures, and unique opportunities such as editorships and assistantships. For prospective graduate students looking for detailed information, The Low-Residency MFA Handbook provides a personalized and genuinely useful overview.

Genres: Writing

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2011

About the author

Lori A. May is the author of several books, including SQUARE FEET (Accents, 2014) and THE LOW-RESIDENCY MFA HANDBOOK (Continuum / Bloomsbury, 2011). She writes across the genres and her work has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, Writer's Digest, Brevity, Midwestern Gothic, and The Writer. She is also the founding editor of Poets’ Quarterly. Lori is a graduate of the Wilkes University MFA program, where she was awarded the Norris Church Mailer Fellowship. She teaches in the University of King’s College creative nonfiction MFA program and is a frequent guest speaker at writing conferences and residencies across North America. Visit her website at www.loriamay.com.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t waste you money. Everything in here is on the internet and more timely.

[Bradley Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a ton of questions, all answered within the covers of this easy-to-read book. based upon its guidance I've applied and been accepted by the MFA of my dreams, including one year abroad in Scotland at Napier University.

I definitely got my money's worth!

[Rhonda Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within less than a day of receiving this reference text, I'd read it cover-to-cover, not simply because of my looming application deadlines, but because it answered so many of the questions that have been circling my brain since deciding to attend a low-res MFA program. Yes, I'll admit I've spent over three years intermittently researching low-res MFA programs, narrowing and expanding my target list, but if this book had been published sooner, much of that work and note-taking would have been unnecessary.

I'd already read Tom Kealey's text, "The Creative Writing MFA Handbook," but this text greatly expands that and narrows the focus to low-res programs. It was encouraging to read comments by faculty, directors and alumni of the programs, and it helped me to scratch off a few of the programs on my list for which, only a few days ago, I'd been preparing application packets.

An MFA is huge investment in time and money, so it's important to find the program(s) that best suit your needs. May's discussions on teaching philosophy, format, residency community, pedagogy (or lack thereof), and even life after the MFA held priceless information that helped to direct me to programs that will best fit what I need and desire.

Highly and strongly recommended to anyone considering a low-residency MFA program. Kudos to Lori May for putting together such an informative, concise piece of work!

[S.W. Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy Moly! I don't think I did the math properly on Low Residency MFA's. I figured an hour per week day and perhaps a 6-8 hours per week-end would be an adequate time commitment but the "real" time commitment is between 20-30 hours/week---that's 3-4 hours/day for 2 years! Fortunately, I've been preparing for this for many years and I'm not about to back down now.

This book gives a good overview of the various types of programs available. It introduced me to many different MFA concepts and philosophies: cross-genre training, pedagogical training, commercial/genre focused vs academic/literary focused, mentor/apprentice vs workshopping models, craft centered vs publishing centered. Many programs include international travel which I find extremely attractive. They kept mentioning the excessive cost of these programs but nowhere was ANY estimate given. This is a major fault of this book. Also, there's no attempt to collate the data: charts comparing the different programs, a chart of the programs that didn't have a residency requirement, chart of the various locations of the residency programs (especially the international ones). The Q&A format was repetitive and all the programs started sounding the same.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of interviews included in here, but May only included positive reviews. At the end of the day, I'm not sure I could tell you the major differences between the programs highlighted. Still, a good overview for a start.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The interviews were useful, but at the same time, overwhelming. Still, a decent companion to the search for the right program fit. Some international programs as well.

As far as I know, it's the only resource (besides online resources) dedicated to the low residency format, which makes it worthwhile in its own.

[Peartreealley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be very helpful while I'm considering whether to apply/which ones to apply to/what's available.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a nice starting place for my research into low-residency MFA programs. Very comprehensive, great resource.

[Daniel Tam-Claiborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed a tad bit outdated and didn't have a lot of "substantive" information save for interviews with a handful of staff and professors, which varied widely based on the school. A good resource but online may have more up-to-date information for folks going through the process.