WKU News

A third cohort of students has joined WKU’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program.

The new MFA students are Emily Diehl of Nashville, Tennessee; Brodie Gress of Bretzville, Indiana; John Paul King of Hilliard, Ohio; Paula Konokh of Moscow, Russia; Hunter Little of Brookville, Indiana; and Marcee Wardell of Ortonville, Michigan.

The six students, who bring the total number of MFA students to 12, are fully funded with teaching assistantships for the two-year, residential course of study. Students in the program’s first cohort defended their theses during the summer.

“We're very happy to welcome this new MFA cohort,” said Dr. David Bell, Associate Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing Program. “The number of applications we receive has gone up every year, so the program is getting more and more competitive. But these six writers stood out from the pack with their talent and skill. We expect big things from them as writers and teachers.”

The MFA in Creative Writing program prepares students for lives as writers of novels, short fiction, creative nonfiction, scripts and poetry and related pursuits such as teaching, literary editing and publishing. Students also complete a secondary concentration in literature, composition/rhetoric or teaching English as a second language in order to give them additional options for employment after graduation.

The program of study consists of 48 credit hours of graduate course work, culminating in comprehensive exams and the completion of a publishable creative thesis in fiction, poetry, scriptwriting or creative nonfiction.

Contact: David Bell, (270) 745-4406 or david.j.bell@wku.edu