Penn Creative Writing Program
@penncw.bsky.social
Official account for the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania
It was a pleasure to host Inna Krasnoper, Eugene Ostashevsky, and Kevin M.F. Platt last week at Kelly Writers House. If you weren't able to join in person, check out the live stream of Translingualisms: Dislocating Poetry at the link below.
www.youtube.com/live/0I1_7qT...
www.youtube.com/live/0I1_7qT...
Translingualisms: Dislocating Poetry
YouTube video by Kelly Writers House
www.youtube.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:47 PM
It was a pleasure to host Inna Krasnoper, Eugene Ostashevsky, and Kevin M.F. Platt last week at Kelly Writers House. If you weren't able to join in person, check out the live stream of Translingualisms: Dislocating Poetry at the link below.
www.youtube.com/live/0I1_7qT...
www.youtube.com/live/0I1_7qT...
Do you believe what you hear? Join us next week at Kelly Writers House for an in-depth conversation about the notion of truth in audio storytelling, featuring Yowei Shaw, Maori Holmes, and Matt Katz. Hosted by our very own Nate Chinen! Register to attend at writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/...
February 9, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Do you believe what you hear? Join us next week at Kelly Writers House for an in-depth conversation about the notion of truth in audio storytelling, featuring Yowei Shaw, Maori Holmes, and Matt Katz. Hosted by our very own Nate Chinen! Register to attend at writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/...
Congratulations to Anna Badkhen, whose forthcoming essay collection has earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly: "Badkhen’s narrative achieves the difficult task of emanating authority and moral force without lecturing. The result is a quietly moving tribute to survivors of global upheaval. "
To See Beyond: Essays by Anna Badkhen
Journalist Badkhen (Bright Unbearable Reality) asks in these soul-stirring essays whether language can capture the enormity of g...
www.publishersweekly.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Congratulations to Anna Badkhen, whose forthcoming essay collection has earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly: "Badkhen’s narrative achieves the difficult task of emanating authority and moral force without lecturing. The result is a quietly moving tribute to survivors of global upheaval. "
The 2026 Creative Writing prize portal is officially open!
The Creative Writing Prizes recognize excellence in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalistic writing and podcasting, scriptwriting and reviews.
Submission are due Friday, February 20, at 12pm, noon.
The Creative Writing Prizes recognize excellence in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalistic writing and podcasting, scriptwriting and reviews.
Submission are due Friday, February 20, at 12pm, noon.
Creative Writing Prizes | Creative Writing Program
creative.writing.upenn.edu
January 22, 2026 at 6:28 PM
The 2026 Creative Writing prize portal is officially open!
The Creative Writing Prizes recognize excellence in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalistic writing and podcasting, scriptwriting and reviews.
Submission are due Friday, February 20, at 12pm, noon.
The Creative Writing Prizes recognize excellence in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalistic writing and podcasting, scriptwriting and reviews.
Submission are due Friday, February 20, at 12pm, noon.
Read the latest from Sam Apple in WIRED Magazine
My Couples Retreat With 3 AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them
I found people in serious relationships with AI partners and planned a weekend getaway for them at a remote Airbnb. We barely survived.
www.wired.com
June 30, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Read the latest from Sam Apple in WIRED Magazine
Join the LARB Book Club in reading Professor Sebastian Castillo's "Fresh, Green Life" this summer!
We are thrilled to announce our Summer 2025 Book Club selection: “Fresh, Green Life” by @sebastiancastillo.bsky.social. Join the LARB Book Club for a compulsively readable journey through philosophy, literature, and the antihero’s pursuit of self-improvement.
lareviewofbooks.org/event/larb-b...
lareviewofbooks.org/event/larb-b...
June 18, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Join the LARB Book Club in reading Professor Sebastian Castillo's "Fresh, Green Life" this summer!
Thinking about MFA programs? Excellent (and searchable) database from our friends at Poets & Writers, including full and low residency and online options. www.pw.org/mfa
MFA Programs Database
Our list of 256 MFA programs for creative writers includes essential information about low-residency and full-residency graduate creative writing programs in the United States and other English-speaki...
www.pw.org
May 29, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Thinking about MFA programs? Excellent (and searchable) database from our friends at Poets & Writers, including full and low residency and online options. www.pw.org/mfa
We're so proud of Cosmic Writers’ founder and executive director, Penn Alum Rowana Miller, who has been selected as a 2025 @aspenideas Festival Fellow! Congrats, Rowana!
May 7, 2025 at 2:26 PM
We're so proud of Cosmic Writers’ founder and executive director, Penn Alum Rowana Miller, who has been selected as a 2025 @aspenideas Festival Fellow! Congrats, Rowana!
Faculty member Syd Zolf has won an Independent Creative Production Grant from the The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, which they'll use to complete their sixth book of poetry, Neutrøis, a project exploring notions of “third,” nonbinary gender. Congratulations to Syd! sachsarts.org/grant-awards...
April 29, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Faculty member Syd Zolf has won an Independent Creative Production Grant from the The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, which they'll use to complete their sixth book of poetry, Neutrøis, a project exploring notions of “third,” nonbinary gender. Congratulations to Syd! sachsarts.org/grant-awards...
The Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing in collaboration with the Kelly Writers House has been awarded an inaugural Draw Down the Lightning grant to offer publicly accessible programming exploring the relationship between creativity and telling the truth.
Collaborating toward a better future for all | Penn Today
The 12 winning teams of the inaugural Draw Down the Lightning grants were celebrated by Penn leadership at a reception, bringing to life the vision of In Principle and Practice.
penntoday.upenn.edu
April 28, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing in collaboration with the Kelly Writers House has been awarded an inaugural Draw Down the Lightning grant to offer publicly accessible programming exploring the relationship between creativity and telling the truth.
Jeez, it was a tough year for our judges...so much great work. Find out who won here: creative.writing.upenn.edu/index.php/ho...
April 24, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Jeez, it was a tough year for our judges...so much great work. Find out who won here: creative.writing.upenn.edu/index.php/ho...
Abbey Mei Otis wins Beltran Award for Innovative Teaching:
Congratulations to Creative Writing instructor Abbey Mei Otis, the winner of the 2025-2026 Beltran Award, presented to a faculty member who teaches writing in the extracurricular context of the Kelly Writers House.
Congratulations to Creative Writing instructor Abbey Mei Otis, the winner of the 2025-2026 Beltran Award, presented to a faculty member who teaches writing in the extracurricular context of the Kelly Writers House.
April 24, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Abbey Mei Otis wins Beltran Award for Innovative Teaching:
Congratulations to Creative Writing instructor Abbey Mei Otis, the winner of the 2025-2026 Beltran Award, presented to a faculty member who teaches writing in the extracurricular context of the Kelly Writers House.
Congratulations to Creative Writing instructor Abbey Mei Otis, the winner of the 2025-2026 Beltran Award, presented to a faculty member who teaches writing in the extracurricular context of the Kelly Writers House.
Reposted by Penn Creative Writing Program
Check out the beautiful cover art for the Italian translation of Artist-in-Residence Anna Badkhen's Bright Unbearable Reality! Cronache di un mondo in movimento is out now from Gramma Feltrinelli, translated from the original by Gioia Gerzoni. Cover art by Diana Ejaita.
April 16, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Check out the beautiful cover art for the Italian translation of Artist-in-Residence Anna Badkhen's Bright Unbearable Reality! Cronache di un mondo in movimento is out now from Gramma Feltrinelli, translated from the original by Gioia Gerzoni. Cover art by Diana Ejaita.
Reposted by Penn Creative Writing Program
Tomorrow (April 22)!
April 22: Penn faculty Abdulhamit Arvas & Caz Batten present Premodern Trans Studies, a symposium that will bring together scholars working on medieval & early modern trans studies to discuss current trends & future directions in historical trans studies.
wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/events/premo...
wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/events/premo...
Premodern Trans Studies
This symposium brings together scholars working on medieval and early modern trans studies to discuss current trends and future directions in historical trans studies. Gabrielle Bychowski, Anisfield-W...
wolfhumanities.upenn.edu
April 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Tomorrow (April 22)!
Check out the beautiful cover art for the Italian translation of Artist-in-Residence Anna Badkhen's Bright Unbearable Reality! Cronache di un mondo in movimento is out now from Gramma Feltrinelli, translated from the original by Gioia Gerzoni. Cover art by Diana Ejaita.
April 16, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Check out the beautiful cover art for the Italian translation of Artist-in-Residence Anna Badkhen's Bright Unbearable Reality! Cronache di un mondo in movimento is out now from Gramma Feltrinelli, translated from the original by Gioia Gerzoni. Cover art by Diana Ejaita.
Check out Taije Silverman's translation of Giovanni Pascoli's 'Il Transito' selected by Carol Rumens as The Guardian's "Poem of the Week"!
Poem of the week: The Stopover by Giovanni Pascoli, translated by Taije Silverman and Marina Della Putta Johnston
A swan appears to sing the aurora borealis into existence in this visionary nature poem with an unexpected war connection
www.theguardian.com
March 28, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Check out Taije Silverman's translation of Giovanni Pascoli's 'Il Transito' selected by Carol Rumens as The Guardian's "Poem of the Week"!
Syd Zolf recently joined Julie Carr on the podcast Return the Key. Their conversation explores writing, grief and loss, intergenerational trauma, the notion of the unanswerable question as a foundational Jewish practice, and the idea of witnessing from the position of the “no one.” Listen below:
Episode 18: And yet, not yet: a trans-poetics: Syd Zolf — JULIE CARR
In episode 18, I talk with poet and theorist Syd Zolf about two of their recent projects, No One’s Witness: A Monstrous Poetics , a critical book that draws from Black studies as it engages the probl...
www.juliecarrpoet.com
March 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Syd Zolf recently joined Julie Carr on the podcast Return the Key. Their conversation explores writing, grief and loss, intergenerational trauma, the notion of the unanswerable question as a foundational Jewish practice, and the idea of witnessing from the position of the “no one.” Listen below:
Windward Review creative journal (Texas A&M University) invites submissions to Vol. 23: Conversations and catalyzing connections. Especially interested the epistolary and ekphrastic.
Deadline is March 17, 2025, by noon CST.
tinyurl.com/fv3t98u2
Deadline is March 17, 2025, by noon CST.
tinyurl.com/fv3t98u2
February 25, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Windward Review creative journal (Texas A&M University) invites submissions to Vol. 23: Conversations and catalyzing connections. Especially interested the epistolary and ekphrastic.
Deadline is March 17, 2025, by noon CST.
tinyurl.com/fv3t98u2
Deadline is March 17, 2025, by noon CST.
tinyurl.com/fv3t98u2
Creative Writing minor Connor Nakamura is featured in Penn Today! Check out this great article on Connor's senior thesis research on the life, work, and legacy of Bayard Rustin:
Senior thesis explores Bayard Rustin’s civil rights vision | Penn Today
Fourth-year Connor Nakamura’s research delves into Rustin’s life, work, and legacy as a thinker and leader.
penntoday.upenn.edu
February 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Creative Writing minor Connor Nakamura is featured in Penn Today! Check out this great article on Connor's senior thesis research on the life, work, and legacy of Bayard Rustin:
March 6, 2025, a 4pm-6pm table reading of Coming Out! A Documentary Play About Gay and Lesbian Life and Liberation by gay historian Ned Katz. RSVP to [email protected]
February 18, 2025 at 7:29 PM
March 6, 2025, a 4pm-6pm table reading of Coming Out! A Documentary Play About Gay and Lesbian Life and Liberation by gay historian Ned Katz. RSVP to [email protected]
Reposted by Penn Creative Writing Program
Congratulations to my friend and neighbor Brooke O'Harra, whose forthcoming book on directing, "Who is in the Room", is a must-read for anyone interested in theater.
www.routledge.com/Who-Is-In-th...
www.routledge.com/Who-Is-In-th...
Who Is In the Room?: Queer Strategies for Redefining the Role of the Theater Director
With this book, Brooke O’Harra takes up directing as an artistic practice in and of itself. Speaking beyond and against craft, O’Harra drives the art of directing forward.
O’Harra investigates a serie...
www.routledge.com
September 13, 2024 at 2:23 PM
Congratulations to my friend and neighbor Brooke O'Harra, whose forthcoming book on directing, "Who is in the Room", is a must-read for anyone interested in theater.
www.routledge.com/Who-Is-In-th...
www.routledge.com/Who-Is-In-th...
2025 Penn Creative Writing Prizes now open for submissions! Multiple genres! Cash prizes up to $500! Open to ALL currently enrolled Penn students! Deadline is 12 pm noon March 7. creative.writing.upenn.edu/honors-award...
February 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
2025 Penn Creative Writing Prizes now open for submissions! Multiple genres! Cash prizes up to $500! Open to ALL currently enrolled Penn students! Deadline is 12 pm noon March 7. creative.writing.upenn.edu/honors-award...
Please join English and Creative Writing on March 4th for our annual Majors & More Dinner! RSVP at www.college.upenn.edu/node/1336
The Majors & More program offers a relaxed opportunity to share a meal with faculty, staff and current students while exploring majors, minors and course offerings.
The Majors & More program offers a relaxed opportunity to share a meal with faculty, staff and current students while exploring majors, minors and course offerings.
February 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Please join English and Creative Writing on March 4th for our annual Majors & More Dinner! RSVP at www.college.upenn.edu/node/1336
The Majors & More program offers a relaxed opportunity to share a meal with faculty, staff and current students while exploring majors, minors and course offerings.
The Majors & More program offers a relaxed opportunity to share a meal with faculty, staff and current students while exploring majors, minors and course offerings.