English MFA for Poets & Writers

The Program

The MFA for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a three-year program dedicated to writing workshops and the completion of a book-length manuscript in prose or poetry. Among the oldest and most respected MFA programs in the country, our acclaimed and aesthetically diverse faculty guide students to find their full range of artistic and literary potential.
Juniper Institute Reading Series

Join us for a week of readings June 16-21, 2019! Juniper Summer Writing Institute readings are free and open to the public and begin each night* at 7:30 pm in the Old Chapel on UMass Amherst campus and are followed by book signings. Find the full schedule here.

*except Friday, June 21, when the reading will take place at 7:30pm in Bezanson Recital Hall in the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center.

The novel "Bunny" by Mona Awad, MFA Visiting Faculty 2019-20, to be made into TV series

June 14, 2019

Mona Awad's novel, "Bunny," was released June 11, 2019 by Viking. AMC Networks has acquired the rights to the novel to develop into a television series. ...

Ocean Vuong talks about debut novel on Late Night with Seth Myers

June 13, 2019

Ocean Vuong talks about his debut novel, "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" on Late Night with Seth Myers. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQl_qbWwCwU

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Events

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Juniper Literary Festival

April 12 & 13, 2019

Introducing audiences to the vibrant landscape of new poetry and fiction and exploring issues essential to the future of literature, the Juniper Literary Festival features readings with internationally known writers and UMass MFA alumni as well as programming from current students who have invigorated the event with performative readings, inventively curated displays, and publications of their work. The festival will also include the regional and national literary community through its renowned literary arts fair. The 2019 Juniper Literary Festival will be held April 12-13, 2019 on the UMass Amherst campus. All readings and panel discussions, as well as the literary arts fair, are free and open to the public.

View here to see the schedule and lineup for the 2019 Festival