CreativeWritingPositions

List Information
Welcome to the Creative Writing Job Seekers wiki for 2008-2009! This is intended as a collaborative space for all job seekers to pool their resources. We wish everyone the best of luck in the coming months.

If you also hear, at a later date, from one of the schools listed below, please add your date to the listing.

Please alphabetize all listings.

Wiki Counter (How many people are using this Wiki?) CHOOSE ONE: I'm on the market 25 Have TT job, looking for a new one  4 I'm lurking       0

Primary Genre CHOOSE ONE Poetry 16 Fiction  9 Nonfiction  2 Playwriting/Screenwriting  0 Other (please specify) 0

If you know anyone involved in the creative writing job search this year, please tell them about this page. The more people who use it, the more useful it will be.

2009-2010 Creative Writing Job Postings
Poetry

Carnegie Mellon, Assistant Teaching Professor (10/15/2008) Case Western Reserve, Assistant Professor (11/10/2008) College of Staten Island CUNY Open Rank(11/15/2008) Cornell U, Assistant Professor (12/1/2008) East Tennessee SU, Assistant Professor (12/15/2008) Illinois SU, Assistant Professor (10/31/2008) Indiana SU, Assistant Professor (12/1/2008) Loyola U, Chicago, Assistant Professor (12/1/2008) Montclair SU, Assistant Professor (11/3/2008) New Mexico SU, Assistant Professor (10/20/2008) Ohio Northern U, Assistant Professor (11/17/2008) Ohio SU Lima, Assistant Professor (11/10/2008) Roger Williams (12/01/2008) St. John's U, Assistant Professor (11/14/2008) Salisbury U, Assistant Professor (11/17/2008) Texas State U, Assistant Professor (11/1/2008) UC San Diego, Assistant Professor (11/15/2008) UC Santa Cruz, Assistant or Associate (11/01/2008) U of Colorado, Boulder Assistant Professor (10/24/2008) U of Colorado, Denver Assistant Professor (10/01/2008) U of Houston, Open Rank (2 positions) (10/15/2008) U of Missouri, Columbia, Profess/Endowed Chair (11/14/2008) U of Northern Colorado, Assistant Professor (11/01/2008) U of Oregon, Assistant Professor (11/15/2008) U of Rochester, Assistant Professor (11/7/2008) Washburn U, Assistant Professor (10/24/2008) Wofford College, Assistant Professor (11/7/2008) York College, Assistant Professor (No Stated Date)

Fiction

Arizona State U, Assistant Professor (10/13/2008) American U, Assistant Professor (10/13/2008) Arkansas Tech, Assistant Professor (11/25/2008) Arkansas State U, Assistant Professor Central Michigan U, Assistant Professor (10/20/2008) Concordia College, Assistant Professor (12/10/2008) Florida International University, Assistant Professor (12/01/08) Kansas State U, Assitant Professor (11/3/2008) Miami U (Ohio), Assistant, Associate, or Full (11/10/2008) Nebraska Wesleyan U, Assistant Professor (12/1/2008) Oakland U, Assistant Professor (12/1/2008) Portland State U, Assistant/Associate Professor (11/7/2008) Salisbury U, Assistant Professor (11/17/2008) Susquehanna U, Assistant Professor (10/15/2008) U of Alabama, Assoc/Assist (11/1/2008) U of Louisiana, Lafayette, Assoc/Assist U of Michigan, Visiting Professor (11/10/2008) U of Nebraska, Omaha, Associate Professor U of North Carolina, Greensboro, Assistant Professor (11/15/2008) U of North Texas, Assistant Professor (10/15/2008) Western Illinois U, Assistant Professor (12/8/2008)

Creative Nonfiction

American U, Assistant Professor (10/13/2008) ] Bentley College, Open Rank (12/01/2008 preference) Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor (11/03/2008) Nebraska Wesleyan U, Assistant Professor (12/1/2008) U of Alabama, Assoc/Assist (11/1/2008)

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Ball State U, Assistant Professor. screenwriting & poetry/creative nonfiction (10/15/2008)

Open Genre

Creighton U, Assistant Professor (11/15/2008) George Washington U, Assistant Professor (11/17/2008) Millsaps C, Assistant Professor (11/15/2008) North Central College, Assistant Professor (multiple genre) (11/14/2008) North Geogia C & SU, Assistant Professor (Immediate Review) York College of PA, Assistant Professor (mid-October)

Professional Writing

U Mass, Dartmouth, Assistant Professor (11/15/2008)

Departments Requesting More Documents
[NOTE: Please list in chronological rather than alphabetical order.]

Poetry

UC Denver (10/10) 6; (11/7) 1

University of Utah (11/1) 1; (11/6) 1; (11/11) 1

Santa Cruz (11/3) 1

Texas State (10/22) 1; (11/4) 1; (11/13) 1

Wofford College (11/4) 2; (11/11) 1

Washington College (11/4) 2; (11/12) 2

Case Western Reserve (11/14) 6

Northwestern University (11/14) 2

UC Boulder (11/14) 4

Fiction

U North Texas (10/24) 2

Susquehanna U (10/28) 1

Arkansas Tech (11/10) 2

U Alabama Birmingham 1 (11/11) 2

North Texas (11/11) 1

Kansas State U (11/13) 4

U Louisiana Lafayette (11/14) 1

Non-Fiction

Grand Valley State (11/7) 2

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-genre

Calls or Emails for Preliminary Interviews
Poetry

Fiction

Central Michigan: Request for phone interview (11/6) 2

U of Nebraska, Omaha: Request for phone interview (11/12) 1

Non-Fiction

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-Genre

Rejections
Poetry

Northwestern University (11/14) 3

Fiction

Non-Fiction

DePaul University (11/12) 1

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-Genre

Calls or Emails for Campus Visits
Poetry

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-Genre

Departments Rejecting On-Campus Interviewees
Poetry

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-Genre

Schools That Made Offers
Poetry

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-Genre

Has Anyone Heard From...?
University of North Carolina at Greensboro or Miami University (Ohio)? (both fiction jobs)

UNC Greensboro sent affirmative action form. Miami had to pull the search due to budget cuts.

Carnegie Mellon Poetry?

Questions/Comments About Specific Listings
Poetry

Q: Texas State: Was the request for more info for Poetry or Fiction?

A: Poetry.

Q: Did people hearing from Washington College get a request by email or letter?

A: E-mail.

Q: What did Case Western Reserve ask for? Did you get an email?

A: Letters & writing sample via email

Fiction

I was just wondering if anyone can offer any insight into just how difficult it is to land an interview in a search such as the one at UNCG or Miami of Ohio. Any knowledge on those particular searches would be appreciated.

Creighton U just announced a hiring freeze, but the English Dept. is unsure whether or not that will affect them (11/13).

Non-Fiction

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Open/Multi-Genre

Search-Related Comments, Questions, Tips, FAQs, Etc.
Q: For the person contacted by Susquehanna, when did you send in your application? I want to know if there's any hope for me!



Q: So do creative writers on the job market need to plan to attend MLA as well as AWP?

A: Most places interview at MLA, but this year it seems like there are more listings saying they will interview at AWP. Bad news for job seekers.

Q: Why is that bad news for job seekers? The timing?

A: Yeah, that messes up the timing pretty bad, actually. Since they're about 6 weeks apart. To say nothing of doing both trips. Lots of schools will be doing their campus visits in mid-late Jan/early February before the schools interviewing at AWP have even met with a single candidate for initial interviews. It just gums up the works basically. Potentially searches that began at MLA could make an offer before AWP searches have even finished their campus interviews, let alone decided on a candidate, or made an offer. Oh well.

Q: What did Denver ask for?

A: Cover letter, CV, and poetry sample, uploaded on its job site. Follow-up requested a new cover letter addressing specific queries about Copper Nickel, etc; 2 sample syllabi (one poetry-only; one fiction & poetry); writing sample (again); letters of rec.; plus anything else you wanted them to consider.



Q: Those of you who heard from Denver, when did you send your material in? I'm wondering if the fact I got the material past their initial review date may have influence how seriously they consider my application. Do schools ask for more materials on a rolling basis?

A: Materials sent in late Sept, but the search is rolling, i.e. applications will be screened until position is filled, so later applications appear to be getting responses. Generally, though, sending things late will disqualify you as a candidate. Search committees don't like to meet more than once or twice if they can help it.



Q: I'm curious if there's another resource for listings beyond the mla and awp postings?

A: www.newpages.com tends to list a small amount jobs on their blog, but again, there is a lot of overlap between there and AWP/MLA. Most departments go through the formal channels.

A: ADE site; http://www.higheredjobs.com/; http://chronicle.com/jobs/



Q: I'm curious about how others respond to an initial request for a "description of your work" (usually specified as one or two pages), particularly for poets. I borrowed from a description written for a grant application and mostly discussed my manuscript-in-progress. But for creative writing, this seems like a strange requirement; maybe it's a holdover from other job listings that ask for a dissertation abstract or description of current research. Any thoughts about this?

A: Sounds like a holdover to me, or maybe the department has a template for any listings, be they writing or lit or whatever. I'm a prose writer, not a poet, but I've never been asked for a description of my work, just samples.

A: Not strange at all. If you’re unable to articulate a poetics, you’ll do poorly with a job talk, not to mention falling short in the classroom itself.

A: You should always describe your work in your cover letter, at least a paragraph. And it will serve you well in your interview or job talk if you're able to describe compellingly -- and perhaps theoretically -- what you're trying to accomplish as a writer. This is even more true if you're applying at a research-intensive institution. Liberal arts and teaching colleges often want to hear more about your teaching. If your poetics inform how you teach, so much the better. If not, better prepare to talk about your dream courses.

(so you're really going to f-ing police this list and kill the back and forth in favor of this kind of discourse, sure am glad I won't have to work with you...)

(I'm not sure you need to worry about working with anyone, actually.)



Q: Every time I apply for a position I receive a follow-up letter or email asking me to complete an affirmative-action questionnaire. Most of these mailings state that completion of the survey is voluntary and anonymous, though most also require you to list your name, which seems to contradict at least the anonymous claim. So is participation really voluntary? If you don't fill this out and return it (and sometimes return postage is not pre-paid, either), will the hiring committee or the department hold this against you?

A: This came up on the Chronicle of Higher Education forums-the consensus there was that search committees and department chairs should not/would almost certainly never see the AA forms, and wouldn't know if a specific individual filled them out. Some people there still urged everyone to fill them out, because there's apparently a slim possibility that a search could be canceled by administrators if they decided that the applicant pool wasn't large enough or diverse enough.



Q: How many requests for additional materials are generally sent, when a department narrows its applicants that way?

A: Most common narrowing process is a) an initial pool of 20-30 minimally qualified candidates, requested to send additional material; b) winnowed to 10-12 for initial interviews (MLA, AWP or telephone), c) 2-3 for a campus visit. Search committees often have in mind a third or fourth "backup" candidate if the initial campus visitors are unacceptable. Bear in mind that this year may see more telephone interviews, as search budgets are cut back and conference trips are cancelled. With telephone interviews there is less pressure to narrow the pool quickly.

List-Related Comments & Suggestions
Q: Any ideas on how we can "spread the word" about this wiki more effectively?

A: key search terms...like so: poems, poetry, jobs, jobs in poetry, creative writing gig, creative writing job, work in creative writing, creative writing wiki, creative writing search results, job searches, how to make a cv, how to land a creative writing job, new hire in fiction, fiction jobs, etc...add more...

A: Post about it on listserves.

A: Blog about it.

Q: Perhaps we should list the updates in chronological order, rather than alphabetizing them? This would make it easier to see the recent updates.

A: While chronologically makes it easier to see what's new any given day, it's really hard to find particular schools, and generally much harder for those of us who don't check every day, or who need to refresh our memories. Is there a way to do both?

A: There were multiple calls to alphabetize last year, for the same reasons mentioned above. It seems there's not any easy solution.