2012-'13 Fellows Announced!

The 2012-2013 Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowships have been decided! Elaine Romero of Chicago, IL will join us as the Carl Djerassi Playwriting Fellow. Ari A. Banias (MFA: Hunter), will be our new Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow. Sara Gelston (MFA: U. of Illinois) will be Ari's partner-in-poetry as the 2012-'13 Diane Middlebrook Poetry Fellow. Miriam Cohen (MFA: Sarah Lawrence) will be our next Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellow. She will be joined by Carl Djerassi Fiction Fellow Jaquira Diaz (MFA: U. of South Florida), James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow Sarah Hulse (MFA: U. of Oregon), and Halls Emarging Artist Fellow Alyssa Knickerbocker (MFA: U. of Wisconsin). Our annual Carl Djerassi Playwriting Fellow will be announced in mid-May.







Just a couple minutes' walk from the fellowship offices, State Street's food carts offer cheap, gourmet food in the non-winter months. Photo © Oliver Bendorf, 2011-13 MFA.







An aerial view of Picnic Point, a prime bonfire location and firefly-viewing spot each fall. Picnic Point is just a short walk from Helen C. White Hall, home to the Program in Creative Writing. Photo © University of Wisconsin-Madison Board of Regents.







Pictured above is Helen C. White Hall, home to the Program in Creative Writing. Photo © University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.


The Institute Fellows Nicole Cullen






Laura Eve Engel Pilar Gomez-Ibanez






Mehdi Okasi Jacques Rancourt






Emily Ruskovich Martin Zimmerman






OUR 2011-12 INSTITUTE FELLOWS, clockwise from top right: Nicole Cullen, Pilar Gomez-Ibanez, Jacques Rancourt, Martin Zimmerman, Emily Ruskovich, Mehdi Okasi, and Laura Eve Engel


Contact Us

Institute Coordinator Sean Bishop
Program in Creative Writing
Department of English
600 N. Park St, H.C. White Rm 6195
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706

phone: 608-263-3658
fax: 608-263-3709

Madison from the air: Helen C. White Hall, home of the Program in Creative Writing, is just one building out of frame in the bottom right corner. The Fellow offices overlook the lake.




An aerial view of Madison. Helen C. White Hall, home of the Creative Writing Program, is one building out of frame in the bottom right corner. Fellows' offices overlook the lake. Photo © University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.


Applying for the Djerassi
Playwriting Fellowship

Applicants to the Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship must have completed or be scheduled to complete an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing or Playwriting by August 15, 2012. For details regarding the responsibilities and privileges of our fellows, please see the main fellowships page. All applications must be postmarked by April 8, and should indicate "Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship" clearly on the envelope. There is no application form, though applications must include the following materials:

Please note that the application materials required for this fellowship differ from those required from the fiction, poetry, and HEAF fellowships. Send your completed application to:
      Sean Bishop, Coordinator
      Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing
      Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship
      Department of English
      600 N Park St, 6195A H.C. White Hall
      University of Wisconsin-Madison
      Madison, WI 53706

The Djerassi Playwriting Fellow will be chosen by June 1, and announced on the fellows page. If you have questions not answered in the FAQ below, please contact Sean Bishop, the Graduate & Institute Programs Coordinator, at institutemail@english.wisc.edu.


Applying for a Poetry, Fiction,
or HEAF Fellowship

Applications to the poetry, fiction, and HEAF fellowships are now closed, but will re-open on January 1, 2013. To be eligible, applicants must have completed or be scheduled to complete an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing by August 15, 2013. For details regarding the responsibilities and privileges of our fellows, please see the main fellowships page. In 2013 we will switch to an online application system—look for details regarding this system in fall 2012. All applications will require the following materials (some exceptions are noted for HEAF applicants):

Do not include more than one genre in a single submission. You may apply in more than one of our fellowship genres (fiction, poetry, playwriting), but you must upload a separate application for each, with separate application fees.

If you are submitting short fiction, please do not send more than one short story. The limit is one story no matter how short that story may be. If you send more than one story, we will read only the first. If you are sending a novel excerpt, you may (but need not) include a brief synopsis (one or two paragraphs) of the novel, as page one of the manuscript.

The poetry, fiction, and HEAF fellows will be chosen by May 1 each year, and announced on the fellows page. If you have questions concerning these fellowships that are not answered in the FAQ below, please contact Sean Bishop, the Graduate & Institute Programs Coordinator, at institutemail@english.wisc.edu.


Fellowship FAQ

Required Degree

Previous Books (fiction, poetry, & HEAF fellowships only)

Writing Sample (fiction and poetry fellowships only)

Selection Process (fiction and poetry fellowships only)