spacedumpster

Thanks for taking the time to read it! The one time I took ayahuasca I just saw a real quick vision of an iridescent samurai, then sat in a circle for like four hours while a bunch of hippies tripped wayyy harder and sang medicine songs and played flutes and shit. It was amusing.

Here's my piece in The Molotov Cocktail. As is typically the case years after I write something, I now think it needs some heavy revision and expansion. ? Oh well. People read it as it is, and maybe some of them even liked it! Content Warning: cults, poisoning, drugs. Yeehaw. https://themolotovcocktail.com/about/archive-vols-1-3/vol-8/vol-8-issue-18/rainbow-fungus-rainbow/ The other pieces were only in print, not online, but if you really want to read them I can send a PDF. As far as money goes, it varies widely. I'm told that bigger publications like The New Yorker and The Atlantic pay pretty well. Some magazines pay by the word, some by the page, some a flat rate for contributors. Smallerer journals generally seem to pay $20-100 for first rights to flash fiction, more for longer works. Poetry is not entirely my jive, so I can't really speak to that.

I really enjoy The Sun, and I have submitted to them in the past (nothing published there yet). As a matter of principle, these days I generally only submit to magazines that pay writers and do not charge submission fees, but I recently threw my hat in the ring for a flash contest with American Short Fiction. I've submitted to The Masters Review twice now (one TBNT, one still in progress), and I send work to The Atlantic and The New Yorker once or twice a year for a laugh. A couple of years ago, I had some work accepted at a few smaller journals (The Molotov Cocktail, Havik, and The Laurel Review), but none of them were paying publications. Still nice to know somebody, somewhere digs my work.

I feel about the same as far as what I am looking for in an MFA. Support and a strong community to learn alongside have always served me well in my development, both academically and otherwise. Michener is the only choice we have in common, but it looks like you definitely did your research on well-regarded programs and aimed high! I was *this* close to applying to Michigan, but ultimately opted to limit my applications to five schools. I don't have any real suggestions, but I can tell you that Ann Arbor is a lovely, though somewhat elitist (go figure) town. I lived there for about a year. Anyway, should I get into more than one place, I will be basing my choice primarily around whatever school offers me the best funding/what city gives me the best feeling about living in it for the foreseeable future.

Ditto, what mrvisser said--you have come to the right place! Nerves are certainly high for a lot of us, but you have gotten through the work of applying, and almost certainly grown as a writer in the process. Regardless of how things wind up, just taking the time to put a work sample together and knock out all those SOPs is a huge accomplishment in its own right. Mad props on that big ol' pool of applications. Let's talk about 'em! Where have you applied? Where are you most excited about?

Oof, to have nothing better to do than be insufferable on the internet... Right there with you on antagonizing web-based troglodytes, so thank you for removing the temptation to engage.

I've got a few pieces of flash out in the world, but I wouldn't be surprised if I hear back from some of my prospective schools before I hear back from the journals! Also have an application in for a residency, and another in the works. Anxiety abounds.

Presently devouring Neuromancer because, as a massive sci-fi geek, it is shameful that I had not yet read it. I also just finished Girls Against God by Jenny Hval.

Ahh yes the store brand, M*rshall Okayman.

Hiya! I went to Bowling Green for my undergrad. I was not a creative writing major, but I did take a fiction course taught by one of their grads at the time, and he was very happy with the program. He was also one of my recommenders for applications this year, and is an all-around awesome dude and a fantastic writer. That said, having spent the majority of my 31 years in NW Ohio, I am sad to inform you that Bowling Green is a just god-awful place to live. A good friend once described it as "nothing but a windy-ass corn field", which is absolutely accurate. I did get to meet Anis Mojgani during his time as a visiting writer and hear him read, though. That was neat. Best of luck on your applications!

I'm just repeating what I've heard from a handful of people who were accepted to different grad programs-- don't agonize too much over your SOP. Your work sample should speak for itself, and the SOP is more or less just a litmus test to make sure you're not insane, incompetent, or a blowhard. Be true to yourself, your strengths, and your challenges. I hope you find the right place for you!

So uhhh... Sorry to detract from homie's baffling pivot from being rejected by ten schools, to being God's gift to literature, but... I'm new here! Gimme da good vibez! It's my first time applying for an MFA. I looked exclusively at fully-funded, somewhat eclectic programs, and ultimately applied to: Michener Arizona State Oregon State University of Florida University of South Florida Hoping I set myself apart by getting in the pool extremely early on all of these. Anyway, not sure why I am here, but good luck to everyone who is applying, even if you're snarky! Cheers, Y'all.