2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[jadedoptimist]

10 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

We have almost as many pages as the 2023 MFA thread in total and we're not even into the middle of February.  I think we're an especially anxious bunch!

Still not even close to 2021 😂

[triciadawn]

3 hours ago, triciadawn said:

Today is the last day for Ole Miss, right? There was movement Sunday night, and now it’s quiet! 

bump

[prufrock_]

3 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

bump

Yes, that's how I read their website. I did notice yesterday they removed the phase 2 notification that was up from 2022 from their website, I'm guessing in preparation of posting that 2024 version tomorrow.

[triciadawn]

12 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

Yes, that's how I read their website. I did notice yesterday they removed the phase 2 notification that was up from 2022 from their website, I'm guessing in preparation of posting that 2024 version tomorrow.

I noticed that too. Oh well! I'm just ready to call my first rejection lol. Narrows down where I'll be living the next 2-3 years. I'm ready to start looking into jobs/apartments way in advance. 

[Hjanep]

Is anyone else in JHU limbo still? Maybe they’re correcting the email before sending it out to everyone else?

[jadedoptimist]

22 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

Is anyone else in JHU limbo still? Maybe they’re correcting the email before sending it out to everyone else?

You're def not alone, ppl are discussing this on draft (obv you may be one of those people lol)

[writernity]

24 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

Is anyone else in JHU limbo still? Maybe they’re correcting the email before sending it out to everyone else?

Yup, I'm still waiting too! Maybe fixing email, maybe sending them out one by one in alphabetical order, I'm usually near the bottom 🤣

I was right that there was stuff going on behind the scenes we might not know about though-- there were waitlist additions just yesterday, and now today rejections are coming. So even when the outlook seems bleak, nothing is final til that email arrives!

Edited February 14 by writernity
Looking at Draft I'm guessing it IS alphabetical-- the ones who say they've gotten them have B/C/D surnames, while the ones who say they haven't are J and beyond. Could be coincidence though, of course

[epr]

It was like this for me last year too—my name is at the end of the alphabet and I got my rejection a couple hours after other people. Looks like it’ll be the same this year. 
 

(Shows how many applicants they get that the rejection process takes so long 😂)

[goldentulip]

i love seeing the way we’ve all coped with the anxiety. i’m still here, waiting in the liminal space for the rest of my apps. i’m expecting a rejection soon from umass amherst based on the draft sheet. everyone seems to have gone towards more serious fiction and i have shut my brain off and dived into romance for the first time LOL will definitely be adding all your recommendations to my tbr list

[Chex]

4 minutes ago, goldentulip said:

i love seeing the way we’ve all coped with the anxiety. i’m still here, waiting in the liminal space for the rest of my apps. i’m expecting a rejection soon from umass amherst based on the draft sheet. everyone seems to have gone towards more serious fiction and i have shut my brain off and dived into romance for the first time LOL will definitely be adding all your recommendations to my tbr list

Hello! I am the romance head. I read romance like I drink water. It is my drug, it is my escape, it is my pleasure, it is my relief. I particularly enjoy queer (adult) romance. Keeps me sane in this wild world. Lmk if you want recs. 

[goldentulip]

1 minute ago, Chex said:

Hello! I am the romance head. I read romance like I drink water. It is my drug, it is my escape, it is my pleasure, it is my relief. I particularly enjoy queer (adult) romance. Keeps me sane in this wild world. Lmk if you want recs. 

omg yes please! i neeeeeed more queer recs. i love my friends but everything is very het. i read my first romance at the beginning of jan, and now i’m on my eighth book of the year which is wild for me because i’ve been a devoted poetry + creative nonfiction reader for the past few years. i read my first book ever with explicit neurodivergent rep and it was very exciting. would you be willing to share your goodreads? 🫣 i was forced to make one and now i love reading some of the unhinged reviews people leave LOL

[writernity]

12 minutes ago, Chex said:

Hello! I am the romance head. I read romance like I drink water. It is my drug, it is my escape, it is my pleasure, it is my relief. I particularly enjoy queer (adult) romance. Keeps me sane in this wild world. Lmk if you want recs. 

I would love some queer adult romance recs 👀 most of what I've been reading for fun the past few years is fan-translated queer Chinese webnovels 🤣 if anyone wants to read some great queer fantasy, there are some official English publications including Heaven Officials' Blessing and The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, my personal favorites!

[epr]

Boston just emailed out a wave of rejections, fiction & poetry

[triciadawn]

4 minutes ago, epr said:

Boston just emailed out a wave of rejections, fiction & poetry

!!! 

My status still says complete (fiction). 

[epr]

9 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

!!! 

My status still says complete (fiction). 

That’s probably good news! I think they do their rejections in waves, so you may be onto the next round. 

[triciadawn]

15 minutes ago, epr said:

Boston just emailed out a wave of rejections, fiction & poetry

!!! 

My status still says complete (fiction). 

Edited February 14 by triciadawn
not sure why this posted twice!

[mangojalapeno]

27 minutes ago, epr said:

Boston just emailed out a wave of rejections, fiction & poetry

Yeah one of them is in my inbox. Feeling surprisingly well (Is this the first stage of grief?? now i'm nervous

Edited February 14 by mangojalapeno
typo

[epr]

Apparently some people who never applied recieved rejections, which is wild to me

[jadedoptimist]

4 minutes ago, epr said:

Apparently some people who never applied recieved rejections, which is wild to me

I saw that! Anyone have theories? Maybe they applied a prior round? Totally baffles me.

[triciadawn]

28 minutes ago, epr said:

That’s probably good news! I think they do their rejections in waves, so you may be onto the next round. 

Ahhh! Did your status change in the portal? 

[mangojalapeno]

7 minutes ago, epr said:

Apparently some people who never applied recieved rejections, which is wild to me

👀 that's sad. Is it like some kind of prejection

[Hjanep]

3 hours ago, prufrock_ said:

We have almost as many pages as the 2023 MFA thread in total and we're not even into the middle of February.  I think we're an especially anxious bunch!

I think there are also maybe more of us? Or we are just more vocal? Because similarly the draft spreadsheet is MUCH more populated than last year’s

[epr]

5 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

I saw that! Anyone have theories? Maybe they applied a prior round? Totally baffles me.

Last year I got my rejection in March, so they’re really early this year. Maybe they rushed more than they’d meant to?

[Chex]

19 minutes ago, goldentulip said:

omg yes please! i neeeeeed more queer recs. i love my friends but everything is very het. i read my first romance at the beginning of jan, and now i’m on my eighth book of the year which is wild for me because i’ve been a devoted poetry + creative nonfiction reader for the past few years. i read my first book ever with explicit neurodivergent rep and it was very exciting. would you be willing to share your goodreads? 🫣 i was forced to make one and now i love reading some of the unhinged reviews people leave LOL

13 minutes ago, writernity said:

I would love some queer adult romance recs 👀 most of what I've been reading for fun the past few years is fan-translated queer Chinese webnovels 🤣 if anyone wants to read some great queer fantasy, there are some official English publications including Heaven Officials' Blessing and The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, my personal favorites!

Here goes:

1. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (M/M, this is THE hockey romance, book 2 of mostly standalone series called the Game Changers series. You can read this one first or go in order, if you prefer).

2. His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto (Really wonderful asexual romance)

3. Glitterland by Alexis Hall (one MC has bouts of mental illness)

4. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (romcom)

5. Jericho by Ann McMan (slow burn F/F romance)

6. The Drake Chronicles series by Lauren Gilley (book series, romantasy set in ancient times, magic, dragons, intrigue and action, multiple couples; first book is called Heart of Winter)

7. Muscling Through by J.L. Merrow (opposites attract, a university professor and someone considered 'slow')

8. Special Forces - Soldiers by Aleksandr Voinov, Marquesate, Vashtan (Military M/M set in the 80s. Content warning: this is dark romance. Like, fucked up shit. Terrible things happen. Don't read this if it might be too much for you. But also, good stuff happens. It is an intense and amazing story)

9. The Last Kiss by Sally Malcolm (Beautiful historical romance set around/after WW1)

10. Thrown Off the Ice by Taylor Fitzpatrick (hockey romance. Content warning: it starts innocuously enough but this is not exactly textbook romance)

11. Wingmen by Ensan Case (early gay romance published in the 70s? Set during WW2. Great story. Packs a big emotional punch)

12. Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian (Historical romance set in the 1960s)

12. We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian (same as above)

13. The Sleeping Soldier by Aster Glenn Gray (someone supposedly dies in the 1860s but only fell asleep à la Sleeping Beauty. He wakes in the 1960s and must deal with living in the modern world)

14. Red Dirt Heart series by N.R. Walker (Australia, large farm)

15. Galaxies and Oceans by N.R. Walker

Let's stop here for now, LOL. There's a lot more where that came from.

 

 

[mangojalapeno]

10 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

Ahhh! Did your status change in the portal? 

Nope still says "Complete" and looks very green after the rejection email.