2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[asm0deus]

9 hours ago, insearchoflostwine said:

Question for writers who apply multiple years, do you always keep the same references or find new mentors/teachers? If so, where do you look? I feel embarrassed asking the same people to help me out again with nothing to show for their previous efforts. 

I used the same all three years lol, felt kinda bad about it too but at the end of the day, it's a much easier task the second year (just time consuming). the letter is already written, just gotta upload

unless you've had some internship or new (writing related) job or something, the ones you have are probably best anyway. if your references know anything about MFA, they'll understand.

Edited February 22 by asm0deus

[Ogwick]

https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-job-market-english-majors-humanities-demand-2026-2
 

Just saw this article (copy / paste to read it) with the title “Revenge of the English Majors” and mentions several creative writing schools many have mentioned in this thread. 
 

Most of you are humanities undergrad majors so you have lived in this world forever, but as a math / engineer nerd I have to admit this article helped explain (to me) how / why I wound up here in the application towards a MFA degree I never saw coming. 
 

As I said in an earlier post I was never going to get into a program like Iowa, but I wanted to go through the process, to embrace real human emotions and voice in a world quickly becoming robotized. 

Coming back to why I posted this article here: I wonder if there will be more applications than average this year to MFA programs because of this trend towards the humanities. 

Edited February 22 by Ogwick

[junebugboy]

11 hours ago, insearchoflostwine said:

Question for writers who apply multiple years, do you always keep the same references or find new mentors/teachers? If so, where do you look? I feel embarrassed asking the same people to help me out again with nothing to show for their previous efforts. 

I think that your references are probably a lot less bothered than you might think! One of my references has already offered to send letters again after I told them I plan to reapply if I don't get accepted this cycle. Writing letters is part of their job, so I would try to not feel to bad about asking, and like someone else said, it's easier for them the second time around.

[lizard in a blizzard]

Based on the historical data in the spreadsheet and the amount of acceptances we’ve seen so far, I’m thinking today could mark the last of the Iowa calls. Just hazarding a guess, though.

[writerinthedarkk]

5 minutes ago, lizard in a blizzard said:

Based on the historical data in the spreadsheet and the amount of acceptances we’ve seen so far, I’m thinking today could mark the last of the Iowa calls. Just hazarding a guess, though.

For both genres or just for fiction?  I don't have access to the spreadsheet 😕

[lizard in a blizzard]

2 minutes ago, writerinthedarkk said:

For both genres or just for fiction?  I don't have access to the spreadsheet 😕

Just fiction!

[insearchoflostwine]

Has Iowa ever made calls on Sundays? 

[Ogwick]

56 minutes ago, lizard in a blizzard said:

Based on the historical data in the spreadsheet and the amount of acceptances we’ve seen so far, I’m thinking today could mark the last of the Iowa calls. Just hazarding a guess, though.

I think calls will officially end by Tuesday of this week.  Maybe some calls on Sunday, but with a Nor’easter hitting the east coast I could see many calls getting pushed to Monday / Tues to wrap up - just a hunch and estimating how long it takes one person (Ms Chang) to call 25 people (4 business days?) - you need time to breathe and walk between each of those conversations I bet (not robo calls etc).

Edited February 22 by Ogwick

[SocialKonstruct]

Found this rather fascinating https://txtlab.org/2018/01/are-novels-getting-easier-to-read/. I think that European authors tend to have much lower scores than their American counterparts.

[Spicy Potato]

17 hours ago, insearchoflostwine said:

Question for writers who apply multiple years, do you always keep the same references or find new mentors/teachers? If so, where do you look? I feel embarrassed asking the same people to help me out again with nothing to show for their previous efforts. 

Please don't be embarrassed. Your recommenders and the programs that you are applying to will likely see it as dedication rather than repeated failure. I used the same recommenders this second time around, and I've had their wholehearted support. Hang in there. xo 

[Theodosia]

I'm currently waiting for my acceptance into the Draft group. If someone has a spare moment and would be so kind, could you please update me on how many Iowa acceptances for Fiction have been noted? I'm back to simply hoping for a tiered rejection or personalized note, but I'd love to know how long I should hold out for. 

[womanonline]

10 minutes ago, Theodosia said:

I'm currently waiting for my acceptance into the Draft group. If someone has a spare moment and would be so kind, could you please update me on how many Iowa acceptances for Fiction have been noted? I'm back to simply hoping for a tiered rejection or personalized note, but I'd love to know how long I should hold out for. 

There have been three Iowa fiction acceptances on the spreadsheet. One on the 19th, 20th, and 21st. I really do think they’ll continue making calls until Tuesday, not to mention waitlists as well! 

[martysupreme]

2 hours ago, womanonline said:

There have been three Iowa fiction acceptances on the spreadsheet. One on the 19th, 20th, and 21st. I really do think they’ll continue making calls until Tuesday, not to mention waitlists as well! 

sam is still making calls! just got a call from her today (sun, 2/22) around 2pm PT. the call was over 40 minutes, so i can see now how calling all 25 people would take a bit of time. i'm completely floored. i'd assumed calls were done and resolved this morning to just lick my wounds and move on. hold out hope!!! 

[womanonline]

I know that Iowa typically accepts 25 fiction and 25 poetry. Is the Nonfiction Writing Program the same? It seems to be separate from the rest and I can’t find any confirmation of this online

[theyearshallrunlikerabbits]

Amazing! Congrats!!!

[martysupreme]

1 hour ago, theyearshallrunlikerabbits said:

Amazing! Congrats!!!

thank you! thanks all for bearing with my cringe-y, anxious contributions to this forum lol.

[cocoice98]

1 hour ago, womanonline said:

I know that Iowa typically accepts 25 fiction and 25 poetry. Is the Nonfiction Writing Program the same? It seems to be separate from the rest and I can’t find any confirmation of this online

I am also so curious about this! I believe their cohort is ten and their program is totally separate (different director, Melissa Febos). I would assume their timeline for notifying is also separate. I am so antsy to hear back from them!

[womanonline]

10 minutes ago, cocoice98 said:

I am also so curious about this! I believe their cohort is ten and their program is totally separate (different director, Melissa Febos). I would assume their timeline for notifying is also separate. I am so antsy to hear back from them!

Febos is my favorite author, the idea of her calling me on the phone regularly makes me want to pass out but is also my daydream to get me through the waiting 😭 

[cocoice98]

4 minutes ago, womanonline said:

Febos is my favorite author, the idea of her calling me on the phone regularly makes me want to pass out but is also my daydream to get me through the waiting 😭 

Haha very much same! Crossing my fingers for both of us!

[insearchoflostwine]

15 minutes ago, martysupreme said:

thank you! thanks all for bearing with my cringe-y, anxious contributions to this forum lol.

Congrats! What a feat! If you don't mind my asking, do you consider your work literary fiction? Or genre fiction? I wonder if my piece is too fantasy-leaning to ever be considered at a place like Iowa, even if the writing itself stood any chance.

[marsmentality]

23 hours ago, martysupreme said:

another acceptance hit the sheet today  i'm losing hope! i feel sorta silly and ungrateful bc i am excited about an offer from another school, but iowa is provoking an uncomfortable confrontation with my ego and perception of myself as a writer that i wasn't expecting! i didn't realize i had all these big hopes for iowa until now

Iowa has been my ultimate dream school forever and I’ve kind of always imagined myself there in some capacity (as silly as it sounds). I know it’s a long shot and my chances are insanely slim but it’s hard not to hold on to the dream for as long as I can. It’s my first year applying and my rejections have absolutely destroyed my sense of self, but I still find myself hoping that Iowa will be different. Not casting the net too far though..

[martysupreme]

i consider my work literary fiction, but it seems like the cohort has diverse aesthetic interests so far (at least from what sam told me). i'm familiar with the work of a recent alum who writes in the fantasy vein...i don't know anything about iowa's process but don't count yourself out on account of genre!! 

[martysupreme]

51 minutes ago, marsmentality said:

Iowa has been my ultimate dream school forever and I’ve kind of always imagined myself there in some capacity (as silly as it sounds). I know it’s a long shot and my chances are insanely slim but it’s hard not to hold on to the dream for as long as I can. It’s my first year applying and my rejections have absolutely destroyed my sense of self, but I still find myself hoping that Iowa will be different. Not casting the net too far though..

fingers crossed for you!!! and protect your sense of self. not to be cheesy, but you are your best thing!!! your story, your POV, your writing, all of it is yours, and no one place can take that from you. hold your head up high!!! hope you're staying encouraged. ❤️ 

Edited February 23 by martysupreme

[Ogwick]

4 hours ago, martysupreme said:

sam is still making calls! just got a call from her today (sun, 2/22) around 2pm PT. the call was over 40 minutes, so i can see now how calling all 25 people would take a bit of time. i'm completely floored. i'd assumed calls were done and resolved this morning to just lick my wounds and move on. hold out hope!!! 

Congrats!!!  That’s great news 

[Ogwick]

30 minutes ago, martysupreme said:

fingers crossed for you!!! and protect your sense of self. not to be cheesy, but you are your best thing!!! your story, your POV, your writing, all of it is yours, and no one place can take that from you. hold your head up high!!! hope you're staying encouraged. ❤️ 

Just to echo this point above: obviously everyone in this thread wants to get into a grad school this season. Why else apply?

But don’t seek your personal validation, happiness or sense of self from a certificate, job, or even a long career. 
 

If you’re ultimately rejected from all schools this season - screw them, and publish anyway!  You don’t need a MFA certificate to let others hear your voice.