Creative writing at UNT is grounded in the conviction that writers need to be steeped in literary tradition and practice, and also need a thriving community of writers to challenge and encourage them. UNT has an accomplished faculty and a wide-ranging, talented and enthusiastic group of students who come together not just from within the borders of Texas, but from across the United States, even from other countries, to pursue Ph.D. and M.A. degrees focused on fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Recent students have published their work in some of the nation’s top literary journals, including New England Review, Ploughshares, Iowa Review, Missouri Review, The Paris Review, and Virginia Quarterly Review.

Our own national journal, American Literary Review, gives students the chance to gain experience in literary publishing. We have an active student reading series, and our Visiting Writers Series brings prominent readers to campus each year. Students have the opportunity to have real conversations with our visitors during Q&A sessions, over dinner, and after readings. Recently, Li-Young Lee, Rosellen Brown, Percival Everrett, Patricia Hampl, and Adam Zagajewski have all visited.

UNT is located in Denton, a small city that a recent feature in the New York Times writes “manages to combine the bohemian charm of Berkeley with the rural folksiness of the South.” It is a college town full of music and surrounded by ranchland, and sits 35 minutes away from downtown Dallas and Ft.Worth.