The Creative Writing Major
Scaffolded for breadth and depth, the creative writing major at St. Olaf emphasizes the study of literary craft to empower a student to read literature like a writer to create texts of their own. To learn about the major’s degree requirements, please visit the academic catalog.
Off-Campus Study
St. Olaf College sponsors off-campus study at The University of East Anglia, which specializes in creative writing and film studies with an emphasis on professional development. St. Olaf students have attended writing conferences such as Writers in Paradise sponsored by Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival.
Campus Writing Opportunities
St. Olaf College offers students several co-curricular opportunities for writing, publishing, and/or publicly reading their work:
- St. Olaf Messenger, campus newspaper
- The Quarry, literary magazine publishing student and alumni work
- The Reed, interdisciplinary journal publishing creative writing, literary criticism, and philosophical essays related to existentialism
Students also take part in writing-focused internships with the Northfield News and publishing houses in Minnesota and New York.
The English Department holds annual contests in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry to recognize student work. Nationally recognized writers who have served as final judges are Todd Boss, Greg Bills, Paul Bogard, Mary Rose O’Reilly, Michael Kleber-Diggs, and torrin a. greathouse. The department also nominates student writing for the American Colleges of the Midwest’s Nick Adams Short Story Contest and The Associated Writing Programs Intro Journals Awards.
Distinguished Visiting Writers
The English Department is proud to host The Claire Gilbert Marty Visiting Writers Series and The Marilyn Nelson Visiting Poet Series. Notable writers from around the world have enriched St. Olaf students’ knowledge of contemporary literature through guest readings and other author events. Some past visitors include Paul Auster, Charles Baxter, Paul Bogard, Lynn Emanuel, Sam Hamill, Christopher Howell, Siri Hustvedt, Douglas Kearney, Kim Ki-Taek, Gerry LaFemina, Ed Bok Lee, Philip Lopate, Dennis Maloney, Susan McCabe, Benjamin Percy, Bao Phi, Nahid Rachlin, A.E. Stallings, Rodrigo Toscano, Derek Walcott, Kao Kalia Yang, and more.
Alumni Achievements
St. Olaf creative writing alumni have gone on to win national fellowships and grants such as the Wallace Stegner and National Endowment for the Arts; release books with publishers like Harper Collins, Penguin, and W.W. Norton and Co.; edit manuscripts at Tin House and Milkweed Editions; support community programming at The Playwright’s Center and The Loft Literary Center; attend top-ranked MFA programs at Columbia University, Hollins University, New York University, University of Washington, among others; and feature at literary festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Applying to Graduate Programs in Creative Writing
Creative writing at St. Olaf College— opening up worlds within and beyond!