Creative Writing & Journalism Courses for Yale College Students Fall 2026
Students may take more than one creative writing class in the same term, but not two in the same genre: Drama, Fiction, Nonfiction and Journalism, Poetry. In addition, students who enroll in ENGL 4400/4401 The Creative Writing Concentration Senior Project may not enroll in any other creative writing course in the same term.
Courses may be searched under the Course Information Attribute “YC ENGL Creative Writing” on Yale Course Search (YCS).
Visit Canvas Sites for Course Enrollment Information
Applications for courses that require them in advance may be due as early as noon on Monday, April 20. Please check the course sites on Canvas for registration and/or application information and deadlines; these can be accessed through YCS by clicking on the Syllabus link in the course window. In most cases, students may enroll during registration period by submitting an instructor permission request through YCS, or by enrolling on a first-come-first-served basis, depending on the course. Where an application is required, students will be notified by April 30 of instructors’ decisions. Upon acceptance, please submit an instructor permission request through YCS. Instructors will approve admitted student requests in YCS; approved students must then return to YCS to Confirm Changes and complete registration in the course. Admitted students who do not complete registration in the course by May 4 (or the date requested by the instructor, whichever comes first) may have their places filled from the waiting list. Applicants who submit after the instructor’s deadline may be accepted to the waiting list.
Independent Creative Writing Courses
Proposals for the Writing Concentration Senior Project are due on March 27 at noon. Other independent study course proposals are due at noon on April 3. Students will be notified on April 10 whether the proposal has been approved or revisions are required.
ENGL 3400 Tutorial in Writing. Staff.
ENGL 3400 Proposal
ENGL 4400 The Creative Writing Concentration Senior Project. Staff.
ENGL 4400 Proposal
Special Writing Courses
ENGL 2013 Writing and Editing for Magazines. Sam Huber.
ENGL 2013 does not count toward the Creative Writing Concentration.
Introductory Creative Writing Courses
MULTIGENRE
ENGL 1023 Introduction to Creative Writing. Richard Deming, Derek Green, R. Clifton Spargo.
ENGL 1023 counts as an introductory course for English Majors; does not count towards the Creative Writing Concentration.
ENGL 2411 The Craft of Graphic Narrative. Alison Bechdel.
FICTION
ENGL 2441 The Craft of Fiction. Adam Sexton.
ENGL 2441 The Craft of Fiction. Michael Cunningham.
Information Sessions for Professor Michael Cunningham’s Fall 2026 Courses: Professor Cunningham will be holding two different introductory sessions on April 2 at 4:00pm in LC 206 and April 3 at 10:00am in LC 317. Students interested in Professor Cunningham’s class are strongly encouraged to attend one of these. The application will be distributed at the introductory sessions and is also available on Canvas. Completed applications are due at 5:00pm on April 3; you may bring a completed application with you to the information session.
NONFICTION
TDPS 2301/ENGL 2455 Writing Dance. Brian Siebert.
POETRY
ENGL 2421 The Craft of Poetry. Maggie Millner.
Intermediate Creative Writing Courses
DRAMA
ENGL 3431 Playwriting. Donald Margulies.
ENGL 3434 Writing the Television Drama. Aaron Tracy.
ENGL 3435 American Horror Stories. Brian Price.
TDPS 3402/ENGL 3432 Production Seminar: Playwriting. Deborah Margolin
FICTION
ENGL 3441 Fiction Writing. Marie-Helene Bertino, Sophia Veltfort
NONFICTION
ENGL 3454 Writing about Contemporary Figurative Art. Margaret Spillane.
ENGL 3461/ARCH 3120 Nonfiction Writing: Writing about Architecture. Christopher Hawthorne.
Advanced Creative Writing Courses
MULTIGENRE
ENGL 4411/FILM 4670 Making Comics. Alison Bechdel.
DRAMA
ENGL 4434 The Art and Craft of Television Drama. Derek Green.
TDPS 3403/ENGL 4432 Advanced Playwriting. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.
FICTION
ENGL 4441 Advanced Fiction Writing. Caryl Phillips.
NONFICTION
ENGL 4451 The Genre of the Sentence. Sarah Mesle.
ENGL 4460 Journalism. Steven Brill.
ENGL 4464 The Others: Writing Literary Conflict. Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah.
ENGL 4469 Advanced Nonfiction Writing. Anne Fadiman.
MB&B 4590/ENGL 4459/EVST 4469 Writing about Science, Medicine, and the Environment. Carl Zimmer.
POETRY
ENGL 4421 Advanced Poetry Writing. Danielle Chapman.
Questions? Contact Erica Sayers or Jane Bordiere.