Creative Writing and Journalism Courses for Yale College Students
Fall 2024 Courses
Students may take more than one creative writing class this term, but not two in the same genre: Drama, Fiction, Journalism/Nonfiction, Poetry.
A current (and continually updated) listing of all English course offerings is available on Yale Course Search (YCS).
Some courses will require an application in advance; a list will be posted here by Friday, March 15. Those applications will be due by noon on April 5. Applicants will be notified of decisions by April 12. When registration period begins, admitted students must add the course to their Registration Worksheet and request Instructor Permission in 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 1 may have their places filled from the waiting list. Applicants who submit after the April 1 deadline may be accepted to the waiting list.
Online Application Tip: log into your Microsoft account using your Yale email address and password. Please note that if you are trying to access the form while logged into any email on your browser that is not your Yale one, the page will not load.
Where no application is required in advance, 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. Please check the course sites on Canvas for further information; these can be accessed through YCS by clicking on the Syllabus link in the course window.
Proposals for independent study courses are due at noon on April 2. Students will be notified by 5:00 pm on April 10 whether the proposal has been approved or revisions are required.
Introductory Creative Writing Courses
ENGL 123 Introduction to Creative Writing. Richard Deming, Marie-Helene Bertino, Emily Skillings, and R. Clifton Spargo.
ENGL 404-01 The Craft of Fiction. Michael Cunningham.
Information Session April 5, 12:00 or 2:00 in LC 317
IF YOU MISSED THE INFORMATION SESSION, please fill out this questionnaire and upload it here by noon on April 10 (use your Yale email address and password to login).
ENGL 404-02 The Craft of Fiction. Adam Sexton.
ENGL 447 Shakespeare and the Craft of Writing Poetry. Danielle Chapman.
This hybrid course is an exciting blend of creative and critical writing. Students decide before midterm whether they want to take the course as a Renaissance Literature or Creative Writing Credit, and this determines whether their final project is a creative portfolio or critical paper.
Professional Writing/Production Courses
These courses do not count toward the Creative Writing Concentration.
ENGL 412 Literary Production: Poetry. Maggie Millner.
ENGL 413 Literary Production: Prose. Jack Hanson.
Intermediate Creative Writing Courses
ENGL 407 Fiction Writing. Marie-Helene Bertino. ENGL 407 Application
ENGL 411 American Horror Stories. Brian Price.
ENGL 419 Writing about Contemporary Figurative Art. Margaret Spillane.
ENGL 421 Nonfiction Writing: Writing about Architecture. Christopher Hawthorne.
ENGL 425 Writing the Television Drama. Aaron Tracy.
JDST 345/ENGL 431 Ghostwriting. Joshua Cohen.
LITR 348/ENGL 456HUMS 427/JDST 316 The Practice of Literary Translation. Robyn Creswell.
THST 215/ENGL 434 Writing Dance. Brian Seibert.
Advanced Creative Writing and Journalism Courses
ENGL 453/THST 320 Playwriting. Donald Margulies. ENGL 453 Application
ENGL 460 Advanced Poetry Writing. Cynthia Zarin. ENGL 460 Application
ENGL 461 The Art and Craft of Television Drama. Derek Green. ENGL 461 Application
ENGL 463 Writing Outsiderness and Interiority. Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah. ENGL 463 Application
ENGL 465 Advanced Fiction Writing. Michael Cunningham. ENGL 465-01 Application
ENGL 465 Advanced Fiction Writing. Caryl Phillips. ENGL 465-02 Application
ENGL 467 Journalism. Steven Brill. ENGL 467 Application
UPDATE: TO ALL APPLICANTS TO ENGLISH 467A (FALL, 2024)
FROM: STEVEN BRILL
I have now notified all those who applied for the English 467 seminar who have been admitted, meaning that if you have not received such a notice and confirmed your intention to join the program, I was unable to admit you this year. As always, this is the only unpleasant aspect of my involvement in the Yale Journalism Initiative. I’m confident that everyone who applied would have done well. But I had to made decisions on the right mix of participants based on a variety of factors. With that in mind, I want to stress that one of those criteria was that in many cases I chose rising seniors and juniors over rising sophomores because sophomores will have additional opportunities to participate. So, while some rising sophomores were included in the mix, most were not – and if you are a rising sophomore I urge you to apply again next time around.
ENGL 469 Advanced Nonfiction Writing. Anne Fadiman. ENGL 469 Application
ENGL 474 The Genre of the Sentence. Verly Klinkenborg. ENGL 474 Application
ENGL 484 Writing Across Literary Genres. Cynthia Zarin. ENGL 484 Application
MB&B 459/ENGL 459/EVST 215 Writing about Science, Medicine, and the Environment. Carl Zimmer. See Canvas or email the instructor for application information.
Independent Study
ENGL 487 Tutorial in Writing. Staff. ENGL 487 Application
ENGL 489 The Creative Writing Concentration Senior Project. Staff. ENGL 489 Application
Questions? Contact Erica Sayers or Jane Bordiere.