Visiting Writers Series

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)
Visiting Writer Series
Apply Now
Contact Us

About the Series

Every year the MFA program invites several prestigious writers to campus, where they lead workshops of student work and give readings to the broader community.

Recent guests include Amy Tan, Susan Choi, Morgan Talty, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, Dana Johnson, Bonnie Nadzam, Paul Harding, Lily Hoang, Krys Lee, William Finnegan, Albert Goldbarth, Thomas Lynch, Peter Everwine, Patricia Hampl, Linda Bierds, Thomas Lux, Alison Baker, James Tate, Dorianne Laux, Yusek Komunyakaa, Phillip Lopate, Lan Samantha Chang, Marilynne Robinson, Stuart Dybek, Jane Smiley, and many more.

To see presentations from some of our recent guests on YouTube click here.

EWU’s Visiting Writers Series is promoted by Get Lit! Programs.

Please contact us at MFA@ewu.edu or 509.828.1434 for more information on visiting writers and all general program questions.

2022-23 Visiting Writers

Emily Van Kley

Emily Van KleyEmily Van Kley is a queer poet and circus artist currently based in Olympia, Washington. She is the author of Arrhythmia (2022) and The Cold and the Rust (2018, Winner of the Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize), both from Persea Books. Her poetry has received the Loraine Williams Prize for Poetry, the Iowa Review Award, the Florida Review Editor’s Award, and has been featured in editions of Best American Poetry and Best New Poets. Originally from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Emily holds an MFA from Eastern Washington University and has been awarded fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation and the Vermont Studio Center. When not writing, she can often be found teaching or performing aerial acrobatics.

May 2023

Presented By:

The MFA at EWU

Program Information

Get Lit! Programs

Get Lit! Programs

Get Lit! Website

Previous Visiting Writers

Catalyst Building - Downtown Spokane

2022-2023 Visiting Writers

Every year the MFA program invites several prestigious writers to campus, where they lead workshops...
photo of the Catalyst Building in Spokane, WA.

2021-22 Visiting Writers

Every year the MFA program invites several prestigious writers to campus, where they lead workshops...
2020-21 Visiting Writers

2020-21 Visiting Writers

In the midst of the pandemic, the MFA program worked to ensure that they continued...

Previous Visiting Writers

  • Christopher Boucher
  • Christopher Dombrowski
  • Dinah Lenney
  • Danielle Dutton
  • Ashley Capps
  • Alex Espinoza
  • Phillip Lopate

  • Steve Almond
  • Bonnie Nadzam
  • Mary Norris
  • Dennis Nurkse
  • Suzanne Matson
  • Ira Sukrungruang

  • Judy Blunt
  • Darin Strauss
  • Jesse Graves
  • Krys Lee
  • Emily Van Kley
  • Dan Chaon
  • Nance Van Winckel
  • Laura Kasischke

  • Alexis M. Smith
  • Kristin Dombek
  • Heather McHugh
  • Joe Wilkins
  • Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
  • Liz Kay
  • John Rybicki

  • Linda Bierds
  • S.M. Hulse
  • Bethany Schultz Hurst
  • Lily Hoang
  • Lidia Yuknavitch
  • Paul Harding
  • Nance Van Winckel
  • William Finnegan
  • Elizabeth Spires

  • Joseph Salvatore
  • Andrea Scarpino
  • William Wright
  • Emily Rapp
  • Elizabeth Graver
  • Walter Kirn
  • Michele Glazer
  • Mary Szybist

Mailing Address

The MFA at EWU
C/O Eastern Washington University
CAT 400
601 East Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99202

Contact Us

We welcome comments and encourage questions from prospective and incoming students. Feel free to write, call, or email us with queries about the program, application process, or moving to Spokane (definitely check out our Frequently Asked Questions, too).

Lisa Denker
Senior Secretary
mfa@ewu.edu
509.828.1317
Gregory Spatz
Program Director
gspatz@ewu.edu
509.828.1310