About the NEOMFA

The Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program (NEOMFA) is a consortium of four universities--Cleveland State University, Kent State University, The University of Akron, and Youngstown State University--located in scenic Northeast Ohio, a place that provides a variety of landscapes to fuel creativity. Whether you find inspiration in the bustling arcades of Cleveland’s West Side Market, or in the striking vistas of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the NEOMFA program has plenty to offer. The NEOMFA gives writers an opportunity to hone creative skills, explore the finer details of the craft, and expand the scope of creative energies. The NEOMFA has many unique features:

  • The NEOMFA curriculum allows students to take writing workshops and craft & theory courses in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and playwriting, as well as literature courses in multiple genres.
  • Courses are cross-listed at all four universities, so students are free to register across institutional boundaries.
  • All of the NEOMFA universities have noteworthy resources, including several visiting writers’ series, student reading series, literary centers, and various publications.
  • The NEOMFA internship program is designed to facilitate professionalization and to prepare students for life beyond graduate school, with opportunities to work for literary presses, area theatres, in arts management through community outreach programs, as well as in the classroom with our faculty members.
  • Full and partial funding opportunities are available to teach composition and creative writing, or to work at the Wick Poetry Center, The CSU Poetry Center, the Youngstown State Poetry Center, or one of the university writing labs.

About Northeast Ohio

Northeast Ohio is a region with plenty to offer, including its wonderful fine arts centers and museums, its rich music scene, its delicious culinary offerings, its beautiful trails and landscapes, and its emerging literary community. Click on each of the NEOMFA's four home cities below to discover the wonder of these historic towns.

Akron
Cleveland
Kent
Youngstown

About Our Universities

The NEOMFA in Creative Writing can be obtained by attending courses at the four consortium universities: Cleveland State, Kent State, The University of Akron, and Youngstown State--in any combination. Each university offers unparalleled opportunities to work with a diverse faculty within the resources of four unique campuses for students of creative writing. Some of the resources offered by these individual universities include:

Cleveland State University

Visit the CSU English Department
* Poetry Center, which publishes works of poetry and holds the Poetry Center Prize contest.
* Whiskey Island, a student run literary journal.
* Imagination Conference, a five-day conference with workshops on creative writing held each summer.

Kent State University

Visit the KSU English Department
* Wick Poetry Center, which publishes works of poetry and holds reading series events.
* Luna Negra, a campus creative arts magazine published by students.
* Kent State University Press publishes all the Wick Center Poetry books and more.

The University of Akron

Visit the University of Akron English Department
* Rubbertop Review, a campus literary magazine published by students.
* Literary Guild, a group for students interested in literature who meet to discuss select readings and host presentations by The University of Akron faculty.
* The Akron Series in Poetry, a nationally recognized poetry book competition run by The University of Akron Press.

Youngstown State University

Visit the YSU English Department
* Poetry Center, which holds reading series events.
* Penguin Review, a campus literary magazine published by students.
* LYRE, the Center for Literature for Young Readers, which encourages the craft of writing for children and young adults.
* Jenny, an online literary magazine published by YSU Student Literary Arts Association.