Spring 2026
Creative Writing Workshop Application Instructions–Spring 2026
Admission to all English Creative Writing workshops is by application ONLY. Please read and follow the posted application instructions carefully.
Students do not need to complete an “A” workshop before completing a “B” workshop, and may apply for the level they feel best suits their writing abilities. Not certain which level is most appropriate? Students may apply to both the “A” and “B” workshops in the genres of their choice, and our creative writing faculty will determine placement.
Please note: students may take only one course 136(A/B) OR one course 137(A/B) per quarter.
Introduction to Creative Writing
English 20W / TAs to be assigned
Enrollment by instructor consent and NOT by enrollment pass time: Interested students should apply by 8 pm on February 26. Enrollment preference for English 20W will be given to first and second-year students. Approved applicants will receive a PTE directly from the instructor.
To apply, please prepare a brief (no more than 250 words) note explaining why you wish to take this course, and what previous experience you have with creative writing courses (if any—none required!).
Applications may be submitted through our approved web form, which you can access HERE beginning February 19. Students applying to English 20W should enroll in an alternate course during their enrollment passes, and should not assume that they will be admitted.
Questions should be directed to the English Undergraduate Advising Offices via MyUCLA MessageCenter.
Students who are interested in taking English 20W in lieu of English 4W while working on their preparatory requirements should contact a Dept. of English advisor
Creative Writing: Intermediate Poetry
English 136A / Prof. Mullen
Not open for credit to students who have previously completed ENGL 136A, 136B, or 136.
In this creative writing workshop, students write original poems, a new poem each week, and post weekly drafts for class discussion. Each student also contributes constructive feedback to fellow writers, and makes an oral presentation on the work of a published poet. Criteria for grading include regular and punctual attendance and completion of assignments, participation in discussion with respectful critique of fellow writers, as well as a final portfolio of revised poems. Enrollment is by instructor consent.
How to Apply
To apply for enrollment, please submit five poems you have written, along with a brief statement about your interest in reading and writing poetry and your previous experience in literature and creative writing courses. Please include your 9-digit UID number and e-mail address. If you are applying to more than one workshop and have a preference, please indicate that preference so we can try to accommodate it.
The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: Cruz 136A) and it should be sent to mullen@humnet.ucla.edu AND creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.
Creative Writing: Advanced Poetry
English 136B.1 / Prof. Wilson
In this advanced poetry workshop, you’ll write a new poem each week, and can expect many of the same experiences you’d have in any other writing course: discussion of exemplary published work, group work, and peer critique.
Enrollment is by instructor consent. If admitted, you must attend the first class.
How to Apply
To apply for the course, submit by e-mail attachment (in one document) three to five of your best poems. In the body of the e-mail, provide your name, UID number, major, class level, and a brief note (no more than 250 words) about your experiences with poetry, literary poets who interest and/or influence you, any other creative writing courses you may have taken (none required!), and any other creative writing courses to which you are applying this quarter.
The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: Smith 136B.1) and it should be sent to rwilson@english.ucla.edu AND creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.
Creative Writing: Advanced Poetry
English 136B.2 / Prof. Wilson
In this advanced poetry workshop, you’ll write a new poem each week, and can expect many of the same experiences you’d have in any other writing course: discussion of exemplary published work, group work, and peer critique.
Enrollment is by instructor consent. If admitted, you must attend the first class.
How to Apply
To apply for the course, submit by e-mail attachment (in one document) three to five of your best poems. In the body of the e-mail, provide your name, UID number, major, class level, and a brief note (no more than 250 words) about your experiences with poetry, literary poets who interest and/or influence you, any other creative writing courses you may have taken (none required!), and any other creative writing courses to which you are applying this quarter.
The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: Heaney 136B.2) and it should be sent to rwilson@english.ucla.edu AND creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.
Creative Writing: Advanced Prose (Short Fiction)
English 137B.1 / Prof. Torres
This class is an intensive workshop on the reading and writing of short fiction. We will consider the short story form, closely reading classics and contemporary short stories. Students will write both shorter weekly stories and two longer stories. The teacher’s primary goal in the class is to help the students develop a daily practice of writing and to foster and train their ability to recognize what’s best in their work. We’ll also discuss revision and the development of a sound critical faculty.
How to Apply:
To be considered for the class, please submit five pages (double spaced) of fiction. A Word document or PDF is preferable. In the body of the email, tell me what workshops you’ve taken in the past. Also, please list three pieces of creative writing you’ve recently read that have moved you.
The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: Rodriguez 137B.1) and it should be sent to jtorres7@ucla.edu and creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.
Creative Writing: Advanced Prose (Short Fiction)
English 137B.2 / Prof. Simpson
This class is an intensive workshop on the reading and writing of short literary fiction.
We will consider the short story form, studying one or more great short stories weekly, which the students will be expected to read three times and annotate in an effort to grasp its mechanics and magic.
Students will write one very short story every week, based on a prompt the teacher will offer, connected to the story they’ve read all week and studied. Most weeks, we’ll write in class. Some weeks you’ll write at home and bring the story to class.
The goals of the class are:
1) to turn every student in the class into a lifelong reader FOR PLEASURE
2) to help the students develop a regular practice reading and writing
3) to foster and recognize each student’s specific talent and train her/his/their technical skills. We’ll work the development of a sound critical faculty. Emphasis will be on developing the student writer’s voice.
How to Apply:
Please submit no more than 5 (double-spaced) pages of your fiction and list any workshops you’ve taken in the past. Please list your three favorite short stories and their authors. Also, please tell me your class standing (sophomore, junior, etc.)
If you are applying to more than one workshops and have preferences, please indicate those preferences.
The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: Chiang 137A.1) and it should be sent to monasimpson@mac.com AND creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.
Topics in Creative Writing—Creative Nonfiction
English M138.2 / Prof. Wang
This class is an intensive writing workshop focused on the reading and writing of creative nonfiction. In this form, the act of writing is not an explanation of the world around you but a means of discovering how you think and feel about it. We will read and discuss a variety of creative nonfiction: some personal essays, some narrative reportage, some portraits, and some hybrid forms. The goal of the course is to help students develop their own unique voice and a sense of narrative rhythm and pacing necessary to craft a truly engaging story. Students will complete weekly short writing exercises, as well as a longer piece that will be critiqued in workshop and revised.
How to Apply
Please email me one PDF attachment of your best creative prose writing (5-8 numbered pages, double-spaced, 12 pt serif font). The sample may be drawn from creative nonfiction or from fiction. In the body of the email, provide your name, major, class standing, and a brief note about yourself. Is there a piece of writing you have read lately that moved you? Which writers do you consistently return to, and what draws you back to them? Tell me about your current creative writing habits and any experience with creative nonfiction. If you’ve taken other writing workshops, either at UCLA or elsewhere, please let me know.
The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: McDonald M138.2) and it should be sent to xuanjuliana@gmail.com AND creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a UCLA Creative Writing Seminar: Isekai x Experiment
English M138.3 / Prof. Snelson
In this seminar, students will produce experimental approaches to popular variants of isekai genres in web novels, comics/manga, anime, visual novels, video games, films, and other media. We’ll also draw inspiration from a broader global history of “other world” or “portal fantasy” narratives, ranging from historical novels like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865) to recent video games like the literal walking simulator Baby Steps (Bennett Foddy, 2025). Building from these traditions, the course explores isekai not only as a genre but as a set of formal devices: transformation, leveling, save points, world rules, and so forth. We’ll ask how stories change when protagonists are reborn as objects, interfaces, monsters, or institutions—and what it means to write from within worlds structured by gaming conventions like stats, menus, maps, and mods. In the other direction, we’ll ask: how can we think of isekai genres as experimental modes of video game criticism in its own right? Using a collective workshop format, students will engage in a series of creative experiments that may include web novels, memes, interactive narratives, TTRPGs, dating sims, comics, machinima, net art, and a range of collaborative hybrid forms that blur writing, play, and poetics. Studying the genre conventions of isekai in relation to literary history, contemporary media, fan cultures, and video games, we’ll develop our own experimental methods for writing ourselves beyond the looking glass. No previous training in another world required.
How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter introducing yourself and a sample of your writing or creative work in any format (no more than five pages, links to online work in any genre encouraged). In your cover letter, please include the following: your student identification number, email address, year of graduation, and a brief statement that addresses your interest in the course and any relevant coursework and/or creative practices in or beyond the classroom. Finally, please list any works in the genre that inspire you!
Please email your submission as a PDF and title your PDF starting with your last name, i.e.: lastname_isekai_submission.pdf. The subject line of your message should be your last name followed by the course number (example: Baker M138.3) and it should be sent to dsnelson@humnet.ucla.edu AND creativewriting@english.ucla.edu.
SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2026.
Acceptance Notifications
Accepted students will be notified by e-mail.
Due to the volume of submissions, the professor is unable to provide feedback or suggestions regarding the students’ submitted work.