Wilkes University Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing

Our 6th annual LitFest begins next week! All events free and open to the public.

This feature showcases the collaborative, community spirit, not only of our program, but of the larger Wilkes family as well. Thank you to alum Vicki Mayk for her wonderful storytelling. And to our alums, Mandy Pennington and Kelly Clisham, and current student Brie Friedman, along with their colleagues, Brad Barry and Ashleigh Crispell and the rest of the design team in our marketing communications department for their vision and creativity. It's wonderful to be able to continue to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the program in the newest issue of the Wilkes magazine.

Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing Marks Twenty Years of Nurturing a Literary Community Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar MFA ’24 published a nonfiction essay as a high school student in 1996 — and then didn’t publish anything again until she became a student in the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing.

Talbot Logan, who will officially become an alum in May, started a podcast (Write@Wilkes)! Tune in to the first episode for a lively conversation between Talbot and program director David Hicks. Future episodes will feature faculty, students and alumni of our program.

Link in comments!

Looking for a graduate creative writing program? We're hosting info sessions to share more about how our program focuses on craft, career, and community. On March 18, in addition to the info session, Program Director David Hicks (fiction/nonfiction), and faculty members Angelique Palmer (Spoken Word/Poetry), and Nicole Pandolfo (Playwriting/Screenwriting) will lead free workshops. These are a great way to get a glimpse into what working with our amazing faculty would be like!

Program Director David Hicks will be attending in Baltimore. Stop by #129 at the book fair to say hi and/or find out more about our low-residency creative writing program!

Study great dialogue and practice writing your own in this six-week online workshop with MFA student, Lori Coughlin! Link in comments for more details and to register!

Registration for the 2026 Max Rosenn Lecture in Law and Humanities featuring Amor Towles is now full and officially closed. We look forward to seeing you all on March 15!

In the meantime, if you're looking for other literary events on campus, make sure to check out our schedule for the Allan Hamilton Dickson Spring Writers Series: https://www.wilkes.edu/signature-events/wilkes-university-lecture-series/allan-hamilton-dickson-writers-series.aspx

Mandy Pennington, alumna and senior director of digital strategy and initiatives at Wilkes, will help you shape everyday stories into compelling narratives in this six-week online workshop. Link in comments for more info and to register!