Creative Writing
As a creative writing major at Bucknell, you'll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the literary arts and develop your voice, refine your skills and experiment with different genres within a close-knit, supportive community.
Our major is designed with flexibility and creative freedom in mind. You can choose from a broad array of workshops and specializations and develop your writing across genres and styles, or focus in-depth on a particular strength.
Led by seven full-time creative writing faculty — who are experienced poets, novelists, essayists and screenwriters — our curriculum is vibrant and constantly growing. Climb the ladder of increasingly rigorous poetry or prose workshops while exploring courses such as Ecopoetics, Writing the Novel, or Ghosts, Monsters and Other Hauntings. From a service learning course that brings poetry into a local prison, to special topics focused on fantastical worldbuilding, you'll be challenged at every level to broaden your craft and creativity.
Bucknell's liberal arts education enriches our curriculum. Our graduates are creative, innovative and multidisciplinary thinkers who can excel in a variety of careers. Our alumni find success in writing-specific roles as authors, editors, journalists, literary agents, playwrights and screenwriters. They also attract employers who value strong communication skills. Google, Deloitte Consulting and L'Oréal are among the companies that have recently hired our grads.
See detailed major & minor requirements
English department courses requirements (pdf)
Creative Writing course that satisfy Literary Citizenship and Ethics Requirement (pdf)
Join an artistic haven
Through Bucknell's Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts, you can join a thriving literary arts community that extends beyond campus. Students are invited to participate in literary events, contribute to the center's renowned literary journal, and interact with accomplished poets and novelists. Through the center's Writers Series and Writer-in-Residence programs, esteemed poets and novelists help students develop their craft through campus readings, interactive workshops and individual consultations.
Get creative — together
Join the student-run Creative Writing Club, an inviting and inclusive space that fosters community and encourages every member to grow as a writer. At a club meeting, you might participate in — or lead — a writing activity, invite and learn from a visiting writer, or plan social events such as open mics, mixers and more.
Publish your work
Help create the next issue of Confetti Head, Bucknell's undergraduate literary magazine, as a contributing writer, editor or designer. When a new issue drops each semester, there's a lively launch party.
Receive recognition
Each year, students are honored for their extraordinary poetry and prose with Bucknell's Cadigan Prize for Younger Writers and the Julia Fonville Smithson Memorial Prize. Each spring, these award winners are invited to participate in our Annual Student Reading, where they read from their work in historic Bucknell Hall.
I wanted to be more challenged and learn how to write well. Bucknell helped me learn the actual mechanics of writing and how to bring ideas to life.
Anushka Mehrotra ’16 is an award-winning screenwriter who was honored for her contributions to Amazon Prime’s Mumbai Diaries 26/11
In my first semester, one of my professors suggested I submit a class assignment to the student newspaper as an op-ed. I did, it ran, and now, looking back, I realize it was a pivotal moment in my Bucknell journey.
Jaxon White '23 is a statehouse reporter for LancasterOnline
