MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University

MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path ~ Kate Whouley, Director

The MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University is the first no-residency program in the genre, with specialized tracks in women's stories, food and travel writing, teaching, publishing, narrative journalism, and spiritual autobiography. The 39-credit, two-year program is offered entirely online, allowing writers to focus on a major writing project and earn a master's degree from wherever th

ey are in the world. Our award-winning MFA faculty are accomplished memoirists, journalists, food and travel writers, editors, and publishers with a wealth of real-world expertise. Students are mentored throughout the program and become part of a strong and supportive community of writers. Specialized tracks in publishing and teaching writing prepare students to explore a career in the literary world after graduation. Throughout the two-year program, students learn the techniques of outstanding writing, read and discuss important works of creative nonfiction, and work toward completing an MFA thesis (memoir, collection of essays, biography) that can pave the way toward sharing their work with the public.


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Recent Bay Path MFA grad Erin Gottwald and MFA candidate Pam Moore Gainer wrote beautifully about themes of belonging an...
08/28/2026

Recent Bay Path MFA grad Erin Gottwald and MFA candidate Pam Moore Gainer wrote beautifully about themes of belonging and authenticity over on their Substack pages. These are topics that often bubble up in the writerly life; we thought you might enjoy reading Erin and Pam's wise and vulnerable words.

Links in the comments.

Summer is winding down, but if you have any late-appearing rhubarb in your yard, perhaps you can make use of a recipe (a...
08/27/2026

Summer is winding down, but if you have any late-appearing rhubarb in your yard, perhaps you can make use of a recipe (and essay) from Heidi Parton — Bay Path MFA alum, faculty member, AND third cousin of Dolly, by marriage!

Link to “The Pie Plant” (over at Pangyrus ) is in the comments.

Congratulations to Bay Path MFA faculty Anna Mantzaris on the publication of her brilliant flash piece, "The Psychic is ...
08/25/2026

Congratulations to Bay Path MFA faculty Anna Mantzaris on the publication of her brilliant flash piece, "The Psychic is Everywhere!"

The psychic is everywhere. The grocery store. The corner store. The library. In a submarine. The resting home. The restaurant. Outside the village pharmacy as an extra in a movie. The psychic knows…

As another academic year is getting underway, we're catching up on our reading. This past week, we've been reading recen...
08/24/2026

As another academic year is getting underway, we're catching up on our reading. This past week, we've been reading recent alum Tim Loftus's blog posts from the past year. You might not know this, but Tim is a photographer as well as a writer. Check out his gorgeous photos and writing over at "The Spruce Tree Journal."

‍La cocina de la Señora Ana Garcia, Mami’s Kitchen, is full of the same fragrances and flavors she remembers as a child in her grandmother’s kitchen back in El Salvador: the melted cheese scent of fried pupusas; the tangy smell of cortido, a pickled mixture of shredded cabbage and carrots wit...

Congratulations to Bay Path MFA faculty m. mick powell on being named a creative nonfiction finalist in Ninth Letter’s 2...
08/18/2026

Congratulations to Bay Path MFA faculty m. mick powell on being named a creative nonfiction finalist in Ninth Letter’s 2026 literary awards! Bravo!

08/12/2026

Congratulations to MFA candidate Kathleen Bourque on the publication of her flash essay, "A Perpetual Lover." We hope you take a few moments to read this beautifully written essay, which just may sharpen your understanding of what it is like to live in a body experiencing chronic pain.

My pain is a cruel and jealous lover. It dictates my days and dominates my nights. It sulks and whines when it feels ignored. It consumes me. I bargain with it. “Just give me one night, one night to sleep without you, and you can have me tomorrow.” Pain acquiesces. I nestle myself in a barricade...

We're gifting this important New York Times article to you today. Consider it nourishment for your human-based thoughts!
08/11/2026

We're gifting this important New York Times article to you today. Consider it nourishment for your human-based thoughts!

It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.

Have you ever thought about writing book reviews for literary journals? It can be an excellent way to establish a relati...
08/06/2026

Have you ever thought about writing book reviews for literary journals? It can be an excellent way to establish a relationship with a literary journal, write creatively, demonstrate good literary citizenship, and (sometimes) get paid! Check out two recent book reviews written by members of our Bay Path MFA faculty: Heidi Fettig Parton and Anna Mantzaris (link to Anna's review in the comments).

From the first pages of Jill Christman’s new memoir, The Heart Folds Early, readers know what is at stake. Midway through a much-wanted pregnancy, Christman and her husband learn that their unborn son has hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Their baby is missing half its heart. Christman is a cr

Earlier this summer, MFA candidate Bozhena Johnson's essay, "My Childhood Hero," was published in a Heyzine Flipbook. Co...
07/30/2026

Earlier this summer, MFA candidate Bozhena Johnson's essay, "My Childhood Hero," was published in a Heyzine Flipbook. Congrats Bozhena!

Created with the Heyzine flipbook maker

We love to hear news of how MFA graduates are shaping their unique writer's paths. We invite you to read recent alum Rob...
07/28/2026

We love to hear news of how MFA graduates are shaping their unique writer's paths. We invite you to read recent alum Robyn Weaver's inspiring writing about the courageous steps on their path.

As Allen Saunders once wrote and John Lennon once sang, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other other plans.” In the past few months, I’ve learned just how true that …

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