When Black & Published podcast host and author Nikesha Elise Williams queried 12 agents in November of 2022 with her latest manuscript, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, she told herself that if she didn’t receive representation, she would pursue earning an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree.
She had plenty of options to choose from; there are 256 low- and full-residency MFA programs across the country, according to the Poets & Writers MFA Programs Database. There are also several no-residency offerings.
Tens of thousands apply every year to these types of programs, and the number of schools and graduates continues to grow.
Williams first applied to three MFA programs after graduating from college. She didn’t get into one of them and was waitlisted for two. But she didn’t let that stop her from achieving her writing goals and dreams.
By fall of 2022, she already had a poetry collection and five novels, all self-published, under her belt. The two-time Emmy Award winner managed to write them all while she worked full-time as a TV news producer for 11 years at four newsrooms in two states. Her debut novel, Four Women, won two awards: Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Award for Adult Contemporary/Literary Fiction and the 2018 National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) Outstanding Literary Work Award. Her novel, Beyond Bourbon Street, won the Best Fiction award in the 2021 Self-Published eBook Literary Awards given by the Black Caucus of African American Librarians. Her nonfiction title, Mardi Gras Indians, published by LSU Press, was named one of Library Journal’s Best Social Science Books of 2022.
“An MFA is not a barrier to writing,” Williams said. “I and many other writers are examples of that. The only thing required for writing is imagination, creativity, discipline, and for you yourself to be well read.”
Her work continues to prove that. Williams not only secured an agent, but she also landed a preemptive book deal soon after that.
“I signed with my agent in March of 2023. We went on submission in May of 2023 and I signed with my editor Alison Callahan of Scout Press (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster) a week after we went on submission,” she said.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree is on track to be published in 2026.
Why: worth the consideration
Williams stated she sometimes still thinks about earning an MFA, however. To her, the writer’s why is an important factor when making that decision. Her own why? She believed enrolling in an MFA program at that point in her writing journey would help her become a better and more well-read author, while building her writing skills and enhancing her techniques.
A publisher’s perspective
It’s those similar MFA experiences—honing craft techniques, along with gaining supportive peers and professors—that some authors have reported to Emi Ikkanda. She’s the executive editor at Tiny Reparations Books, a Penguin Random House imprint with the mission to amplify diverse voices and offer fiction and nonfiction in fresh ways.
When a manuscript appears promising, Ikkanda will read the author’s bio; seeing that they have a publication history, have won awards, or, yes, have earned an MFA is an encouraging sign to her. But those types of writing credentials are not the most important thing she’s looking for.
“When I consider projects for our list, I think about how so many stories have never been told, and I think about the barriers that writers of diverse backgrounds face when it comes to obtaining traditional credentials,” she said. “I care more about finding voices who are writing stories that feel bold and new, and many of my authors have nontraditional platforms.”
Some of Ikkanda’s previous novelists—who didn’t have an MFA—have won prestigious awards, several foreign rights deals, and fellowships.
“While traditional writer credentials can be helpful, they are not the determining factor for reaching publication, at least for Tiny Reparations Books,” she said.
Insight into the benefits of MFA programs
Yet, an estimated 3,000 writers complete their MFA degree requirements every year, according to various surveys by writing organizations.
Bill Walsh earned his MFA from Vermont College.
“After earning my undergrad degree, I wrote for about four years—poetry, book reviews, short stories, novels, interviews,” Walsh said. “I just wrote, wrote, wrote. I had a good job, but my focus was to keep writing and see what I could get published.”
But that proved to be tougher than he imagined.
“I couldn’t get my name published in the phone book, let alone in a good literary journal,” he said.
Vermont College’s nontraditional, low-residency program gave him the opportunity to work one-on-one with an instructor who’s an accomplished writer.
Today, Walsh is the author of two novels: Lakewood (TouchPoint Press) and Haircuts for the Dead (forthcoming in 2025, Mercer University Press). Many more are in the works.
The award-winning writer/faculty member is also the director of Reinhardt University’s Etowah Valley low-residency MFA program, the only offering of its kind in Georgia.
Reinhardt pairs students one-on-one with award-winning authors, fosters an environment that supports building relationships and networks, welcomes students from varied backgrounds, and leaves graduates with better writing skills and a terminal degree that could lead to a bigger salary if they want to teach at the collegiate level.
A June 2024 Zip Recruiter statistic shows that people with an MFA earn an average salary of $62,185 per year. That, of course, depends on the job and location.
MFA degree holders, however, can use their degree to do much more than teach. Reinhardt’s graduates often go on to become editors and writers for businesses, for example, but some remain in the positions they had before enrolling in the program.
“For instance, the lawyers and doctors who’ve always wanted to write novels, they do not quit their day jobs and write full-time. They continue in their field but return home each day after work to their avocation: writing,” Walsh said.
Three poets laureate of Kentucky, a National Education Association grant, and other prestigious award winners are among the alumni of an MFA program founded by authors and friends Sena Jeter Naslund (The Fountain of St. James Court, published by HarperCollins) and Karen Mann (The Woman of La Mancha, published by Fleur-de-Lis Press).
“Sena had about 17 years’ experience with Vermont College’s low-residency program, and she saw that low-residency was the best way to teach writing to adults,” Mann said.
“I had noticed a need for an MFA in Writing program in Kentucky. I had worked with Karen on The Louisville Review and other projects, such as my own novels. I knew she was a good person to work with, and she got things done,” Naslund added.
They approached Spalding University in Louisville because of its innovative programming and took a year to develop their cross-genre writing curriculum that incorporates six areas of concentration, a focus on the interrelatedness of the arts, and a noncompetitive spirit. They also needed time to market it. Naslund, on a 56-city book tour for Ahab’s Wife (HarperCollins), talked about the program at her events.
The university required 15 students in their first class. That October 2001—not long after the 9/11 attack—40 students showed up. Today, the program, thanks to a $1 million donation from an alumna, is called the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing. Its alumni association has more than 800 members, and it presents chances to travel internationally, along with many other benefits similar to Reinhardt’s list.
The cost is a con
Tuition cost is one of the biggest reasons writers shy away from earning an MFA. The National Center for Education Statistics shows that tuition can range from $27,600 to $72,600 for two-year programs.
“Money is always a big factor, but the MFA degree is not always about dollars and cents,” Walsh said. “I speak to people all the time who are disappointed that they did not follow their dreams of wanting to write. … I don’t know many writers who write for the money—we have a passion to tell a story.”
Mann expressed the same sentiment. “Kathleen Driskell, our chair, says our program is for people who can’t not write. … Sena always said many students pursue the MFA for its intrinsic value.”
Value the why, the what, and the how
The valuation of an MFA means something different to every writer. It all boils down to reviewing the pros and the cons and determining what and how earning one will change a writer’s journey. After all, writers are on a zigzag path that’s singular and distinctive for each of them.
________________________
Jill Cox-Cordova holds an MFA from the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing in Louisville, Ky., and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University. She freelanced for Essence magazine and produced at such media outlets as CNN.com and MSNBC. Now she writes nonfiction and fiction.