Penn Creative Writing Program

Congratulations to Professor Simone White, who has been awarded a 2026 Independent Creative Production Grant from the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation for MOM PUTT PUTT.

"In this artwork by Simone White, a mechanized vehicle runs a timed route through a visually and poetically dramatized Los Angeles."

MOM PUTT PUTT - The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation A visual art project featuring a miniature, mechanized vehicle that runs a timed route through a poetically dramatized Los Angeles.

Happy pub day to Professor Anna Badkhen, whose new collection of essays is out today from Bellevue Literary Press!

Critics are calling TO SEE BEYOND "soul-stirring" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), "stunningly beautiful" (Boston Globe), "brave, probing" (Foreword Reviews), and "a necessary book" for our time (World Literature Today). Learn more at https://www.blpress.org/books/to-see-beyond/

Please join us at Kelly Writers House on Wednesday, April 29 for the 2026 Creative Writing Honors Thesis Reading! A number of graduating seniors will read from their capstone projects with a festive reception to follow. Details below!

Creative Writing Honors Thesis Reading | Creative Writing Program A number of our graduating seniors have been working hard to complete their Creative Writing thesis projects—long-form creative literary works in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and mixed genres that serve as the capstones to their time at Penn as writers. Join us for a celebr...

Congratulations to this year's Creative Writing prize winners! View the full list of winners, along with judges' comments, at the link below:

2026 Creative Writing Prize Winners | Creative Writing Program The Creative Writing Program awards a number of prizes annually to University of Pennsylvania students. See below for our most recent prize winners; previous winners are listed at the bottom of this page. Details on our 2027 prizes and how to submit work will be available on our website in early 20...

Congratulations to Director of Creative Writing Julia Bloch, who has been named the winner of the Beltran Award for Innovative Teaching & Mentoring for 2026-27! Read more about Julia's exceptional work making and sustaining a learning environment at the link below.

Julia Bloch honored with Beltran Family Teaching Award | Creative Writing Program March 18, 2026 Congratulations to Director of Creative Writing Julia Bloch, who has been named the winner of the Beltran Award for Innovative Teaching & Mentoring for 2026-27! This award is presented annually to a member of the Penn faculty who teaches writing in the extracurricular context of the K...