douglas college creative writing courses

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Douglas 360°

Posted on July 21, 2021 by douglascollegeblog

Poet, prosaist, professor: Amber Dawn guides writing students through the art of creating in crisis

By Zach Siddiqui, Communications Coordinator  

Last year, Amber Dawn was one of many authors whose book launches were complicated by a global upheaval. Though her latest poetry collection, My Art is Killing Me and Other Poems , did hit shelves, its promotion was quickly stifled as the world scrambled to adapt to COVID–19. What remained stronger than ever, though, was her dedication to the Creative Writing students under her wing at Douglas College during the pandemic. 

“I feel very honoured to be teaching creative writing,” Amber Dawn says. “We can’t really be launching a lot of books. There aren’t public gatherings, so we can’t publicly gather to appreciate literature. But it’s a wonderful time to be creating something.” 

The rhythm of adversity

Amber Dawn juggles author credits in poetry, fiction and memoir, along with experience in editing anthologies. Her debut work, the award-winning Sub Rosa , is known for its adept exploration of sex work through speculative fiction. My Art is Killing Me is her latest of several texts since then , deals with the pain that artists face in making their art, especially through the lens of the behind-the-scenes struggles in the publishing industry. 

At a time when many creatives are grappling with stressful transformations in their fields, the themes of her latest work may be more poignant than ever. In Amber Dawn’s eyes, the pandemic – and its aftermath – could be a moment for writers like her students to blossom under hardship. 

“Some of our favourite artists throughout time have created liminal or outstanding works during crisis,” she explains. “I try to remind my students of that. While many of us are managing crisis, the other side of that is that we’re in touch with ourselves. 

“Imagination and possibility are working at an all–time high, and it’s such a treat to be reading what they’re working on.” 

Read more: Creative Writing instructor transforms short story into whimsical, yet poignant, graphic novel

Putting pen to paper

Amber Dawn’s creative roots lie in the Downtown Eastside, where she started taking free community writing classes in her early 20s. After spending time in writing groups and developing an interest in slam poetry, she enrolled in courses at Douglas, where she was already studying in the Stagecraft and Event Technology Diploma Program . 

“It was a really accessible place for me to start, and I gained a lot of skills,” she explains. Soon after that, she transferred to UBC’s creative writing program, completing her undergrad and graduate studies there. During this time, she began to design and teach courses at Douglas as an adjunct professor. She debuted as an official member of the department in September 2019.   

While Amber Dawn is an established author, she brings little discussion of her poems or stories into her classroom. To her, everything hinges on making space for her students and what they themselves create.    

“I want to feel to them like a clean slate,” she explains. “So that all of the focus is on them and what they want to do.” 

Read more: English Instructor “brews dissent” in new book on craft beer and medievalism

Write and repeat

Amber Dawn teaches introductory and second-year classes in poetry, memoir and fiction, particularly speculative fiction and short stories. For students interested in pursuing creative writing long-term, her advice can be summed up in one word: practice.   

“Someone might have a certain charisma or uniqueness about them the first time they’re in their very first play. But to become a professional actor, you have to train, and train, and train. Same with music, with any of the art forms: practice is key.    

“So for students starting out in creative writing, I would say, let yourself be a beginner. Honour the newness of the craft. Know that through practice and through taking more classes, you’re going to see your craft improve and mature. Have patience with yourself.” 

As much as Amber Dawn’s own content factors little into her syllabus, there are still lessons she feels her students, current and prospective, can take from her journey as an author.   

“I worked very hard,” she says. “I worked for 10 years. I was writing actively and taking classes actively for a decade before I published my first book. 

 “And I believe in my students at the same level as I believed in myself at the time.”   

For more information about the Creative Writing Program, visit the Douglas College website.

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 Category: Academia      Tags: Amber Dawn , author , Community , COVID-19 , creative writing , downtown eastside , fiction , instructor , memoir , metro vancouver , poetry , Stories , writing

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Online Courses

Online courses: creative writing.

Stanford Continuing Studies' online creative writing courses make it easy to take courses taught by instructors from Stanford’s writing community. Thanks to the flexibility of the online format, these courses can be taken anywhere, anytime—a plus for students who lead busy lives or for whom regular travel to the Stanford campus is not possible. These courses are open to all adults, and we encourage all levels of writers to enroll.

Writing Resources

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Your Identity as a Writer

Inclusive and Antiracist Writing

Inclusive Writing Guide Learn to incorporate inclusive and antiracist practices in your writing process.

Tips for Writing in North American Colleges: The Basics Writing style changes based on the audience. This resource will help you understand the academic audience for Douglas College.

Four Feathers Writing Guide The Four Feathers Writing Guide respectfully presents traditional Coast Salish teachings and approaches to learning to support Indigenous students develop as academic writers.

Transitioning from High School to College Writing  Writing expectations often change from high school to college. This resource outlines some of the characteristics that may be different.

Understanding Plagiarism in North America  

Using Singular "they"

The Learning Centre supports the use of the generic singular "they" in academic writing. 

From the position statement of the International Writing Centers Association:

Singular ​they in academic writing acknowledges and affirms the lived realities of writers who themselves use singular ​they, as well as for writers who wish to affirm the reality of transgender and gender non-conforming people. Along with ​other gender neutral pronouns​, the singular they helps validate the identities and stories of people who identify beyond the gender binary. 

We recognize that using ​they as a singular pronoun may meet with resistance among readers of student work. Therefore, we offer to students the following footnote that they may elect to include in their writing. IWCA offers this footnote text to be shared, used, or built upon for personal and academic use:

In this paper, I deliberately use the generic singular “they.” This usage has historical precedence for the last 400 years, and it is grammatical. Further, it includes people whose gender identity is not represented by the he/she binary, which erases many members of our community. This impulse toward inclusive linguistic representation is already seen in style guidelines by professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA). The use of singular “they” is endorsed by the International Writing Centers Association, a conference of the National Council of Teachers of English.

More information about using the singular they from  the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) 

Writing Tutors' Favorite Writing Resources

Purdue Online Writing Lab (The OWL) writeonline.ca Memorial University of Newfoundland Writing Centre University of North Carolina Writing Centre University of New York Writing Tutorials The Poetry Foundation

Dalhousie University Writing Centre : The Dalhousie University Writing Centre Resources Guide has an extensive bank of writing handouts, guides and slideshows that cover many things that you, or a student, might find useful.  (this site has very good “writing in the disciplines” guides for students who need more specific help about how to write in their particular class)

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Book a tutoring session to review your understanding and skills for avoiding plagiarism. Choose the following appointments from the drop-down menu when making an appointment . 

UNDERSTANDING & AWARENESS

• To increase awareness of the principles and concepts behind academic integrity, plagiarism, and intellectual property. 
• In this appointment, you’ll build on your understanding of academic integrity. The tutor will also introduce you to Douglas College resources available, as well as help you come up with a plan to keep learning the skills needed.

USING SOURCES IN YOUR WRITING

• To learn how to paraphrase and quote effectively, without plagiarizing. 
• In this appointment, you’ll focus on developing your paraphrasing and ability to use sources as evidence in your writing assignments. The tutor will introduce you to Douglas College Learning Centre resources available.  
• If you have a writing assignment you are currently working on where you are integrating sources as evidence, please bring it to this session.  A graded assignment will also work to review concepts with the tutor.

STYLE & FORMATTING GUIDELINES

• To learn how to access and follow guides and manuals in order to use APA, MLA and other citation styles to format your writing assignments, as well as how to connect with a librarian for support with citation formatting.   
• In this appointment, you’ll learn how to find the formatting and style rules needed for your assignments, as well as what aspects of the style and formatting are important in most college assignments. The tutor will introduce you to resources available, as well as help you come up with a plan to keep learning the skills needed.

Learn more about academic integrity resources at Douglas College. 

Overview of the Writing Process

The Writing Process: a checklist To do your best writing, work on your writing assignments in stages. Use this checklist to understand the process.

What is Prewriting? Prewriting refers to the all the ways you begin your writing project: coming up with ideas, organizing those ideas, and planning your paper.

Questions to Focus Your Writing Topic Have you ever been stuck for what to write in a paper? These questions will help you consider other angles to take, or some fresh ways to develop ideas you already have.

Organizing Your Ideas Spending time during your prewriting stage to organize ideas can help you improve the flow of your writing and keep your writing focused on your thesis statement.

The Thesis Statement The thesis statement tells your reader about the paper’s focus. This resource will describe characteristics of two general types of thesis statements.

Creating an Outline This resource describes a process you can use to create an essay outline starting with a topic for your essay and then building in the supporting ideas below it.

Outlining a Multi-point Paragraph There are many ways to organize academic paragraphs. This resource is about one of the most basic, the multi-point paragraph.

Revising and Editing Your Writing This resource provides a guide for revising and self-editing using a process called AFOSEP.

Editing Your Essay in 7 Steps Once you have drafted your essay, use this series of steps to revise and edit a writing assignment.

Using Bias-free language Just as you have learned to check what you write for spelling, grammar, and wordiness, practice reading your work for bias with these guidelines from APA

Common Writing Assignments

The Basic Essay This resource discusses a basic essay format and the three main parts: the introductory, body and concluding paragraphs.

The Research Paper This resource takes you through the stages of developing a typical research paper: getting started, doing research and taking notes, planning and drafting, and revising and proofreading.

Comparison & Contrast Writing (Brief)

Comparison & Contrast Writing (extended)

Writing a Reflection Paper Note: Students writing reflective papers in the BSN program should use the materials provided by their instructor.

Writing a Literary Analysis Paper

The History Research Essay: Getting Started

Elements for Analyzing Fiction

Discovering Themes in Literature

Reflective Writing: How to Begin These questions will help you generate ideas that you could include in assignments asking you to reflect on or critique something (such as a clinical experience, a scholarly article, a theatre performance, or a case study).

Group Writing Assignments Tips on how to organize group writing assignments.

Writing with Sources

Creating an Annotated Bibliography An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that provides descriptive and/or evaluative comments after each citation.

Writing Summaries A summary is a shortened or condensed version of a reading.

Plagiarism: How to Avoid It This resource describes strategies to acknowledge the sources you are using.

Paraphrasing without Plagiarizing This resource explains the differences between proper and improper paraphrasing and shows you the steps to paraphrase a complicated quotation using APA style.

Building Paragraphs around Quotations A quotation usually needs to appear somewhere in the middle of a paragraph, sandwiched between an introduction and an explanation.

Introducing Quotations Using Reporting Words Use reporting words to provide additional information about how you are using evidence in your argument.

In-text Citation using APA Style (7th ed.) This resource provides a brief introduction to using APA Style for acknowledging sources inside the text of your paper.

In-text Citation using MLA style (9th ed.) This resource provides a brief introduction to using MLA Style for acknowledging sources inside the text of your paper.

Citations and Formatting 

Cite Your Sources Resources from the Douglas College Library for APA, MLA, Chicago and more

APA Citation Style Guide (7th edition) Resource from the Douglas College Library

APA Style and Grammar Guidelines

Formatting an APA Title Page Guidelines for a title page for student papers

Sample APA Paper This sample paper from the APA style guide can be used to format your own assignment.

Introduction to APA Style This resource from the Douglas Psychology department will help you understand expected formatting for Psychology papers.

MLA Citation Style Guide Resource from the Douglas College Library

Sentence Structure and Punctuation

Constructing Sentences Understanding the basics of how to construct and punctuate a sentence can help you become a better editor of your own writing.

Types of Sentences Understanding sentence types will help you construct clear sentences.

Punctuation for Connecting Words Connecting words help you show how ideas are linked. These words need to be used correctly and have correct punctuation.

Correcting Fragments and Run-ons Learn how to edit for two of the most common punctuation errors that students make in their writing.

Parallelism Two or more items listed together in a sentence need to be parallel in both grammar and function. Learn to recognize faulty parallelism and how to correct it in your own writing.

Using Commas, Semicolons and Colons Knowing which punctuation to apply within sentences can be confusing. Learn how to use commas, semicolons, and colons correctly.

Recognizing Wordiness Wordiness can seriously affect the clarity of your writing and confuse your reader. Use the following handout to help you reduce the wordiness in your writing.

Identifying Passive Voice Learning how to identify passive verbs and change them into active verbs can help you improve clarity in your writing.

Language-Related Grammar and Other English Language Resources

The resources page for our English Language Tutoring services also contains a collection of resources to support student writing, including using a learning dictionary, understanding language -related grammar issues and practicing skills for listening, reading and speaking. 

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Creative Writing Courses and the Creative Writing Certificate Program

Creative writing.

The Cypress College English Department offers a range of in-person and online creative writing courses and a new Creative Writing Certificate Program .

The certificate program is designed for students seeking a broad appreciation of literature and increased skills in communication. In particular, it provides students with the opportunity to pursue their interest in creative writing through intensive study and practice of the literary arts. Students will immerse themselves in a structured, focused, and multifaceted curriculum of the writer’s art by studying literature and honing their own writing skills to create original, polished works of poetry and prose. Students will read, write, and engage in dialogue about creative works in a supportive workshop environment. Students will also receive mentorship about opportunities for publication, performance, and recitation.

The certificate is awarded upon the completion of 18 units of coursework, including one core course and five electives. A list of classes for this certificate is provided below for your convenience.

Required Core (3 Units)

• ENGL 105 C Introduction to Creative Writing (3 Units)

Electives (15 Units)

• ENGL 102 C Introduction to Literature (3 Units)
• ENGL 126 C Introduction to Screenwriting (3 Units)
• ENGL 127 C Introduction to Poetry Writing (3 Units)
• ENGL 128 C Introduction to Short Story Writing (3 Units)
• ENGL 129 C Introduction to Novel Writing (3 Units)
• ENGL 130 C Introduction to Creative Nonfiction Writing (3 Units)
• ENGL 228 C Intermediate Short Story Writing (3 Units)

Course Details

ENGL 102 C Introduction to Literature (3 Units): Offered fall, spring, and summer

This course builds from the inferential reading and expository writing of the first semester course to demonstrate reading comprehension as well as composition of the analytical and critical essay. The content introduces students to techniques and major authors of narrative fiction, drama, and poetry, providing them with an opportunity to enrich their lives, enhance their understanding of the human condition, and develop an appreciation of literature.

ENGL 105 C Introduction to Creative Writing (3 Units): Offered fall only

This course provides an opportunity for students to write short fiction, poetry, and, optionally, a short play. Students will gain an understanding of each literary type, create material in each area, and have their work critiqued in a workshop setting.

ENGL 126 C Introduction to Screenwriting (3 Units): Offered summer only

This course provides an opportunity for students to study the art of the screenplay and create their own. Students will critically analyze professional models, view excellent examples of film writing, and work on their own screenplay. Students will have the opportunity to have their work critiqued in a workshop setting.

ENGL 127 C Introduction to Poetry Writing (3 Units): Offered spring only

Students will read and analyze classic and contemporary forms, techniques, and literary elements of poetry. Students will write their own original poetry, which will be critiqued in a workshop setting.

ENGL 128 C Introduction to Short Story Writing (3 Units): Offered fall only

In this course, students will write original short stories while studying the evolution of the form and its narratological techniques and literary elements, including the form’s place in a variety of literary genres. Students will also critique each other’s work in a workshop setting.

ENGL 129 C Introduction to Novel Writing (3 Units): Offered spring only

This course offers an intensive workshop for drafting a novel. The course focuses on theory, technique, and the practical discipline of writing a novel-length manuscript, and examines models from various genres (literary, historical fiction, detective/noir, science-fiction, fantasy, and hybrid or experimental works that challenge genre). Students discuss the techniques of storytelling and present manuscripts of one’s own work for critical discussion.

ENGL 130 C Introduction to Creative Nonfiction Writing (3 Units): Offered fall only

In this course, students will write original works of creative nonfiction while studying the evolution of the form and its narratological techniques and literary elements, including the form’s place in a variety of literary genres. Students will critique each other’s work in a workshop setting.

ENGL 228 C Intermediate Short Story Writing (3 Units): Offered spring only

This course offers an intensive workshop atmosphere in which to write original short fiction and focuses on theory, technique and practical discipline of writing fiction. It also examines basic models of short stories. Students discuss the techniques of storytelling and present manuscripts of their own work for critical discussion. In addition, students learn to write critiques demonstrating an intermediate knowledge of literary technique and terminology.

For more information about the Creative Writing Certificate Program , please contact program coordinator Professor Stephanie Tran at [email protected] .

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Creative Writing

Hone your craft with the pros, start a lifelong apprenticeship in the literary arts.

The creative writing program that nurtured Dennis Lehane ’88, best-selling author and HBO writer/producer, is now accepting applications to earn B.A. and BFA degrees. But you don’t have to be gunning for a Hollywood contract to enroll. Our liberal arts graduates also go on to MFA programs and careers in journalism, media, PR, editing and publishing, counseling and software design.

Only@Eckerd

Writers in paradise.

Spend 8 days in workshops with writers like Andre Dubus III, Anne Hood, Laura Lippman, Lori Roy, Stewart O’Nan, David Yoo and Laura Williams McCaffrey. This writer’s conference is held on our Florida campus every January.

Facetime with famous authors

You’ll also have the chance to meet and talk with other celebrated writers including Stephen King, Carl Hiaasen, Julianna Baggott and Mark Bowden. These and other literary lights give talks here throughout the year.

Get help paying for college

Need help with finances? In addition to the academic scholarships we hand out upon application, you can apply for the Artistic Achievement Award .

In Their Own Words

Without my mentors through the creative writing department, I wouldn’t be in graduate school studying for my MFA with the opportunities ahead of me to teach and write. With their support, I was able to study travel writing in Paris and London, which was instrumental in my growth as a writer and a person. The creative writing department at Eckerd College is a hidden gem—once you find it, you must hold onto it! —Olivia Jacobson ’22

Beyond the Classroom

• INTERNSHIPS
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Creative Writing majors have interned on campus with our student newspaper, The Current , and our literary magazine, Eckerd Review . Another recent student was an editing intern at I Love the Burg , a creative agency in downtown St. Petersburg.

Pay it forward by tutoring with Journeys in Journalism . This community program teaches local elementary, middle and high school students how to be reporters, photographers, editors and page designers for their school newspapers.

Spend a term living at our London Study Centre and studying the literature of Great Britain. Includes a week of travel and tickets to epic museums and theatre productions. Or choose from one of 300+ other destinations we offer every year.

Eckerd is just a stone’s throw from some of America’s hottest literary landmarks and events. Check it out:

• The Earnest Hemingway Home
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• Zora Neale Hurston Festival (January)

Popular classes

Craft of writing.

This course reviews poetic and narrative language and introduces the concept of literary texture. Present what you write in class at public readings held on campus once a semester.

Writing Workshop: The Personal Essay

Learn about literary essays by reading masters like Harry Crews, Eudora Welty and Joan Didion. This class explores how to use imagination to shape format, technique and your own personal style.

What can I do with a Creative Writing degree?

• Business Manager
• Educational Assessor
• Media and Newspaper Reporter
• Software Designer of Interactive Fiction
• Technical Writer

Where our Creative Writing majors go to graduate school

• Chapman University
• Emerson College
• Florida International University
• George Mason University
• Hollins College
• Indiana University
• Stanford University
• The Johns Hopkins University
• The University of Miami
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• University of Alabama
• University of Iowa Writers Workshop

Where our Creative Writing majors go to work

• Bluewater Books & Charts
• Dupont Registry
• Novelist & Poet
• St. Petersburg College
• Time Magazine

St. Petersburg, Florida 33711 800.456.9009 or 727.867.1166

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MFA in Creative Writing

About the Program

Our innovative MFA program includes both studio instruction and literature courses. Writers can take workshop courses in any genre, and they can write a thesis in fiction, nonfiction, poetry or “hybrid” (multi-genre) form. In the second year, they teach popular Creative Writing courses to Davis undergraduates under faculty supervision, gaining valuable experience and sharing their insight  and enthusiasm with beginning practitioners.

Questions? Contact:

Sarah Yunus Graduate Program Coordinator, MFA Program in Creative Writing [email protected]   Pronouns: she/her  

Admissions and Online Application

Events, Prizes, and Resources

• Funding Your MFA

At UC Davis, we offer you the ability to fund your MFA. In fact, all students admitted to the program are guaranteed full funding in the second year of study, when students serve as teachers of Introduction to Creative Writing (English 5) and receive, in exchange, tuition and health insurance remission as well as a monthly stipend (second year students who come to Davis from out of state are expected to establish residency during their first year). We have a more limited amount of resources – teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and out of state tuition wavers – allocated to us for first year students, but in recent years, we’ve had excellent luck funding our accepted first years. We help students who do not receive English department funding help themselves by posting job announcements from other departments during the spring and summer leading up to their arrival. We are proud to say that over the course of the last twenty years, nearly every incoming student has wound up with at least partial funding (including a tuition waiver and health insurance coverage) by the time classes begin in the fall.  

We have other resources for students, too – like the Miller Fund, which supports attendance for our writers at any single writer’s workshop or conference. Students have used these funds to attend well-known conferences like AWP, Writing By Writers, and the Tin House Conference. The Davis Humanities Institute offers a fellowship that first year students can apply for to fund their writing projects. Admitted students are also considered for University-wide fellowships.

Cost of Attendance

• Course of Study

The M.F.A. at Davis is a two-year program on the quarter system (our academic year consists of three sessions of ten-week courses that run from the end of September until mid-June). The program includes classes and a thesis project. It requires diverse, multidisciplinary study and offers excellent mentorship.  

Writers concentrate in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or “hybrid” (multi-genre) forms. They take at least four graduate workshops, and they’re required to take one workshop outside their primary genre (many of our students choose to take even more). Writers at Davis also take graduate courses in literature from abundant options, including the program’s Seminars for Writers. Writers can also take graduate courses in literary study taught by scholars in the English Department. And many of our writers enroll in courses relevant to their work in other departments like art history, comparative literature, linguistics, and performance studies.  

At the end of the first year, writers form a thesis committee with a Director and two additional readers from the faculty. In the second year, writers at Davis concentrate on Individual Study units with these mentors, working closely with their committee to create a book-length creative work. Writers present their projects at intimate, intense, celebratory defense in May with all members of their committee in attendance.

• History of the Program

We’re a new MFA, but we’ve been a successful and respected Creative Writing Program since 1975—a “sleeper” program, as one guide to MFA programs called us. The people who founded the CW program at UC Davis were all lovers and teachers of literature, and chose to call the program an MA, rather than an MFA because they wanted to ensure that the degree would not be seen as a “studio” degree but one in which the study of literature was integral.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s, most often under the leadership of Jack Hicks and Alan Williamson, the program emphasized writing on the American West and the wilderness. Our high profile faculty included Sandra McPherson, Gary Snyder, Sandra Gilbert, Clarence Major, Katherine Vaz, Elizabeth Tallent, Max Byrd, and Louis Owens.  

We also created an introductory sequence of workshops taught by graduate students, which has become one of the highlights of the program for the second years who teach the courses and the undergraduates who take them. There’s more to teaching these courses than learning to teach; teaching helps our writers understand their own writing in ways that no other aspect of a writing program can do. Pam Houston joined the program in the early 2000’s and she led a faculty that included Lynn Freed and Yiyun Li. As an MFA, we remain a place that values sustained literary study as core to the making of art, but we’re also allowing our vision of genre to expand and embrace the other arts and media.

The town of Davis began as "Davisville," a small stop on the Southern Pacific railway between Sacramento and the Bay Area.  Some of our graduate students choose to live in Sacramento or the Bay Area, making use of the commute-by-train option, which is still very much in place.  For those commuting by car, Davis is a 15-25 minute drive from Sacramento and a 60-90 minute drive from the Bay Area.

Students also choose to live in Davis itself, which CNN once ranked the second most educated city in the US.  Davis is a college town of about 75,000 people. Orchards, farms and ranches border it on all sides. The town boasts a legendary twice-weekly farmers market (complete with delicious food trucks and live music). Bike and walking paths lead everywhere (many students prefer not to own a car while they are here) and there are copious amounts of planned green space in every subdivision. The flatness of the land makes Davis ideal for biking, and the city over the past 5 decades has installed bike lanes and bike racks all over town. In fact, in 2006,  Bicycling Magazine , in its compilation of "America's Best Biking Cities," named Davis the best small town for cycling. Packed with coffee houses, bookstores, and restaurants that serve cuisine from every continent, Downtown Davis has a casual vibe. It’s a great place to hole up and write. Davis is filled with hard wood trees, and flower and vegetable gardens, and wild ducks and turkeys walk the campus as if they own the place. It’s a gentle place to live. Although summers get quite hot, the other three seasons are mild, and each, in their own way, quite beautiful. For more about the town, check out  the Davis Wikipedia page .

Woodland and Winters, two small towns close by to Davis, are also options for housing—and they’re good options for those who are not so desirous of the college town scene.  Yet another option is to live in the scenic rural areas Davis is surrounded by.

To the west of Davis, Lake Berryessa and the Napa valley are close by.  To the east, the Sierra mountains are close by; Reno and Tahoe are just a couple hours drive in that direction. 

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• Creative Writing   The Creative Writing Department was established in 1990 to support the growing need at Douglas Anderson for more outlets for written expression. Its mission was to advance the art of writing as an essential part of the artistic spirit. Today the program provides a disciplined and nurturing environment for the serious writer who is passionate about language and ideas. The curriculum includes a wide range of course offerings: fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, journalism, screenwriting, portfolio work, as well as skill-based courses in digital arts, publication, copy editing, speech, and oral interpretation. Classroom work includes theory, close reading and study of contemporary and classical literature, conferencing, mentoring, and workshops in small groups that focus on revision, self-evaluation, and individual improvement.   Writing students have many opportunities during the year to have their work read and heard. The department sponsors Elan, an international student literary magazine published twice a year online with a print book compilation at the end of the school year. The Artisan, Douglas Anderson’s student newspaper, offers staff positions to creative writers in their junior and senior years. Public Readings are held throughout the year, each featuring a different grade level. Coffeehouse, a student-produced evening of original performance work, is open to all arts areas, and combines writing with theatre, dance, visual art, and music. The Elan magazine staff hosts a series of events in celebration of National Poetry Month each April.    The biennial Douglas Anderson Writers’ Festival features writers from all over the country during a weekend of varied writing activities. Writers of national and international acclaim are invited to present. The mission of the Douglas Anderson Writers’ Festival is to provide hands-on, craft oriented workshops with professional writers and scholars, furnishing an invaluable and affordable opportunity for the emerging young writers of our community. The overarching purpose of the project is to provide exposure to the diversity of writing in the literary professional world and also to provide students with time, space and encouragement to contemplate and practice the art of creative writing. Featured presenters have included Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Billy Collins and Richard Ford.   Our students get incredible opportunities normally only afforded to graduate students in writing. The department has grown to produce many talented young writers who have gone on to win awards, to teach, and to publish. DA students have won the National VOYA Award in poetry, the YoungArts National Arts Recognition and Talent Search, Scholastic Art and Literary Awards, Southern Voices, Boditch Award in Poetry, Essay and Fiction, and numerous local awards in writing. Our students have been published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. Our students graduate with a full knowledge base and the inspiration and encouragement necessary to enter post-secondary education with energy, passion, and reverence for the written word.    

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