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Jobs & Internships

Undergraduate Student Resources

Our Creative Writing graduates are employed in a myriad of professions that contribute to the literary arts.

Many of them trained as students in the Department of Creative Writing’s Publishing Laboratory, working on our national magazines (Ecotone and Chautauqua) and book imprint (Lookout Books).

Below is a sampling of positions held by alumni over the years.

Alumni Professions (Job Placements)

  • Ana Cristina Alvarez (MFA '14), Ph.D. candidate, University of Denver
  • Chelsea Bailie (MFA '19), MAT candidate, University of Pittsburgh
  • Alexa Doran (MFA '15), Ph.D. candidate, Florida State University
  • Bo Miller (BFA '20), MA candidate in Writing, Kreiger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
  • Olivia Murphy (MFA '20), Ph.D. candidate, Florida State University
  • Ariana Nadia Nash (MFA '11), Ph.D. candidate, Poetics Program, SUNY Buffalo
  • Jane Rohrer (MFA '18), Ph.D. candidate, University of Pittsburgh
  • Eric Tran (MFA '13), rising 3rd-year resident in Psychiatry, Mountain Area Health Education Center
  • Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams, (MFA '07) Lecturer of English, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Stephanie Andersen, (MFA '06), Instructor of Creative Writing, Reading Area Community College, PA
  • Bridget Apfeld (MFA '16), Project Manager for Online Education, the University of Texas at Austin
  • Tim Bass (MFA '98), Lecturer of Creative Writing, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Doug Bourne (MFA '19), Term Assistant Professor of Writing, University of Alaska Anchorage
  • Brent Canle (MFA '18), Instructor of English, Pamlico Community College
  • Bill Carty (MFA '07), Instructor of English, Edmonds College
  • Tim Conrad (MFA '09), Visiting Assistant Professor, Kalamazoo College
  • Daren Dean (MFA '03), Assistant Professor of English, Lincoln University of Missouri
  • Will Dean (MFA '18), Instructor of English, Johnston Community College: Smithfield, NC
  • Danielle DeRise (MFA '07), Lecturer, School of Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication, James Madison University: Harrisonburg, VA
  • Carolyn Desalu (MFA '18), Assistant Professor, Elon University
  • Bill DiNome (MFA '97), Assistant Director of Student Media, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Ross Gormley (MFA '18), Instructor of English, Varsity Alpine Skiing Head Coach, The Rivers School: Weston, MA
  • Nina de Gramont (MFA '06), Associate Professor of Creative Writing, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Brenda (Nicholas) Hannaburgh (MFA ’15, Associate Professor of English, Temple College, PA
  • Kimi Faxon Hemingway (MFA '05), Lecturer of English, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Ben Hoffman (MFA '13), Instructor of Creative Writing, University of Chicago
  • Ashley Anne Howard Malt (MFA '20), Administrative Coordinator for Teaching and Learning, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: Boston, MA
  • Ashley Hudson (MFA '04), Associate Dean of Graduate and Special Programs, Reed College: Portland, OR
  • Rochelle Hurt (MFA '11), Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, University of Central Florida
  • Erato Ioannou (MFA '01), Higher Administrative Officer and Coordinator, Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation for Higher Education (CYQAA): Nicosia, Cyprus
  • Sally J. Johnson (MFA '14), 1st-Grade Teacher, Chicago Public Schools
  • Lindsay (Taylor) Key (MFA '11), Senior Science Writer, Duke University
  • Tom Kunz (MFA '04), Supplemental Instruction Coordinator, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Nikki Kroushl (BFA '19), Student Services Specialist, Honors College, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Rory Laverty (MFA '07), Lecturer of English, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Veronica Lupinacci (MFA '15), Adjunct Professor, Department of Language and Literature, State College of Florida
  • Josh MacIvor-Andersen (MFA '11), Assistant Professor of English, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, IN
  • Christopher Malpass (MFA '08), Library Specialist, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Michelle Manning (MFA '97), Lecturer of English, University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Ali Nolan (MFA '14), Communications Strategist, Utah Valley University
  • Bethany Nuckolls (BFA '08), ESL Instructor, Central Piedmont Community College

More From Our Alumni

Books by Alumni

Current Accolades

BFA Internships

To: BFA students
From: Tim Bass, BFA coordinator

As you work on your schedules for next semester, I hope you will consider internships. They offer several opportunities:

  1. Gaining essential work experience in a professional environment
  2. Learning the value of creative writing in the working world
  3. Putting your editing skills to work
  4. Building a résumé and preparing for the world of work beyond college

Internships

About
The Process
Places to Apply
Sample Email
  • Internships are unpaid, but they count for course credit—usually 3 hours per semester under CRW 498.
  • Internships require 9 hours per week on the job, though this may vary from week to week.
  • Some internship supervisors allow students to do some work from home.
  • Interns observe work hours as they do class hours—you’ll have Fall Break, Spring Break, and holidays off, and the internship will end on the last week of classes.
  • Internships are charged just as any other course is—there is no additional tuition/fee cost for credit hours beyond 12. You will be charged a small fee (approx. $20) to pay for liability insurance while you’re on the job.
  • Internships are graded as Pass/Fail.
  • Summer internships can happen, but they’re not easy. You would need to work 15 hours per week for all of Summer Session I and II (mid-May until late July). And you would need to pay UNCW tuition and fees for 3 credit hours: more than $500 for in-state residents and $1,550 for out-of-state residents. And remember: You’re not getting paid for the internship.

Setting up an internship is the responsibility of the student, not the Creative Writing Department. There’s a simple process that takes a little time and patience.

Step 1. Do you qualify?

Interns must have:

  • Junior standing (59+ credit hours)
  • You must be a full CRW major or Pre-CRW major
  • GPA of at least 2.0
  • Completed ENG 103 or 201
  • Completed at least 9 hours of CRW classes, including at least 3 hours at the 300-400 level

Step 2. Approach the agency/publication where you’d like to work. (See e-mail example, below.) Get approval from the agency.

Step 3. Follow up, in person (not by e-mail), with Tim Bass in the CRW Department—Kenan Hall, Suite 1102 no later than May 1st. We will need to do paperwork.

Audubon North Carolina (habitat conservation)
Needs writers for newsletter/Web site.
Email Walker Golder, deputy director, or call him at 910.686.7527. He will want to meet you and see your writing samples.

Brooklyn Arts Center at St. Andrews (arts and events)
516 North 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
Email Richard Leder, Executive Director, or call him at 910.538.2939. He will want to interview you and see writing samples.

CFCC Wilson Center
Internships are available in Community Engagement, Marketing and Operations, Production Services, Social and Digital Media, Technical Production, and Ticket Central.
Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College
Students may also contact our Director of Operations, LaRaisha Dionne directly and email her their cover letter and resume (including the position they are interested in).

Cape Fear River Watch (conservation group, based in Wilmington)
Needs writers for Web site and other group publications.
Email Kemp Burdette, Riverkeeper, or call 910.762.5606.

Encore Magazine (local arts/entertainment)
Needs copy editors, publication assistants, general office help.
Email Shea Carver, Managing Editor. She will want to meet you and see writing samples.

Lumina News (newspaper based in Wrightsville Beach)
Needs writers.
Email Terry Lane, News Director, or call him at 910.256.6569. He will want to meet you and see writing samples.

Old Books on Front St. (privately-owned book store, downtown Wilmington)
Needs an event planner/publicist.
Email Gwenyfar Rohler. She will want to meet you and see writing samples.

UNCW Presents
Event planning and coordination. Writing news releases.
Email Stefanie Mancuso Norris, Director of Arts and Programs, Campus Life. She will want to meet you and see writing samples.

Wilma, Wilmington’s Magazine for Women (features and columns)
Needs writers.
Email Vicky Janowski, Co-editor. She will want to interview you and see writing samples.

Wrightsville Beach Magazine (lifestyle and feature stories in the Wrightsville Beach area)
Needs writers.
Email Simon Gonzalez, Editorial Director, or call him at 910.256.6569. He will want to meet you and see writing samples.

UNCW University Relations (the university’s public relations office)
Needs interns to write for campus publications and assist with campus news events.
Email Jennifer Glatt, publications manager, or call her at 910.962.2840. She will want to interview you and see writing samples.

Use this sample email as an example of how to approach the internship agency you wish to apply to.

March 30, 2019

Dear Ms. Jones:

I am a major in creative writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and I am interested in working with your organization as an intern for the Fall 2019 semester.

I believe I will be an asset to your publication, and the internship will provide me with important experience in the business of writing. I understand that the internship will be unpaid, but it will provide academic credit toward my degree. Also, I will have a faculty supervisor (Tim Bass) who will coordinate the internship at UNCW. Our department requires that we serve nine hours per week in our internships.

I would be happy to meet with you and show you samples of my writing. If you agree to the internship, I will be available to start as soon as the new semester begins in January.
Please let me know if you are interested in having me as an intern. Meanwhile, thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Julie Smith
E-mail: jts3155@uncw.edu
Phone: XXX.XXX.XXXX

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