MFA Writers

The podcast where we talk to MFA students about their program, their process, and a piece they're working on. Hosted by Jared McCormack.

09/03/2026

Moments from our latest episode with katie bb

08/25/2026

NEW EPISODE: Should location be an important factor when choosing an MFA program? In our newest episode, Jared and katie wills evans talk about choosing an MFA program not only for the writing, but for the place where you’ll be living and creating. They discuss what makes New Orleans such a remarkable home for writers and artists, and how the city’s distinct history, culture, music, and traditions find their way into the creative life.

katie wills evans is a second-year MFA candidate in fiction at the University of New Orleans who considers herself a poet and teacher above all else, having spent the last fourteen years working with teenagers in New Orleans public schools. Their short story “Something for the Children” was a finalist in Writer’s Digest’s 2024 Short Short Story contest, their poem “meth addicted fish” was a finalist in the Connecticut Poetry Society’s Experimental Poetry Contest, and they have essays and interviews published in The Progressive, EdSurge, and Variable West Magazine.

08/18/2026

Moments from our latest episode of MFA Writers with Jemimah James Wei / 魏信子.

08/11/2026

SEASON 7 PREMIERE: We are thrilled to start season 7 Jemimah Wei, who talks about her debut novel, The Original Daughter, and how growing up in Singapore shaped the way she thinks about storytelling, identity, and our relationship with technology. She and Jared also explore what Singapore can teach us about the rapidly changing world of AI, the ways technology is training us to move faster than we were meant to, and how reading and writing can alter our experience of time. Their conversation asks what it means to resist the pressure to rush, why speed should never be the goal for its own sake, and how stories can help us hold onto what makes us human.

Jemimah was born and raised in Singapore and splits her time between Singapore and the United States. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree, winner of the William Van D**e Short Story Prize, and formerly held the Wallace Stegner Fellowship and Felipe P. De Alba Fellowship at Stanford University and Columbia University respectively. Her highly anticipated debut novel, The Original Daughter, debuted at #1 on The Straits Times bestseller list, is a Good Morning America Book Club pick, and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. The Original Daughter won the Country Award for the Chōmmanard International Women’s Literary Award, was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, and was named a Best Book of Spring by TIME, Foreign Policy, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, and more.

06/09/2026

Moments from our latest episode with

06/02/2026

NEW EPISODE: What does it mean to honor the reader? In this episode, Rey M. Rodríguez joins Jared to discuss why writing is, at its heart, a sacred act. They explore the profound influence Rey’s mother had on his creative life, his journey as a writer, and how the Institute of American Indian Arts helped him deepen his understanding of storytelling, identity, and justice. Along the way, Rey reflects on the recent release of his poetry collection, Todos Somos Sagrados / All Are Sacred, and shares how poetry has taught him to weigh every word with care, collapse time on the page, and approach readers with humility and respect.

Rey M. Rodríguez is a writer, advocate, and attorney. He lives in Pasadena, California. He is working on a novel set in Mexico City and his book of poetry, Todos Somos Sagrados - All Are Sacred just came out with El Ma****lo Press. He has attended the Yale Writers’ Workshop multiple times and Palabras de Pueblo workshop once. He participated in Story Studio’s Novel in a Year Program. He is a second-year fiction writing MFA student at the Institute of American Indian Arts. His poetry is published in Huizache. His other interviews and book reviews can be found at La Bloga, Chapter House’s Storyteller’s Corner, Full Stop, Pleiades Magazine, and the Los Angeles Review. He is a graduate of Cornell, Princeton, and U.C. Berkeley Law School.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack, Hanamori Skoblow, and Brié Goumaz. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

Photo Credit: Vivian Saint Rain

05/19/2026

Episode Rerelease: Integrating elegy, ekphrasis, and dance notation, Oli Peters’s thesis project is a multilingual, multi-genre exploration in translation and lyric poetry. In this episode, she shares how her program encourages creative experimentation, even when she submits work that feels “absolutely unpublishable, verging on unreadable.” Plus, she discusses her courses in Medieval manuscripts and theater, university-funded opportunities in Paris and Ireland, and how being rejected from MFA programs right after undergrad led her to spend five years writing daily for no one but herself.

Oli is a second-year MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Notre Dame. Her writing is forthcoming in Annulet, DIAGRAM, DREGINALD, and mercury firs. Her past work appears in Pleiades, New World Writing, Rain Taxi, Heavy Feather Review, and abobo zine. Her dance-performance piece “Body Glyph State” will be performed at the 2025 Iowa Choreography Festival. She is a MFA candidate at the University of Notre Dame. Find her at her website, oliupeters.wixsite.com/olipeters, and on Instagram .

05/12/2026

What was the first book you read where you felt truly seen?

05/05/2026

This week, we’re joined by YA author Caroline J. Trussell to talk about what it really means to write and publish beyond the debut. The conversation explores the pressure and possibility of a second book, the realities of building a career in YA, and why mental health and representation remain central to their work. We discuss the lasting influence of books you read when you are young, the importance of writing q***r and neurodivergent characters into the center of the story, and what it’s like to pursue genre writing at Butler University’s MFA Program. Along the way, we also touch on the Iowa workshop debate, communities like Booth Literary Magazine, and how her latest novel, Liberated, embraces both strength and struggle as part of the same story.

Caroline J. Trussell is the published author of ENHANCED and has served in a number of creative roles throughout her career. She has previously written for multiple publications, including Her Campus and Folio Weekly. Caroline graduated from the University of Central Florida with a major in Writing and Rhetoric and is a current Creative Writing MFA student at Butler University. She is a mental health and chronic illness warrior and hopes to inspire others through discussing these topics in her work. Caroline resides in Indianapolis and hopes to one day teach students the craft of writing herself.

This episode was requested by AIia Hoss. Thank you for listening! If there’s a program you’d like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we’ll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

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