Graduate Literary Outreach

The Creative Writing Program is committed to developing innovative literary outreach programs that enable students to teach creative writing in both traditional and non-traditional settings, focusing on underserved and marginalized communities. NYU's outreach initiatives serve as national models in the field. These vital programs integrate people from a range of settings into the NYU creative writing community and are based in the belief that creative talent can be nourished and developed regardless of traditional boundaries. In addition, these outreach programs enable students to train as teachers in the field, preparing them for teaching positions in schools and other settings upon graduation from the program. Each year, in order to develop and sustain these programs, the program hosts benefit readings with distinguished writers appearing at NYU alongside, in some cases, writers from the hospitals. It is our intention to continue to raise funds for these initiatives in order to expand and strengthen our efforts.

The New York Times Foundation Creative Writing Fellowships
Each year, several students admitted to the program are named New York Times Company Creative Writing Fellows. Spending two days a week in selected New York City high schools, New York Times Fellows conduct creative writing workshops for students under the guidance of an experienced high school teacher. The New York Times Fellowship provides a stipend of $22,000 and New York University matches the grant with full tuition.

Goldwater Writing Workshop Fellowships
Each year, NYU Graduate Creative Writing Program students may apply for seven semester-long fellowships in the amount of $1500 which are awarded for teaching at Goldwater Hospital, a public facility for the severely physically challenged located on Roosevelt Island. Goldwater Fellows conduct weekly Creative Writing workshops for patients, meet with them in individual conferences, and help transcribe their work. The Goldwater Writing Project was started in 1986 by Sharon Olds and has become a vital part of the life of the NYU Community and that of the patient/resident's community at Coler-Goldwater Memorial Hospital.

Starworks Fellowships
Each year, NYU Graduate Creative Writing Program students are invited to apply to be one of approximately fourteen Starworks Fellows at several sites throughout the city. The Starworks Foundation was established in 1994 by Victoria Geduld, a generous alumnus of the Creative Writing Program. Starworks brightens the lives of hospitalized and environmentally at-risk children through creative expression in the literary arts. In hospitals and other institutions throughout the Metropolitan area, children ages five through eighteen write poems and stories at bedside and in classes with Starworks Fellows. The children's writing projects are celebrated through readings, newspapers, and published anthologies at each location.

Applications for this fellowship are distributed to students in the program during the summer. The Starworks Fellows receive stipends from the Starworks Foundation and are provided with monthly teacher-training and support. The fellowship stipends range from $2000 to $22,000 with the latter including tuition remission.