Naslund‑Mann School of Writing | Spalding University

Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing

An Inspiring, Inclusive Community for Serious Writers

Welcome to a community of smart, passionate writers. The Naslund-Mann School is nationally distinguished for its noncompetitive ethos, dedicated faculty, and alumni success stories. Our low-residency programs let you fit grad school into your busy life. You’ll write prolifically, explore across genres, and examine the interrelatedness of the arts. At Spalding, you’ll build a lifelong writing practice and take your place in an ongoing literary community. For undergrads, our campus-based creative and professional writing programs open doors and build on the expertise of our graduate programs, with a pathway from BFA to MFA.

Available Programs

Undergraduate

Graduate

Certificate

Our ethic is kindness and support for one another’s work. Not only is this approach key to helping writers improve their craft, it’s also the best way to develop critical abilities—to find words to articulate what might elevate the work, but also and as importantly what is fresh and original in a piece of writing.
Kathleen Driskell, Chair and poetry faculty

Naslund-Mann faculty members lined up along a balcony railing.

Our History

The Spalding MFA in Writing program was founded by Sena Jeter Naslund and Karen Mann. After years spent teaching in a low-residency MFA in Writing program, as well as at traditional programs, Sena had developed many ideas about how to create a better low-residency MFA in a noncompetitive, supportive setting. The program launched in Fall 2001, offering fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and writing for children. Since then, we’ve added screenwriting and playwriting, incorporated short-term study abroad, launched a virtual residency and an extended semester, and been named a Top 10 program of our kind by Poets & Writers.

In 2017, Sena retired as program director to continue her career as a novelist (she’s author of critically acclaimed bestsellers Ahab’s Wife and Four Spirits, among others). The program continues to thrive under the leadership of Kathleen Driskell and Karen Mann. In 2019, Spalding established the School of Creative and Professional Writing with the MFA as its flagship program to meet the needs of the times for serious writers. In 2021, the school was renamed in honor of its founders to become the Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing.

Mission Statement

The Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University is a welcoming community of writers dedicated to improving their craft through intense writing and reading, critical and creative thinking, and various opportunities to study closely with intellectual, literary, and professional leaders who are also expert teachers. The school provides a compassionate, flexible, and noncompetitive graduate learning environment that establishes lifelong writing habits and fosters a commitment to the global literary community and to excellence in writing.