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UC Riverside

Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA

Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts

Latest News

Fall 2024 Residency Schedule

We're kicking off our Fall 2024 residency on Friday December 6th at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage. Our award-winning and best-selling faculty will be joined by 30 guests for an exciting ten days of lectures, seminars, professional meetings, and workshops. If you're interested in sitting in for a day prior to applying...

Our Fall 2024 Residency Faculty

Each residency, our award-winning faculty are joined by industry professionals from across publishing, the stage, TV, film, and streaming for ten days of amazing lectures, talks, screenings, seminars, and one-on-one meetings. If you're interested in visiting for the day prior to applying, please contact Kathryn McGee at Kathryn.McGee@ucr.edu: Megan Beatie a veteran publicist with more...

Announcing The Lizi Gilad Silver Memorial Scholarship

Lizi Gilad Silver: “I’ve lived my life feeling out of place geographically as well as physically, perpetually searching and asking where and what is home. The answer I’ve come to, over and over again, is literature. This is where I feel most at home. I find shelter in books and writing. A place beyond body...

CBS Saturday Morning Features Ivy Pochoda!

CBS Saturday Morning sat down with MFA professor and LA Times Book Prize winner Ivy Pochoda to talk about her most recent book, her previous career as one of the top squash players in the world, and her series of books with the late Laker legend Kobe Bryant. Ivy Pochoda is entering her third year...

Spring 2024 Residency Schedule Announced

Below is the daily schedule for our upcoming Spring 2024 Residency. If you're interested in applying and would like to visit for a day, please contact Kathryn McGee at Kathryn.McGee@ucr.edu or 760-834-0939. Daily Schedule Friday, June 7 3:00 – Check In 4:00 – Faculty & Staff meeting in Salon 6 5:00 – New Student Orientation...

Spring Guest Faculty Announced

Each residency, in addition to our award-winning faculty, we welcome a full slate of writers, editors, agents, producers and more to help teach our students how to become professional writers. We're pleased to announce our full slate for Spring 2024: MFA GUEST FACULTY Karam Abulhusn is currently a partner at Boo Pictures and has over...

UCRPDLRMFA @ LATFOB

It's the best time of the year... ...LATFOB! Three days of the best book events Southern California has to offer...and we'll be all over it. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books kicks of on Friday, April 19th with their annual Book Prizes where we'll be in the audience with our fingers crossed for Professor...

Fall Residency Schedule

Fall Residency Schedule December 1-10 th F: Fiction NF: Nonfiction P: Poetry PL: Playwriting S: Screenwriting * All Students Must Attend At Least 10 Lectures To Earn Credit Breakfast & Lunch will be served on Starlight Terrace or in Salon 4, depending upon weather All Graduate Lectures are in Salon 5 All Evening programs are...

Our 15 Year Anniversary Guest Faculty Announced

We're pleased to announce our guest faculty for our upcoming 15 Year Anniversary Residency! If you're interested in applying to the program and want to visit for a day during December -- our residency runs December 1-10th at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage -- please contact Kathryn McGee at kathryn.mcgee@ucr.edu. Fall Guest...

Lori Davis Named Palm Desert Poet Laureate

It's with great pleasure that we extend our congratulations to Lori Davis (MFA, '12) who has been named the first Poet Laureate for the City of Palm Desert, as the city announced last week: The City of Palm Desert is proud to announce the selection of its first-ever Poet Laureate, Lori Davis, an esteemed individual...

Kathryn McGee Named New Program Manager

We are pleased to announce, after an arduous national search, that we have hired a new Program Manager: Kathryn McGee. Kathryn will assume her role on October 2nd. We are also pleased to announce that Palm Desert Center Executive Director Agam Patel will be staying with us as a consultant for the next several months...

Prize-Winning Author Gabino Iglesias Joins Faculty

We're pleased to announce that prize-winning novelist and book critic Gabino Iglesias has joined the Low Residency MFA @ UCR as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Gabino Iglesias holds a PhD in Journalism from the University of Texas, an MA in Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico, and a bachelor’s degree in business from the...

Our Spring 2023 Residency Schedule

Spring Residency Schedule June 2-11 th F: Fiction NF: Nonfiction P: Poetry PL: Playwriting S: Screenwriting * All Students Must Attend At Least 10 Lectures To Earn Credit Breakfast will be served on Sunrise Terrace Lunch will be served either on Sunrise Terrace or in Salon 4, depending upon weather All Graduate Lectures are in...

Our Spring 2023 Guest & MFA Faculty

Each residency, we're joined by two dozen guest faculty members -- consisting of visiting writers and industry professionals -- to teach and advise our students, along with our award-winning core faculty. If you're applying and interested in visiting during our upcoming term -- June 2-11th -- please contact us at palmdesertmfa@ucr.edu. Here's our amazing slate...

Our Fall Residency Schedule

Twice a year -- in December and June -- we gather for our intensive residencies. If you're interested in sitting in for a day prior to applying, we'd be happy to have you. Simply contact us at palmdesertmfa@ucr.edu and we'll set-up your visit. We'll even buy you lunch. Friday, December 2 3:00 – Check in...

Our Fall 22 Guest Faculty

Ivy Pochoda Is Our Latest Visiting Professor

We're thrilled to announce that after a national search, novelist Ivy Pochoda has joined our faculty as a Visiting Assistant Professor for the 2022/23 academic year. Ms. Pochoda will begin teaching this fall. Ivy Pochoda holds a BA in Classics and Literature, with a focus on Dramatic Literature, from Harvard, where she graduated cum laude...
Jackelin Shoji

Jackelin Shoji Earns Inaugural Visible Voices Scholarship

A little over two years ago, a group of MFA alumni, current students, faculty and administrators sat down to create a scholarship that would recognize and support writers of merit from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities. It would also be a scholarship that would broaden access to higher education for those who might otherwise find...

Our Spring 22 Guest Faculty

We're excited to kick off our 27th MFA residency on June 3rd with this amazing line-up of guest faculty members comprised of top writers, industry professionals, and esteemed alums! It's going to be an amazing residency. If you're interested in visiting during the week, please contact us to set up a visit: palmdesertmfa@ucr.edu Michelle Kholos...
Low Residency MFA Poster

Our Fall 21 Guest Faculty

We can't believe it's been two years since our last in-person residency! So we're rolling out the red-carpet for a great lineup of top writers, industry professionals, and esteemed alums! It's going to be an amazing residency. If you're interested in visiting during the week, please contact us to set up a visit: palmdesertmfa@ucr.edu Emilie...