Edelstein-Keller Endowed Visiting Writer Chairship

About the Job

The Creative Writing Program in the Department of English at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities campus) invites applications for the Edelstein-Keller Endowed Visiting Writer Chairship. The Chairship will be appointed as a visiting creative writer-in-residence. A University of Minnesota employee currently in a tenure‑track or tenured position is ineligible for this Chairship.

The successful applicant will be in residence on the Minneapolis campus for four semesters. The Chair will be expected, during the appointment, to teach two creative writing courses (graduate and undergraduate) each academic year, and will participate in creative writing events and committees, including admissions and graduate thesis committees. The Chairship is a temporary, fixed‑term, academic professional, 9‑month, 100% time appointment, serving two years.

A third year extension is possible if approved by the Creative Writing Program faculty and Director of Creative Writing.

The Chair will consult closely with, and work under the direction of, the Director and Assistant Director of Creative Writing on annual programming. The programming is facilitated by staff support and agreed upon by the Creative Writing Program faculty.

Annual programming includes, but is not limited to: three featured visiting writer full‑day events, individual classroom visiting writer support and scheduling, brown‑bag visiting writer programming support, emerging visiting writers support fund, Association of Writers and Writing Program membership and representation of the MFA program in Creative Writing, and discretionary visiting writer event funds.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree, MFA, or PhD in Creative Writing, English (PhD), or related field, with degree in hand by 8/25/2025
• A minimum of one volume of work published by a national press in literary nonfiction (a book under contract is acceptable, provided the publication date is prior to the position start date)
• College‑ or university‑level teaching experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• Evidence of potential for continued success as a published writer
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Housed in the Department of English, the Creative Writing Program boasts a highly selective three‑year MFA program and a high‑enrollment undergraduate introductory course; an undergraduate minor was added in 2017. The three‑year MFA program has three primary tracks (poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction) culminating in a thesis manuscript, defense, and MFA essay. The graduate program accepts 7‑9 students per year, supporting all with teaching assistantships and offering the opportunity to work on the literary journal Great River Review.

About the College of Liberal Arts

Home to the arts, social sciences and humanities disciplines and programs, the College of Liberal Arts is the largest college in the University of Minnesota and comprises 31 academic departments, and over 20 interdisciplinary research centers and administrative/support units. CLA has over 1,300 faculty and staff spanning research, teaching, advising, outreach, and administrative functions. CLA units reside in over twenty buildings on the East Bank and West Bank of the Twin Cities campus.

CLA enrolls nearly 13,000 undergraduate students, over 40% of the undergraduate enrollment on the Twin Cities campus, 1,400 graduate students, and has an annual all‑funds budget of $290 million.

CLA is a destination for curious, compassionate individuals who are committed to making our increasingly interdependent and diverse global community work for everyone. That foundational commitment begins in our CLA Constitution. CLA is committed to increasing enrollment of underrepresented and under‑resourced students, diversifying our faculty across all disciplines, recruiting, and retaining a diverse staff, and promoting the expression and exploration of diverse perspectives and viewpoints‑so that we all gain the background knowledge and analytical skills we need to understand and respect differences.

Pay Range: $50,000 per year; depending on…