Beginning in fall 2023, UNCW’s MFA program is offering students a complementary post-baccalaureate certificate in literary publishing. The 15-hour degree prepares graduates to work in publishing, editing, publicity, marketing, grant writing, and book and magazine design and production, among other areas. Students also learn skills beneficial in a variety of adjacent fields—from public relations to arts management. At the heart of the program are apprenticeships with the department’s award-winning literary entities: imprint Lookout Books and magazines Ecotone and Chautauqua.
As Lookout’s graduate publishing assistant, I’ve found hands-on experiences with the imprint to be invaluable. I chose UNCW’s MFA program because I wanted to explore professional options as I gained practical, real-world experience. I was uncertain about the exact career I wanted to pursue after graduation. Working at Lookout over the past two semesters has helped me fine-tune my goals and discover new skills.
After careful preparation, planning, and care, I helped launch the imprint’s latest title, Bigger Than Bravery: Black Resilience and Reclamation in a Time of Pandemic, in November. I helped design the anthology’s interior and cover, executed an accompanying social media campaign, and am now seeing my work pay off in the form of accolades and national media attention for the book. It’s come with satisfaction and excitement I’ve never felt before.
Lookout Practicum staff members Morissa Young, Tierra Ripley, and Felicia Rosemary Urso at the book launch
“It’s impossible not to learn from Emily Smith as she explains in real time why we’re taking each step in the publishing process. Instead of focusing on one area, students get to explore as many as we’d like. . . . I’m actively developing new perspectives that will be crucial to my success post-MFA, in publishing and well beyond it.”
Lookout’s practicum is unique in terms of how full of an experience it offers—how much care publisher and professor Emily Smith takes in guiding students, while also challenging them. It’s impossible not to learn from Emily as she explains in real time why we’re taking each step in the publishing process. Instead of focusing on one area, students get to explore as many as we’d like. For example, this semester I’ve managed our social media, designed publicity materials, read and assessed submissions as part of the acquisitions team, and supported book marketing and promotional efforts. Through the apprenticeship required to complete the publishing certificate, I’m actively developing new perspectives that will be crucial to my success post-MFA, in publishing and well beyond it.
Lookout faculty and practicum staff members printing broadsides at Port City Letterpress in Wilmington
In addition to Lookout, students enrolled in the publishing certificate program can choose to apprentice with UNCW’s two nationally-acclaimed literary magazines, Ecotone and Chautauqua.
“I’ve spent the majority of my writing life alone in at a desk with the occasional support of a friend or mentor, but entering this MFA submerged me in a world of people who are trying for this same wild thing,” says second-year nonfiction MFA candidate and Ecotone poetry editor Maggie Boyd Hare. “Working for Ecotone has given me an even broader place of connection. When editor and professor Anna Lena Phillips Bell introduces us to the process of reading submissions, she talks about how we’re practicing a kind of catch and release. I feel honored to be able to hold the work of so many other writers—to inspect it in the light—if only for a little while. To be able to act as a small part of this vast and vibrant community.”
“When editor and professor Anna Lena Phillips Bell introduces us to the process of reading submissions, she talks about how we’re practicing a kind of catch and release. I feel honored to be able to hold the work of so many other writers—to inspect it in the light—if only for a little while. To be able to act as a small part of this vast and vibrant community.”
“Working on Chautauqua has given me opportunities to hone both editorial and design skills that I can take to the job market when I graduate,” says designer and third-year MFA fiction candidate Gabi Stephens. “On-the-job learning has also made me a more self-sufficient worker. I feel confident that when I come up against the logistic and creative challenges of book design, I have the resources to solve them. Beyond job marketability, working for Chautauqua has come with opportunities to attend the institution’s writers’ festival and to expand my community. The people I’ve met and the connections I’ve made are among the most invaluable aspects of the practicum experience.”
“Working for Chautauqua has come with opportunities to attend the institution’s writers’ festival and to expand my community. The people I’ve met and the connections I’ve made are among the most invaluable aspects of the practicum experience.”
Students are introduced to publishing through three core courses—Publishing Process, Editorial Process, and Bookbuilding—all taught by dedicated publishing faculty. Then, over at least two capstone semesters in either the book or the magazine practicum, students work under the close guidance of the instructor on a larger-scale project tailored to their specific interests. They can supplement their publishing study in special topics courses including access in publishing, book arts, the debut book, grant writing, and marketing and publicity. The program’s ongoing partnership with HarperCollins pairs students with senior publishing professionals for career advice and networking.
If you’re searching for a place to study the craft of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction while developing skills and perspectives in literary publishing, look no farther than UNCW’s MFA program. Though the certificate is new, it’s an extension of the department’s longstanding commitment to integrating the study of writing and publishing. We’re thrilled to finally be able offer students a professional credential in addition to the MFA. The application deadline is March 1, 2023. Come make books and magazines with us!
—Felicia Rosemary Urso,
Lookout Publishing Assistant