Children’s Literature M.A. & M.F.A.
Summer 2017: June 19 – July 28
Hollins offers a graduate program devoted exclusively to the study and writing of children’s and young adult literature, leading to an M.A. or M.F.A. degree, earned over the course of three to five summers, during six-week sessions. Hollins also offers an M.F.A. in Children’s Book Writing & Illustrating and a graduate-level Certificate in Children’s Book Illustration. Students work with Hollins writers and professors. They also interact with a diverse group of scholars from the children’s literature field.
Degrees Offered
Children's Literature M.A.
The M.A. degree requires 40 credits. M.A. students focus their concentration on the study of children’s and young adult literature as a genre. Or, they may take up to half their credits in creative writing.
Children's Literature M.F.A.
The M.F.A. degree requires 48 credits. M.F.A. students ground their creative work in the scholarly study of children’s and young adult literature. Any literature scholar benefits from the experience of writing. And, any serious student of writing must study the best works of others.
Certificate Program
There is also a Certificate in Children’s Book Illustration available at the graduate level.
Children's Literature Writer-in-Residence
Cece Bell and Tom Angleberger are the 2016 Writers-in-Residence. Bell is the author of the Newbery Honor Book El Deafo, a graphic novel memoir of her childhood, her hearing loss, and her first crush. She has written and illustrated numerous other books for children, including the Geisel Honor book Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover; Itty Bitty; Bee-Wigged; I Yam a Donkey; the Sock Monkey series; and with her husband Tom Angleberger, Crankee Doodle. Angleberger is also the author of the The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Darth Paper Strikes Back, The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee, The Surprise Attack of Jabbaa the Puppett and other Origami Yoda books, as well as The Rat with the Human Face, Poop Fountain, Fake Mustache, and Horton Halfpott.
Children’s Literature Journal
Children’s Literature is the annual journal of the Modern Language Association Division on Children’s Literature and of the Children’s Literature Association. It was founded in 1972 by the late Francelia Butler and is now edited at Hollins by Julie Pfeiffer, with R.H.W. Dillard serving as editor-in-chief.
Students in the Hollins graduate program in children’s literature have the opportunity to work closely with the editors, who are both members of our faculty.
Visit the Children’s Literature Association website.
Our Faculty
Our faculty don’t just teach — they do. They are all working writers and artists or scholars active in the field, and sometimes all three. They will teach you to find your own voice, your style, your medium, your passion. In addition you’ll meet visiting scholars, writers and artists every summer. Recent guests have included:
Kenneth Kidd, author of Making American Boys: Boyology and the Feral Tale and Freud in Oz: At the Intersections of Psychoanalysis and Children’s Culture
Andrea Brown, president of Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Philip Nel, author of The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats and Seuss: American Icon
Maggie Stiefvater, author of the Shiver trilogy, The Scorpio Races (a Printz Honor Book) and the Raven Boys cycle
Jack Zipes, author of Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tale; Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children and the Culture Industry; and Literature and Literary Theory: Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion
Charles Vess, fantasy illustrator, whose books include Stardust with Neil Gaiman (Mythopoeic Award and World Fantasy Award), A Circle of Cats, Drawing Down the Moon, Horns of Elfland, and Hook: The Official Movie Adaptation
David Almond, Carnegie Medal, Whitebread Award and Smarties Award winning author of Skellig, My Name is Mina, and The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean
Nancy Willard, poet, novelist, and Newbery medal winner for A Visit to William Blake’s Inn
News
In 2016 Hollins inaugurated the first Margaret Wise Brown Prize for a picture book text, honoring Brown, a Hollins alumna from the class of 1932. The prize carries a $1,000 award and a bronze medal with an image of Brown on the front and the winner’s name and winning book title on the back. The 2016 winner is Phil Bildner, for Marvelous Cornelius. The Honor Book is You Nest Here with Me by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Bildner will accept his award at the annual Francelia Butler Conference on Children’s Literature at Hollins on July 23.
Cost & Applying
Tuition: $830 per credit hour for summer 2017.
Fees
- New student nonrefundable deposit: $400
- Returning student nonrefundable deposit: $200
- Housing: $1,175
- Technology fee: $85/summer
- Health services: $30
M.F.A. applicants must send 10-20 pages of their best creative work. M.A. applicants may also send scholarly work. You’ll need to provide three letters of recommendation. GRE scores aren’t required, but may be submitted. Undergraduate transcript must be submitted.
The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Scholarship (PDF) is a yearly competitive award worth $1,000. Other student scholarships are available. To apply for these, students must complete the FAFSA annually.
Find out more details on applying
Want to Know More?
Program Director Amanda Cockrell is happy to answer your questions.
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