ubc creative writing professor fired

Women accused of defaming ex-UBC writing prof ordered to share emails, online posts

Steven galloway awarded access to emails between ubc staff and woman who accused him of sexual assault.

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A B.C. Supreme Court judge has awarded author Steven Galloway access to emails between a woman who accused him of sexual assault and staff at the University of British Columbia in a test of a provincial law intended to protect freedom of expression.

Galloway, who is the former chair of the university's creative writing department, filed lawsuits against the woman and two dozen others last October, alleging he was defamed by false allegations of sexual and physical assaults made by the woman and repeated by others.

The woman and two others applied to have the lawsuit thrown out under the province's Protection of Public Participation Act, which came into effect in March. It aims to protect critics on matters of public interest from lawsuits intended to silence or punish them.

Although the defamation action is paused until the dismissal application is dealt with by the court, Galloway had requested access to further documentation that he argued he needed to defend his case against dismissal.

• Fired UBC prof suing woman who accused him of sexual assault

In her ruling released Friday, Justice Catherine Murray says she believes it's the first time a court in British Columbia has been asked to rule on whether a plaintiff like Galloway is entitled to request documentation on the cross-examination allowed under the new act and, if so, to what disclosure he's entitled.

She ordered the release of emails to the university's president and a professor, and documentation the woman provided to back up her allegation, as well as screenshots of tweets and Facebook posts made by the other two women who joined the dismissal application, and other materials.

"I am advised that this is a matter of first impression; no court in British Columbia has yet considered this question,'' Murray says in the ruling.

The NDP promised during the 2017 election campaign that it would protect people from strategic lawsuits against public participation, often referred to as SLAPP suits.

In introducing the legislation, Attorney General David Eby said the act would prevent the use of lawsuits to silence critics with unfair or costly legal action.

• B.C. legislature unanimously passes anti-SLAPP legislation

Advocates for the new law included former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh, former attorney general Wally Oppal, the Union of B.C. Municipalities and numerous civil rights and environmental organizations. It was modelled after the Protection of Public Participation Act adopted four years ago in Ontario.

"The intent behind this legislation is to really avoid the situation where someone's put up a blog post or they've expressed themselves in a newspaper where they've provided information in public and they get a threatening letter that says they are going to be sued for defamation unless you immediately retract it,'' Eby said in May 2018.

The three women brought the dismissal application in May and were cross-examined in June. In the course of the cross-examinations, Galloway's lawyers requested further information or documents, which the women refused.

The women argued that cross-examination does not include the right to documentation access and characterized Galloway's request as "broad and sweeping.''

• Author Steven Galloway awarded $167K in damages following UBC firing

In her decision, Murray writes that while she appreciates the aim of the act is to provide defendants in SLAPP actions a quick process for dismissing unworthy actions, the flip side cannot be to deprive a plaintiff with a valid cause of action the ability to proceed.

"There is a clear tension in the act between having a quick summary dismissal application heard with less than full evidence and the dismissal of the plaintiff's action. This application highlights the difficulty with it in some cases,'' Murray writes.

There's an "unusually onerous'' burden on the plaintiff to prove not only that they have a case, but also that the defendants do not, she writes.

"To have to do that in a vacuum would be unjust,'' she says.

That said, disclosure can only relate to the dismissal application, she writes.

Murray denied Galloway access to some of the other documentation, including copies of emails the woman sent to another professor and the names of everyone to whom she disclosed that Galloway had allegedly raped or sexually assaulted her.

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Christie Blatchford: Fired UBC professor Steven Galloway suing woman who accused him of sexual assault

In total, more than 20 people are named in the lawsuit, including two UBC professors and a group of former students who 'recklessly repeated' the allegation

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In a last-ditch attempt to stop people from calling him a rapist and worse, former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway is now suing the woman who first accused him of sexual assault and two UBC professors and a group of former students and others who “recklessly repeated” the woman’s allegations on social media.

In total, more than 20 individuals are named in the lawsuit, filed Friday in the Supreme Court of B.C., including the woman until now publicly known only as “Main Complainant” or “M.C.”

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She is Caralea Cole, a 48-year-old successful artist and former faculty member at several universities in the United States and Canada before she enrolled in UBC’s creative writing program.

The two UBC professors are Keith Maillard, a man Galloway once considered a father figure, and Annabel Lyon, also a teacher in the creative writing program Galloway once headed.

The former UBC students include Chelsea Rooney, Brit Bachmann and Glynnis Kirchmeier, with York University’s Mandi Gray, herself a former sexual assault complainant-turned-activist, also named.

None of the allegations have been proven and the defendants have not yet filed their defences.

In the fall of 2015, with the university saying there were serious allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against him, UBC suspended Galloway. He was fired in June of 2016, despite a report which effectively cleared him of wrongdoing.

Former B.C. Supreme Court judge Mary Ellen Boyd wrote that report, and said she could substantiate none of the allegations against the celebrated author and former chair of UBC’s creative writing program — except, perhaps, that he’d erred by having a consensual affair with the woman.

Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.

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Although her name has long been known to those at UBC and to her online supporters, Boyd described her only as M.C. and her identity has been voluntarily guarded since by the many media organizations which have published stories about the controversy for the past three years.

Even using the lower civil standard of “on a balance of probabilities” — the criminal one, “beyond a reasonable doubt,” is much tougher — the retired judge said of one purported assault that she couldn’t conclude it had occurred when alleged “or at all.”

In virtually every instance, Boyd found Galloway more credible than his accusers.

Since Boyd issued her report in April of 2016, Galloway also has won several arbitration awards against UBC for its handling of the entire matter — most recently the university was found to have breached the confidentiality provisions of the first award he won, totalling more than $240,000.

Yet according to the statement of claim, it would seem that neither the judge’s findings nor the arbitrator’s decisions have served as any sort of deterrent to Galloway’s critics.

Many of the alleged defamatory statements about him were made this year, some as recently as August.

Collectively, the allegations serve as a harsh reminder that for the online mob, judicial and quasi-judicial findings, like verdicts in criminal trials, don’t count.

The alleged defamations by Maillard and Lyon mainly relate to things they allegedly said to UBC colleagues about Galloway (that he “raped Cara Cole,” for instance) at internal meetings in 2015.

But many of the others happened on social media as recently as 2018.

For instance, just this summer, Cole had a solo show at the New York gallery High Noon. Called “Illuminated Manuscript,” the show, said the gallery description, “derives from what Cole refers to as her Rape Narrative, a narrative (and term) sanctioned by a university after she disclosed being sexually harassed, assaulted and abused by a professor.”

On Aug. 3, Theresa Smalec reviewed the show in the online magazine Political/Letters Live, and quoted from Cole’s “artist’s statement” that through the art, she was reclaiming her “narrative” to “tell my story, on my terms, for the first time through this exhibition.”

In July of this year, defendant Wendel Schwab, a student at the University of Northern British Columbia, allegedly wrote on Twitter: “In my opinion, Steven Galloway sexually assaults women … in my opinion, Steven Galloway is what I would consider human garbage.”

In May, another defendant, Marcelle Kosman, allegedly tweeted that, “We will never know the scope of Galloway’s violence and can never fully account for it.”

Two months earlier, Kosman allegedly chimed in on a discussion about whether Galloway’s books should be taught as part of the UBC curriculum with this, “You cannot teach a rapist if you do not want to promote rape culture.”

According to the claim, in February, Glynnis Kirchmeier, a  former  UBC  student , a   sexual harassment complainant   in another matter  and activist,  sneered  at the notion that Cole and Galloway had had an affair.  “That piece,” Kirchmeier allegedly said in reference to a story which mentioned the affair, “said Galloway had an ‘affair’, which we now know is what he calls raping.”

Gray once allegedly tweeted “#galloway…rapists should be held accountable” and just this July allegedly posted a picture of Cole’s art installation.

According to the statement of claim, a defendant named Emily Kellogg in April tweeted, “it takes a village to protect a rapist” with the hashtag #ubcaccountable, that being a group of writers and publishers who supported Galloway’s right to due process.

Of the same group, another defendant named Dana Kagis is alleged to have tweeted, “a whole lotta really big writers are super into supporting their rapist friend.”

The lawsuit says the defendants acted “with express malice arising from the extreme and vicious content of the publications,” either knowing they were false or not knowing if they were true, and because of their “attitudes of spite.”

Despite Boyd’s findings, the statement of claim says, the defendants “nevertheless continued and persisted in repeating false claims that the plaintiff was guilty of rape and sexual assault.”

The claim seeks unspecified general, special and aggravated damages and a permanent injunction “requiring the defendants to remove the defamatory words from the internet and every other public postings” and restraining them from any further publishing.

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UBC Writing controversy hits close to home as UVic profs sign letter

The investigation and subsequent firing of Steven Galloway has made waves across the Canadian literary landscape, including here at UVic. Photo by Nancy Lee provided by The Ubyssey

Both current and former UVic Writing department faculty members have signed a controversial open letter in support of Steven Galloway, the former UBC Creative Writing chair. Galloway was fired last year after an investigation into “serious allegations” that were made against him, including allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

A full timeline of events is included at the end of this article.

The letter , signed by literary heavyweights such as Margaret Atwood and Joseph Boyden, says the allegations have severely damaged Galloway’s reputation and affected his health, and calls for “due process and fair treatment for all” in the university’s handling of the case.

There are three current UVic faculty members who have signed the letter, published on Nov. 14: writing professor Bill Gaston; writing professor Tim Lilburn; and Lee Henderson, associate professor and director of the Professional Writing minor.

The letter has drawn controversy since its publication, with some saying it decentres the experience of sexual assault survivors and goes too far in supporting Galloway instead of the complainants.

A UVic Writing student, who is a survivor of sexual assault, agreed to speak with the Martlet over email on the condition that they remain anonymous. They said their immediate reaction to the letter was “shock and an almost immediate sense of betrayal.”

“I think this letter effectively feels like a way to silence victims,” the student said. “I understand that this was not the intention of the letter, but the way the letter was written and the vocal support behind Galloway does not come across in any way as support for victims.”

The student said that they would have less of a problem with the letter had it been more specifically about UBC’s mishandling of the case. “But this letter is about Galloway and the way UBC treated him . . . For the letter to point out the fact that Galloway has not been convicted is not a mark of his innocence.”

The Martlet reached out to Henderson, Gaston, and Lilburn for comment. Henderson declined, and Lilburn did not return emails or phone calls.

Only Gaston gave a statement, albeit a brief one. “What everyone involved in this has in common is that we all meant well, and mean well,” Gaston said. “I hope that we all can learn from this situation.”

On a Nov. 24 episode of CANADALAND’s Short Cuts podcast, co-host Sheila Heti said she signed the letter at Henderson’s request, even though she had no relationship with Galloway.

“I got an email from a friend of mine, Lee Henderson…who’s a friend of Steven Galloway’s,” Heti said. “He wrote me a letter saying, ‘We have this petition where we’re gonna ask UBC to have an independent investigator [look] into how the Steven Galloway case was handled. Would you sign?’

“My context for looking at the letter was, ‘here’s a favour for a friend, my friend wants me to sign a letter,’” Heti said. “I have no feelings about Steven Galloway. My feelings were for Lee.”

“It was very hard for me to say no to Lee, who was in distress about his friend.” Heti has since had her name removed from the letter, saying on the podcast that it “effaces the existence of the women that complained.”

Later in the recording, Heti said, “If I was somebody looking at this letter, and I saw all these writers putting their names down . . . and no mention is made of the women, that is hurtful and that is not helpful.”

Maureen Bradley, Writing department graduate advisor and associate professor, said that from what she’s read, the case looked like “a fiasco” for those involved.

“I don’t think anyone tried to cause anybody else any pain,” she said. “There are a bunch of people upset about their friend, and they spoke up.”

Bradley suggested some Canadian writers might not be aware of the power their voices hold, and therefore are not aware of how signing the letter could silence those who’ve experienced sexualized violence.

“I don’t think they see themselves as this big scary establishment,” she said. “In fact, I think a lot of us see ourselves as the underdog and the outsider, so it’s very interesting to have it pointed out to some folks that, you know, yes, relative to young students and unpublished writers, yes you do hold some privilege.”

David Leach, UVic’s Writing department chair, said that the three professors signed the letter as members of the literary community, and that there was no department stance on UBC’s handling of the case. However, he agreed with some of the letter’s detractors, saying that it “didn’t have the intended effect, given its timing and given its wording.”

Leach said that if any students have concerns about the letter and who signed it, he has an open door policy, “literally and figuratively,” and that they can speak with him about it.

On Nov. 23 , a statement issued through Galloway’s lawyer said that he admitted to having an affair with one of his students, but said the allegations of sexual assault are unsubstantiated.

The UVic writing student said this was only cause for more concern. “Honestly, I don’t trust what [Galloway] has to say,” they said. “The fact that he had an affair with a student makes me question what else he has done. And, it makes me believe that UBC was probably right in firing him.”

When asked if the statement changed anything for him or UVic’s Writing department, Leach said it’s still a UBC matter. “While the lawyer’s statement adds some concrete details, there are still a lot of absent facts, missing voices and open questions.”

A timeline of the Steven Galloway controversy:

Nov. 18, 2015: Steven Galloway, chair of UBC’s Creative Writing program, is suspended with pay following “serious allegations” and a pending investigation. UBC does not state what these allegations are.

Dec. 4, 2015: UBC announces that Mary Ellen Boyd, a civil litigation lawyer, will be looking into the allegations against Galloway.

April 25, 2016: Boyd gives her report to Gage Averill, the UBC Dean of Arts. Galloway does not dispute any of the critical findings, according to a Ubyssey report published June 22 .

June 21, 2016: Galloway is fired by UBC after facing “serious allegations of misconduct.” A statement from VP External Relations Philip Steenkamp to the Ubyssey cites “a record of misconduct that resulted in an irreparable breach of trust.” The faculty association, however, says “all but one of the allegations, including the most serious allegation . . . were not substantiated.”

Nov. 14, 2016: An open letter signed by approximately 90 members of the Canadian arts community—including Margaret Atwood, Joseph Boyden, and David Cronenberg—is published. The letter says Galloway’s health and reputation have been damaged by UBC’s actions, and calls for the university to establish an “independent investigation” into how Galloway’s case was handled. It subsequently draws criticism for what some see as emphasizing misconduct around Galloway’s treatment over the experiences of sexual assault survivors.

Nov. 23, 2016: In a statement from his lawyer , Galloway apologizes for “engaging in inappropriate behaviour with a student,” citing an extra-marital affair that lasted two years. The statement says that Boyd found “a balance of probabilities” that Galloway had not committed sexual assault, and that both Galloway and his lawyer have “grave concerns” with UBC’s investigative process.

Nov. 24, 2016: One of the complainants in Galloway’s case releases a statement through her lawyer , saying that her complaint to the university was not about a consensual affair with Galloway, but in fact said that Galloway “sexually harassed and sexually assaulted” her.

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Dr. Amie Wolf fired, sends threatening email amid Indigenous heritage scrutiny

Dr. Amie Wolf, a former adjunct professor in UBC’s faculty of education currently at the heart of online backlash, was fired on Wednesday.

In a letter obtained by The Ubyssey , Dr. Blye Frank, dean of education, informed Wolf that her appointment in the faculty of education had been terminated after a recommendation from President Santa Ono to the Board of Governors.

“The Board accepted that recommendation. Accordingly, I am writing to advise you that your employment at the University of British Columbia is terminated without cause, effective February 17, 2021,” Frank wrote in the letter.

The letter directs Wolf to mental health resources and informs her that the university will make a lump sum payment of the salary she is contractually entitled to.

“You are immediately relieved of all duties and must no longer represent yourself as being employed by the University,” Frank wrote.

UBC Media Relations Director of University Affairs Matthew Ramsey wrote in a statement that the university is “aware of social media posts regarding Dr. Amie Wolf.”

“UBC continues to offer supports to all those involved. I can confirm Dr. Wolf is no longer with the university. For privacy reasons we will not comment further,” he wrote.

Over the weekend, speculation emerged about Wolf’s Indigenous ancestry. Wolf identifies as having Mi’kmaq ancestry and stood by that claim in an interview with The Ubyssey . However, a Twitter account, @nomoreredface, published a thread claiming Wolf was not Indigenous, raising doubts across social media platforms.

The account alleged that per census records, Wolf’s claim to Mi’kmaq ancestry may not be accurate. The account also highlighted different news articles in which Wolf was referred to as Métis and Mi’kmaq .

Wolf, a former instructor of an Indigenous teacher education course, gained public attention at the end of January after alleging that UBC administrators deleted interim reports she had written for 12 students in her class that she said displayed “intolerance” and potential “reinforcement of white supremacy.”

In early February, Wolf appeared to dox those 12 students on her Twitter account, later deleting the tweet after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from UBC. She eventually took down her account.

Wolf has released several blog posts calling out various UBC professors for retweeting and supporting the allegations that she may not be Indigenous.

On Monday, Dr. Darryl Leroux, an associate professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, tweeted that he had received a threatening email sent by Wolf. Leroux is the author of Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity .

Wolf confirmed that she did send Leroux the email.

Leroux retweeted the @nomoreredface Twitter thread on February 12 , writing that “It appears likely now that infamous UBC prof in Teacher Education is a white woman masquerading as ‘Indigenous.’ Through her alleged grift, she has inflicted harm on racialized students & unleashed torrent of white supremacist hate aimed at BIPOC.”

Here's redacted version of death threat I received from UBC instructor who has been falsely claiming an "Indigenous" identity, further confirmed by her own blog & additional research. If you know Amie Wolf, please find her some support. pic.twitter.com/KAkc9ripRO — Darryl Leroux (@DarrylLeroux) February 16, 2021

The email that Wolf sent Leroux includes the phrases, “If it’s the last f—ing thing I do, I will bring down your career,” “Go to hell racist mother f—er,” and “I’m after you. And I get my kill.”

Wolf said she sent that letter after trying and failing to get in contact with Leroux. She denied it was a death threat and said the email was about a lawsuit.

“I’m happy I responded to him the way that I did. That was a legal threat, and that was saying I’m going to hunt you down legally and I’m going to sue you to the fullest extent of the law for the deliberate lies and harm you are causing,” Wolf said.

Leroux declined an interview due to Wolf’s email.

This is a developing story and The Ubyssey will be investigating further.

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)
• Graduate School
• Prospective Students
• Graduate Degree Programs

Canadian Immigration Updates

Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details

Go to programs search

Creative Writers are at the heart of our cultural industries. Poets, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, graphic novelists, magazine writers: they entertain, inform and inspire. For more than 50 years, UBC’s Creative Writing program has been producing writers who’ve shaped Canadian and international culture. A studio program with the writing workshop at its heart, the MFA focuses on the work created by students as the primary text. Through intensive peer critique and craft discussion, faculty and students work together with the same goal: literary excellence. 

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

UBC’s Creative Writing program was the first writing program in Canada, and is the largest and most comprehensive in the country. It is highly ranked internationally, and draws students from around the world for its multi-genre approach to writing instruction. Students are required to work in multiple genres during the course of the degree. As a fine arts program rather than an English program, students focus on the practice of writing rather than the study of literature.

Small, intensive workshops characterize the program, as does our breadth of offerings: with 12 genres of writing available for study there are more opportunities for learning than at any other writing program in the world.

Faculty are distinguished, working writers. We have 12 professors, an additional 9 permanent instructors and regularly bring in a wide variety of writers in residence and adjunct instructors from the writing community.

The Creative Writing program is one of the best programs in the country and I was really honoured to be accepted. I really appreciate the talented faculty, the wide range of workshops available, and the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful community!

Fiona Revill

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, program instructions.

The residency MFA program only has a September intake.

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum academic requirements.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement : 90

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

2) Meet Deadlines

3) prepare application, transcripts.

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Citizenship verification.

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Tuition & Financial Support

Financial support.

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Options

Graduates of the MFA program have found success in varied fields related to writing and communication. The MFA qualifies graduates for teaching at the university level and many graduates have gone on to teach at colleges and universities in Canada, the United States and overseas as well as holding writing residencies. Many publish books and win literary awards. Others go on to work in publishing, and graduates have become book and magazine editors.

Although the MFA is a terminal degree, some graduates go on to further study in PhD programs in the US, UK and Australia. 

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion rates & times.

• Research Supervisors

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

• Belcourt, Billy-Ray (Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry)
• Hopkinson, Nalo (Creative writing, n.e.c.; Humanities and the arts; Creative Writing: Speculative Ficton, Fantasy, Science Fiction, especially Other Voices)
• Irani, Anosh
• Koncan, Frances
• Leavitt, Sarah (Autobiographical comics; Formal experimentation in comics; Comics pedagogy)
• Lee, Nancy (Fiction; Creative Writing)
• Lyon, Annabel (Novels, stories and news)
• Maillard, Keith (Fiction, poetry)
• Marzano-Lesnevich, Alex (Nonfiction)
• McGowan, Sharon (Planning of film productions from concept to completion)
• Medved, Maureen (Fiction, writing for screen)
• Nicholson, Cecily (Languages and literature; Poetry)
• Ohlin, Alix (Fiction; Screenwriting; Environmental writing)
• Pohl-Weary, Emily (Fiction; Writing for Youth)
• Svendsen, Linda (Fiction, television)
• Taylor, Timothy (fiction and nonfiction)
• Vigna, John (Novels, stories and news; Fiction, Literary Non-Fiction, Creative Writing)

Sample Thesis Submissions

Related programs, same specialization.

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Distance) (MFA)

Same Academic Unit

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre (MFA)
• Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing (MFA)

At the UBC Okanagan Campus

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Further Information

Specialization.

Creative Writing combines the best of traditional workshop and leading-edge pedagogy. Literary cross-training offers opportunities in a broad range of genres including fiction, poetry, screenplay, podcasting, video game writing and graphic novel.

UBC Calendar

Program website, faculty overview, academic unit, program identifier, classification, social media channels, supervisor search.

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form .

Vivian (Xiao Wen) Li

I really liked what the program would be offering, and I love the mountains as well as nature—I find a lot of peace and inspiration from water, wind, and clouds. While I was at an Explore Program for a month at the University of Victoria (I wanted to explore the West Coast), I managed to visit UBC...

Brandi Bird

I only applied to UBC. I couldn’t justify upending my life with my partner and my cats for two years of schooling. I decided if I didn’t get in, I’d try again next year. But I was lucky! I just finished my undergraduate degree at UBC and so the familiarity of campus was and is comforting but the...

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Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

Assistant Professor & Rogers Communications Chair in Creative Non-Fiction

Research Area

Annabel Lyon

Professor and Director

Anosh Irani

Assistant Professor

Billy-Ray Belcourt

Bronwen Tate

Assistant Professor of Teaching and Undergraduate Chair

Cecily Nicholson

Emily Pohl-Weary

Frances Koncan

Associate Professor of Teaching

Keith Maillard

Linda Svendsen

Maureen Medved

Associate Professor

Nalo Hopkinson

Sarah Leavitt

Sharon McGowan

Associate Professor and Graduate Advisor

Timothy Taylor

A.E. Osworth

Jennifer Moss

Jordan Scott

Mallory Tater

Mandy Catron

Sara Graefe

Sheryda Warrener

Susan Musgrave

Tariq Hussain

Taylor Brown-Evans

Dina Del Bucchia

Sessional Instructor

Martin Kinch

Anusree Roy

Adjunct Professor

Théodora Armstrong

Theodora Armstrong

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Creative Writing: Black Speculative Writing (tenure-stream)

November 1, 2023

Assistant or Associate Professor in Black Speculative Writing

In support of its commitments to inclusive excellence in academia and research, The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada has launched a university-wide Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative (BFCHI) to recruit up to 23 Black scholars over the next four years.

As part of this initiative, the School of Creative Writing invites applications for a tenure-stream appointment in the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor in Black speculative writing (i.e. Black alternative imaginations and/or futurisms in any genre, including fiction, non-fiction, lyric forms, graphic forms, etc). The new faculty member will join a multi-departmental research cluster in Black Informatics and Creative Arts. The cluster will consist of UBC’s School of Creative Writing, the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, and i-School.

In forming the research cluster, the three departments are interested in recruiting faculty whose scholarly expertise, innovation, and developments are guided by and situated in Black thought. The cluster harnesses the polydisciplinarity of Black creativity, imagination, and cultural production as a way to engender dynamic flow amongst creative, research-based and theoretical practices to address some of the most timely issues of our day including AI, information, and data, while cultivating speculative imaginaries to envision different collective futures.

Creative Writing is seeking an established or promising Black speculative writer with a focus on the Black diaspora and an interest in cross-disciplinary collaboration. Expertise in media or games would be an asset, as would expertise in issues of disability, gender, carcerality, and/or climate change.

The School of Creative Writing is one of the oldest and largest creative writing programs in North America, and offers opportunities to write in more genres and formats than any other. Through this research cluster and through related planned initiatives in the Black speculative imagination, the School aims to make UBC a key gathering place for shared scholarship and innovation in Black and other marginalized speculative storytelling and critical/creative practice, in conversation with related endeavors around Black thought unfolding worldwide.

Requirements for this position: graduate degree (e.g. MFA in Creative Writing) preferred, but a combination of education and appropriate writing and publishing experience may be considered; demonstrated excellence in speculative writing (one or more book publications with an established press, or the equivalent, preferred); experience in a second genre an asset; evidence of or demonstrated potential for excellent teaching ability of university-level creative writing courses. If you are unsure whether you meet the stated qualifications, we urge you to consider submitting an application anyway. Please contact Professor Nalo Hopkinson for more information: [email protected].

The successful candidate will be expected to teach a total of 4 courses (12 credits) per year, to participate in Creative Writing program administration, to supervise graduate theses, and to maintain an excellent record of teaching, service, and scholarly activity, which includes a distinguished record of professional publication.

The expected pay range for this position is $9,167 – $10,417/month for the Assistant Professor rank, or $11,250 – $12,917/month for the Associate Professor rank. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Application Process

Pursuant to Section 42 of the BC Human Rights Code, this search will be restricted to qualified Black scholars. We welcome applications from Black scholars who may also identify as Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, Inuit) Peoples, multi-racial persons, persons with disabilities, women, and/or members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Candidates are invited to self-identify through the Applicant Diversity Survey, which takes approximately two minutes to complete. All questions are voluntary, with an option to decline to answer. Applicants who wish to be considered for this initiative must self identify as ‘Black’ to be considered eligible. All information collected by UBC will remain confidential and any reported data will be in aggregate form shared with the Search Committee co-chairs in order to track intersectional diversity and support and equitable and meritorious search process.

https://creativewriting.ubc.ca/about/job-opportunities/

Interested applicants must submit all of the following documents:

• a letter of application
• a writing sample of 20-30 pages
• a teaching portfolio (which should include a statement of teaching philosophy and some or all of the following: student evaluations, peer assessments, 1-2 sample course syllabi)
• UBC aspires to promote inclusive excellence by supporting and recognizing efforts to advance equity, diversity and inclusion as well as decolonization (EDID) through the academic and research ecosystem. Please provide a brief (1-2 page) statement describing your current and future commitments or interests related to EDID. Your comments may relate to lived/living experience, professional work or practice, academic and research activities, and/or community-engagement.

In addition, applicants should arrange for three confidential letters of recommendation to be sent directly via email to [email protected].

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority for the position. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University gathers information about applicants’ status as either a permanent resident of Canada or Canadian citizen. All applications must include one of the following statements:

•           Yes, I am a citizen or permanent resident of Canada

No, I am not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada

NOTE: Other than information about Canadian status, applicants need not identify country of origin or current citizenship.

Review of applications will begin on December 11, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled.

Any inquiries may be sent to Nalo Hopkinson at [email protected] . Please put the phrase “BFCHI HIRE” in the subject heading.

Career Interruptions

UBC acknowledges that certain circumstances may cause career interruptions that legitimately affect an applicant’s record of research achievement. We encourage applicants to note in their applications whether they would like consideration given to the impact of any such circumstances due to health, family, or other legitimate reasons in order to allow for a fair assessment of their research productivity.

Dual Career Inquiries

UBC is committed to supporting candidates within a dual career household. Inquiries about spousal/partner employment may be directed to the Office of the Provost & Vice President Academic at [email protected] .

Commitment to Accessibility and Accommodations

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible work environment for all members of its workforce. Within this hiring process we will make efforts to create an accessible process for all candidates (including but not limited to people with disabilities). Job applicants requiring accommodation to participate in the hiring process should contact [email protected]. Confidential accommodations are available on request by contacting Sonia Dhillon at [email protected].

If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or form more information and support, please visit UBC’s Center For Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/working-injury-illness-or-disability/centre-workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at [email protected] .

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UBC appoints new head of creative writing after Galloway scandal

This article was published more than 6 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

UBC says Montreal-born author Alix Ohlin will take over the program beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Chuck Zovko

With a grievance still to be settled in the firing of Steven Galloway, the University of British Columbia has announced the hiring of a new chair for its creative writing program. Alix Ohlin – a Montreal-born, Harvard-educated fiction writer – will take over the position Jan. 1, 2018.

Ms. Ohlin, an English professor at Lafayette College in Easton, Penn., since 2004, is also a faculty member in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers in North Carolina. She was the Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence at McGill University for 2016-17.

Her 2012 novel Inside was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Her first novel, The Missing Person , was published in 2005 and she has also published two short story collections, Signs and Wonders and Babylon and Other Stories .

"It's a wonderful opportunity to join a program with such talented faculty and students," Ms. Ohlin said in a statement released by UBC Tuesday. "I look forward to working with the entire literary community there and building on the program's rich history." (Ms. Ohlin did not respond to a request for an interview Tuesday afternoon.)

The program, the largest and oldest creative writing program in Canada according to the media release, has been mired in an explosive scandal for nearly two years. Mr. Galloway, a bestselling novelist, was abruptly suspended from his position as program chair in late 2015 and fired without severance months later, following an investigation. He has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment. In a statement, Mr. Galloway said he was having an affair with the main complainant in the case, a former student. In a statement of her own, the main complainant has said that her accusation was not about an affair. Mr. Galloway is fighting his dismissal. The arbitration process is still under way.

Linda Svendsen, who was named acting co-chair with Annabel Lyon when Mr. Galloway was suspended, will continue as acting chair until Dec. 31, 2017.

The Vancouver Aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are gathering samples from the exhalation from humpback whales using a drone

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