Join the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) from Monday, May 12, to Wednesday, May 14, 2025, as we proudly celebrate the graduates of our 2025 Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFACW) program. Experience the powerful voices of our emerging writers as they showcase their work in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting during the Graduate Student Reading Series. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with fresh, compelling storytelling from the next generation of literary talent! All readings are open and free to the public.

Graduate Student Reading Series Events

• Monday, May 12, 5:00 pm (MST): Readings by Bonney Hartley (Stockbridge-Munsee Hohican), Yu Hsuan Wu, Kate Bennion, Alec Tiger (Muscogee Creek Nation), and Timoteo Montoya—IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 108 Cathedral Pl, Santa Fe, NM 87501
• Tuesday, May 13, 5:30 pm (MST): Readings by Karen Vargas, Tyson Hudson (Navajo), Owen Oliver (Quinault Indian Nation), Melissa Meinzer, Larry Chavis (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina), and Celia Ruiz—Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87505
• Wednesday, May 14, 5:00 pm (MST): Readings by Andrew Bluesky (Oneida Nation), Jessie Anthony (Onondaga Nation Beaver Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River), Brenna Sawney (Cherokee Nation), and Savannah Romero (Eastern Shoshone Tribe)—Santa Fe Community Gallery, 201 W. Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501

MFA in Creative Writing

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is designed as a two-year program with two intensive week-long residencies per year (summer and winter) at IAIA. Students and faculty mentors gather for a week of workshops, lectures, and readings. At the end of the residency week, each student is matched with a faculty mentor, who then works one-on-one with the student for the semester. IAIA’s program is unique in that we emphasize the importance of Indigenous writers speaking to the Indigenous experience. The literature we read carries a distinct Native American and First Nations emphasis. The MAFCW offers four areas of emphasis: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting.