Creative Writing Program
As Jodi Picoult says, "You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." Take a creative writing class this semester!
Grossmont College offers Southern California’s largest and best community college Creative Writing Program, with top-notch classes, nurturing workshops, and talented instructors to challenge you to sculpt your voice into the next wave of cutting edge literature. We offer courses tailored to different writing skill levels, writing and editing experience, and writing genres. You can also earn a Certificate in Creative Writing with your English degree. Our courses fall into several categories: general creative writing classes, workshop sequences, and production and editing classes. Being enrolled in a Grossmont College Creative Writing class provides you with exclusive opportunities to meet nationally and internationally renowned authors, participate in readings and literary events, publish your work, and even edit a literary journal.
Visit "About Our Program" to see our full catalog of workshops and courses.
LAF 29: APRIL 28 through MAY 1, 2025
Below is our week-long calendar for the 29th Annual Literary Arts Festival, featuring poets, authors, and panellists presenting live readings, talks, and more. For event details and additional information about these events, visit our official 2025 Literary Arts Festival page. All events are free of charge and open to the public, and will be held on the Grossmont College campus at the Performance and Visual Arts Center (PVAC).
|
Event |
Date |
Time |
Location |
|
Robin Gow poet, novelist, essayist, YA author author of poetry collection, Lanternfly August |
Apr. 28 |
2-3:15pm |
PVAC |
|
New Voices student reading exceptional student writers from the Spring 2025 semester |
Apr. 28 |
6-8:30pm |
PVAC |
|
Lisa Teasley fiction author and essayist award-winning author of Fluid: Stories |
Apr. 29 |
2-3:15pm |
PVAC |
|
Why Literature Matters student and faculty panel |
Apr. 30 |
12:30-1:45pm |
PVAC |
|
antmen pimental mendoza poet reads from his new collection, My Boyfriend Apocalypse |
Apr. 30 |
3:30-4:45pm |
PVAC |
|
Ella deCastro Baron author and memoirist Filipina American author reading from her new nonfiction collection, Subo and Baon |
May 1 |
6:30-8pm |
PVAC |
The Creative Writing Workshops for Spring 2025
ENGL 126: INTRO TO CREATIVE WRITING
section 7264 (Online), 3 cr., with Prof. Julie Cardenas
section 7263, M/W 2:00PM-3:20PM, 3 cr., with Prof. Adam Deutsch
ENGL 130-133: SHORT FICTION WRITING I-IV
sections 7266-7269, T/Th 2:00-3:20PM, 3 cr., with Prof. Enrique Cervantes
ENGL 140-143: POETRY WRITING I-IV
sections 7274-7277, (Online), 3 cr., with Prof. Karl Sherlock
ENGL 145-148: ACORN REVIEW: EDITING AND PRODUCTION I-IV
sections 4561-4564 (Online), 3 cr., with Prof. Julie Cardenas
ENGL 160-163: DRAMA WRITING I-IV (NEW FOR SPRING!!)
sections TBD F 10:00AM-1:05PM, 3 cr., with Prof. Walter Allen Bennett
ENGL 175-178: NOVEL WRITING I-IV
sections 1070-1073 (Online), 3 cr., with Prof. Rich Farrell
About Registering...
The single most important show of support you can give the Grossmont College Creative Writing Program is to fill our classes and keep our workshops thriving. Whether it’s weeks before the semester starts or weeks before it ends, less than robust enrollment can cause what is potentially the most important and inspiring class you might ever take to be put in the cross-hairs for cancellation. Safeguard these courses and your chances to work with some of the best creative writing instructors in San Diego. Invite a friend and hold your seats by registering early.
Our Mission
The mission of the Grossmont College Creative Writing Program is to serve and engage students, faculty, and the community actively through a rich variety of readings and other literary events, and to cultivate a diverse literary community that celebrates and promotes writing for the vital role it holds in our culture.
We also host the The Literary Arts Festival, conducted annually at the end of April's "National Poetry Month," a week-long calendar of events celebrating authors and the transformative power of creative writing in all its diverse forms. Each year, the Creative Writing Program hosts award-winning writers as one-of-a-kind, free-of-charge opportunities to experience literature beyond the page. All the details for 2022 will be available on this site!
Please consider donating to the Creative Writing Fund of The Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges to help the Creative Writing Program promote literary arts through continued sponsorship of opportunities and events like the Literary Arts Festival. Visit "Foundation Giving" right now to securely make a tax deductible charitable contribution. Your support helps us open up worlds of creativity to our students and community. Thank you!
