Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing program understands the value of our veterans’ experiences and the tremendous role their stories play in providing a more rich and diverse understanding of war in the 21st century. For over a decade, our program has fostered a strong and passionate community of emerging writers with military backgrounds and has provided them with the necessary tools and insights to nurture their talent and share their stories with the world.
In 2018, the College of Arts and Sciences proudly welcomed Marine Corps veteran and 2014 National Book Award-winning author Phil Klay (Redeployment) as a full-time creative writing mentor and faculty member. A Dartmouth College graduate, Klay served in Iraq’s Anbar Province as a public affairs officer before receiving his MFA from Hunter College of The City University of New York. His New York Times-bestselling short story collection, Redeployment, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2014, in addition to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s James Webb Award, the National Book Critics’ Circle John Leonard Award for best debut work in any genre, the American Library Association’s W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for excellence in military fiction, the Chautauqua Prize, and the Warwick Prize for Writing. Klay has been named a National Book Foundation ’5 Under 35′ honoree, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek.
