ucla english creative writing

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Professional Writing Minor Students Present Their Projects During The 2022 Capstone Seminar Colloquium

L to R: PWM Capstone Seminar Colloquium presenters: Amber Thatcher, Roxann Song, Lynette Caballero, Marilyn Chavez-Martinez, Kailee Silver Forty of the Professional Writing Minor’s seventy-one graduating seniors...

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The Graduate Certificate in Writing Pedagogy helped me hone my teaching of writing, but it also strengthened my pedagogy more broadly. Being able to speak knowledgeably about writing helped me during my job search, and in my current position, I frequently use what I learned about peer review, multimodal composition... Read more

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New Creative Writing Minor is Open to All UCLA Undergraduates

A newly established minor will expand the opportunity for UCLA students to receive official credit for their creative writing pursuits.

In replacing UCLA’s concentration in creative writing — which had been accessible only to English majors — the new creative writing minor will be open to all undergraduates, making it one of only a few UCLA minors in a creative practice.

The minor also is more expansive in subject matter than the concentration was. While the minor requires students to complete two workshops in a core genre —fiction or poetry — students in the minor can pursue such diverse practices as writing for computer games, songwriting and screenwriting.

Establishing the discipline as a minor will enable students who complete the program to list the achievement on their transcripts, a benefit that academic concentrations don’t offer.

The minor was designed, in part, to provide useful skills for students whether their post-graduate plans include advanced degrees or careers, even if those plans aren’t specifically focused on writing.

“We see it as excellent preparation for students going into creative industries,” said Reed Wilson, a continuing lecturer in the English department. “But we also are always hearing that creative thinking is a skill that potential employers are interested in. When we have alumni come back to campus, they talk about how useful thinking creatively is for their careers — even in the business world.”

To complete the minor, students must also finish a one- or two-quarter capstone project. Writing-focused internships — writing work at a literary agency or summarizing screenplays for a film studio, for example — could also satisfy the requirements for a capstone project.

Students must apply for the minor; entry is available to those who have completed English 4W, 4HW or 4WX; English 10C, 11, 20 or 20W; and at least one core workshop. In early winter quarter, applications will be accepted from students who will graduate in winter or spring 2024.

Wilson said the minor was also designed to ensure it would be accessible to transfer students. For one thing, the initial required courses will routinely be offered during fall quarter, so transfer students will have ample opportunity to enroll in the successive courses during the same academic year. In addition, students who have taken introductory-level writing or literature courses at a previous institution would likely have satisfied one of the prerequisites for entry into the minor.

Visit the UCLA Registrar’s website for additional details on the requirements for the creative writing minor.

Link to this article .

Photo: Hannah Olinger/Unsplash

Creative Writing Program Changes

Introducing our new creative writing certificate.

The Writers' Program at UCLA Extension is excited to announce that a new Creative Writing Certificate launched on June 1, 2020. 

The Certificate in Creative Writing is a fully customizable, immersive program for developing professional writing skills. The program honors each individual student’s journey, allowing you to pursue the coursework that is most meaningful to your specific writing goals and level of expertise.

The program offers the opportunity to specialize in genres like poetry, short stories, novel writing, essay writing, memoir writing, or to explore writing across genres, hybrid genres, and new forms without the limitation of prescribed curriculum.

The only required course, the Creative Writing Certificate Capstone , allows you to compile and further refine your writing from prior coursework into a final portfolio representing the finest examples of your craft. This final course will also help you to outline your next goals, whether it be new projects, publication, applying to MFA programs, or other career development activities.

What Does This Mean For You?

As a current Fiction Writing or Creative Nonfiction Writing Certificate student, you can transfer to our new Certificate in Creative Writing at no additional cost , and:

• Graduate in less time
• Count all creative writing courses towards completion
• Receive 50% off a manuscript consultation of any length* 

As of May 31, 2020, the Fiction Writing and Creative Nonfiction Writing programs closed to new certificate candidates. Existing certificate students who do not wish to transfer into the new Certificate in Creative Writing may complete their original program.

Please review the new Creative Writing Certificate requirements, as well as the Frequently Asked Questions below.

• To transfer to the new Certificate in Creative Writing, please complete this form . 
• To finish your original Fiction or Creative Nonfiction program, no action is necessary.
• Unsure which program better suits your writing goals? Our Student Affairs Officer, Carrie Truong can be reached at  [email protected] .
• Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ's regarding how to complete your original program, transferring to the new certificate, and manuscript consultations may be found below.

I want to complete the original program. What do I need to do?

You do not need to take any action, and can continue taking courses to complete the 24 units required.

What do I need to do to finish the original program?

To complete the original Fiction or Creative Nonfiction Certificate program, you will need:

• 6 units of Level I (Beginning or Basics of Writing) courses
• 9 units of Level II (Intermediate) courses
• 3 units of Level III (Advanced) courses
• 6 units of electives

See all Creative Writing courses

My Student Portal only reflects some of the courses I’ve taken underneath Certificate progress. What’s going on?

You can always check your completed classes and your grades in your Student Portal under “Course History;” however, the certificate progress feature is updated manually. The system may automatically fill out some of the courses you’ve taken, but for the most accurate audit of how your completed courses should apply to your certificate requirements, please reach out to Student Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] . 

I feel like I’m close to finishing but I’m not sure. How do I find out?

Please reach out to Student Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] . Carrie or another member of our staff will conduct a certificate audit to help you understand what requirements you have met and which you still have left to complete. You can use this time to get recommendations on which courses will help you meet your writing goals as you complete the program.

I haven’t been able to take the Level III or Advanced course requirement.

You may apply a Level II/Intermediate course to this requirement with advisor approval. Please reach out to Student Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] as soon as possible to request an audit. 

I haven’t taken any Level I courses but I have taken courses at a higher level. Can I apply those to that requirement?

You may apply higher level courses or electives to this requirement with advisor approval. Please reach out to Student Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] as soon as possible to request an audit.

I have completed all my required courses! How do I graduate?

Once your grades have been posted for your last class, please reach out to Student Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] to request a formal certificate audit and to begin the completion process.

I want to complete the new program. Can I get a refund of the original candidacy fee?

Certificate candidacy fees are nonrefundable. All Fiction Writing and Creative Nonfiction Writing Certificate students may transfer to the new program at no cost.

What are the main differences between the original Fiction or Creative Nonfiction Certificate programs and the new Creative Writing Certificate?

The Fiction or Creative Nonfiction Certificate have candidacy fees of $250 and require 24 units to complete with the following specific requirements: 6 units of Level I courses, 9 units of Level II courses, 3 units of Level III courses, and 6 units of electives. Upon completion, students have six months to receive a free 100 page manuscript consultation . 

The Creative Writing Certificate has a candidacy fee of $100 and requires 21 units to complete, and all creative writing courses apply. The only required course is the Creative Writing Certificate Capstone . Upon completion, students have six months to receive 50% off a manuscript consultation of any length.

I want to transfer to the new Creative Writing Certificate program. What do I need to do?

If you would like to transfer to the new Certificate in Creative Writing, please complete this form . 

Will I need to complete the capstone requirement to finish the new program?

Yes. Any previous courses in Creative Writing, regardless of level, will apply towards the new program, but you will still need to complete the 3-unit Creative Writing Certificate Capstone .

How do I claim my free 100-page manuscript consultation from completing the old program?

Please reach out to Student Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] as soon as possible to request an audit. Once she has confirmed you have completed all the course requirements for the program, she will send you instructions on how to submit the manuscript. You will have six months from the date of your last completed class to utilize this benefit before it expires.

Do I get to choose who reads my manuscript?

You may request up to three instructors. The Writers’ Program will reach out to these instructors on your behalf during the steps listed in the answer above.

I may need more time to submit my manuscript. Can I request an extension?

You may formally request an extension in writing to Students Affairs Officer Carrie Truong at [email protected] . As writers ourselves, the Writers’ Program understands the desire to keep working on a project and revise it until it is in its best possible shape. However, we implore you to consider that the consultation is a learning opportunity, and it is incredibly beneficial to students during the writing process.

I want feedback on more than 100 pages. Can I do that?

Students are welcome to submit additional pages past the 100 page limit included in the manuscript consultation benefit for consideration at the rate of $10 per page.

Learn more about Writing Consultations

Contact the writers' program.

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Short Story I

Learn the basics of writing short fiction in this introductory course covering the building blocks of good storytelling.

What you can learn.

• Complete short exercises and assignments to jumpstart new story ideas
• Explore plot, point of view, setting, description, and more
• Get tips on rewriting and revising drafts
• Draft and revise at least one new short story

About this course:

Summer 2024 schedule.

Enrollment limited to 15 students; early enrollment advised. Visitors not permitted. Internet access required. 

This course meets in person at the designated class meeting time and location. Students must be present at the course meeting time as each student’s final grade may include scores for participation. Please inform your instructor if you will miss a class meeting. You are responsible for any class information you missed. We suggest you arrange with a fellow classmate to share their notes when feasible.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PUBLIC SYLLABUS FOR THIS COURSE.

This course is held via video teleconference. Instructors use Zoom to offer live class meetings at the designated class meeting time. Students must be present at the course meeting time as each student’s final grade may include scores for participation. Please inform your instructor if you will miss a class meeting. You are responsible for any class information you missed. We suggest you arrange with a fellow classmate to share their notes when feasible.

Enrollment limited to 15 students; early enrollment advised. Visitors not permitted. Internet access required. 

This online course is conducted through Canvas, a secure website that allows students to log in to access lectures, discussions, and other course materials on demand. There are no required live class meetings. Each course is structured with weekly assignments and deadlines. Lectures and coursework are accessible throughout the week. Workshops are conducted in writing via discussion boards with your instructor and classmates.

Fall 2024 Schedule

No meeting November 28.

No meeting November 26.

Corporate Education

Learn how we can help your organization meet its professional development goals and corporate training needs.

Donate to UCLA Extension

Support our many efforts to reach communities in need.

Innovation Programs

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• Accounting & Taxation
• Architecture & Interior Design
• Business & Management
• Design & Arts
• Digital Technology
• Engineering
• Entertainment
• Environmental Studies & Public Policy
• Finance & Investments
• Health Care & Counseling
• Humanities & Social Sciences
• Landscape Architecture & Horticulture
• Legal Programs
• Osher (OLLI)
• Real Estate
• Sciences & Math
• Writing & Journalism
• Specializations
• Online Courses
• Transfer Credit Courses
• Conferences & Boot Camps
• Custom Programs & Corporate Education
• Instruction Methods
• Environmental Studies
• Accounting Fundamentals
• Business and Management of Entertainment
• College Counseling
• Data Science
• Digital Marketing
• Feature Film Writing
• Human Resources Management
• Marketing with Concentration in Digital Marketing
• Personal Financial Planning
• Project Management
• Sustainability
• User Experience
• Payment Options
• How to Purchase Parking
• Enrollment Conditions
• Concurrent and Cross-Enrollment Programs
• Bruin ID Cards
• UCLA Recreation
• Course Drops, Transfers, and Withdrawals
• Accessibility & Disability Services
• Textbooks & Libraries
• Financial Aid
• Scholarships
• Military & Veterans Benefits
• Tuition Discounts
• Tax Advantages
• Grading Scale
• Credit Options
• Course Numbers
• Transcripts and Enrollment Confirmation
• Receiving Your Academic Credentials
• Instructors & Staff
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• Career Resources
• Alumni Benefits
• Rights and Responsibilities
• Career Services
• Featured Jobs
• Browse Certificate Programs
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General Catalog

Introduction to creative writing.

UCLA Writing Project 2024 Summer Camps for Students

We at the UCLA Writing Project are excited to announce our 2024 summer programs for students entering grades 5-12 in fall 2024. This year we are pleased to offer two sessions for you to choose from, the first on campus, the second virtual.

Our promise:  We’ll continue to give students exquisite attention, and they’ll experience pleasure and joy as they find the best words to capture their thoughts.

Just what will happen during the workshop activities for students enrolled in Crafting The Story – Grades 5-6 , Literary Adventures – Grades 7-8 , and College-Ready Writing – Grades 9-12 ? Simply put, students will grow dramatically as writers. They’ll expand their stylistic repertoires, focus on a particular genre—but try out several others.  They’ll draft short and long pieces and gain confidence as they develop their individual style.  By the end of the workshop time, students will think of themselves as writers—a big deal!

And what about the entering twelfth graders in the College Personal Essay workshop ? They meet for just 12 hours over a four-day period. And that’s the perfect amount of time for zeroing in on the challenging and exciting task at hand: showing in what ways their hard work has translated to insightful understandings and how their experiences have built character.

What else should you know?

Our teachers are all UCLA Writing Project fellows.  This means that they participated in our Invitational Writing Project , a leadership institute that gathers wonderful teachers of writing PK-University—to share their expertise through demonstration workshops, to refine their own writer’s craft, to pay good attention to social justice issues in schools and communities.  They are teachers who love to write and to guide young students to grow as thinkers, readers and writers.

More still:

• All classes will offer students appreciation, support, structure—and fun!
• The day will combine whole group class time, small group sharing with peers, individual writing time.
• Those classes scheduled to be virtual will have synchronous and asynchronous components.
• All students will also have time to interact with their teacher one-on-one.
• Students in the two-week workshops will craft an anthology of selected writing. They will also receive a certificate commending their participation.

We hope to see you this summer!

Faye Peitzman, Ph.D. UCLA Writing Project Director

Crafting the Story – Writing Workshop (Rising 5-6th Graders)

Ten-day workshop from 9AM-12PM for students entering 5th-6th grades. Welcome, young writers! Join us for an exciting time of writing, reading and collaborating with fellow students.

Be a Force of Nature: Reading and Writing about the Environment – Writing Workshop (Rising 7-8th Graders) – FULL

Ten-day writing workshop from 9am -12pm for students entering 7th-8th grades. Two sessions: in-person at UCLA or online.

College-Ready Writing: Personal and Academic, Both! (Rising 9-12th Graders)

Writing workshop from 9am-12pm for students entering grades 9-12. Learn how to organize, develop and refine your writing, and how to find your academic voice. Two sessions: in -person at UCLA or online.

Online Writing Workshop – Crafting the Story (Rising 5-6th Graders) – FULL

Online writing workshop – literary adventures (rising 7-8th graders) – full, online college-ready writing: personal and academic, both (rising 9-12th graders) – full.

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Upcoming Events for Teachers

Teaching writing to multilingual english learners – teaching narrative writing – full, improving student writing: lessons and strategies to aid in writing improvement throughout the year, teaching writing to multilingual english learners – teaching analytical writing—literary analysis – full, teaching writing to multilingual english learners – teaching argument writing: synthesizing multiple sources – full, summer events for students.

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English 20W: Intro to Creative Writing

Hello, I am thinking of taking this class to fulfil my writing II requirement. Has anyone taken the class, if so, would you recommend it? It requires a supplemental application, so I am a little apprehensive about taking it.

• Humanities alumnus Boris Dralyuk on finding creative inspiration in his own immigrant story

Álvaro Castillo | June 26, 2024

When Boris Dralyuk came to the U.S. in the early 1990s, the 8-year-old found himself navigating an unfamiliar environment. His parents, Jewish immigrants from the seaside city of Odessa, Ukraine, had moved the family to Los Angeles to escape the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

At school, Dralyuk met a fellow Ukrainian immigrant who helped him adapt to his new surroundings by becoming his unofficial interpreter, lifelong buddy and eventual UCLA classmate. This transition to a different country, city and culture would also shape his path.

“Los Angeles began to feel like home when I began to walk the streets of my neighborhood at a young age, getting to know each crack in the sidewalk,” Dralyuk said. “By the age of 10 or 11, I remember being unable to imagine living anywhere else. I fell deeply in love with my neighborhood — my part of L.A. — fairly early on.”

Dralyuk, now the presidential professor of English and creative writing at the University of Tulsa, earned three degrees from UCLA: a bachelor’s in comparative literature and Russian language and literature; and master’s and doctoral degrees in Slavic language and literature. He is a former editor in chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books and is the author of “My Hollywood and Other Poems.”

In the spirit of National Immigrant Heritage Month, we spoke with Dralyuk about his experience with his adopted hometown — and how it has informed his personal and creative lives.

Can you share a memory that shaped your perspective as an immigrant and as a poet?

I think of my first visit to a supermarket, which I believe happened on our second day in Los Angeles. Seeing the extraordinary abundance of produce and everything neatly packaged, ready for consumption, filled me with awe and communicated to me the reality of the big leap that we had made. We would also go to bargain shops, which seemed like palaces to me. I appreciated that the people who shopped alongside us came from the widest variety of backgrounds. Being a part of that melting pot was a formative experience for me and fed into some of the poems in my book.

What first solidified your passion for poetry and translation?

One of the reasons I applied to UCLA was when I was in high school, I came across a review in a major magazine of a book translated from Serbo-Croatian. It named the translator, Michael Henry Heim. That was the first time that I had seen anyone doing what I wanted to do — translating — receive public acknowledgment for their work. So, I looked him up and it turned out he was a professor at UCLA. On my very first day of classes, I knocked on his office door with some of my attempts at translation. He invited me to sit at his desk, and we spent two hours looking at my drafts. I was only 18, but that interaction gave me confidence and affirmed that I was on the right path. I have UCLA — and extraordinary professors like Mike Heim — to thank for my career.

What has remained the same about Los Angeles that you grew up in?

Change is a permanent feature of the Los Angeles landscape. So is the influx of people with great aspirations and not many resources. But the challenges that people face are very much like the challenges that my family faced when we arrived. And the hope that we brought to Los Angeles is the same hope that so many people from around the world continue to bring.

That constant change, the snaking transformation of neighborhoods, that undulation is something I recognize and cherish — even as it scares me. It’s difficult to see your past erased. But that’s the nature of the past — it fades. The best way to hold on to what you love is to try to make art of it.

In the book, you translate a poem by Vladislav Ellis, who writes about the joys of Californian oranges and Ukrainian pastries. What foods — from any of your homes — resonated with you?

The first thing the United States gave me that I had never had before — and for a little while became a dangerous addiction — were Snickers bars. I haven’t had a Snickers in a decade or more. But when I was a kid, it was an explosive pleasure. And what I missed almost immediately, and continue to miss, is the taste of European tomatoes — the tomatoes of my childhood. I still haven’t had one that tastes quite as good as the lightly salted tomatoes I enjoyed on the beach in Odessa.

How can poetry, literature and translation contribute to the broader conversation about immigration and cultural identity?

Together, they give people the opportunity to experience the complex lived realities of other members of society — like immigrants whose lives look nothing like their own — and for a few minutes, feel how challenging and rewarding, how richly and recognizably human that experience is. Combined, poetry, literature and translation help people not to think of immigrants as hopelessly foreign, as simply statistics, but to see them as human beings who, like them, have mixed, deep feelings about the United States, and have great hopes for themselves and for their children.

What does it mean to you to share your own immigrant experience through poetry?

It’s a connection in two directions. First, it inscribes me in an already long history of immigration, especially to Los Angeles. It connects me to those who experienced life as émigrés, as alienated people making a home for themselves in a new landscape.

Second, and this remains to be seen, I hope that the poems I’ve written will serve as solace for future generations of émigrés from all parts of the world who will find themselves in Los Angeles and wonder: “Has anybody been through this before?”

This interview was adapted from UCLA Newsroom.

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I’ve always been a storyteller. But my professors in prison taught me how to write.

One incredibly surreal day in 2003, I was arrested by the FBI, thrown in jail, and informed that I was facing the death penalty. I remember gaping in disbelief as my court-appointed attorney tried to convince me that facing life in prison was “a safer alternative to the death penalty.”

So how does a guy whose government wanted to kill him suddenly find himself standing on the main stage at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, being introduced as the newest graphic novelist at Immortal Studios, creator of the world’s first interconnected series of martial arts fantasy comics?

What could possibly have brought me out of despair and defeat and onto such an unlikely platform to share my harrowing tale? The answer is education.

My time in prison began in 2005, after being handed two sentences of life without possibility of parole — times two. Back then, there were almost no self-help programs, and the paltry few that existed were not offered to people who were “never getting out.” What was the point? But I stubbornly refused to let my brain turn to mush by slipping into the status quo lethargy of televised sports, movies, and endless Pinochle games. Lacking access to formal college classes, I realized I desperately needed a project.

I thought back to one of my earliest memories as a creator. I was five years old. My first “movie” was about to begin. My parents beamed as the dinosaur blanket curtain opened. “And . . . action !” I chirped. I knew precisely how many Star Wars action figures it took to defeat the evening’s antagonist, my gargantuan stuffed gorilla. Though my mise-en-scene would have inspired no envy from Peter Jackson, and the applause was more loyalty than admiration, I was hooked. I had witnessed the miracle — my audience had experienced my inspired thought. I had participated in that most sacred of rituals.

I had created a moment .

“I was proud of myself for the first time in nine years”

I remember standing in my tomb of a jail cell, scouring books: Screenplay , The Writer’s Journey , The Screenwriter’s Bible , The Book of the Samurai . As homemade “scene cards” blanketed my rusty metal bunk, I started working on my own scripts.

After a year of scribbling with jailhouse golf pencils, The Canton Experiment — my original screenplay about the only Japanese samurai in China, in 1725 A.D. — was born (logline: “ Remember the Titans , with swords”). Thanks to a friend/typist playing Rosetta Stone to my tiny graphite scrawl, I signed an agreement with a producer named Payhuan Shiao, which allowed him to shop our project around to try to get the film made. Three rewrites later, as I was sweating in a desert prison, he asked me to write a treatment and screenplay for what he described as “the Buddhist Avengers.” 

Payhuan would later become the founder and CEO of Immortal Studios . Screenwriter and producer Matt Stuecken, known for 10 Cloverfield Lane and Knights of the Zodiac , became my story analyst. Every night, I typed into the wee hours. I’d complete a draft and FedEx it to Matt, and he’d FedEx back his notes, which were insightful and mercilessly blunt: “What is the point of this scene? Delete it.” I have never learned so much so fast.

But still, I found myself longing to find more than a mentor-by-mail who could refine my act breaks. I needed professors who could help me polish my unrefined, self-taught writing skills. With an educated mind, I could create stories that would inspire people and enrich their lives. I could create more moments.

Much as it had done for the vagabond prince, Aladdin, it was the desert that granted my wish. I was finally admitted into the associate’s program at Palo Verde College in Blythe. Though at first, I was limited to taking distance-learning classes, the one-on-one feedback professors gave me deepened my understanding of the material and increased my thirst for learning. There, I earned three associate’s degrees. As I held them in my hand, I ran my thumb across the gold embossed seal, and for the first time since my arrest nine years earlier, I was proud of myself.

“UCLA has always been a part of my story”

After a transfer to a lower-security prison, I continued my studies via correspondence, earning new degrees in American studies and business. This put me at the top of the list when Merced College finally brought in-person classes inside the prison walls. This was the most significant boost yet to my academic mindset. I was no longer taking whatever classes were offered; I was studying English and working with teachers who were themselves skilled scribes. The critiques and suggestions of my professors had a profound effect on my writing. I gained the confidence to submit my work and watched as it found its way into the pages of publications around the country . In 2021, I graduated from Merced College and became the first incarcerated student to be selected as Outstanding English Student of the Year. I was also in the first cohort of Fresno State University’s in-person college program at Valley State Prison. 

I transferred, almost directly , from prison to UCLA in June 2022, after I paroled from Valley State at the age of 48. UCLA has always been part of my story. In 1974, I was born at UCLA Hospital. Having earned my first college units in prison classrooms surrounded by barbed wire and cinder blocks, it is difficult to overstate how much it meant for me to be admitted into the hallowed halls of this institution, with its Gothic-spired buildings standing proudly in their red-bricked majesty.

My first ever social media post about the experience soon received over 1 million views. The editor of UCLA Magazine called and soon I — the same guy who had ditched high school more times than he had attended and whose most recent photo was a prison mugshot — was staring at his face on the cover of a magazine. In the two years since my release, my show called the Ben Free Podcast has just completed its fifth season and my nonprofit, the Ben Free Project , is already visiting prisons to provide educational programs to improve literacy rates inside. 

So how did I end up on that stage at Comic-Con? My mentors at Immortal Studios asked me to write their next graphic novel series based loosely on my own criminal justice experience. For Immortal, this would be the story of a wrongfully convicted man who finds his awakening as a hero in a very dark place. Soon I will be paired with an artist, and we will find out if my artistic vision is a match with his or hers. The first issue of my graphic novel will likely be published in mid-2025.

Earlier this month, the man who had begun his academic journey locked behind bars took the proud walk of “Pomp and Circumstance” and became a proud Bruin alumnus. My beloved red-brick buildings and sprawling green lawns at UCLA are already becoming mindscapes of nostalgia instead of landmarks on the way to class.

My freedom was taken away from me. Like the protagonist in my graphic novel, I was relegated to a solitary corner of a dungeon, without direction or purpose or hope. All that changed when I signed up for college and opened my first textbook. In April, I was accepted into San Diego State’s highly selective, 3-year MFA creative writing program focusing on crafting fiction, writing memoir, publishing, and instructing. I also just found out that soon, I’ll be in front of a classroom, teaching first-year students of my own. After all, if my education could become the guide that would lead me from the dark corridors of prison to the red-bricked hallowed halls of UCLA to the stage at Comic-Con, it could do the same for anyone.

Benjamin Frandsen is the formerly incarcerated founder and executive director of the Ben Free Project . He’s an honorably discharged military veteran and a published poet, writer, and memoirist. He recently graduated from UCLA with a BA in English and is currently studying for his MFA in creative writing at San Diego State University. Follow him on Instagram .

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Graduate Writing Center: Expanding Your Audience - How to Publish Outside Academia

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Presenter: Jessie Stoolman, Anthropology, Writing Consultant

Description: Where can your writing and research interests go beyond a field-specific journal article or academic conference presentation? Writing for non-academic publications offers graduate students the opportunity to flex their creative muscles and develop a broader audience for their work. This workshop will help orient students within the world of non-academic writing, providing guidance on where to publish, how to translate complex ideas for a general audience and strategies for writing a pitch letter to a non-academic publication.

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NFL.com: The 49ers Have the No. 1 Offense in the NFL

Grant cohn | jun 27, 2024.

• San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers brought back all 11 starters on offense and drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in Round 1 this year. And now they enter the 2024 season with the no. 1 offense in the league according to NFL.com's Gennaro Filice.

Here's Filice's breakdown :

"SIGNATURE STRENGTH: Kyle Shanahan’s scheme. The 49ers’ head man has established himself as one of the best offensive minds in football by running a balanced system that’s not just the envy of tape munchers but also many NFL coaches. Shanahan’s concepts -- which consistently put defenses in a run/pass bind through creative deployment and savvy play sequencing -- have spread throughout the league as the branches of his coaching tree have grown. So, how has he kept his own version of the attack fresh? Constant evolution. As The Ringer’s Ben Solak chronicled before this past February’s Super Bowl, the play-action passes that used to be the hallmark of Shanahan’s offense aren’t nearly as common these days. That said, the coach still leans on wide-zone runs, condensed formations and versatile personnel packages. Speaking of personnel, Shanahan has all-star talent at running back (Christian McCaffrey), fullback (Kyle Juszczyk), wide receiver (Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel Sr.) and tight end (George Kittle), along with a quarterback (Brock Purdy) who executes his system with aplomb. While the offensive line beyond first-team All-Pro LT Trent Williams still leaves something to be desired, Shanahan routinely schemes around it. This is a well-oiled machine with premium parts and a deft designer. WORRYING WEAKNESS: Kyle Shanahan’s scheme when trailing. One consistent knock on Shanahan: He can’t lead a comeback. The basic thinking goes that his offensive system runs great when San Francisco’s in control of the game, but when the 49ers fall behind and are forced out of their comfort zone, the attack stalls. Now, seeing how the Niners just overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Lions in January’s NFC Championship Game, this narrative isn’t exactly airtight. Though this pesky statistic lives on: Under Shanahan, San Francisco is 0-38 when trailing by eight-plus points in the fourth quarter. That’s admittedly a little convoluted, but it’s not nothing." -  Gennaro Filice, NFL.com.

With all due respect to Filice, I disagree with his analysis.

Shanahan is a good offensive coach but he's not the best one in the NFL -- Andy Reid is. And Shanahan's system isn't balanced -- the 49ers ranked dead last in pass attempts last season. And their signature strength isn't Shanahan -- it's their collection of six All Pros plus MVP candidate Brock Purdy.

Shanahan's system certainly is a strength, but it got shut down by the best defenses in the NFL last season. He couldn't figure out how to beat the Chiefs' simulated pressures in the Super Bowl. And his game management while leading in the second halves of Super Bowls is the biggest weakness on the team.

The 49ers offense may put up big numbers in the regular season, but in the playoffs when the games are do or die, I'm taking the Chiefs offense every time.

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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