Progressive MA in Literary Editing and Publishing

• A course plan, completed with your advisor
• Two letters of recommendation from USC faculty, at least one of which should be from the English department*
• A copy of your STARS report
• A statement of purpose (500 words)
• Essay prompt response (500–750 words)
• A writing sample of 7–10 pages, which may be critical or creative
• A resume

* This may not always be possible, so letters from faculty in related disciplines may also be considered.​

This seminar provides an overview of literary genres and publication practices in preparation for advanced study in later courses within the program. Materials will include representative works and a series of readings and conversations. Genres include fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, and writing for stage and screen. Students will be introduced to the formal elements of these genres, and will practice writing short texts in each of these forms. Class time will be divided into lectures on the genres; seminar-style discussion of the texts; author visits; and workshop-style discussion of student work.

Explore editing and publishing within the tradition of literary and cultural influences on a wide range of authors, genres, and readers. You will embrace writing as an interaction, not a solitary activity but as our own small piece of a continuum.

This intensive workshop in applied English coordinates literary analysis with editing and publication, including relationships with authors; academic and trade presses; editing, and design. Practice editing as a craft, learning how to discover an author’s rhetorical and structural preferences, and explore techniques for combining editing, design, and production.

Examine in depth and put into practice the concepts and techniques unique to specific genres of nonfiction, including profile writing, science writing, memoir, food writing, place and travel writing, and personal essay. You will work intensively with one genre of nonfiction, and learn skills that are transferable to all forms of nonfiction writing and flexible to a transforming publishing landscape.

Introduction to skill sets needed to enter the profession; development of student interests as they fit in the literary landscape.

Compose, design, and fabricate electronic texts, prepare them for publication, and put them out into the world. Learn and analyze the formal, technical, and philosophical debates that have arisen as publication venues have expanded and evolved, and build a portfolio of work in multiple media that is informative and critically engaged.

Unsolicited manuscripts were said to arrive at a publisher’s office “over the transom”—over the small horizontal window above the door—to be found in a pile in the morning. Discover publishing on both sides of the electronic transom and cross the boundary from the author’s point of view to the editor’s, following a single piece of writing from manuscript to print or online publication.

Work side-by-side with practicing writers in Los Angeles—in media outlets, in news bureaus, with web content creators, and literary agencies—and see how they transform the media landscape and react to its changes. Explore the real-life demands of your chosen industry and the effect of those demands on the direction of your own work.