Wireside Chat Featuring Amber Logan

Join us as Wireside Chat welcomes Online MFA instructor Amber Logan! Amber is a university professor, freelance editor, and author of speculative fiction living in Kansas with her husband and two children. In addition to degrees in Psychology, Liberal Arts, and International Relations, Amber holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England. Her debut novel, The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn (CamCat 2022), is an adult retelling of the children's classic The Secret Garden. Tune in as we talk about retellings, how a creative writing PhD differs from an MFA, and more!

Wireside Chat Featuring Nicole Melleby

Wireside Chat is proud to welcome Online MFA instructor Nicole Melleby! Nicole is an award-winning author with an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. If you have wondered how publishers draw the line between MG and YA fiction, here is your chance to learn from an expert! As a writer whose books feature LGBTQ+ characters, Nicole has also been on the front lines of book bans and challenges. We talk with her about her writer's journey, upcoming projects, and how writers can fight back against censorship.

Word for Word Graduate Spotlight 2025

Word for Word honors five recent graduates of SNHU's online  BA, MA, and  MFA creative writing programs. Recommended by instructors and selected by Associate Deans Jacob Powers and Paul Witcover for their high literary achievement, these five  outstanding writers read from their work, representing all the graduates of their respective programs. 

Word for Word: Agents and Agenting Panel, featuring Joshua Bilmes and Lucienne Diver

Word for Word welcomes two of the top literary agents in the business, Joshua Bilmes and Lucienne Diver, for a discussion of the role agents play in the publishing world and what the career of a literary agent requires in an age of seismic changes to the literary landscape. 

Word for Word featuring Tananarive Due

Word for Word proudly welcomes award-winning author Tananarive Due! A leading voice in Black speculative fiction, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award and a British Fantasy Award. Join us as she reads from and discusses her latest novel, The Reformatory, a searing work of history, resilience, and the supernatural. 

Wireside Chat featuring Tracy Crow Weidemaier

Wireside Chat proudly welcomes instructor Tracy Crow Weidemaier! Author. Literary Agent. Editor. Publisher. Veteran. Tracy wears many hats! Listen in as we talk about career multitasking, her work with the MilSpeak Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting creative writing in the military community, and her fiction, nonfiction and work-for-hire projects!

Word for Word featuring Jeffrey Ford

Word for Word is proud to welcome award-winning author Jeffrey Ford! Ford’s fiction has garnered World Fantasy, Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Nebula awards. Join us as Jeff reads a new story, "Plunged in the Years," discusses his writing apprenticeship with John Gardner, and shares his wisdom about workshopping, the writer's subconscious, and more!

Wireside Chat: MA or MFA - A Look at SNHU's Graduate Creative Writing Programs

In this special edition of Wireside Chat, Associate Deans Paul Witcover and Jacob Powers answer questions about SNHU's online MFA and MA creative writing programs. If you are a creative writer looking to take your passion for words to the graduate level, this is a great place to start!     

Word for Word Featuring the Penmen Review Fall Fiction Contest Winners

The five winners of the 10th Annual Penmen Review Fall Fiction Contest read their winning stories and discuss their writing journeys. Welcome N. Ryan Tucker, Jesse Teller, Amy Midgett, Jenel Alan, and Megan Okonsky!

Wireside Chat featuring Frank Sennett

In which Wireside Chat hosts Melissa Hart and Paul Witcover welcome instructor and author Frank Sennett, who talks about the pacing and structure of thrillers, his surprising favorite novel, how to develop your unique voice as a writer, and much more!