Make your writing success inevitable.

Most writers struggle to find professional success on their own—that’s why there are over 250 Master of Fine Arts programs in the United States. Use the DIY PocketMFA to make your own program, on your terms, in your time, and according to your needs. All at a fraction of the price: $99/month.

Start your DIY PocketMFA

Or, explore our curriculum

What makes the DIY PocketMFA different from MFA programs or other online classes?

“From the beginning, our goal has been to make graduate level mentorship, community, and instruction affordable and available to more writers. We are proud to make the bet that there are thousands of writers like you, serious and talented, for whom the ivory tower model does not fit, but who still deserve the same quality of educational experience. We have taken all the best features of MFA programs and online instruction, and we’ve combined them into a unique experience in a new category all its own, accessible and available to all writers: the DIY PocketMFA.

The backbone of the DIY PocketMFA is pairing you alongside an expert author within a deep, long-term mentorship. Every month, your mentor will:

Connect sincerely with your writing
Respect and guide your journey as a professional author
Inspire your confidence with genuine feedback on your efforts

Our aim, unlike the typical online course or workshop, is to build up the whole of a writer’s skillset: craft, community, process, and publishing. We’ve spent years of research and experimentation to develop our unique Whole Writer Curriculum—both here at PocketMFA and at Antioch University, where I direct their Post-MFA Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing.” — Joshua Roark, Founder and Director of PocketMFA

Are you ready to be successful as a writer?

DIY PocketMFA Basic

DIY PocketMFA Pro

Most Transformative

$199/month

Upgrade your Coach to a Mentor
An immediate one-on-one kickoff with your Mentor to develop your Individual Syllabus: your monthly craft, writing, publishing, and community goals
Mid-month accountability check-ins from PocketMFA & your Mentor
Monthly craft guidance and evaluations + an editorial feedback letter on your writing + a one-on-one conversation your Mentor
Monthly free enrollment in one of our asynchronous courses on Craft, Publishing, Process, Community Building, and more (always growing)
Support of the PocketMFA Community through our exclusive weekly events: Writing Sprints, Mentor Office Hours, Public Readings, Reading Sprints, etc.

Enroll Now

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after I enroll? What if I don’t like it?

We understand that not every writer is a fit for our model of building success as a writer, and you can cancel the service at any time. However, to enroll for the first time, all writers are asked to pay for the first three months up front ($297 for Basic, $597 for Pro), as this gives us the means to ensure the Coach/Mentor’s work and schedule.

Immediatley after you enroll, we’ll send you the writer profile survey and the list of available coaches and mentors. You can get a peak at them ahead of time on our faculty page. Once you’ve chosen a coach or mentor and filled out your writer profile, we will set up an immediate one-on-one zoom between you and your coach or mentor to build an Individual Syllabus. After that is complete, we’ll then give you a due date for your first packet of writing at the end of the following month.

Please watch Josh’s useful overview video below as well for more details.

What is the difference between a Coach and a Mentor?

For PocketMFA, our coach’s intention is to provide broad guidance and real accountability. They’ll meet you virtually face-to-face during the initial kickoff zoom and provide concrete guidance through writing and reading assignments that will help you reach your goals. They’ll then review your progress every month as you send them a packet of your writing and reflections, and update their guidance and assignments. If they feel that you may need extra support, PocketMFA staff will be pulled in to help understand the problem and get you where you want to be.

Mentors do all the above, but with more depth and rigorous feedback. Every month, in addition to the progress evaluation and craft guidance, your mentor will send you an editorial feedback letter on the writing that you send them, giving actionable and manuscript-specific feedback for your writing. They will also be available every month for you to meet with face-to-face during their Mentor Office Hours, available exclusively to their mentees.

Will this help me get published?

Our aim at PocketMFA is to help writers find success, however they see it. Usually this means support toward agenting and publication with one of the big five or a great indie press, helping a writer land a piece of poetry of prose in a literary magazine, or even helping them to publish their work independently. Please see the tab below for the PocketMFA writers who have found that kind of success already this year.

We also have a deep view of publishing for our writers that seeks the essential experience of sharing work with others in a meaningful way, and this happens even more often in our community through our workshops, our writers groups, our feedback programs, our public readings etc. We believe that meaningful publishing experiences are actually much more accessible than we are lead to believe, and we are dedicated to providing them to our writers.

Recent 2026 Publications by PocketMFA Writers

Karen “Rennie” Watson’s short story “Auntie Z’s Ruby Reds and Pawpaws” appears in the June issue of Halfway Down the Stairs magazine, and her short story “B 11” has been published in the San Antonio Review.
Barbara Krasner’s successes can be found in this April post and this May post. Additionally, her new ekphrastic poetry collection The Wanderers is now available for pre-order!
Moses Sukumaran’s short story “Death of a Clockwork Priest” has been accepted for publication in the Strange Aeons 2026 anthology.
Alice de Hubp’s haiku “oh disguised lover” was the second place winner for Frontier’s 2026 (Not) in Love Haiku Challenge. Additionally, her poem “blue light” has been published by Northern Spy Journal, and her poems “Dear Mother, I,” “And now i will tear You limb from limb,” and “In This Country” have all been published in Spirit Lake Review.
Joshua Barnes’s poem “Queen Anne’s Lace” was published in the South Florida Poetry Journal. Additionally, he was selected for this year’s Bread Loaf writer’s conference.
Sonja Tomic’s poem “Rainbow” was accepted for publication by MWPA in their anthology Universe, Vast Universe, to be published this fall.
Amrita Skye Blaine’s manuscript Bird Rising has been accepted by Aldrich Press! Additionally, her poems “the shape of things” and “peeling wave” were accepted and published on Feed the Holy.
Marius Grose had three poems published by The Poetry Lighthouse.
Brad Barkley received a starred review from Kirkus on his forthcoming YA novel The Reel Life of Zara Kegg. (It releases June 16th, so you’ve still got time to pre-order!)
Shelley Lloyd has released a new edition of their chapbook, A Reading as A Reading: A DIY Resurrection. Purchase it here!
Erin Williamson’s short story “Litany” was published with Broad Ripple Review.
CJ Julisch’s piece “Forty-Nine Roses” has been accepted by Craft and will be published on August 14.
Kelli Logan Rush’s poem “Brothers” won first-place in the 2026 Poole American Heritage contest from the North Carolina Poetry Society and will appear in the society’s annual journal, Pinesong. She was also accepted into the Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference in Brevard, N.C. alongside 11 other poets.
Hal Bogotch’s poem “True or False” was published in <Remembering Hal Sirowitz> — an anthology by Moonstone Arts Center / Moonstone Press.
Our very own Lauren T. Davila launched a Substack where she’s talking about craft, writing, and acquisitions. She also revealed the cover of her upcoming short story collection, available for preorder here.
Alice de Hubp’s piece “I Want to Be a Kaiju When I Grow Up” was a finalist in Blue Crystal Lit’s Halloween Poetry, Short Story & Photography Challenge and is available for purchase here. Additionally, her poem “red, white, & blue” was accepted in the Spring 2026 issue of Reading Into Culture magazine, and she was interviewed by the editors for their podcast.
Jason Kahler has a new prose poem “The pills wear off in Munising” that was published in the inaugural online issue of Bayou Magazine. Additionally, his prose poem “Nailbiter” was published at Stone Circle Review.
Elizabeth Ambos served as the Poetry Editor for the premier issue of Pergola Literary Magazine.
Simoa Barros published a review of the short film Champagne in The Chino Valley Champion.
Amrita Skye Blaine had four poems accepted for the February issue of Soul Forte, three poems in the March issue of Verse-Virtual, and three poems + a painting accepted in the forthcoming May issue of Soul Poetry, Prose, & Arts Magazine.
Barbara Krasner continues a prolific acceptance streak in 2026! February is summarized in this post and March is summarized in this post.
Rachel Drouillard finished her MFA thesis and successfully defended it—congrats, Rachel! Additionally, her short story “Seven” was published in the inaugural issue of Nerve to Write.
Grant Chemidlin celebrated the launch of his poetry book In The Middle of a Better World: Poems which can be purchased here or anywhere you buy books.
Kelli Logan Rush’s poem “Tomato Trionfale” was accepted for publication by America: The Jesuit Review (forthcoming later this year).
Trevor Tingle received awards for his poetry in Poetry Society of Virginia’s annual contest; “A Pair of Wayward Drifters in Manitowoc” got 2nd place in the Edgar Allen Poe Contest and will be published in their anthology, and “As if by Some Mistake” won the Joanne Scott Kennedy prize for new voices.
Ja’net Danielo found a home for her debut poetry collection ECLIPSE with JackLeg Press; it will be published sometime next year.
Nicole Allensworth published a folio of three poems in Tupelo Quarterly (shoutout to mentor Kirstina Marie Darling).
Ennis Rook Bashe sold the poem “The Mind-Mage’s Daughter” to the online SFF magazine Lorelei Signal.
Frank Desiderio found a home for his poem “Scotch” (written fifteen years ago!) in the upcoming anthology about grain from Bainbridge Island Press.
Martha Elizabeth Shenton won First Place in the 2025 Dreamers Flash Contest with the piece “First Snow.”
Jordan Nishkian’s short story “In the Void” was reprinted in Issue 4 of Tabula Rasa Review.
Christopher Tarbi’s short story “I’ll Be Seeing You” was selected as a finalist in Narrative Magazine’s Fall Story Contest.
Jonathan Cohen’s second poetry collection, Coffee for Meg, is available to purchase.
Karen “Rennie” Watson’s short story “Better Than TV” has been accepted for spring publication by The Avenue Journal, and her short story “Ocean Drift” was published in the January issue of Pen in Hand.
Alivia Varvel’s short story “Dandelions and Diet Coke” was published in Interweaved Vol. 1 Issue III. It’s her first publication!
Maria Nilad’s poem “Philippinitis, Three Movements” was published by Cordite.
Barbara Krasner had a very successful January; check out this post. She also tallied her 2025 publication results here.
Navneet Bhullar’s essay “The Mourners” is a semi-finalist in The Blossoms contest of table/Feast magazine. Additionally, her essay “A California Summer” was published in Saranac Review.
Alice de Hubp’s short story “Women’s Work” was published in Lunae Lit Review (pgs 11-14); her poem “oh my god you’re my first foreign friend say something in Portuguese” was published in The B’K Magazine, Vol. 17 Issue 1; her flash piece “I Want to Be a Kaiji When I Grow Up” was published in The Morgue Mag, Issue 3.
Ennis Rook Bashe’s narrative poem “The Healer’s Tale” will be appearing in the “Total Party Kill” anthology from Nat 1 Publishing, and the poem “forest god as named by a girl buried alive” will be published in Issue 12 of Suburban Witchcraft.
Elizabeth Ambos’s poem “Star Fruit Augury” was named a finalist in Naugatuck River Review’s 17th annual narrative poetry contest.
Bonnie Day’s story “The World Soul” will be published in the February issue of The Windhover, and her story “Cycles” is available to read at Press Pause Press.

(Special thanks to writer Lydia Stroud for her regular collection of PocketMFA writer publication news.)

The average MFA costs more than $50,000 in 2026. How is PocketMFA doing this so affordably?

What do writers say about their experience with PocketMFA?

“I had a wonderful experience. My mentor really understood where I was with my writing and where I wanted to go. What my strengths and weaknesses were. After hearing several of my pieces, he was able to tailor my reading material and focus my path even more. I took major risks in my writing styles in ways I never would have explored to the point I didn’t even know if I was writing poetry but I workshopped them anyway and…turns out…I was! It pushed me to write beyond what I thought I was capable of.”

Sarah C.

PocketMFA Writer, Recent Publication: Poetry Collection "Underdog Bet"

“PocketMFA has become one of – if not the – most meaningful learning experience I’ve had in my writing life. Since my college years, classes and workshops at non-academic writing centers such as Grub Street have been helpful in terms of community and accountability (I’m in a poetry group that came out of a GS class) and certainly important to my lifelong learning. PMFA has been more than that: the wraparound approach centered on the mentorship and cohort models – that also includes opportunities for community (online check-ins, ongoing conversations, readings, submissions calendars), accountability (write togethers, zoom check-ins), and multiple ways of learning (libraries of residency videos, the Living Library) have made me feel truly cared for and guided toward my goals. This – and the concept of the working writer that is central to PMFA’s vision – are what have been missing from the experience of taking isolated workshops here and there. Additionally, Josh and Lauren both exude an authentic kindness, compassion and respect that is at the heart of PMFA’s mission. That is a big part of the care I feel here.”

Nicole A.

PocketMFA Writer, Recent Publication: Three poems in "Tupelo Quarterly"

“This was my second time around with PMFA and I grew by leaps and bounds. My primary goal was to work on my understanding of and effective use of POV, and I did just that with both new short stories and revisions of others. I thrived with my mentor, Kate, and our peer cohort, with everyone pushing each other forward. I met all my syllabus goals and then some (character development), and have become much more confident in my craft. I remain connected with some of my colleagues with the old cohort and have established strong connections with those in my new cohort.”

Rennie W.

PocketMFA Writer, Recent Publication: Short Stories in "Halfway Down the Stairs" and "San Antonio Review"

Becoming the writer you want to be will make your life better.

You’re an emerging writer and you’re frustrated by the journey.

You’re experiencing the same headaches we all experience:

rejection from a magazine, press, agent, or publisher
looking at your work and knowing it can be better, but not knowing how to to make it so
feeling overwhelmed with all the unknowns of the publishing industry
seeing a book at the store and knowing your book could do better
looking up MFAs and finding them too expensive, too exclusive, too disruptive
sitting down to edit and not knowing what to do next
receiving feedback that does nothing to actually help

So you google your options, but nothing grabs you.

You browse bookstores and goodreads for great craft books. You read blogs, you watch youtube tutorials, you listen to podcasts, you subscribe to another writer on substack, you check in on the old writing group that fell apart last year…

But you always end up right where you began, stuck. Either you are in that place Ira Glass famously called the taste gap, where your current skills have not yet caught up with your refined taste, or your skills are the best they’ve ever been, but you can’t see clearly the next step toward building professional success.

Until you discover PocketMFA, your forever home as a professional writer.

You join and meet your mentor—that first feedback and guidance gives you a burst of inspiration you haven’t felt in years. You join in on a PocketMFA virtual writing sprint, or a writer’s group, or an open mic night, and you finally meet people that see and understand your seriousness as an author. And you continue, month after month, building your skills, uncovering the mystery of publishing and your genuine desires from it, creating a real writing community around you and envisioning a rich, meaningful career ahead of you. Eventually, you look back, and you don’t know how you could be a writer any other way.

Don't Wait, Join PocketMFA Today

How do DIY PocketMFA writers learn to succeed?

We deliver a new method of online learning: the Whole Writer Curriculum.

At PocketMFA, you’ll develop a broad skillset through our Whole Writer Curriculum. This means that our instruction opportunities are not just around voice, description, forms, or other craft elements of your genre (though those are the biggest part of what we do!)—we also want to push you to develop a sustainable process, build a rich and authentic creative community, and strategically achieve your professional goals of publication.

This is functionally achieved through our 1-on-1 Mentorships, the active PocketMFA writing community, and our rich catalogue of graduate-level, asynchronous courses.

We’ve created the first-of-its-kind program that enables you to functionally build your own MFA at a fraction of the cost of a traditional institution, all the while prioritizing a more natural and organic pace than the two-year terminal degree.

Want to get into the details of our modified Critical Response Process for feedback? Our Dramatic Questions Pedagogy for instruction? Or just to chat about the latest ideas from the wonderful pedagogy researchers Chavez, Salesses, or Bain? Set up a call with Joshua Roark, our founder and chief pedagogy nerd to learn more.