Colby College’s Creative Writing Program invites applications for the 2027–2028 Jennifer Jahrling Forese Residency. We seek a journalist with experience in deep reportage, long-form and investigative storytelling, or digital, multimedia, and podcast journalism. This yearlong residency provides a dedicated space for a writer to develop a major project while engaging with a dynamic campus community eager to explore the literary craft and public inquiry needed to create multi-layered stories that ground us in our shared humanity.
Our program sponsors a literary festival, a long-standing visiting writers’ series, community readings, the Kristina Stahl Writer-in-Residence Program, and the Jennifer Jahrling Forese Writer-in-Residence Program. Colby is a highly selective liberal arts college recognized for excellence in undergraduate education and close student-faculty interaction. We support students who edit two literary magazines, write for ECHO, Colby’s student newspaper, and engage actively in service learning and interdisciplinary partnerships. Our students benefit from an innovative curriculum that includes offerings such as short forms, documentary radio, and environmental writing. We are especially interested in candidates who, through their creative activity, teaching, and service, will promote inclusion and belonging at Colby.
Duties include teaching two classes, one in the fall and one in the spring, designed by the resident in consultation with Creative Writing Program faculty; delivering one public presentation of work-in-progress and one public lecture or workshop for a general audience; scheduling office hours; working one-on-one with selected students; and engaging with the broader Waterville community. In addition to a generous honorarium, Colby provides a stipend for moving expenses.
Qualifications: An MFA or terminal degree in a related field, at least one published book or a significant publication record, and experience teaching at the undergraduate level.
To apply, submit your application through Interfolio at https://apply.interfolio.com/193621. Include a cover letter, CV, a statement of teaching philosophy, a detailed description of the two proposed undergraduate courses, a writing sample of no more than twenty pages, and two letters of reference. The anticipated salary range for this position is $79,200 to $83,200, commensurate with rank, experience, qualifications, and other relevant factors.
Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2026, and continue until the position is filled. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be scheduled in late January 2027, and the selected candidate will be informed in early February 2027. For further inquiries about the application and information about the Jennifer Jahrling Forese Writer-in-Residence program, contact the director of the Creative Writing Program, Professor Arisa White, at aawhite@colby.edu.
Colby is a private, coeducational liberal arts college that admits students and makes personnel decisions on the basis of the individual’s qualifications to contribute to Colby’s educational objectives and institutional needs. The principle of not discriminating on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, caste, national or ethnic origin, marital status, genetic information, political beliefs, veteran or military status, parental status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, physical or mental disability unrelated to the job or course of study requirements is consistent with the mission of a liberal arts college and the law.
