Your World in Words

Want to explore the world of creative writing? Let the AFA or Certificate in Creative Writing at Anoka-Ramsey Community College help you get there. With campuses on the Mississippi River in Coon Rapids and the Rum River in Cambridge and the option of a fully online curriculum, ARCC offers inspirational settings, convenient ways to take classes, and support from award-winning, published faculty.

Our AFA, which offers in-person or online classes, culminates in A Writer’s Life: Publication Capstone, which gives students hands-on career exploration, publishing knowledge, and a polished short manuscript. Our AFA program also has strong transfer partnerships with Augsburg University, Hamline University, Metro State University, Southwest Minnesota State University, St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota-Mankato, and University of Wisconsin-Superior. Our Certificate is a streamlined degree that consists of our core creative writing classes: you can take it as stand alone degree or in conjunction with an AA degree.

Students connect with to our vibrant literary community through our Two Rivers Reading Series on the Rapids Campus, Minnesota Writers Series on the Cambridge Campus, Careers in Writing speaker series, our Creative Writing Club, and volunteer opportunities. Students graduate from our degrees with greatly improved writing skills that prepare them for the job market and four-year programs.

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Recent Faculty and Alumni Publications & Awards:

Professor Katie Berg:

  • Katie Berg’s book, Rock Climbing Minnesota: 3rd edition, was published in 2022.

Professor Kathryn Kysar:

  • Won the George Garrett Award for Excellence in Service to Literature, Association of Writers and Writing Programs, March 2025;
  • Organized and hosted Kate’s All Star Mega Music reading, a culminating celebration of Kathryn Kysar’s 2024 Creative Individuals Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2025;
  • Moderated “Breaking the Line: The Anti-Tradition of Lyric Flash Creative Nonfiction” and presented on “Crafty Conversations: Collaboration, Craft, and Creative Work” panels at NonfictioNOW conference at Notre Dame University, June 2025;
  • Was awarded an artist’s residency at Tofte Lake Center, Ely, Minnesota, July 2025;
  • Published her poem “your brother’s couch: 1977” Water~Stone Review, November 2025;
  • Presented on the panel “Battle for Authenticity: 2 Year College Strategies to Resist AI in the Classroom,” moderated “Smart, Scintillating, & Unapologetic: Bad B*tches over 60,” and co-hosted “Ice Out: A Reading of Minnesota Writers at AWP” at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, March 2026.
  • “Captivity.” Midway Journal. January 2023.
  • “A Mother’s Jet Lag.” Literary Mama. January/February 2023.
  • “Black Asphalt.” Hayden’s Ferry Review. May 2023.
  • “After You Leave.” Poets and Pints 10th Anniversary Anthology. Summer 2023.
  • “After the Lockdown: Dance Workshop.” Fourth River. August 2023.

Professor Kathryn Kysar & Professor Paige Riehl

Professor Eduardo Lerro

  • Professor Eduardo Lerro’s new novel titled Insurrection was published on July 4, 2025 by Antigone Press.

Alum Martha LaBine

  • 2024 Creative Writing Certificate graduate Martha LaBine’s creative nonfiction piece, “Red,” was published in The MJLC’s “Revolution” edition in December 2024. Additionally, four of her poems, “Demolish,” “Vessel,” “My Therapist, Rachel, Told me to Listen to ‘Rainbow’ by Kacey Musgraves,” and “I Am Worthy” will be published in The Awakenings Review this coming spring.
  • Martha recently graduated from Bemidji State University with her Bachelor of Science in psychology and a minor in addictions. In fall 2025, Martha plans to attend graduate school to earn a Master of Arts degree in counseling psychology and go on to become a therapist specializing in eating disorders.

Alum Russel Melby

  • 2024 AFA graduate Russell Melby’s short story “Men, Like Flies” was published in Black Petals Horror Magazine in October 2024.

Alum Katrina Monroe:

Professor Paige Riehl:

Alum Sana Wazwaz

  • Anoka-Ramsey Creative Writing graduate alum (2021) Sana Wazwaz’s essay, “How to Say ‘Survival’ in Latin,” was published in the web preview and the print edition of Hayden’s Ferry Review (Issue 75) and was nominated for the 2025 Best American Essay Anthology. She graduated from Augsburg University with a BA in English, Creative Writing Concentration.

Professor Tracy Youngblom: