Top 50 Creative Writing Professors on Twitter

Inspiration in 140 characters? Maybe. Tips, tricks, quips, recommendations, and rapid-fire interaction with some of the best creative writing professors out there? Definitely. Get your #followfriday on, and get ready to spend hours sucked into the Twitter machine reading pearls of wisdom dropped by these intellectual heavyweights.

Many of these professors are also published and fairly prolific writers, so following them might open up whole new worlds of literary goodness for students of writing in brick-and-mortar colleges, online degree programs, and the school of life.

@SalmanRushdie. Salman Rushdie @ Emory University. Brilliant and famous author of books like “Midnight’s Children,” Salman Rushdie not only teaches, he tweets! Follow him for prose, politics and updates on international news and writing alike. Although Rushdie is not a creative writing professor, the quality of his tweets and his literary prowess were enough to include him in our list, hopefully inspiring the creative writer in us all.

@Shteyngart. Gary Shteyngart @ Columbia University. Witty observations often accompanied by pictures, pop culture and retweets. You won’t be bored following this professor and author of the new book “Super Sad True Love Story.”

@JCBaggott. Julianna Baggott @ Florida State University. With tweets often intellectual enough to make you feel you’re in an online college course, author of the new book “Pure,” Julianna Baggott is a regular tweeter and good interacter. Book reviews and stunning insights, this author/professor will class up your stream.

@ForlornFunnies. Paul Hornschemeier @ University of Chicago. Wonderful artist of both the graphical and lexical realms, Paul Hornschemeier will delight you daily with posts from his blog, Forlorn Funnies; bits from his newest book, “Life with Mr. Dangerous”; and funny moments from his daily grind.

@elizmccracken. Elizabeth McCrackin @ University of Texas at Austin. Incredibly frequent, funny, informative and interactive — author of “An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir,” Elizabeth McCracken gives you everything you could want from a good Twitter stream.

@MSwander. Mary Swander @ Iowa State University. The Poet Laureate of Iowa, Mary Swander, posts about her reading, events, books and thoughts. Her memoir, “The Desert Pilgrim,” has won several awards and chronicles her quest for traditional healing after a car accident.

@Benjamin_Percy. Benjamin Percy @ Iowa State University. Self-proclaimed as both side-burned and growly-voiced this author/professor has written two award-winning novels, most recently “The Wilding”; freelances for Esquire, GQ, Outside, and Men’s Journal; and tweets earthily and intelligently.

@ReadyWriting. Lee Skallerup @ Morehead State University. Self-described “aspiring digital humanist” and writing instructor Lee Skallerup also writes a blog for Inside Higher Ed called College Ready Writing. She tweets constantly and interacts with followers all the time. Follow for a great resource.

@WriterSchilf. Michael Schilf @ Glendale Community College. Movie-writing and motivational tweets abound from this screenwriter/director/producer/professor.

@TheLitDetective. Paul Collins @ Portland State University. This historically oriented writer/professor will fill your stream with the wisdom of the ages (or at least interesting tidbits of the ages).

@BillWolff. Bill Wolff @ Rowan University. Wordsmith, photographer and creative writing professor Bill Wolff is highly communicative with his followers; join the conversation.

@RobtOlenButler. Robert Olen Butler @ Florida State University. Pulitzer-Prize-winning novelist and professor to boot — you can find nuggets of writing wisdom and much more following him.

@WordsAndEggs. Lesley Yoder @ Boston University. Creative writing and French professor Lesley Yoder tweets about typography, pop culture, her crafty side projects, her daily life and fun French things. She’s also been on Rate My Professor’s list of hottest profs for the last six years!

@GeoffHerbach. Geoff Herbach @ Minnesota State University. Professor and winner of the Cybils Award for young adult fiction, Geoff Herbach is helpful, positive and constantly engaged with his followers.

@AlissaNutting. Alissa Nutting @ John Carroll University. Whimsical posts, puns and updates on her readings, Alissa Nutting doesn’t tweet too often — just enough to make you appreciate it.

@DeanBakopoulos. Dean Bakopoulos @ Iowa State University. A frequent tweeter and great interacter, this novelist/professor keeps you informed and entertained.

@KerryMadden. Kerry Madden @ Antioch University. Children’s author Kerry Madden passes on bits of wisdom for her blog, her life and the literary world at large.

@Crucet. Jennine Capó Crucet @ Florida State University. Follow this professor and award-winning short-story writer for funny hashtags and insightful commentary.

@BillHerbert. Bill Herbert @ Newcastle University. Professor of poetry and creative writing Bill Herbert is a regular tweeter who brings you right into his delighting and classically poetic day-to-day.

@MansonWriting. Matt Manson @ University of Southern California. Retweeted writing resources and great articles are interspersed with political commentary in this screenwriter/professor’s stream.

@JamesBarilla. James Barilla @ University of South Carolina. Learn about wildlife, the environment and even writing occasionally by following this creative writing professor and environmental non-fiction writer.

@Oinkness. Oindrila Mukherjee @ Grand Valley State University. With regular tweets ranging from tennis to the weather and often pausing on the craft of writing, this creative writing professor is worth following.

@JaytotheTee. Jonterri Gadson @ University of Dayton (formerly Drake University) . Trials and tribulations of parenthood, dealing with stress, and teaching fill this professor’s often updated stream.

@PeterMoore. Peter Moore @ City University London. Tweet topics from this writer/professor include photography, historic correspondence and literature, and journalism — and of course his nearly-out novel, “Damn His Blood.”

@DeliaCabe. Delia Cabe @ Emerson College. This professor of magazine writing tweets you through the day with her. She’s engaging; she’s political; she’s a great, smart addition to your following.

@Elizabeth_Crane. Elizabeth Crane @ UCR-Palm Desert. Sometimes irreverent, always engaging, and highly communicative with her followers, Elizabeth Crane’s world view makes a lovely addition to any Twitter stream.

@Warnick. Quinn Warnick @ St. Edward’s University. Regular tweeter and professor of English writing and rhetoric Quinn Warwick “studies the Internet”, and his posts are witty and informative.

@DoctorAndree. Andrée Rose @ Chesapeake College. Tweeting in fits and spurts, this professor posts about everything from sports to being a Fulbright lecturer in Albania.

@Williams_Paige. Paige Williams @ Harvard University. Intelligent posting and retweeting make up this professor’s regularly updated stream. You’ll be glad you followed.

@love2write. Ellen Feig @ Bergen Community College. Follow this writer/professor for thoughtful and thought-provoking posts.

@LairdHunt. Laird Hunt @ University of Denver. This writer/professor tweets about new authors, reviews books, posts about writing and generally observes interesting bits of daily life.

@BetaJames James Schirmer @ University of Michigan-Flint. If you like beer, educational technology and writing, then you’ll love having James Schirmer popping up regularly in your Twitter stream.

@RyanCordell Ryan Cordell @ St. Norbert College. This professor is a daily tweeter about everything from pedagogy and educational technology to rhetoric and new novels.

@Prof_Anne. Anne Jamison @ University of Utah. Pop culture, follower engagement, occasional bits about parenting and trending hashtags galore — this frequent tweeter’s feed is full of the newest in pop fiction.

@GWBWshawn Shawn Patrick Doyle @ Cornell College. A writing consultant for first-year students at Cornell College — a title that he alone possesses, apparently — Shawn Patrick Doyle writes a blog called GoodWriterBadWriter and considers himself more of a writing coach than a professor. Tweets often come from this blog and recently include overcoming writing anxiety and designing/teaching an RPG creative writing class.

@ProfDavidMorley. David Morley @ Warwick University. Posts about poetry. Posts about progress. Posts about pedagogy and positivity.

@DrBrowne Kevin Browne @ Syracuse University. Deep thoughts on writing and living, communication with followers and occasional responses to television shows make up this prof’s Tweets.

@AnetV. Annette Vee @ University of Pittsburgh. This assistant professor teaches writing and digital composition, and she studies computer programming as literacy and intellectual property. Tweets are frequents and range from deep thoughts on turnips to code-as-art posts.

@JonBillman. Jon Billman @ Oklahoma State University. A retweeter extraordinaire, Jon Billman’s stream is a treat. Begin following, and delight in what he collects. (He also occasionally tweets about music, being an Okie and writing.)

@ProfSivek. Susan Currie Sivek @ Linfield College. An avid and frequent sharer, this professor posts about trending topics, grammar, daily life, and much more.

@CJPrender. Catherine Prendergast @ University of Illinois. The Director of Undergraduate Rhetoric Programs at the University of Illinois and professed lover of undergraduate writing, Catherine Prendergast’s Twitter stream is full of thoughtful responses, clever observations, and occasional great retweets.

@BendProf. Stacey Donohue @ Central Oregon Community College. This professor of composition and literature has a lot to say on the subject. Other topics include cats, day-to-day life, the Oscars, and communications with her followers.

@CaseyBoyle. Casey Boyle @ University of Utah. Assistant professor of English writing Casey Boyle tweets like a champ (read: often), and his posts are a nice mix of follower interactions and sharing of relevant topics, like how to cite tweets in academic papers.

@CharlesBivona. Charles Bivona @ Rutgers University. Creative writing professor at Rutgers and writer of The Active Voice, a blog about topics ranging from Buddhism to politics, Charles Bivona is a positive voice on Twitter and worth a follow.

@AManetteAnsay. A. Manette Ansay @ University of Miami. This Miami professor and author tweets about being a mother, writing, yoga and new trends in the literary world.

@VWagner Vivian Wagner @ Muskingum University. Professor and author of “FIDDLE: One Woman, Four Strings, and 8,000 Miles of Music” Vivian Wagner shares her work all the time on her Twitter stream, including recipes and articles on all sorts of topics.

@MCMorgan. M C Morgan @ Bemidji State University. Professor of English (specifically rhetoric, composition, digital rhetoric, wikis, blogs, social learning and “nu meedja”) M C Morgan has put a lot of thought, time, and effort into explanations of wiki writing and the like. Follow him to find out more.

@CorinneDemas Corinne Demas @ Mount Holyoke College. This college English professor is the author of a new novel, “The Writing Circle”, and a tweeter of moderate frequency. Her posts are warm, positive, and speak highly of others and volumes about her writing process.

@Diana_Joseph Diana Joseph @ Minnesota State University. Author of “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way” Diana Joseph tweets about becoming a painter, raising a baby and, of course, writing.

@Michelle_Herman. Michelle Herman @ Ohio State University. A self-described “New Yorker in exile”, this prolific writer and Ohio State creative professor tweets in occasional bursts.

Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar university student, enrolled in online college courses, or just a writer looking for tips, the writers and professors listed above are great resources who know where you’re coming from and can help you get past those first few lines. Give ’em a follow, and make a new friend… or fifty.

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