It’s increasingly common for writers to get accepted in their second (or third) attempts at MFA applications. In this episode, Sean Dolan shares what he did differently his second time around that strengthened his application and landed him a spot in a fully-funded, genre-flexible program. Plus, he and Jared talk about how they return to the page even when it’s hard, the blurred line between autofiction and fiction, and, in Sean’s words, “the ephemeral experience of a short story.”

Sean Dolan is a fiction writer from Missouri. His work has appeared in Hobart, 805 Lit + Art, The Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. He is currently an MFA Candidate at Western Washington University where he is at work on his thesis -- a collection of short stories. He recently attended the Tin House Summer Workshop and will begin his position as Managing Editor of The Bellingham Review in the fall. You can find him on Twitter @SyannDoelann.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

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