Liberty partners with Karen Kingsbury to establish new Center for Creative Writing

• The center just ended its first semester, as it officially started last summer, and is looking to expand and improve.
• The center added a new minor in creative writing with four different, new courses.

Liberty University welcomes a new creative writing minor in the College of Arts and Sciences through a partnership with No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Karen Kingsbury.

The Karen Kingsbury Center for Creative Writing partnership began in summer 2017.

Students can add a minor in creative writing to any bachelor’s degree through both residential and online classes. The minor consists of 15 credit hours with four specific courses: Introduction to Creative Writing; Introduction to Inspirational Writing; Editing, Layout and Publishing; and Methods and Materials of Research

Roger Schultz, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the Karen Kingsbury Center for Creative Writing is going to be a tremendous opportunity for students.

“The university is invested in helping people identify their calling,” Schultz said. “We believe that there are people who are passionate about writing who feel called to do that. These courses will be excellent preparation for those developing their gifts.”

Kingsbury had an ongoing partnership with Liberty through her involvement at the university as a guest speaker in both graduate and undergraduate classes. Liberty University recently recognized her contribution through an honorary doctorate.

According to Schultz, Kingsbury is a master at delivering content and developing a message. These tools will be essential to the students pursuing the opportunity to grow as creative writers.

“No one that I know has the experience with writing fiction that Karen does,” Schultz said. “She’s written so many books, and they’re so successful and acclaimed.”

Each student must meet certain requirements upon completion of the minor.

“Our expectation is that students will be able to write clearly and persuasively,” Schultz said. “We want them to be able to tell a story in a creative fashion.”

Along with the requirements, Schultz said he personally has high hopes for those pursuing a career in writing after learning under the teaching of a best-selling author.

“My goal is that we find other people who have gifts in the area of writing and they want to do that to serve their communities, their church and a broader Christian community,” Schultz said.

According to Shultz, students will learn much under the teaching of Kingsbury because she is both personable and professional.

“She is such a sweet Christian lady,” Schultz said. “Sitting down and visiting with Karen is so refreshing because she’s very friendly and very accessible. She’s just an outstanding representative for the university.”

Kingsbury said she is excited for the opportunity to partner with Liberty University to help shape the minds of future writers who will impact the world for Christ.

“It’s an honor beyond what I could imagine to see Liberty University expanding its academic offerings to include the Center for Creative Writing,” Kingsbury said in an email. “I am looking forward to the many published authors and professional writers who will come through this program and contribute to making this world a better place for Jesus.”

The next acceptance deadline is Dec. 20, 2017. For a list of course requirements, visit the Liberty University Online Programs website.

 

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