Faculty Writers

Do you benefit from writing alongside others who are also working on writing goals, to hold yourself accountable? Do you feel like putting writing blocks on your schedule will help you stay on task? Are you unsure about how to make your writing projects a priority in the midst of so many other responsibilities? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, our Faculty Writing Program might benefit you! The Faculty Writing Program (FWP) provides accountability and community for faculty through virtual writing accountability groups, conducted over Zoom. We offer Writing Groups (weekly scheduled writing sessions with a small group of colleagues across the curriculum) and Flex Sessions (drop-in sessions facilitated by a member of our team). 

The agenda for all sessions is the same: participants discuss their goals out loud, and then write independently for ~1.5 hours. At the end of each group session, participants debrief about how well they met their objectives. Over time, participants will improve their understanding of reasonable and reachable writing goals, and improve their ability to write productively in relatively short bursts of time. You'll also build community with writers from across the curriculum. New participants will be welcomed into the FWP with a brief "Launch Event" at the start of each term which will lay out the program's approach and ethos.

Writing Groups and Flex Sessions

Writing Groups meet weekly on Zoom with the same set of colleagues from across the curriculum. When you register for the Faculty Writing Program, you'll pick the day and time that works best for your schedule. Group sessions are available Monday through Thursday at either 10am-12 noon or 1-3pm and are self-facilitated by group participants. Writing Groups put a regular writing block on your schedule (that you should put on your calendar and keep like any important meeting), and your responsibility to show up for your fellow group members helps you (all) with accountability.

Flex Sessions are drop-in, come-when-you-can 10-12 noon Friday writing sessions on Zoom facilitated by Moriah Kirdy, Associate Director of the Writing Institute. Participants can sign up only for Flex Sessions (if you're uncertain about reliably attending a weekly group), or treat the Flex Session like a "bonus" writing group. Many participants, despite the flexible structure, aim to attend each week. If you benefit from a facilitator/guide, and are open to writing process and routine discussion coming into goal-setting and debrief discussions, the Flex Sessions will greatly benefit your writing.

Note that both Writing Groups and Flex Sessions take place virtually over Zoom throughout the year. During the summer FWP we offer a three-day in-person Writing Retreat and several in-person Writing Days for Summer FWP registered participants. 

Registration is currently closed for Spring 2026. Keep an eye on Read Green announcements prior to our summer session.

The History of the Faculty Writing Program

The Faculty Writing Program extends to faculty programming first focused on graduate students, including Graduate Student Writing Accountability Groups and graduate student Writing Days. Writing Days and Project Camps have been offered to graduate students by Ellen Smith and Jean Grace (our Director) since 2011.

The Faculty Writing Program launched in the Summer of 2020, shortly after the formal launch of the Writing Institute and at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. What was imagined as an in-person all-day writing session each week of the summer evolved to a year-round offering of both "Writing Days" (now known as "Flex Sessions") and Writing Groups over Zoom throughout the regular academic year and summer terms. The program has grown to encompass ~100 faculty participants from across the curriculum between both writing groups and Flex attendance. In the summer of 2023 we launched in-person summer retreats for our summer participants.

Testimonials

It's helpful to help protected time on my calendar to focus on my writing goals. The community adds some support and accountability which helps me actually protect that time (versus just marking off time on my calendar for myself).

One thing that I've loved about this semester is learning from the members of my group, who are from very different experiential and professional backgrounds. Their frameworks of analysis and insight into their work has been revelatory.

Having this dedicated, focused time each week has been very valuable for completing my writing projects. Knowing I will have at least those two hours per week to write also helps me feel less overwhelmed. Our group has a few core members who regularly attend and it's been great to get to know them and support each other.

Questions? Comments? Contact Moriah Kirdy (moriah.kirdy@pitt.edu)

Are you at mid-career, juggling your next writing project, service responsibilities, and career goals, and looking to connect with others with similar challenges? Join the Mid-Career Faculty Writing Accountability Group!

The group is an opportunity for mid-career professors in the tenure stream or appointment stream who are ready to make a serious commitment to their writing and career goals for the term in a facilitated, faculty-led, supportive and collegial environment. We'll meet weekly for about an hour over the course of the term (with a few scheduled exceptions), in order to check in, write together, share resources, and learn academic career strategies. The group is responsive to the members' interests and needs, but some components are:

• considering career and writing goals and mapping out paths to attain them
• checking in weekly on meeting goals and supporting others in the group through virtual meetings
• getting around burnout and restoring your interest in your work
• strategizing commitments--what to say yes and no to, how to delegate--in order to maximize writing time
• managing time spent on communication and information activities like email
• considering ways to broaden impact of your work, including publicizing and public-facing profiles on websites

Your facilitator will be Annette Vee, an Associate Professor in English who is working on her second book project while juggling significant administrative, advising, and family commitments. Annette has been researching strategies for time management and actualizing career goals and is working on implementing them to gain more time for writing and research. Annette has been facilitating the group for the last few terms and is grateful to Hannah Johnson, who led the pilot version of the group, along with Moriah Kirdy and Jean Grace in the Writing Institute for resources and support for this group.

You can join this group at the beginning of the term.

If you are working on your first book, you don't have to do it alone. The First Book Writers Group, facilitated by Caro Pirri, Associate Professor of English, brings together first-book writers for regular check-in sessions — both text-based and video — and a Discord community where members can connect, share, and encourage one another between meetings. Writers who participate often find that the combination of accountability and community helps them sustain momentum through one of the most challenging writing projects of their careers.

We advertise the group via email to department chairs at the beginning of fall and spring term or you can contact Caro Pirri.

Dana Nowlin-Russell is available to consult one-on-one with Pitt faculty who are writing grant proposals. If you are brainstorming or in the early stages of working on your proposal, working with Dana could be particularly helpful.

Dana has offered consultations since 2021 and teaches Grant Writing for Nonprofits and Grant Writing for Research within the English Department. She directs the PPW program and she is the associate director of the Writing Center. Dana is especially interested in helping faculty writers organize proposal information, generate and clarify ideas, work through writer’s block, and develop language appropriate for funders.

You can contact her via email to set up an individual appointment.

When you are scheduling your appointment, please set clear intentions. Provide a few sentences that answer these questions: “How can we make the most out of this session?” and “What am I writing about (or what do I want to write about)?” If possible, note any relevant proposal information, such as the funder's name (if applicable), focus area(s), and deadlines.

Resources

If you are a Pitt faculty member, visit the site for the Research Concierge Program. You will find links to the Proposal Editing Service and the Research Navigator.

The Office of Sponsored Program offers a wealth of resources.

And they can help you learn to use Pivot in order to identify potential grant opportunities.

If you are a faculty member in the DSAS, you can consult with grant writers Patricia Decker and Jacki Weaver, who work with the Sponsored Projects team. They can help with the development of grant proposals, letters of intent, progress reports, and other related documents, including both technical and non-technical documents such as biographical sketches and facilities descriptions. If you are a faculty member interested in seeking the services of the grant writers on an upcoming project, please contact Patricia and Jacki as early as possible in the process.

For support with honorific awards, visit Pitt's Honorific Awards webpage.

Examples

Sometimes writers find it useful to see examples of successful grants.

Open Grants is an open repository of funding proposals that you can browse.

You can browse successful National Endowment for the Humanities funded projects from the University of Pittsburgh.

You can also browse funded Mellon Foundation projects from Pitt faculty.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services maintains a list of funded grants, and you can see projects specifically from the University of Pittsburgh.