Truth or Fiction?

Truth or Fiction?

The JTS MFA in Three Acts

Wednesday, January 14; Tuesday, January 27; and Monday, February 9, 2026
7:00 p.m. ET
Online

The JTS MFA in Creative Writing is built around conversation about hard truths and strange fictions—about writing, teaching, failure, ambition, and why anyone keeps doing this in the first place. This three-part online series invites you into those conversations, with faculty and students speaking honestly about craft, community, and what it really means to commit to the work.

All programs are online. You can find more information about the JTS MFA in Creative Writing here. 

Session I: Just What the World Needs: Another MFA Program! 

Wednesday, January 14, 2026
7:00 p.m. ET
Online

Flannery O’Connor, asked if she thought writing programs ruined writers, responded, “Not enough of them.” So why add yet another MFA to the pile? And why JTS? Author and core faculty member Shalom Auslander and Dean Lisa Springer discuss the unique approach of the JTS MFA in Creative Writing, one rooted in and informed by our people’s historically “outsider” status, a program that eschews dogma and reverence and seeks instead to encourage the bravery and play that results in vibrant, disruptive, groundbreaking work. Or, at the very least, doesn’t put folks to sleep.

About the Speakers

Shalom Auslander is an internationally-acclaimed writer of fiction, non-fiction, stage, TV and film. His memoir Foreskin’s Lament was an international bestseller, his novel Hope: A Tragedy was a finalist for the James Thurber Award and his recent Feh was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is the creator and writer of Showtime’s Happyish, and a long-time contributor to NPR’s This American Life. He has published fiction and essays in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, and GQ, among many others.

Dr. Lisa Springer serves as Dean of the Division of Lifelong and Professional Studies (DLPS) and Associate Provost for Continuing and Digital Learning. In this role, she leads efforts to expand and innovate JTS’s education for learners at all life stages—whether they seek personal enrichment, professional development, or leadership opportunities. Through DLPS, she oversees programs that extend JTS’s world-class scholarship beyond traditional degree programs, making the institution’s learning more accessible, flexible, and relevant to today’s world. 

Session II: How To Write. Maybe.

Tuesday, January 27, 2026
7:00 p.m. ET
Online 

The first question prospective students ask is if writing can even be taught. The second question is, “Can I have the number of your agent?” MFA Director Etgar Keret and core faculty member Rachel Kadish tackle the first question (and maybe the second, but probably not) as they discuss the mechanics of writing—voice, story, revision, depression, anxiety, and coffee—and how they each approach what can be taught, and what can’t.

About the Speakers

Etgar Keret is one of the foremost writers of contemporary Israeli literature. His books have been published in some fifty languages and won numerous awards. In addition to being an internationally acclaimed virtuoso of the short story, Etgar explores a variety of storytelling techniques, including plays, screenplays, songs, animated and live-action films, comic books and choreography. Etgar is an Associate Professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is excited to guide the JTS MFA program’s vision and mentor emerging storytellers. 

Rachel Kadish is an award-winning fiction writer and essayist. Her work has been read on National Public Radio and has appeared in The New York Times, Paris Review, and Ploughshares; her most recent novel, The Weight of Ink, was a U.S.A. Today bestseller and recipient of a National Jewish Book Award. She has been a fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts, Radcliffe’s Bunting Institute, the Bellagio Center, and the Bogliasco Foundation, a Koret writer-in-residence at Stanford University, and a Fordham Jewish Studies Fellow at the New York Public Library. 

Session III: Let’s Get Pragmatic: What Is the JTS MFA Really Like?

Monday, February 9, 2026
7:00 p.m. ET
Online

Join current JTS MFA students as they share their experiences in the program and offer advice for anyone thinking of applying—from the application process itself and workshop culture to cohort dynamics and balancing writing with real life. Is it right for me? Does it help? Am I making a huge mistake? Should I just go to med school? Come with questions; leave with answers.

Add To Calendar