Many writing and cartooning programs cost roughly the price of a new BMW. Our program, on the other hand, costs about as much as a nice new bike. And as a program we are much like a bicycle: not flashy, but nimble. Human powered. Something old that is also new. The future.

Furthermore, while we are all for traditional undergraduate and MFA programs (many of our instructors have MFA's), we're critical of the skewed exchange that sometimes takes place between students and large educational institutions, especially when it comes to writing and the arts. At the same time that many students graduate with large debt loads, they're also denied further access to the very institutions that created that debt. On the other hand, tuition in our Certificate Program is also an investment in the IPRC's publishing resources and vibrant community which are forever available to all our students, and that will continue to develop and grow with each "investment."

"It's possible that the IPRC is the future of both writing and publishing—a place committed to the study of prose and poetry, but also the craft of layout, printing, and binding as well. To see the books and zines produced at the IPRC on a daily basis is to witness that the culture of print—i.e. the culture of thought itself—might not be dying after all. Hell, at the IPRC it's even thriving." - Jon Raymond

If you have any questions about the program, feel free to contact Justin Hocking at justin@iprc.org, or by calling 503-827-0249.

Fiction / Non-Fiction

The IPRC's Fiction/Nonfiction track is one of the most innovative creative writing programs in the country, featuring the unique combination of graduate-level writing workshops plus intensive training in Book Arts, graphic design, digital publishing and more.

As tectonic shifts rock the entire publishing industry , the IPRC empowers a new generation of writers to create and publish their own work.

Fall Semester 2015:

Core Creative Writing Workshop with instructor/IPRC Director Justin Hocking and/or IPRC Program Coordinator A.M. O'Malley. Will meet once a week for 3 hours.
Intro intensive weekend with Justin Hocking, A.M. O'Malley, and Kevin Sampsell.
Past guest lectures have been taught by Kevin Sampsell, Cheryl Strayed, Jon Raymond, Arthur Bradford, Vanessa Veselka and others.

Spring Semester 2016:

Intensive workshop in Production, Design, and Book Arts facilitated by Michael D'Alessandro. Will meet once a week for 2-3 hours. Final project will be a book or chapbook, self-published and perfect-bound at the IPRC.

Spring Semester for Fiction/Nonfiction will also include:

Intro + Advanced letterpress workshops
Screenprinting workshop (taught in the IPRC's new screenprinting studio)
Beginning and Advanced InDesign instruction
Perfect-binding machine workshop
E-Book creation and publication with Natalie Guidry
Webdesign + social media instruction
*Note: This schedule is subject to change
For tuition costs and dates, please click here!

Low-Residency Program

The IPRC's Low-Residency Program is one of the most innovative creative writing programs in the country, featuring the unique combination of graduate-level writing workshops plus intensive training in Book Arts, graphic design, digital publishing and more.
As tectonic shifts rock the entire publishing industry , the IPRC empowers a new generation of writers to create and publish their own work.

Course Outline:

A weeklong writing workshop at the IPRC's 4,000 sq. ft. creative wonderland in Portland, Oregon (August 24-30, 2015).
Convenient, correspondence-based writing workshops with Justin Hocking, A.M. O'Malley, and others (September through Mid-December, 2015).
Optional training in book arts, letterpress printing, and graphic design.
Optional college credit from the University of Oregon.

Program Description:

The IPRC's traditional Certificate Program has been going strong for almost six years now. Based on the success of the Certificate Program, we're highly enthusiastic about launching this new Low Residency version in late summer 2015, so that we can accommodate students who live outside the Portland area, and/or local students who prefer this alternative format.
The Low Residency program will begin with a weeklong residency here at the Independent Publishing Resource Center in late August 2015. Students are invited for a reception on the night of Sunday, August 24th. Following that, we'll host daily writing workshops, craft seminars, letterpress-printing intensives, and guest lectures throughout the week of August 25 through August 29th, culminating with a group reading/celebration on Saturday August 30th.
From September through mid-December, the writing workshop will continue via correspondence.
For those interested in publishing & production, we'll offer another weeklong residency at the IPRC beginning on the weekend of the Martin Luther King Holiday in late January 2016. This particular residency will empower students to publish the work they've generated during the workshop by providing them with training in Book Arts, letterpress printing, screenprinting, graphic design & digital publishing.
Students will be responsible for acquiring their own accommodations and food during the weeklong residencies in Portland.
Cost for the August residency and the Fall 2015 correspondence-based workshop is $875. The optional production workshop in late January 2016 will be in the the $350 price range.
The application process for the program is quite simple. We ask that students download and complete the pdf application form available on the "Certificate Application" page, and also send a writing sample in the genre of their choice (Fiction/Nonfiction or Poetry). Applicants should also please write "Low Residency Program Applicant" at the top of the application form. Applications are due by July 31st, 2015, but early application is highly encouraged.
For further information please contact justin@iprc.org.