Opportunities at CNF

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation pursues education and publishing initiatives in the genre of literary nonfiction. Its objectives are to provide venues, among them the magazine Creative Nonfiction, for high-quality nonfiction prose (memoir, literary journalism, personal essay); to serve as the singular strongest voice of the genre, defining the ethics and parameters of the field; and to broaden the genre’s impact in the literary arena by providing an array of education services and publishing activities.

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation is a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. There are several ways you can get involved.

Teach at CNF!

Creative Nonfiction is seeking instructors and curriculum designers for 5- and 10-week asynchronous online courses, webinars, and self-guided courses. We’re also interested in expanding our programming to include teen workshops and live workshops over zoom.

We’re looking for instructors and publishing professionals from diverse backgrounds and cultural experiences who are passionate and knowledgeable, with a genuine desire to help other nonfiction writers improve their craft.

We hire new instructors based on curriculum needs, which change from term to term. If you don’t hear back from us immediately, it doesn’t mean we’re not interested.

This is a paid opportunity.

Application deadline is July 31, 2022.


Internships & Volunteer Positions

Though Creative Nonfiction boasts an international readership and fan base that is constantly growing, the scope of CNF’s reach belies the size of our small, part-time, Pittsburgh-based staff. We depend heavily on interns and volunteers to keep everything running.

Creative Nonfiction’s internships and volunteer positions offer graduate and post-graduate individuals the opportunity to learn new skills while providing experience working in the realm of literary publishing. Because our office is small, interns often can become involved with various projects and gain an understanding of many aspects of running an independent literary organization.

Typical tasks include managing incoming submissions, corresponding with writers and subscribers, fact-checking and research, web management, and a variety of other tasks that vary depending on current CNF projects. Please note: Much of the work performed by our interns and volunteers is not glamorous, but is vital.

We value quality of work over quickness, but interns and volunteers should have the ability to multitask, work between multiple projects, and change directions often. Applicants should display strong research skills, attention to detail, a willingness to learn, and creativity.

Our interns go on to do great things!

CNF interns have gone on to become editors and published writers. They’ve moved on to organizations such as Architectural Digest, Esquire, Google, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, The Moth, and the University of Pittsburgh. A lucky few have stayed on at Creative Nonfiction as paid staff.


General Internships

We offer one or two unpaid general internships positions per semester and require at least a fifteen hour-per-week commitment. In summer, we require a twenty hour-per-week commitment for at least ten weeks, though we can generally work with interns to schedule around other jobs or commitments. Internships are onsite. At this time, all internship and volunteer opportunities are fully remote.

Application deadlines are as follows:

SUMMER: Internship runs from May to August. Applications are currently closed; deadline is typically in early April; internships will not be offered in summer 2022.

FALL: Internship runs from September to December. Applications are currently closed; deadline is typically in early August.

SPRING: Internship runs from January to May. Applications are currently closed; deadline is typically in early December.

Prospective candidates should be graduate students or postgraduate students. Applicants are encouraged to work with their school to get credit.