About M.J.

M.J. Schwartz has a B.A. in psychology from Smith College, where she studied perfectionism with one of the field’s leading researchers. During her time at Smith, M.J. was the 2023 recipient of the English Department’s Gertrude Posner Spencer prize for excellence in fiction writing, as well as the Gertrude Posner Spencer prize for excellence in nonfiction writing, and received an honorable mention for the Tryon Prize in Writing.

M.J.’s essays have appeared in Ghost Girls, The Hong Kong Review. and The Sewanee Review. She is a lifetime writer in residence at The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, AR.

M.J. is currently writing her debut nonfiction book.

M.J. is the creative force behind The Syllabus is a Living Document, a writing community She enjoys growing in community with other writers who are committed to the process of continuous artistic evolution. M.J. does not buy into the tortured writers trope, or that all writers hate writing, they only love having written. If you don’t love it, if you don’t need to write in the same way you need water and air, just stop. Life is so precious and fleeting. Go find joy! If, however, you love writing, and sometimes feel like you need a creative nudge, or need new tools to take your writing to the next level, you are in the right place. To that end, M.J. puts a great deal of care into every product, prompt, webinar, and e-course with your learning and enjoyment in mind.