Laura Oliver, M.F.A.

Laura Oliver is the author of The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers (Penguin Random House), named by "The Writer Magazine" as one of the best writing books of the year, and additionally selected by "Poets and Writers Magazine" as one of the best writing books ever published. After 8 printings and being sold in every Barnes and Noble in the country for 8 years, the book is now available online. A developmental book editor, instructor, writer, speaker, and author, Oliver has taught both essay and fiction writing at the University of Maryland and St. John's College.  

Oliver is currently a popular columnist with the Spy Media Newspaper Group whose work is featured on NPR member-station WHCP 91.7 every Wednesday at 12:30 on “This Is How the Story Goes.” Her fiction and essays are published in national newspapers, magazines and top-tier literary reviews (The Washington Post, Country Living Magazine, The Writer Magazine, The Sun Magazine, Glimmer Train Stories, Charleston Magazine, Portland Magazine, The Baltimore Review, The Delmarva Review, Rosebud, Redux, Loose Change and Annapolis LIfestyle to name a few.) Among other distinctions, she is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction, an Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, a two-time Glimmer Train Short Fiction finalist, and her work has been nominated for inclusion in the Pushcart Prize Collection. 

Co-creator of The Writing Intensive at St. John's College, Oliver holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College, a Bachelor of Arts in English from Washington College, and has completed multiple writing seminars in creative non-fiction at the University of Iowa. She has completed numerous professional education seminars for members of the Maryland Psychological Association including seminars on Positive Psychology taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty, workshops on somatic imagery and career construction in the 21st century. A popular motivational speaker, Oliver has presented workshops combining positive psychology and the transformative power of writing at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Wellness House, and Hospice of the Chesapeake.