After working as an outdoor educator and mountain guide in Wyoming, Professor Michael Brooks pursued advanced studies in creative writing. He teaches creative writing classes as well as a composition class called Outdoor Writing in which students learn college writing fundamentals while exploring their relationships with the natural world.

Professor Brooks has been teaching at Hope since 2019 and serves as the faculty advisor for Hope Taekwondo, a student group that practices martial arts. He also teaches in Hope’s Summer Bridge program. He is pursuing a doctoral degree at Western Theological Seminary focused on the sacred art of writing.

Areas of Expertise

Professor Brooks specializes in creative writing with a primary focus in fiction. He’s at work on a few novels and a linked short story collection set in a Michigan forest. His scholarly interests explore the intersection of faith and art. 

Education

• MFA, fiction concentration, Pacific University, 2018
• B.A., English and psychology, Hope College, 2013

Honors, Fellowships & Awards

• Creative Writing Fellowship Mentor, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, 2024 and 2025
• Fiction Judge, New Writer’s Award, Great Lakes Colleges Association, 2024

Selected Publications

• “The Seas of the Moon,” The Southampton Review (forthcoming) 
• “A Ghost in Flight,” Appalachian Review (forthcoming)
• “Still Birds,” Qu Literary Magazine, 2024
• “Iceman and My Inner Artist,” Redivider, 2023
• “L’Ombre Glauque,” EcoTheo Review, 2023
• “Smoke Signal,” The Windhover, 2023
• “Mask,” Wayne Literary Review, 2023

Selected Presentations

“Writing as an Echo of the Incarnation,” Christian Educators Association, 2019

Outside the College

Professor Brooks lives in Holland with his family. When he’s not hiking or rock-climbing, he writes and produces indie music. You can find his album Art from Darkness on Spotify or Apple Music under the name M Brooks.