Catching up with poetry alum Andy McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09):
Looks like Southern Indiana Review is taking "Suicide Watch" and Greensboro Review is taking my review of Joshua Poteat's second collection: Illustrating the Machine that Makes the World. Also, check out my website I just launched at www.AndrewMK.com
Congrats, Andy!!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
News from SIUC MFA alums!!
Congrats to these poetry alums on their recent acceptances! Keep the good news coming!
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10):
“Place of Rest” is forthcoming at Vallum; “Float Trip” and “News of Surgery” are forthcoming at Cutthroat; “Peregrination” and “Open Mic” are forthcoming at Exit 7; and, “As Broken in the End” is forthcoming at Bellevue Literary Review.
Kerry James Evans (MFA '09):
Moon City Review took "The Patient Curse" and the Pinch took "Waiting for Fire."
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10):
“Place of Rest” is forthcoming at Vallum; “Float Trip” and “News of Surgery” are forthcoming at Cutthroat; “Peregrination” and “Open Mic” are forthcoming at Exit 7; and, “As Broken in the End” is forthcoming at Bellevue Literary Review.
Kerry James Evans (MFA '09):
Moon City Review took "The Patient Curse" and the Pinch took "Waiting for Fire."
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Pinckney Benedict Update!
More kudos for Pinckney Benedict's fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories!
Nobbie Awards
MIRACLE BOY has been selected for one of the 2010 Nobbie Awards for the Best Books of the Year over at The Nervous Breakdown.
"Absolutely phenomenal short story collection—kind of a Stephen King meets Flannery O'Connor experience. The title tale— a young boy's feet are accidentally chopped off by his father in a farming accident, and he and his friends must cope—may just be the best short story ever written. Other stories feature kids trying to spy dead people in a wrecked car, stories of hauntings, bodily possession, and the approaching end of the world--all set in back-roads communities, and all told with tremendous literary skill. (Press 53)"
Nobbie Awards
MIRACLE BOY has been selected for one of the 2010 Nobbie Awards for the Best Books of the Year over at The Nervous Breakdown.
"Absolutely phenomenal short story collection—kind of a Stephen King meets Flannery O'Connor experience. The title tale— a young boy's feet are accidentally chopped off by his father in a farming accident, and he and his friends must cope—may just be the best short story ever written. Other stories feature kids trying to spy dead people in a wrecked car, stories of hauntings, bodily possession, and the approaching end of the world--all set in back-roads communities, and all told with tremendous literary skill. (Press 53)"
Storyspotting: Shawn Mitchell and Sarah McCartt-Jackson
Now available: NANO #4, featuring work by second-year fiction writer Shawn Mitchell and third-year poet Sarah McCartt-Jackson:
NANO fiction
NANO fiction
Good News Galore from Current Students and Grads
John Stanford Owen, second-year poet, has had his poem "In 1991" accepted for publication in the Yalobusha Review.
Leslie Adams, second-year poet, has won the Yellowwood Prize!! (Sponsored by the Yalobusha Review!)
Amy Blache Graziano, MFA '07 (poetry), has had her prose poem "The Dog" accepted for publication in Quick Fiction.
Alex Lumans (MFA '09 fiction) has a boatload of good news:
I just found out that John Brandon picked my story "No Wants, No Returns" for the 2011 Barry Hannah Fiction Prize that's put on by the Yalobusha Review. It'll come out in their next issue in February.
I also won third place in the Sycamore Review's 2010 Wabash Poetry Prize. January, Winter/Spring issue. Don't ask me how.
And a story of mine, "The Crow That is Still Eating Chicago" (which is secretly dedicated to Flaherty and his Bears), was accepted for publication by Prime Number.
LINKS:
Yalobusha Review
Quick Fiction
Sycamore Review
Prime Number
Leslie Adams, second-year poet, has won the Yellowwood Prize!! (Sponsored by the Yalobusha Review!)
Amy Blache Graziano, MFA '07 (poetry), has had her prose poem "The Dog" accepted for publication in Quick Fiction.
Alex Lumans (MFA '09 fiction) has a boatload of good news:
I just found out that John Brandon picked my story "No Wants, No Returns" for the 2011 Barry Hannah Fiction Prize that's put on by the Yalobusha Review. It'll come out in their next issue in February.
I also won third place in the Sycamore Review's 2010 Wabash Poetry Prize. January, Winter/Spring issue. Don't ask me how.
And a story of mine, "The Crow That is Still Eating Chicago" (which is secretly dedicated to Flaherty and his Bears), was accepted for publication by Prime Number.
LINKS:
Yalobusha Review
Quick Fiction
Sycamore Review
Prime Number
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Poemspotting: Brenna Lemieux
Third-year poet Brenna Lemieux's poem "Dysphasia" appears in the Fall 2010 issue of the North American Review! Congrats Brenna!
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Congrats to Abby Wheetley (MFA '09, fiction)
Abby Wheetley's story "Dagwood" has been accepted for publication in the debut issue of Fridge!!
Congrats, Abby!!
Congrats, Abby!!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Breaking News: Meyerhofer Wins Chapbook Contest!
Stolen directly from Michael Meyerhofer's (MFA '06) Facebook page:
Good news: my latest chapbook, "Pure Elysium," won the Palettes and Quills Chapbook Contest!
Congrats, MM!!!
LINK:
Palettes and Quills
NB: Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction) was a finalist!
Good news: my latest chapbook, "Pure Elysium," won the Palettes and Quills Chapbook Contest!
Congrats, MM!!!
LINK:
Palettes and Quills
NB: Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction) was a finalist!
Poemspotting: Sarah McCartt-Jackson
Dual-degree wonder Sarah McCartt-Jackson is the featured poet at Tidal Basin Review.
Go to
Sarah at Tidal Basin Review
to view her feature!
Go to
Sarah at Tidal Basin Review
to view her feature!
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
Good news this morning from second-year fiction student Nick Ostdick:
Some wonderful news this morning: Sheepshead Review, UW Green Bay's literary outfit, accepted my short story 'Moons' for their Fall 2010 issue. It'll be coming out in both their print and online versions.. Cool beans.
Cool beans indeed! Congrats, Nick!
Sheepshead Review
Some wonderful news this morning: Sheepshead Review, UW Green Bay's literary outfit, accepted my short story 'Moons' for their Fall 2010 issue. It'll be coming out in both their print and online versions.. Cool beans.
Cool beans indeed! Congrats, Nick!
Sheepshead Review
Monday, December 06, 2010
Alumni News and Notes: Early December Edition
from David Bond (MFA '98, poetry):
I had the opportunity to read at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah a few weeks ago, a venue that is getting its share of SIUC writers lately!
Yeiser Art Center
from Matt Guenette (MFA '99, poetry):
My poem "Elvis in Evansville" was accepted at Forklift. I also have a review of Erica Meitner's Ideal Cities over at Barn Owl Review online:
Barn Owl Review
from Alberta Skaggs (MFA' 01, fiction, current lecturer in the SIUC English Department and advisor to Grassroots, SIUC's undergraduate literary journal):
Alberta's story, "Pavlov's Dog," has been accepted for publication in Fifth Wednesday, a literary journal based in the Chicago area:
Fifth Wednesday
from Gillian King-Cargile (MFA' 05, fiction):
Gillian has accepted a new position as a communications specialist at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois! Congrats, Gillian!
I had the opportunity to read at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah a few weeks ago, a venue that is getting its share of SIUC writers lately!
Yeiser Art Center
from Matt Guenette (MFA '99, poetry):
My poem "Elvis in Evansville" was accepted at Forklift. I also have a review of Erica Meitner's Ideal Cities over at Barn Owl Review online:
Barn Owl Review
from Alberta Skaggs (MFA' 01, fiction, current lecturer in the SIUC English Department and advisor to Grassroots, SIUC's undergraduate literary journal):
Alberta's story, "Pavlov's Dog," has been accepted for publication in Fifth Wednesday, a literary journal based in the Chicago area:
Fifth Wednesday
from Gillian King-Cargile (MFA' 05, fiction):
Gillian has accepted a new position as a communications specialist at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois! Congrats, Gillian!
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
News from second-year fiction writer Nick Ostdick:
Big Lucks wants to reprint my story "On the Coast'"in their Spring 2011 issue. How 'bout that, huh? Pretty cool.
Congrats, NO!
LINK:
Big Lucks
Big Lucks wants to reprint my story "On the Coast'"in their Spring 2011 issue. How 'bout that, huh? Pretty cool.
Congrats, NO!
LINK:
Big Lucks
Pinckney Benedict Update!
Pinckney Benedict's fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories, is a finalist for the Weatherford Award, sponsored by Berea College's Appalachian Center! Congrats, PB!
LINK:
Weatherford Award
LINK:
Weatherford Award
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Writers on the Road Visit: U of Illinois writers visit
Another edition of Writers on the Road is coming! Thanks to Shawn Mitchell for the information below:
Where: Faner Hall, SIUC, Harry T. Moore Auditorium
What: 5 Readers from the MFA Program @ Urbana-Champaign rock SIUC, testing the promise that Faner is riot-proof
When: This Friday, 12/3 @ 6:00pm.
Bios:
Laura Adamczyk wants you to know that she’s a product of an SIU union. Also that she’s won awards for her fiction from the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation of Chicago. And finally that, given the chance, she will change the music on your stereo.
Sean Karns’ poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Cold Mountain Review, Folio, Mayday Magazine, and elsewhere.
Sara Gelston comes from Maine. She has an affinity for rural life and soul music and an aversion to most games. When asked for directions, she always points east.
Max Somers is a poet and former (and, hopefully, again in the future) world record holder.
Aaron Burch has a book out from Keyhole Books (How to Predict the Weather), won a chapbook contest with PANK, has published a handful of stories, started a reading series in Champaign, edits a lit journal (Hobart), and likes bourbon (bourbon).
For Sale: Aaron Burch’s How to Predict the Weather and Hobart digs/books/things.
Where: Faner Hall, SIUC, Harry T. Moore Auditorium
What: 5 Readers from the MFA Program @ Urbana-Champaign rock SIUC, testing the promise that Faner is riot-proof
When: This Friday, 12/3 @ 6:00pm.
Bios:
Laura Adamczyk wants you to know that she’s a product of an SIU union. Also that she’s won awards for her fiction from the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation of Chicago. And finally that, given the chance, she will change the music on your stereo.
Sean Karns’ poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Cold Mountain Review, Folio, Mayday Magazine, and elsewhere.
Sara Gelston comes from Maine. She has an affinity for rural life and soul music and an aversion to most games. When asked for directions, she always points east.
Max Somers is a poet and former (and, hopefully, again in the future) world record holder.
Aaron Burch has a book out from Keyhole Books (How to Predict the Weather), won a chapbook contest with PANK, has published a handful of stories, started a reading series in Champaign, edits a lit journal (Hobart), and likes bourbon (bourbon).
For Sale: Aaron Burch’s How to Predict the Weather and Hobart digs/books/things.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Alumni News and Notes: Late November Edition
SIUC MFAs have been busy! Check out these notes from alums all over:
Tim Marsh (MFA '06 , fiction):
The LA Review just nominated my story "How to Make White People Happy" for a Pushcart, while The Splinter Generation just nominated my story "A Month Before 30, Summit of Signal Hill" for Best of the Web. Pretty cool. Another short story of mine, "Transit Wives" was also recently published in Monkeybicycle.
Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction):
There's audio of my poem "Uncle Fat Elvis," which appeared in The Battered Suitcase earlier this year, on the website Whale Sound. Poems on Whale Sound are read by Nic Sebastian, who has a great voice and a great ear and treats each poem carefully and lovingly. It is highly informative to have her record your work. Hopefully other SIUC poets can send some things her way!
Link:
Justin
Also of note, newly published work by alums appears in new issues of the Cincinnati Review and in Copper Nickel, respectively. Cincinnati Review (volume 7, number 2) features a poem by Travis Mossotti and a story by Alex Lumans; Copper Nickel features new poems by Adrian Matejka, Kerry James Evans, and James Thomas Miller.
Poetry alum Melanie Dusseau has accepted a teaching position at Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio!
Tim Marsh (MFA '06 , fiction):
The LA Review just nominated my story "How to Make White People Happy" for a Pushcart, while The Splinter Generation just nominated my story "A Month Before 30, Summit of Signal Hill" for Best of the Web. Pretty cool. Another short story of mine, "Transit Wives" was also recently published in Monkeybicycle.
Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction):
There's audio of my poem "Uncle Fat Elvis," which appeared in The Battered Suitcase earlier this year, on the website Whale Sound. Poems on Whale Sound are read by Nic Sebastian, who has a great voice and a great ear and treats each poem carefully and lovingly. It is highly informative to have her record your work. Hopefully other SIUC poets can send some things her way!
Link:
Justin
Also of note, newly published work by alums appears in new issues of the Cincinnati Review and in Copper Nickel, respectively. Cincinnati Review (volume 7, number 2) features a poem by Travis Mossotti and a story by Alex Lumans; Copper Nickel features new poems by Adrian Matejka, Kerry James Evans, and James Thomas Miller.
Poetry alum Melanie Dusseau has accepted a teaching position at Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Congrats to Bryan Estes!
First-year poet Bryan Estes has great pre-Thanksgiving news:
"It's official--my first publication. The Compass Rose has accepted my poem, "Love is nothing like a rose." It was probably the $20 I slipped in the envelope."
Congrats, Bryan!
LINK:
Compass Rose
"It's official--my first publication. The Compass Rose has accepted my poem, "Love is nothing like a rose." It was probably the $20 I slipped in the envelope."
Congrats, Bryan!
LINK:
Compass Rose
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Catching Up with Chad Simpson!
MFA fiction alum Chad Simpson (MFA '05) sends this news:
My story "Fourteen" recently appeared in Matchbook:
Fourteen
My essay "Obnubilate" just went live in the latest issue of The Collagist
Chad
Congrats, Chad! Great to see you and hear you read at Devil's Kitchen!
Chad's website:
My story "Fourteen" recently appeared in Matchbook:
Fourteen
My essay "Obnubilate" just went live in the latest issue of The Collagist
Chad
Congrats, Chad! Great to see you and hear you read at Devil's Kitchen!
Chad's website:
Monday, November 15, 2010
Catching up with Jim Gill (MFA '99, fiction)
Here's an update from fiction alum James (Jim) Gill:
Had a story appear in August at Fried Chicken and Coffee:
Fried
Then of course my story in the Crab Orchard issue 15.2.
And I just had a story accepted at Bull: Men's Fiction (it should be out fairly soon; I'm working on revisions with the editor).
Bull: Men's Fiction
Oh, and I'll also have a short piece appear at The Common in their dispatches section soon, though I don't know when exactly, but will update when it's up as well.
The Common
Congrats, Jim, on all this good news!
Had a story appear in August at Fried Chicken and Coffee:
Fried
Then of course my story in the Crab Orchard issue 15.2.
And I just had a story accepted at Bull: Men's Fiction (it should be out fairly soon; I'm working on revisions with the editor).
Bull: Men's Fiction
Oh, and I'll also have a short piece appear at The Common in their dispatches section soon, though I don't know when exactly, but will update when it's up as well.
The Common
Congrats, Jim, on all this good news!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Allison Joseph to read at Western Kentucky University
SIUC faculty poet will read Monday, November 15 at Western Kentucky University:
Creative Writing @ WKU
Creative Writing @ WKU
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Mark Brewin, third-year poet, continues his streak of acceptances:
"My poem "Scrap Iron" will now be appearing in the North American Review. I am unsure of what issue yet, but I'll keep all the good folks out there posted."
Good going, MB! You've had quite a fall!
LINK:
North American Review
"My poem "Scrap Iron" will now be appearing in the North American Review. I am unsure of what issue yet, but I'll keep all the good folks out there posted."
Good going, MB! You've had quite a fall!
LINK:
North American Review
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Congrats to JY (Jared) Sexton (MFA '08)
Great news from fiction alum Jared (JY) Sexton (MFA '08):
"My story Just Listen was nominated for Dzanc Books' "Best of the Web 2011" Anthology. Today I found out my story "They Put a Shovel in Your Hand and You Dig" has been accepted by Inkspill Magazine."
Double bonus! Congrats, Jared!
LINKS:
DZANC Books
Inkspill
"My story Just Listen was nominated for Dzanc Books' "Best of the Web 2011" Anthology. Today I found out my story "They Put a Shovel in Your Hand and You Dig" has been accepted by Inkspill Magazine."
Double bonus! Congrats, Jared!
LINKS:
DZANC Books
Inkspill
Friday, November 12, 2010
Talk for SIUC Undergraduates on applying to graduate school in creative writing
from Shawn Mitchell:
Are you considering attending grad school in creative writing? Come out on Wednesday, November 17th when current Graduate students in the SIUC MFA program will hold a panel discussion on applications, strategies, and everything in-between.
There will be light refreshments and a worksheet handout w/ info and sample personal statements. Panel Presenters will consist of three fiction writers and one poet, and a representative from each year of our three year grad program: Brenna Lemieux, Shawn Mitchell, Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Nick Ostdick.
If you have questions, or would simply like a leg up, come to the humanities lounge in Faner from 4:30-5:30 next Wednesday the 17th. See you there!
Light refreshments will be served.
Are you considering attending grad school in creative writing? Come out on Wednesday, November 17th when current Graduate students in the SIUC MFA program will hold a panel discussion on applications, strategies, and everything in-between.
There will be light refreshments and a worksheet handout w/ info and sample personal statements. Panel Presenters will consist of three fiction writers and one poet, and a representative from each year of our three year grad program: Brenna Lemieux, Shawn Mitchell, Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Nick Ostdick.
If you have questions, or would simply like a leg up, come to the humanities lounge in Faner from 4:30-5:30 next Wednesday the 17th. See you there!
Light refreshments will be served.
Congrats to Brenna Lemieux!
Third-year MFA poet Brenna Lemieux also has great news to share:
"I found out this week that The Hollins Critic has accepted my poem "Migration" and wants to give me 25 smackers for it (dollars, not kisses). So that's neat."
Congrats, Brenna!
LINK:
Hollins Critic
NB: Hollins Critic quite likes us--second year poet Leslie Adams also has a poem forthcoming in this journal.
"I found out this week that The Hollins Critic has accepted my poem "Migration" and wants to give me 25 smackers for it (dollars, not kisses). So that's neat."
Congrats, Brenna!
LINK:
Hollins Critic
NB: Hollins Critic quite likes us--second year poet Leslie Adams also has a poem forthcoming in this journal.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Congrats to Amie Whittemore!
Two fantastic bits of news from poetry alum Amie Whittemore (MFA '10):
One:
"Vermont Studio Center has granted me a full fellowship for next July! I was happily surprised to find out the news on Friday -- perfect for a weekend of celebrating!"
Two:
"I wanted to let you know that Hollins Critic accepted my poem "The Empty Lot" for publication."
Congrats, Amie, on all this good news!
LINKS:
Hollins Critic
Vermont Studio Center
One:
"Vermont Studio Center has granted me a full fellowship for next July! I was happily surprised to find out the news on Friday -- perfect for a weekend of celebrating!"
Two:
"I wanted to let you know that Hollins Critic accepted my poem "The Empty Lot" for publication."
Congrats, Amie, on all this good news!
LINKS:
Hollins Critic
Vermont Studio Center
Congrats to Ingrid Moody!
Ingrid Moody, poetry MFA alum (MFA '07), writes with this sensational news:
"Just got exciting news--my chapbook won the Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Competition and will be published by Texas Review Press!"
Congrats, Ingrid!
LINK:
Texas Review Press
"Just got exciting news--my chapbook won the Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Competition and will be published by Texas Review Press!"
Congrats, Ingrid!
LINK:
Texas Review Press
Friday, November 05, 2010
Congrats to Justin Hamm (MFA '05)!
Also sending good news this morning is Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction):
"Just wanted to drop a line to let you know Cold Mountain Review picked up my poem "The Flour Epiphany" and RockSaw Press has set a firm release date for my chapbook "Illinois, My Apologies" -- it'll be released at AWP next year."
Congrats, Justin!
LINKS:
Cold Mountain Review
Rock Saw Press
"Just wanted to drop a line to let you know Cold Mountain Review picked up my poem "The Flour Epiphany" and RockSaw Press has set a firm release date for my chapbook "Illinois, My Apologies" -- it'll be released at AWP next year."
Congrats, Justin!
LINKS:
Cold Mountain Review
Rock Saw Press
Congrats to Peter Lucas!
First-year fiction writing student Peter ("Pete") Lucas has great news to report this Friday morning:
"I am very pleased to report that my story, "The Boy" will be appearing in the 2011 issue of The Owen Wister Review. Thanks to both Jacinda and Beth for their suggestions."
Congrats, Pete!
LINK:
Owen Wister Review
"I am very pleased to report that my story, "The Boy" will be appearing in the 2011 issue of The Owen Wister Review. Thanks to both Jacinda and Beth for their suggestions."
Congrats, Pete!
LINK:
Owen Wister Review
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Congrats to John Stanford Owen!
Congrats are also in order for second-year poetry student John Stanford Owen:
"I'm thrilled to announce that VPR will be accepting "Grief Harbor, 1995" for publication in their Spring 2011 issue. I'm slightly psyched. Okay, I'm very psyched."
Congrats, JSO!
LINK:
Valparaiso Poetry Review
"I'm thrilled to announce that VPR will be accepting "Grief Harbor, 1995" for publication in their Spring 2011 issue. I'm slightly psyched. Okay, I'm very psyched."
Congrats, JSO!
LINK:
Valparaiso Poetry Review
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Third-year poetry student Mark Brewin keeps racking up the forthcoming publication credits:
"My poem "The Pecking Order" has been accepted for publication in Cold Mountain Review."
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
Cold Mountain Review
"My poem "The Pecking Order" has been accepted for publication in Cold Mountain Review."
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
Cold Mountain Review
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Writers on the Road: UMSL edition
Writers On The Road Reading at University of Missouri Saint Louis
Friday, November 5 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location 450 Lucas Hall, UMSL, St. Louis, MO.
The University of Missouri St. Louis is pleased to present MFA students Shawn Mitchell, Nick Ostdick, Leslie Adams and John Stanford Owen from Southern Illinois University Carbondale as they read from their work. There will be a brief question and answer period following the reading. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Friday, November 5 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location 450 Lucas Hall, UMSL, St. Louis, MO.
The University of Missouri St. Louis is pleased to present MFA students Shawn Mitchell, Nick Ostdick, Leslie Adams and John Stanford Owen from Southern Illinois University Carbondale as they read from their work. There will be a brief question and answer period following the reading. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Congrats to Kathleen Hale!
First-year fiction student Kathleen Hale's story "The Corn" has been published by SmokeLong Quarterly:
Kathleen's "The Corn"
Congrats, Kathleen!
Kathleen's "The Corn"
Congrats, Kathleen!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Catching Up with Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
News from Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry):
"The Word Damn and the Word God" has been picked up by New Letters. Very pleased with that!
And my panel got a very generous time slot at AWP-DC:
From the Page to the Small Screen: What the Information Age Means for Us
Scheduled Day: Saturday, February
Scheduled Time: 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
Scheduled Room: Virginia A, Marriott
See you at AWP, Andy!
LINK:
New Letters
"The Word Damn and the Word God" has been picked up by New Letters. Very pleased with that!
And my panel got a very generous time slot at AWP-DC:
From the Page to the Small Screen: What the Information Age Means for Us
Scheduled Day: Saturday, February
Scheduled Time: 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
Scheduled Room: Virginia A, Marriott
See you at AWP, Andy!
LINK:
New Letters
Travis Mossotti Update: Forthcoming Poems
Here's an update on forthcoming publications by Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry):
"Somewhere in Illinois" and "Sidewalk Superman" got picked up at Harpur Palate, "Fox Creek Road" got picked up by Green Mountains Review, "Preparing the Table" got picked up by Open City, "O Captain! My Captain!" got picked up by Sou'wester, and "The Second Coming of Christ in the Form of a North American Alligator" got picked up by Tampa Review.
Good work, TM!
"Somewhere in Illinois" and "Sidewalk Superman" got picked up at Harpur Palate, "Fox Creek Road" got picked up by Green Mountains Review, "Preparing the Table" got picked up by Open City, "O Captain! My Captain!" got picked up by Sou'wester, and "The Second Coming of Christ in the Form of a North American Alligator" got picked up by Tampa Review.
Good work, TM!
Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival: Schedule and Author Bios
SIUC's annual fall literary festival, the Devil's Kitchen Fall Literary Festival, begins today! Details here:
Schedule and Author Biographies
Welcome to Carbondale, visiting writers!
Schedule and Author Biographies
Welcome to Carbondale, visiting writers!
A Banner Day for Mark Brewin!
Third-year poet Mark Brewin had quite a day yesterday!
Note #1:
"I am happy to report, and a little amazed, that my poem "The Root Whiskers" has been accepted for publication at The Greensboro Review. October always was my favorite month."
Note #2:
" I am semi-speechless to say that The Pinch has accepted my poem "Milford Sound" for publication. Two in one day."
Congrats, MB! What a day indeed!
LINKS:
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Congrats to Jared Yates Sexton (MFA '08)
Fiction alum Jared (JY) Sexton has good news to share too!
My story "Mediation" was accepted for publication in the next volume of The Raleigh Review. So. That's cool.
It is indeed, JY! Congrats!
LINK:
Kudos to Rodney Jones!
SIUC's own Rodney Jones' poem "The Eviction" appears in the latest edition of the Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses anthology! The poem was originally published in Five Points.
LINK:
Monday, October 25, 2010
Kudos to Mark Brewin!
Lovely news on a lovely fall day from third-year poet Mark Brewin:
"His Grandmother as a Wind Chime" was just accepted for publication at the South Carolina Review.
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
South Carolina Review
"His Grandmother as a Wind Chime" was just accepted for publication at the South Carolina Review.
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
South Carolina Review
Poemspotting, movie-style: Travis Mossotti
Here's a very interesting way to present poetry, via the talents of Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry) and his filmmaker brother, Josh Mossotti:
Decampment, the film
Decampment, the film
Poemspotting: Travis Mossotti and David Bond
SIUC MFA grads Travis Mossotti (poetry,'10) and David Bond (poetry,'98) have new poems up at Valparaiso Poetry Review:
Travis
David
Travis
David
Fantastic News for Greg Schwipps (MFA '98)
Exciting news for SIUC MFA grad Greg Schwipps!:
Greg Schwipps wins Emerging Writer Award
Congrats, Greg!
And thanks to Kevin McKelvey for letting the MFA Carbondale blog know about this great news.
Greg Schwipps wins Emerging Writer Award
Congrats, Greg!
And thanks to Kevin McKelvey for letting the MFA Carbondale blog know about this great news.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Congrats to Sarah McCartt-Jackson
Awesome news from third-year poet Sarah McCartt-Jackson:
"I just read that I have been selected for the first Tidal Basin Review Series Poet Center Feature for my loooong poem "Calf Canyon." Much love to CRWOPPS and many thanks to all my fellow SIUC writers who read this for me!"
Congrats, Sarah! Well done!
LINK:
Tidal Basin Review
"I just read that I have been selected for the first Tidal Basin Review Series Poet Center Feature for my loooong poem "Calf Canyon." Much love to CRWOPPS and many thanks to all my fellow SIUC writers who read this for me!"
Congrats, Sarah! Well done!
LINK:
Tidal Basin Review
Congrats to Leslie Adams!
Great Friday news from second-year poet Leslie Adams!
"Saw Palm accepted a poem ("Ghost Crab") for their next issue. Just in time for weekend celebrating!"
Congrats, LA!
LINK:
Saw Palm
"Saw Palm accepted a poem ("Ghost Crab") for their next issue. Just in time for weekend celebrating!"
Congrats, LA!
LINK:
Saw Palm
Monday, October 18, 2010
Allison Joseph to read at Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
SIUC faculty poet will read from her poetry at Lamar University on Wednesday, October 20 at 7 pm in the Science Auditorium.
Lamar University
Lamar University
Crossgenre action with Helena "Hel" Bell
MFA poetry grad (MFA '08) Helena "Hel" Bell's first published story is now online:
Helena Bell fiction
Helena Bell fiction
Catching Up with Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
SIUC MFA poetry grad Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum has had a string of good luck lately:
It's been a good fall so far...
Potomac Review took "Slag"...my first three-pager to be taken!
Eclipse took "Golden Paper Wasp"
And Poet Lore took "Night Driving"
I'm also Managing Editor of a new literary blog, Adhominem. Please submit to us with your association with SIUC in the subject line or something so that I can notice it...we'd love to see some stuff from grad students, alumni, and faculty on the site!
My best,
Andrew
It's been a good fall so far...
Potomac Review took "Slag"...my first three-pager to be taken!
Eclipse took "Golden Paper Wasp"
And Poet Lore took "Night Driving"
I'm also Managing Editor of a new literary blog, Adhominem. Please submit to us with your association with SIUC in the subject line or something so that I can notice it...we'd love to see some stuff from grad students, alumni, and faculty on the site!
My best,
Andrew
Pinckney Benedict does Macomb (Illinois, that is)
During the coming week, I'll be the Fred Case & Lola Austin Case Writer-in-Residence at Western Illinois University in Macomb. On Wednesday, Oct 20, I'll be doing an interview and Q&A at 4:00 pm in Simpkins 341 (Writing Center). On Thursday, Oct 21, at 7:30 PM, I'll be giving a reading and signing books in the Sandburg Theater in the University Union. Previous Case writers include Marge Piercy, Ethan Canin, Stuart Dybek, and Albert
Goldbarth, and Rick Bass.
Pinckney at WIU
Goldbarth, and Rick Bass.
Pinckney at WIU
Friday, October 15, 2010
Storyspotting: Nick Ostdick
from Nick Ostdick (second-year, fiction):
Two quick things here:
1). My story 'True Hair,' which was published last year in Storyglossia, has been nominated for the 2011 Best of The Web anthology. Here's a link to the story:
True Hair
2). 'Storms,' which originally was going to be published by Knee Jerk Magazine, is now coming out in the 2011 issue of The Emerson Review instead. So there's that. Neat.
Congrats, NO!
Two quick things here:
1). My story 'True Hair,' which was published last year in Storyglossia, has been nominated for the 2011 Best of The Web anthology. Here's a link to the story:
True Hair
2). 'Storms,' which originally was going to be published by Knee Jerk Magazine, is now coming out in the 2011 issue of The Emerson Review instead. So there's that. Neat.
Congrats, NO!
Storyspotting: Melissa Scholes Young
from Melissa Scholes Young (third-year, fiction):
My flash fiction is up at Word Riot. You can even hear me reading it to you if you are so inclined. There's also the picture of me with Superman. You can't beat that for a Friday.
Melissa
My flash fiction is up at Word Riot. You can even hear me reading it to you if you are so inclined. There's also the picture of me with Superman. You can't beat that for a Friday.
Melissa
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Rodney Jones to read in Saint Louis for River Styx
SIUC's own Rodney Jones will read from his work as part of the River Styx at Duff's series on October 18, 2010:
Details here:
River Styx
Details here:
River Styx
Congrats to Leslie Adams!
Good news this afternoon from second-year poetry MFA student Leslie Adams:
The Hollins Critic picked up "How it Was," and they're giving me 25 bucks to boot.
Congrats, Leslie!
LINK:
Hollins Critic
The Hollins Critic picked up "How it Was," and they're giving me 25 bucks to boot.
Congrats, Leslie!
LINK:
Hollins Critic
Monday, October 11, 2010
Poemspotting: Mossotti and Boyd
Two poems by MFA poetry alum Travis Mossotti (MFA '10) appear in the Spring 2010 issue of Roger, a literary journal published at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. The poems are "A Piece of Advice" and "Saxifrage."
Jake Boyd (MFA '07, poetry) has poems appearing in nth position:
Nth position
Jake's poems
Jake Boyd (MFA '07, poetry) has poems appearing in nth position:
Nth position
Jake's poems
Upcoming Literary Events: October 2010
The Graduate Writer's Forum Presents the In-House Reading Series
Wed, October 20th, 4-5:30 pm
SIUC Student Center, Ohio Room
Reading from their work will be MFA candidates Jonathan Travelstead, Adrienne Rivera, John Stanford Owen and Bryan Brower.
DEVIL'S KITCHEN LITERARY FESTIVAL:
October 28, 29, 30, 2010
Festival Schedule here:
Devil's Kitchen
Wed, October 20th, 4-5:30 pm
SIUC Student Center, Ohio Room
Reading from their work will be MFA candidates Jonathan Travelstead, Adrienne Rivera, John Stanford Owen and Bryan Brower.
DEVIL'S KITCHEN LITERARY FESTIVAL:
October 28, 29, 30, 2010
Festival Schedule here:
Devil's Kitchen
Faculty Focus: A Profile of Pinckney Benedict
Thanks to Andrea Hahn for this profile of SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict. Gosh, that guy's talented!
Pinckney Benedict
Pinckney Benedict
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Current third-year poetry student Mark Brewin has even more good news:
Tidal Basin Review has picked up my poem "Scrap Iron." Very excited. Getting into my publication stride for the semester...
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
Tidal Basin Review
Tidal Basin Review has picked up my poem "Scrap Iron." Very excited. Getting into my publication stride for the semester...
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
Tidal Basin Review
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Great news from current poetry student Mark Brewin:
"Excited to say that my poem "Palace Depression" has been accepted for publication in Quiddity. AND, besides publication of the poem, it seems I get to audio record the poem, and it will be played on the NPR station out of Benedictine University @ Springfield. I've always been told I have a face made for radio..."
Congrats, Mark!
LINK:
Quiddity
"Excited to say that my poem "Palace Depression" has been accepted for publication in Quiddity. AND, besides publication of the poem, it seems I get to audio record the poem, and it will be played on the NPR station out of Benedictine University @ Springfield. I've always been told I have a face made for radio..."
Congrats, Mark!
LINK:
Quiddity
Monday, October 04, 2010
Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!
Current third-year fiction student Melissa Scholes Young has good news to share:
Word Riot accepted a piece of my flash fiction entitled "Mrs. Peabody." It will be published mid-October. I wrote this piece in Jacinda's Forms Class last spring with Nick, Adrienne, Shawn, and Sarah. It's really all of their fault.
Word Riot
Congrats, MSY!
Word Riot accepted a piece of my flash fiction entitled "Mrs. Peabody." It will be published mid-October. I wrote this piece in Jacinda's Forms Class last spring with Nick, Adrienne, Shawn, and Sarah. It's really all of their fault.
Word Riot
Congrats, MSY!
Allison Joseph to read at Penn State Altoona
SIUC faculty poet Allison Joseph will read from her work this week at Penn State Altoona:
Penn State Altoona press release
Penn State Altoona press release
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Congrats to Rachel Furey (MFA '09)
Fantastic news from fiction alum Rachel Furey:
"My short story "Birth Act" is listed as one of the other distinguished stories in the back of Best American Short Stories 2010. I'm tickled to be on a list that also includes authors such as Ann Beattie, George Saunders, and Joyce Carol Oates. That's sort of like getting to share court space with Diana Taurasi."
Congrats, Rachel!
LINK:
Best American
"My short story "Birth Act" is listed as one of the other distinguished stories in the back of Best American Short Stories 2010. I'm tickled to be on a list that also includes authors such as Ann Beattie, George Saunders, and Joyce Carol Oates. That's sort of like getting to share court space with Diana Taurasi."
Congrats, Rachel!
LINK:
Best American
Saturday, October 02, 2010
upcoming alumni reading: Melanie Dusseau (MFA '03)
Melanie Dusseau ("The Body Tries Again") will read from her book from 6-8:30 pm on Tuesday, October 19th, at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, main branch at the McMaster Center, in Toledo, Ohio. This venue is located at 325 N. Michigan Street. For more information, visit http://www.toledolibrary.org/default.aspx.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Riverfront Times of St. Louis Names Alum Best Local Poet
Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) has been named "Best Local Poet" by St. Louis's entertainment newspaper, The Riverfront Times:
Riverfront Times
Congrats, AD!
Riverfront Times
Congrats, AD!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Catching Up with Adrian Matejka (MFA '01)
Poetry alum Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) sends this update:
I've got poems forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Natural Bridge, and Ploughshares, along with a couple of cool new online journals: Bestiary and Vinyl. There are also poems in the recent issues of Tuesday; An Art Project and the Southern Indiana Review.
Congrats, AD!
I've got poems forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Natural Bridge, and Ploughshares, along with a couple of cool new online journals: Bestiary and Vinyl. There are also poems in the recent issues of Tuesday; An Art Project and the Southern Indiana Review.
Congrats, AD!
Grassroots Open Mic Party: Wednesday September 29
The editors of Grassroots, SIUC's undergraduate literary journal, invite you to join them for an Open Mic Party in the Faner Hall Courtyard at 7 PM on Wednesday, September 29. All are welcome to come read from their poetry and prose. There will be food and music as well. For more information, contact the editors at (grassrootsmag-AT-gmail.com)
Jon Tribble & Allison Joseph in Little Rock, AR
Crab Orchard Review editors Jon Tribble and Allison Joseph will travel to Little Rock, Arkansas for Pulaski Technical College's "Banned Books" celebration on September 30:
Details here:
J&A at PT
Details here:
J&A at PT
Mitchell interviews Percy
Shawn Mitchell (current second-year in fiction) interviews Ben Percy (MFA '04) for Fiction Writers Review:
Ben and Shawn
Ben and Shawn
The Wilding is Released! Congrats to Ben Percy (MFA '04)
Today is the release date for Ben Percy's new novel The Wilding. Read more about it here:
The Wilding
The Wilding
Faculty Reading: Pinckney Benedict at the New School, NYC
from Pinckney Benedict, SIUC fiction faculty:
I'll be reading and talking with the audience at the New School next Monday, October 4. The event's at 6:30 PM at the Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street, room 510. It will be moderated by Robert Polito.
I'll be reading and talking with the audience at the New School next Monday, October 4. The event's at 6:30 PM at the Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street, room 510. It will be moderated by Robert Polito.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Congrats to Tim Marsh!
More good news from fiction alum Tim Marsh (MFA '06):
Seems there's been a lot of good news lately from the program. Here's some more: My piece "Residuals" will appear in the Winter issue of The Battered Suitcase; my piece "Transit Wives" will appear in the next issue of "Prole", out of the UK. I've also been selected as a finalist for a Headlands Artist Residency in San Francisco. If that doesn't pan out, I was recently awarded a scholarship and writer's residency at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin.
Congrats, Tim!
LINKS:
The Battered Suitcase
Prole
Headlands Center for the Arts
Montana Artists Refuge
Seems there's been a lot of good news lately from the program. Here's some more: My piece "Residuals" will appear in the Winter issue of The Battered Suitcase; my piece "Transit Wives" will appear in the next issue of "Prole", out of the UK. I've also been selected as a finalist for a Headlands Artist Residency in San Francisco. If that doesn't pan out, I was recently awarded a scholarship and writer's residency at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin.
Congrats, Tim!
LINKS:
The Battered Suitcase
Prole
Headlands Center for the Arts
Montana Artists Refuge
Congrats to Travis Mossotti!
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry) writes from Cali with news of impending publication:
New South accepted my poem "My Life as an Island" for their upcoming long poem issue.
New South
Congrats, TM!
New South accepted my poem "My Life as an Island" for their upcoming long poem issue.
New South
Congrats, TM!
Literary Doings in and out of Carbondale
SIUC faculty poet Rodney Jones reads in Atlanta, GA for the literary journal New South on September 23:
New South
SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict reads for Sigma Tau Delta on September 21, Saline Room, SIUC Student Center, at 6pm.
Reading & Drinking: Carbondale's literary feast @ Callahan's Pub in Carbondale @ 8pm (Tuesday, Sept. 21th)
Door prizes, raffles, great fiction/poetry, and half off drinks and food. Huzzah! Bring your friends. Bring your spouses/significant others. Good times to be had by all.
Current lineup consists of:
Kathleen Hale
Mark Brewin
Lane Kareska
Sequoia Nagamatsu
Janelle Blasdel
Daniel Paul
Shawn Mitchell
Wednesday, September 22 from 4 to 5:30 pm Graduate Writers Forum In-House Reading Series
Mississippi Room, second floor, SIUC Student Center
Featuring poetry and fiction readings from MFA candidates Leslie Adams, Ruth Awad, Nick Ostdick and Shawn Mitchell
New South
SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict reads for Sigma Tau Delta on September 21, Saline Room, SIUC Student Center, at 6pm.
Reading & Drinking: Carbondale's literary feast @ Callahan's Pub in Carbondale @ 8pm (Tuesday, Sept. 21th)
Door prizes, raffles, great fiction/poetry, and half off drinks and food. Huzzah! Bring your friends. Bring your spouses/significant others. Good times to be had by all.
Current lineup consists of:
Kathleen Hale
Mark Brewin
Lane Kareska
Sequoia Nagamatsu
Janelle Blasdel
Daniel Paul
Shawn Mitchell
Wednesday, September 22 from 4 to 5:30 pm Graduate Writers Forum In-House Reading Series
Mississippi Room, second floor, SIUC Student Center
Featuring poetry and fiction readings from MFA candidates Leslie Adams, Ruth Awad, Nick Ostdick and Shawn Mitchell
Friday, September 17, 2010
Catching Up With Michael Meyerhofer (MFA '06)
A note from poetry alum Michael Meyerhofer:
Got some poetry publication updates: “Ode to the Boxing Clapboard” was taken by Hayden’s Ferry Review, “The Birthdays of Ex-Lovers” was taken by Los Angeles Review, “Sensei” was taken by Chiron Review, “Lilium Lophophorum” was taken by Summerset Review, and “Zen for Dummies” and “Postmodern Zazen” were taken by Mandala Journal.
A few prose updates, too: “I Should Warn You” was taken by Flashquake, my fantasy novella, “Taliessa’s Wish,” was taken by Realms, and a sci-fi story, “Celestial Encounters,” was taken by Encounters Magazine.
Also, I’ll be giving a little lecture at the Writers’ Center of Indiana on October 23.
Thanks for the update, MM! Congrats on all of this good news!
Got some poetry publication updates: “Ode to the Boxing Clapboard” was taken by Hayden’s Ferry Review, “The Birthdays of Ex-Lovers” was taken by Los Angeles Review, “Sensei” was taken by Chiron Review, “Lilium Lophophorum” was taken by Summerset Review, and “Zen for Dummies” and “Postmodern Zazen” were taken by Mandala Journal.
A few prose updates, too: “I Should Warn You” was taken by Flashquake, my fantasy novella, “Taliessa’s Wish,” was taken by Realms, and a sci-fi story, “Celestial Encounters,” was taken by Encounters Magazine.
Also, I’ll be giving a little lecture at the Writers’ Center of Indiana on October 23.
Thanks for the update, MM! Congrats on all of this good news!
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
Great news from second-year fiction writer Nick Ostdick:
My short story 'Storms' was accepted by Knee Jerk Magazine and should be coming out in their October or November issue. Very stoked. It's another piece that started in Jacinda's forms class this past spring. Thanks to all in the class for help in shaping the story. And thanks to you, Allison, for keeping up with this blog and spreading the love.
You're welcome, NO, and congrats!
LINK:
Knee Jerk
My short story 'Storms' was accepted by Knee Jerk Magazine and should be coming out in their October or November issue. Very stoked. It's another piece that started in Jacinda's forms class this past spring. Thanks to all in the class for help in shaping the story. And thanks to you, Allison, for keeping up with this blog and spreading the love.
You're welcome, NO, and congrats!
LINK:
Knee Jerk
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Congrats to Alex Lumans!
News today from 2009 fiction grad Alex Lumans:
Some cross-genre action: a poem called "The Difference Between You and Me is Millions of Years" was just published in issue 14 of the online magazine The Collagist.
Best,
Lumans
Here's Alex's poem:
Lumans
Some cross-genre action: a poem called "The Difference Between You and Me is Millions of Years" was just published in issue 14 of the online magazine The Collagist.
Best,
Lumans
Here's Alex's poem:
Lumans
Reading & Drinking Makes Its Carbondale Return
Reading & Drinking: Carbondale's precocious literary feast is making its fall debut in a new locale:
First R&D of the year!
Tuesday, September 21st
Callahan's Irish Pub
760 E Grand Ave
8 PM
Raffles, door prizes, readings, beverages.
Half-price food and drink, too! God-bless Tuesday evening specials!
Be there!
First R&D of the year!
Tuesday, September 21st
Callahan's Irish Pub
760 E Grand Ave
8 PM
Raffles, door prizes, readings, beverages.
Half-price food and drink, too! God-bless Tuesday evening specials!
Be there!
SIUC MFAs rule NANO Fiction Contest
Lovely news from third-year poet Sarah McCartt
SIUC MFAs strike again! Shawn Mitchell and I both finished in the top five in NANO Fiction's contest--which means, as the editor pointed out, our program had 40% of the top five entries!
They will be publishing my piece "Creston" and Shawn's piece "Me and Medusa" in the next issue.
Congrats to Shawn and Sarah!
NANO
SIUC MFAs strike again! Shawn Mitchell and I both finished in the top five in NANO Fiction's contest--which means, as the editor pointed out, our program had 40% of the top five entries!
They will be publishing my piece "Creston" and Shawn's piece "Me and Medusa" in the next issue.
Congrats to Shawn and Sarah!
NANO
Congrats to Matt Guenette (MFA '99)
Fantastic book publication news for MFA alum (poetry, '99) Matthew Guenette:
American Busboy is an Editor's Choice in the 2010 Akron Press Poetry Competition. Publication is slated for Fall 2011!
Congrats, Matt! Looking forward to the publication of your second book!
LINK:
U of Akron Press
American Busboy is an Editor's Choice in the 2010 Akron Press Poetry Competition. Publication is slated for Fall 2011!
Congrats, Matt! Looking forward to the publication of your second book!
LINK:
U of Akron Press
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Congrats to Justin Hamm (MFA '05)!
Fantastic news for Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction):
RockSaw Press is going to publish my chapbook, Illinois, My Apologies in the spring of 2011. We're also going to do a companion CD of me reading the poems. I'm very excited about this project!
Congrats, Justin! BTW, Rocksaw Press is the brainchild of Jorge Christopher Evans, who received his undergraduate English/Creative Writing degree at SIUC and was an editor of Grassroots while an undergrad.
LINK:
Rock Saw Press
RockSaw Press is going to publish my chapbook, Illinois, My Apologies in the spring of 2011. We're also going to do a companion CD of me reading the poems. I'm very excited about this project!
Congrats, Justin! BTW, Rocksaw Press is the brainchild of Jorge Christopher Evans, who received his undergraduate English/Creative Writing degree at SIUC and was an editor of Grassroots while an undergrad.
LINK:
Rock Saw Press
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Faculty Reading: Allison Joseph @ SIU Edwardsville
SIUC faculty poet Allison Joseph will be read from her work on Thursday, September 9, at 7.00 pm at our sister university, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, in the Morris University Center Bookstore.
LINK:
SIUE English
LINK:
SIUE English
Congrats to Leslie Adams!
Second-year poet Leslie Adams reports this good news via Facebook:
Disquieting Muses Quarterly (DMQ Review) picked up a poem called "Some Invisible." They said it should be coming out in their next issue!
Congrats, LA!
LINK:
DMQ Review
Disquieting Muses Quarterly (DMQ Review) picked up a poem called "Some Invisible." They said it should be coming out in their next issue!
Congrats, LA!
LINK:
DMQ Review
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Congrats to Shawn Mitchell!
Happy news from second-year fiction writer Shawn Mitchell:
Torpedo's Greatest Hits is out from Hunter Publisher's in Australia now. It features work from Australians and non-Australians, graphic artists, Brian Evenson, Jim Shepard, Richard Brautigan, and, also, my story "It's Not the Heat So Much as the Jelly." The magazine is sadly closing down, but the back issues are still available in electronic editions for cheap on Amazon. Looking forward to getting my copy in the mail.
Here's more on it:
Torpedo's Greatest Hits
It's for sale here, not cheap but worth it:
Torpedo
Torpedo's Greatest Hits is out from Hunter Publisher's in Australia now. It features work from Australians and non-Australians, graphic artists, Brian Evenson, Jim Shepard, Richard Brautigan, and, also, my story "It's Not the Heat So Much as the Jelly." The magazine is sadly closing down, but the back issues are still available in electronic editions for cheap on Amazon. Looking forward to getting my copy in the mail.
Here's more on it:
Torpedo's Greatest Hits
It's for sale here, not cheap but worth it:
Torpedo
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Congrats to Emily Pruitt!
Poetry (MFA '03) grad Emily Pruitt, who publishes her work under the name, EI Pruitt, sent this good news along today:
Calyx will be publishing one of the poems from my "Should've Beens" series-- "Should've Been, 1"-- in an upcoming issue.
Congrats, Emily!
LINK:
Calyx
Calyx will be publishing one of the poems from my "Should've Beens" series-- "Should've Been, 1"-- in an upcoming issue.
Congrats, Emily!
LINK:
Calyx
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
Second-year fiction writer Nick Ostdick also has fine news:
I have a new story recently published at Necessary Fiction called "On the Coast."' If you have the time, wander on over and take a look. It's short. Could be a nice reprieve from your day. The link is below. Hope all is well.
On the Coast
I have a new story recently published at Necessary Fiction called "On the Coast."' If you have the time, wander on over and take a look. It's short. Could be a nice reprieve from your day. The link is below. Hope all is well.
On the Coast
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Fine news this morning from third-year poetry student Mark Brewin:
Two of my poems ("Bivalve, Cumberland County" and "By the Margin of Water") are now in Milk Money Volume Eight, When Jeff Goldblum Speaks, We Listen; AND, today, I just found out that my poem "Standing in the Atlantic Ocean with Tesla's Pigeon" has been accepted for publication in The Labletter (which is a paying gig...nice, nice).
As always, a quick thanks to you and your Creative Writing Opportunities listserv for letting me know about these publications/opportunities!
You are welcome, MB! And thanks for giving props to CRWROPPS!
LINKS:
Milk Money
The Labletter
Creative Writers Opportunities List
Two of my poems ("Bivalve, Cumberland County" and "By the Margin of Water") are now in Milk Money Volume Eight, When Jeff Goldblum Speaks, We Listen; AND, today, I just found out that my poem "Standing in the Atlantic Ocean with Tesla's Pigeon" has been accepted for publication in The Labletter (which is a paying gig...nice, nice).
As always, a quick thanks to you and your Creative Writing Opportunities listserv for letting me know about these publications/opportunities!
You are welcome, MB! And thanks for giving props to CRWROPPS!
LINKS:
Milk Money
The Labletter
Creative Writers Opportunities List
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Congrats to Jared Yates Sexton!
Congrats to Jared (JY) Sexton (MFA 08, fiction) for this good news:
My story "He Maketh Fire Come Down" was picked up for a future issue of Hobart.
Congrats, Jared!
link:
Hobart
Hobart
My story "He Maketh Fire Come Down" was picked up for a future issue of Hobart.
Congrats, Jared!
link:
Hobart
Hobart
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Congrats to Sara Burge!
Sara Burge (MFA '08, poetry)'s poem "Hostages" opens the new issue of River Styx. Her first collection of poems, Apocalypse Ranch, is now available for pre-order from Amazon!
Congrats, Ms. Burge!
Congrats, Ms. Burge!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
More About SIUC's National Ranking in P&W
Thanks to Andrea Hahn for her write-up on the SIUC MFA Program's ranking in Poets and Writers:
Press Release on P&W ranking
Press Release on P&W ranking
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Poets and Writers Ranks SIUC MFA Program at #40 in the Nation!
Poets and Writers Magazine, the "bible" of the creative writing industry, has ranked the SIUC MFA program at #40 in the nation! The program has moved from being a top 50 program last year (#47 to be exact) to a number #40 ranking this year.
View the chart here:
P&W Rankings
View the chart here:
P&W Rankings
Friday, August 13, 2010
Catching Up With David Bond
One of our first MFA poets, David Bond (MFA '98) has continued to write and publish successfully! David is also a very accomplished runner!
Here's a publication update from David:
**Was lucky enough to get a Professional Development Grant in April from the Illinois Arts Council. This program was instituted since the usual Artist Fellowship program is suspended this year.
**Won second place in the Deane Wagner Poetry Contest, sponsored by the St. Louis Writers Guild and an opportunity to read at a great venue, Wired Coffee in Sunset Hills.
**Have poems forthcoming in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Big Muddy, storySouth, and Crab Orchard Review.
Congrats, David, on all your accomplishments.
Here's a publication update from David:
**Was lucky enough to get a Professional Development Grant in April from the Illinois Arts Council. This program was instituted since the usual Artist Fellowship program is suspended this year.
**Won second place in the Deane Wagner Poetry Contest, sponsored by the St. Louis Writers Guild and an opportunity to read at a great venue, Wired Coffee in Sunset Hills.
**Have poems forthcoming in Valparaiso Poetry Review, Big Muddy, storySouth, and Crab Orchard Review.
Congrats, David, on all your accomplishments.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Rachel Furey wins Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award
Rachel Furey, a SIUC MFA alum (MFA '09) in fiction who is currently a Phd student at Texas Tech, has won the 2010 Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award!
Congrats also to James Scoles, a 2010 SIUC fiction alum who was a finalist!
Charles Johnson selected "Calls That Carry for Miles" by Rachel Furey (Texas Tech University; Lubbock, Texas) as the winner of the 2010 Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award. Rachel Furey will receive $1000 and a signed copy of a Charles Johnson book. "Calls That Carry for Miles" will appear in the 2011 Winter/Spring issue of Crab Orchard Review.
The other three finalists are:
"The First Good Thing" by Lauri M. Anderson (Texas Tech University; Lubbock, Texas)
"To Cook an Egg Gently" by James Scoles (Southern Illinois University; Carbondale, Illinois)
"Pitch" by Janet Thielke (University of Southern California; Los Angeles, California)
We will list the finalists in the 2011 Winter/Spring issue of Crab Orchard Review. We will also give each finalist a year's subscription to Crab Orchard Review.
For information about the Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award and about Charles Johnson, visit
Charles Johnson
Congrats also to James Scoles, a 2010 SIUC fiction alum who was a finalist!
Charles Johnson selected "Calls That Carry for Miles" by Rachel Furey (Texas Tech University; Lubbock, Texas) as the winner of the 2010 Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award. Rachel Furey will receive $1000 and a signed copy of a Charles Johnson book. "Calls That Carry for Miles" will appear in the 2011 Winter/Spring issue of Crab Orchard Review.
The other three finalists are:
"The First Good Thing" by Lauri M. Anderson (Texas Tech University; Lubbock, Texas)
"To Cook an Egg Gently" by James Scoles (Southern Illinois University; Carbondale, Illinois)
"Pitch" by Janet Thielke (University of Southern California; Los Angeles, California)
We will list the finalists in the 2011 Winter/Spring issue of Crab Orchard Review. We will also give each finalist a year's subscription to Crab Orchard Review.
For information about the Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award and about Charles Johnson, visit
Charles Johnson
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
Good news this afternoon from second-year fiction writer Nick Ostdick:
Just writing to say that my piece of flash fiction entitled 'On The Coast' was just accepted for publication by Necessary Fiction. Quite stoked. Not sure exactly when yet, either their fall or spring issues. And many thanks to Shawn, Adrienne, Melissa, Sarah, and Jacinda for helping to shape it, as it was written during our Forms class this past semester.
Congrats, Nick!
LINK:
Necessary Fiction
Just writing to say that my piece of flash fiction entitled 'On The Coast' was just accepted for publication by Necessary Fiction. Quite stoked. Not sure exactly when yet, either their fall or spring issues. And many thanks to Shawn, Adrienne, Melissa, Sarah, and Jacinda for helping to shape it, as it was written during our Forms class this past semester.
Congrats, Nick!
LINK:
Necessary Fiction
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Congrats to Will Tyler
Will Tyler (MFA '09, poetry) has been named a finalist for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship! Congrats, Will!
LINK:
Finalists
LINK:
Finalists
Friday, July 30, 2010
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Current poetry MFA student Mark Brewin has upbeat news:
"Poet Lore has accepted "Midnight Shift" for publication in their April 2011 issue."
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
Poet Lore
"Poet Lore has accepted "Midnight Shift" for publication in their April 2011 issue."
Congrats, MB!
LINK:
Poet Lore
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Late July News and Notes from Alums and Current Students
from Melissa Scholes Young (third-year, fiction):
I received my contributor copy of New Madrid today in which my essay "Carne" appears and found a delightful story entitled "A Flowery Tale" by Beth Lordan. What a treat!
New Madrid
Also, my essay "Lying in Mark Twain's Footsteps" came out in the inaugural issue of The Village Pariah.
Village Pariah
Oh, and I saw two of Rodney Jones' poems in the Spring/Fall 2010 Shenandoah.
from Emily Pruitt (MFA '03, poetry):
Hunger Mountain has accepted my poems "Mister" and "The Body Fails" for publication! You might remember "Mister"; it was the one you helped me with at the St Louis Poetry Center workshop this past winter. :)
from Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction):
Willow Review took "the autobiography, nearly" and Nimrod International Journal picked up "Rebekah Just When the Drought Was Ending" and "Illinois Route 3."
from Ben Percy (MFA '04 fiction):
A starred review for Ben's first novel in Publisher's Weekly:
PW
Congrats to all! Thanks for making Carbondale proud!
I received my contributor copy of New Madrid today in which my essay "Carne" appears and found a delightful story entitled "A Flowery Tale" by Beth Lordan. What a treat!
New Madrid
Also, my essay "Lying in Mark Twain's Footsteps" came out in the inaugural issue of The Village Pariah.
Village Pariah
Oh, and I saw two of Rodney Jones' poems in the Spring/Fall 2010 Shenandoah.
from Emily Pruitt (MFA '03, poetry):
Hunger Mountain has accepted my poems "Mister" and "The Body Fails" for publication! You might remember "Mister"; it was the one you helped me with at the St Louis Poetry Center workshop this past winter. :)
from Justin Hamm (MFA '05, fiction):
Willow Review took "the autobiography, nearly" and Nimrod International Journal picked up "Rebekah Just When the Drought Was Ending" and "Illinois Route 3."
from Ben Percy (MFA '04 fiction):
A starred review for Ben's first novel in Publisher's Weekly:
PW
Congrats to all! Thanks for making Carbondale proud!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Poetspotting: Whittemore and Boyd
Recent poetry alums Amie Whittemore (MFA '10) and Jake Boyd (MFA '07) were named "Regional Finalists" in the Midwest Writing Center's 2010 Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest.
Details here:
Midwest Writing
Details here:
Midwest Writing
Friday, July 09, 2010
Alumni Story Publications & Acceptances: Renee Evans and Alex Lumans
Story acceptance news from Alex Lumans (MFA '09) and Renee Evans (MFA '09):
from Alex:
I have a funny little story called "H.P. Lovecraft's Stellar Seafood Chowder" now up on the site Brain Harvest
Brain Harvest
from Renee:
SNReview took my story "A Quiet House."
SN Review
Congrats, Alex and Renee!
from Alex:
I have a funny little story called "H.P. Lovecraft's Stellar Seafood Chowder" now up on the site Brain Harvest
Brain Harvest
from Renee:
SNReview took my story "A Quiet House."
SN Review
Congrats, Alex and Renee!
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Congrats to Helena "Hel" Bell (MFA '08)
Great news from poetry alum Helena "Hel" Bell:
I've sold my first short story. "Migrating Bears" will be published by Daily Science Fiction later this year.
Congrats, Hel!
LINK:
Daily Science Fiction
I've sold my first short story. "Migrating Bears" will be published by Daily Science Fiction later this year.
Congrats, Hel!
LINK:
Daily Science Fiction
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Great news from third-year MFA poet Sarah McCartt-Jackson:
My poem "Jacob's Ladder" was a finalist for Copper Nickel's poetry contest!
Congrats, Sarah!
LINK:
Copper Nickel
My poem "Jacob's Ladder" was a finalist for Copper Nickel's poetry contest!
Congrats, Sarah!
LINK:
Copper Nickel
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Good News Round-up: Congrats for Current and Former MFA Students
Here's great recent news to share from alums and current students--keep on sending in your writing life updates!
Emily Pruitt (MFA '03, poetry) and Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry) were finalists for the 2010 Tampa Review Poetry Prize:
Tampa Review
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry) will have his poem "Mourning Heather" published in a future issue of Poetry Ireland Review. He will begin teaching at UC Santa Cruz in the fall.
Brenna Lemieux (current third-year student in poetry) will have her poem "Dysphasia" published in a future issue of North American Review.
Amy Graziano (MFA '07) will have her poem "In Tongues" appear in the summer issue of Naugatuck River Review.
Emily Pruitt (MFA '03, poetry) and Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry) were finalists for the 2010 Tampa Review Poetry Prize:
Tampa Review
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry) will have his poem "Mourning Heather" published in a future issue of Poetry Ireland Review. He will begin teaching at UC Santa Cruz in the fall.
Brenna Lemieux (current third-year student in poetry) will have her poem "Dysphasia" published in a future issue of North American Review.
Amy Graziano (MFA '07) will have her poem "In Tongues" appear in the summer issue of Naugatuck River Review.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Young Writers Workshop 2010 Reading Series: An Update
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP 2010 READING SERIES
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
ALL READINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
JUNE 22, 2010:
SIUC FACULTY READING: PINCKNEY BENEDICT
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict will debut his new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories
JUNE 23, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Mark Brewin, Lane Kareska, Melissa Scholes Young and Shawn Mitchell
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: CURTIS L. CRISLER, POET
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
Curtis L. Crisler, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW staff member, is the author of three books of poetry: Pulling Scabs (Willow Books; Aquarius Press), Spill (the 2008 Keyhole Chapbook Award winner at Keyhole Press), and Tough Boy Sonatas (Wordsong; Boyds Mills Press). His YA mixed-genre novel Dreamist is forthcoming. Crisler and Kevin McKelvey are working on a book of poems tentatively titled Indiana Nocturnes: Our Rural and Urban Patchwork.
JUNE 24, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
John Owen, Nick Ostdick and Leslie Adams
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: MELANIE DUSSEAU, POET
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Melanie Dusseau received a BA from Ohio University, an MA from the University of Toledo, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her poems have appeared in Black Warrior Review, River Styx, and Alaska Quarterly Review, among other journals. The Body Tries Again (Word Press) is her first book of poems.
JUNE 25, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Brenna Lemieux, Katie Zapoluch, Sarah-McCartt-Jackson and Brooks Rexroat
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER/FACULTY READING: KEVIN MCKELVEY, POET & ALLISON JOSEPH, YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP DIRECTOR
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
Kevin McKelvey, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW instructor, teaches writing at the University of Indianapolis. McKelvey’s first book, a chapbook entitled Dream Wilderness, was published by Finishing Line Press.
JUNE 26, 2010:
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT READING: Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 1:30 PM
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
ALL READINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
JUNE 22, 2010:
SIUC FACULTY READING: PINCKNEY BENEDICT
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict will debut his new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories
JUNE 23, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Mark Brewin, Lane Kareska, Melissa Scholes Young and Shawn Mitchell
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: CURTIS L. CRISLER, POET
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
Curtis L. Crisler, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW staff member, is the author of three books of poetry: Pulling Scabs (Willow Books; Aquarius Press), Spill (the 2008 Keyhole Chapbook Award winner at Keyhole Press), and Tough Boy Sonatas (Wordsong; Boyds Mills Press). His YA mixed-genre novel Dreamist is forthcoming. Crisler and Kevin McKelvey are working on a book of poems tentatively titled Indiana Nocturnes: Our Rural and Urban Patchwork.
JUNE 24, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
John Owen, Nick Ostdick and Leslie Adams
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: MELANIE DUSSEAU, POET
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Melanie Dusseau received a BA from Ohio University, an MA from the University of Toledo, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her poems have appeared in Black Warrior Review, River Styx, and Alaska Quarterly Review, among other journals. The Body Tries Again (Word Press) is her first book of poems.
JUNE 25, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Brenna Lemieux, Katie Zapoluch, Sarah-McCartt-Jackson and Brooks Rexroat
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER/FACULTY READING: KEVIN MCKELVEY, POET & ALLISON JOSEPH, YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP DIRECTOR
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 8 PM
Kevin McKelvey, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW instructor, teaches writing at the University of Indianapolis. McKelvey’s first book, a chapbook entitled Dream Wilderness, was published by Finishing Line Press.
JUNE 26, 2010:
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT READING: Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 1:30 PM
Friday, June 18, 2010
Congrats to Travis Mossotti!
News from Travis Mossotti (MFA '10):
I got notice a few days ago that Court Green has accepted my poem "Winter Letter" for publication in 2011.
Congrats, TM!
LINK:
Court Green
I got notice a few days ago that Court Green has accepted my poem "Winter Letter" for publication in 2011.
Congrats, TM!
LINK:
Court Green
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Congrats to Tim Marsh!
Good news today from fiction alum Tim Marsh (MFA '06)!
Last week I had stories accepted by Right Hand Pointing ("Last Pitch"), Whiskey Island ("Get Along Little Doggy, Get Along"), and The Write Room ("Hunger Bite").
That's a great week! Congrats, Tim!
Last week I had stories accepted by Right Hand Pointing ("Last Pitch"), Whiskey Island ("Get Along Little Doggy, Get Along"), and The Write Room ("Hunger Bite").
That's a great week! Congrats, Tim!
Young Writers Workshop 2010 is almost here!
Every June, the SIUC Creative Writing Program plays host to 30 high-school age creative writers for several days. The young writers become part of our community of writers here in Carbondale, taking classes and attending readings. This year, we have a bevy of readings going on--anyone can come to these events!
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP 2010 READING SERIES
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
ALL READINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
You are cordially invited to attend any or all of the readings below.
JUNE 22, 2010:
SIUC FACULTY READING: PINCKNEY BENEDICT
Faner 1326, (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8 PM
SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict will debut his new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories
JUNE 23, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Mark Brewin, Lane Kareska, Melissa Scholes Young and Shawn Mitchell
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: CURTIS L. CRISLER, POET
Faner Hall 1326, (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8PM
Curtis L. Crisler, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW staff member, is the author of three books of poetry: Pulling Scabs (Willow Books; Aquarius Press), Spill (the 2008 Keyhole Chapbook Award winner at Keyhole Press), and Tough Boy Sonatas (Wordsong; Boyds Mills Press). His YA mixed-genre novel Dreamist is forthcoming. Crisler and Kevin McKelvey are working on a book of poems tentatively titled Indiana Nocturnes: Our Rural and Urban Patchwork.
JUNE 24, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
John Owen, Nick Ostdick and Leslie Adams
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: MELANIE DUSSEAU, POET
Faner Hall 1326, (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8 PM
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Melanie Dusseau received a BA from Ohio University, an MA from The University of Toledo, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her poems have appeared in Black Warrior Review, River Styx, and Alaska Quarterly Review, among other journals. The Body Tries Again (Word Press) is her first collection of poems.
JUNE 25, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Brenna Lemieux, Katie Zapoluch, Sarah-McCartt-Jackson and Brooks Rexroat
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER/FACULTY READING: KEVIN MCKELVEY, POET,
ALLISON JOSEPH, YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP DIRECTOR
Faner Hall 1326 (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8 PM
Kevin McKelvey, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW instructor, teaches writing and publishing at the University of Indianapolis. McKelvey’s first book of poems, a chapbook entitled Dream Wilderness, was published by Finishing Line Press.
JUNE 26, 2010:
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT READING
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 1:30 PM
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP 2010 READING SERIES
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
ALL READINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
You are cordially invited to attend any or all of the readings below.
JUNE 22, 2010:
SIUC FACULTY READING: PINCKNEY BENEDICT
Faner 1326, (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8 PM
SIUC fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict will debut his new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories
JUNE 23, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Mark Brewin, Lane Kareska, Melissa Scholes Young and Shawn Mitchell
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: CURTIS L. CRISLER, POET
Faner Hall 1326, (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8PM
Curtis L. Crisler, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW staff member, is the author of three books of poetry: Pulling Scabs (Willow Books; Aquarius Press), Spill (the 2008 Keyhole Chapbook Award winner at Keyhole Press), and Tough Boy Sonatas (Wordsong; Boyds Mills Press). His YA mixed-genre novel Dreamist is forthcoming. Crisler and Kevin McKelvey are working on a book of poems tentatively titled Indiana Nocturnes: Our Rural and Urban Patchwork.
JUNE 24, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
John Owen, Nick Ostdick and Leslie Adams
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER READING: MELANIE DUSSEAU, POET
Faner Hall 1326, (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8 PM
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Melanie Dusseau received a BA from Ohio University, an MA from The University of Toledo, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her poems have appeared in Black Warrior Review, River Styx, and Alaska Quarterly Review, among other journals. The Body Tries Again (Word Press) is her first collection of poems.
JUNE 25, 2010:
SIUC GRADUATE CREATIVE WRITERS READING:
Brenna Lemieux, Katie Zapoluch, Sarah-McCartt-Jackson and Brooks Rexroat
Faner Hall 1005, 4-5 PM
VISITING WRITER/FACULTY READING: KEVIN MCKELVEY, POET,
ALLISON JOSEPH, YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP DIRECTOR
Faner Hall 1326 (Harry T. Moore Auditorium), 8 PM
Kevin McKelvey, a graduate of the SIUC MFA Program and former YWW instructor, teaches writing and publishing at the University of Indianapolis. McKelvey’s first book of poems, a chapbook entitled Dream Wilderness, was published by Finishing Line Press.
JUNE 26, 2010:
YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT READING
Cisne Auditorium, Pulliam Hall 34, 1:30 PM
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Congrats to Alex Lumans!
Fine news to share from Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction):
I'll be attending the Sewanee Writers' Conference in July. They awarded me a Tennessee Williams scholarship, so Good Ol' Rocky Top, here I come.
Congrats, Lumans!
LINK:
SWC Scholars
I'll be attending the Sewanee Writers' Conference in July. They awarded me a Tennessee Williams scholarship, so Good Ol' Rocky Top, here I come.
Congrats, Lumans!
LINK:
SWC Scholars
Sunday, June 13, 2010
That's Mr. Endowed Professor to You!
Hearty congratulations to Adrian Matejka (MFA '01, poetry) who has been awarded a very special endowed professorship position at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville!
LINK:
Adrian's professorship
LINK:
Adrian's professorship
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Congrats to Amy Blache Graziano (MFA '07)
Amy Blache Graziano (MFA '07, poetry) has had her poem "Ghosts" accepted for publication in the National Poetry Review!
Congrats, Amy!
LINK:
National Poetry Review
Congrats, Amy!
LINK:
National Poetry Review
Friday, June 11, 2010
Congrats to Sarah McCartt-Jackson!
Great news for third-year poetry student Sarah McCartt-Jackson:
I won second prize ($250!) in the Friends of Acadia Journal poetry contest for my poem "Kentucky Rose" as well as an honorable mention for my poem "Gulch"!
LINK:
Friends of Acadia
Congrats, Sarah!
I won second prize ($250!) in the Friends of Acadia Journal poetry contest for my poem "Kentucky Rose" as well as an honorable mention for my poem "Gulch"!
LINK:
Friends of Acadia
Congrats, Sarah!
Friday, June 04, 2010
Alumni Achievements: June 2010
from Andy McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry):
Borderlands is publishing my review of Karen An-hwei Lee's Ardor (Tupelo Press) in an upcoming issue. I'm excited because this is my first largely critical review to be published. Kinda scary too... They have also commissioned me to write a review of David Wevill's Selected Works, edited by Michael McGriff (Truman State University Press).
from Kathryn Kerr (MFA '00, poetry):
Kathryn's poems have appeared recently in:
llinois English Bulletin, Spring 2010, V97 N.2: "The Wall", "Elegy for Nathan", and "What My Students Learned About Writing Fiction"
WordRiver: V2, 2010, "Brother Sun"
from Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction):
My essay “The Verse” will appear (for sweet money) in the Newfoundland Quarterly sometime this summer (possibly the fall). I’ll also have stories appearing in Milk Money Magazine and LIT: Journal of the New School, and my CNF piece “Communitas Lost” will headline the July 11th edition of Pure Francis.
Lastly, my CNF essay “A Month Before 30, Summit of Signal Hill” will be recorded and featured at Splinter Generation’s Los Angeles Reading Series, June 24th, for anybody in the area. On that note, please look for my story “How to Make White People Happy” in the upcoming issue of the Los Angeles Review, due out October 1st.
Borderlands is publishing my review of Karen An-hwei Lee's Ardor (Tupelo Press) in an upcoming issue. I'm excited because this is my first largely critical review to be published. Kinda scary too... They have also commissioned me to write a review of David Wevill's Selected Works, edited by Michael McGriff (Truman State University Press).
from Kathryn Kerr (MFA '00, poetry):
Kathryn's poems have appeared recently in:
llinois English Bulletin, Spring 2010, V97 N.2: "The Wall", "Elegy for Nathan", and "What My Students Learned About Writing Fiction"
WordRiver: V2, 2010, "Brother Sun"
from Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction):
My essay “The Verse” will appear (for sweet money) in the Newfoundland Quarterly sometime this summer (possibly the fall). I’ll also have stories appearing in Milk Money Magazine and LIT: Journal of the New School, and my CNF piece “Communitas Lost” will headline the July 11th edition of Pure Francis.
Lastly, my CNF essay “A Month Before 30, Summit of Signal Hill” will be recorded and featured at Splinter Generation’s Los Angeles Reading Series, June 24th, for anybody in the area. On that note, please look for my story “How to Make White People Happy” in the upcoming issue of the Los Angeles Review, due out October 1st.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Alumni Sightings: Southern Indiana Review
The Spring 2010 issue of the Southern Indiana Review has work by several alums: poetry by Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) and Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09) and fiction by Alex Lumans (MFA '09).
LINK:
Southern Indiana Review
LINK:
Southern Indiana Review
Alumni Sightings: Greensboro Review
The Spring 2010 issue of the Greensboro Review has work by two alums: fiction alum Brian Hyer (MFA '04) has a story titled "Package" in its pages; poetry alum Travis Mossotti (MFA '10) has a poem titled "After the Snowmelt."
LINK:
Greensboro Review
LINK:
Greensboro Review
Monday, May 24, 2010
Catching Up with Kerry James Evans!
An update from Kerry James Evans (MFA '09, poetry):
I have poems in the current issues of Agni, Briar Cliff Review, and New Letters. Also, New South just accepted a new poem, "Alligator Swamp and the Bayou Blues." Hope all is well in the Dale.
Congrats, KJE!
I have poems in the current issues of Agni, Briar Cliff Review, and New Letters. Also, New South just accepted a new poem, "Alligator Swamp and the Bayou Blues." Hope all is well in the Dale.
Congrats, KJE!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Congrats and a Reading Reminder
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10) writes with good news:
Poet Lore just accepted my poem "Rain" for their upcoming fall/winter issue.
Congrats, TM!
LINK:
Poet Lore
Reminder: Travis Mossotti and second-year fiction student Shawn Mitchell will read from their work this Saturday at the Yeiser Arts Center (200 Broadway) in Paducah, KY as part of the River Town Reading Series. The reading begins at 7:30 pm.
Poet Lore just accepted my poem "Rain" for their upcoming fall/winter issue.
Congrats, TM!
LINK:
Poet Lore
Reminder: Travis Mossotti and second-year fiction student Shawn Mitchell will read from their work this Saturday at the Yeiser Arts Center (200 Broadway) in Paducah, KY as part of the River Town Reading Series. The reading begins at 7:30 pm.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Storyspotting: Melissa Scholes Young
Current third-year fiction writer Melissa Scholes Young writes:
My flash fiction "The Town Crier" is up at Paradigm. I wrote this short piece in Jacinda's class this semester when we studied microfiction.
The Town Crier
Congrats, MSY!
My flash fiction "The Town Crier" is up at Paradigm. I wrote this short piece in Jacinda's class this semester when we studied microfiction.
The Town Crier
Congrats, MSY!
Congrats to A.K. Thompson!
Great news also for third-year fiction writer A.K. Thompson:
My interview with Donald Ray Pollock (Real Life: An Interview with Donald Ray Pollock) has been accepted for publication in The Chiron Review. Woo-hoo!
Best,
A.K.
Congrats, A.K.!
LINK:
Chiron Review
My interview with Donald Ray Pollock (Real Life: An Interview with Donald Ray Pollock) has been accepted for publication in The Chiron Review. Woo-hoo!
Best,
A.K.
Congrats, A.K.!
LINK:
Chiron Review
Congrats to Rick Pechous!
Current third-year fiction writer Rick Pechous has great news:
Just heard from Underground Voices, they're wanting to publish a story I wrote called "Outside and Inside." Good stuff. It'll be included in the June issue.
Rick
Congrats, Rick!
LINK:
Underground Voices
Just heard from Underground Voices, they're wanting to publish a story I wrote called "Outside and Inside." Good stuff. It'll be included in the June issue.
Rick
Congrats, Rick!
LINK:
Underground Voices
Monday, May 17, 2010
Catching Up With Ben Percy (MFA '04)
from the fabulous Ben Percy (MFA '04, fiction), who's always up to something:
Hope all's well in Carbondale. Again, I had a great time visiting last month.
As requested, here's some news:
Have an article in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers called "Home Improvement: Revision as Renovation"
Have an article coming out in the June '10 issue of Outside Magazine called "Never Been to Disneyland"
Recently sold a short story/novel excerpt (from The Wilding) to Tin House for their fall '10 "Class in America" issue.
Recently sold a short story to Gulf Coast for fall '10 issue.
Recently sold a short story -- "Writs of Possession" -- slated for the the spring '11 Virginia Quarterly Review
And my collection Refresh, Refresh has been chosen by UW-Stevens Point as their shared freshman text, so all incoming students will be reading and discussing it.
Whoa, Mr. Percy! That's a lot of work and a lot of congrats from your friends here in Carbondale.
Hope all's well in Carbondale. Again, I had a great time visiting last month.
As requested, here's some news:
Have an article in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers called "Home Improvement: Revision as Renovation"
Have an article coming out in the June '10 issue of Outside Magazine called "Never Been to Disneyland"
Recently sold a short story/novel excerpt (from The Wilding) to Tin House for their fall '10 "Class in America" issue.
Recently sold a short story to Gulf Coast for fall '10 issue.
Recently sold a short story -- "Writs of Possession" -- slated for the the spring '11 Virginia Quarterly Review
And my collection Refresh, Refresh has been chosen by UW-Stevens Point as their shared freshman text, so all incoming students will be reading and discussing it.
Whoa, Mr. Percy! That's a lot of work and a lot of congrats from your friends here in Carbondale.
Friday, May 14, 2010
News and Notes about/from SIUC MFA Alums & Faculty
A round-up of recent/forthcoming publications and honors for SIUC writers:
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry):
"Just got a notice that Southern Humanities Review has accepted "Inside the Skull" for publication." Travis will also read from his work at the Yeiser Arts Center (200 Broadway) in Paducah (along with current fiction student Shawn Mitchell) on May 22 @ 7:30 pm as part of the River Town Reading Series.
Pinckney Benedict, fiction faculty:
"In the Hot Type column of the June issue of Vanity Fair: "Independent presses burn red hot this month. In Miracle Boy and Other Stories (Press 53), the Chekhov of Appalachia, Pinckney Benedict, highlights a culture in which the bizarre and grotesque are commonplace." Pinckney's new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories, will be celebrated with a reading during this year's Young Writers Workshop (June 22-June 26). Pinckney will read at 8pm in Faner Hall's Harry T. Moore Auditorium on June 22, 2010.
Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry):
An excerpt from his poem "Marysarias" appears in the new issue of Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts (published at the University of Missouri).
Allison Joseph, poetry faculty and Jan La Perle (MFA '06, poetry)
New work by Jan and Allison appears in new issue of the Tusculum Review (published by Tusculum College in Greeneville, TN).
Travis Mossotti (MFA '10, poetry):
"Just got a notice that Southern Humanities Review has accepted "Inside the Skull" for publication." Travis will also read from his work at the Yeiser Arts Center (200 Broadway) in Paducah (along with current fiction student Shawn Mitchell) on May 22 @ 7:30 pm as part of the River Town Reading Series.
Pinckney Benedict, fiction faculty:
"In the Hot Type column of the June issue of Vanity Fair: "Independent presses burn red hot this month. In Miracle Boy and Other Stories (Press 53), the Chekhov of Appalachia, Pinckney Benedict, highlights a culture in which the bizarre and grotesque are commonplace." Pinckney's new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories, will be celebrated with a reading during this year's Young Writers Workshop (June 22-June 26). Pinckney will read at 8pm in Faner Hall's Harry T. Moore Auditorium on June 22, 2010.
Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry):
An excerpt from his poem "Marysarias" appears in the new issue of Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts (published at the University of Missouri).
Allison Joseph, poetry faculty and Jan La Perle (MFA '06, poetry)
New work by Jan and Allison appears in new issue of the Tusculum Review (published by Tusculum College in Greeneville, TN).
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Congrats to Alex Lumans!
Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction) writes with happy forthcoming publication news:
I will have a story coming out in the next issue of Gargoyle that's due in June. It's called "Cormac McCarthy, Walmart Greeter." And I also have a story in the freshest issue of Rosebud: "How Tall Love Is."
Congrats, Lumans!
LINKS:
Gargoyle
Rosebud
I will have a story coming out in the next issue of Gargoyle that's due in June. It's called "Cormac McCarthy, Walmart Greeter." And I also have a story in the freshest issue of Rosebud: "How Tall Love Is."
Congrats, Lumans!
LINKS:
Gargoyle
Rosebud
Friday, May 07, 2010
Congrats also to
alums Andy McFadyen-Ketchum, Alex Lumans, Martin Call and Shanie Latham, who also received scholarships to attend this year's Ropewalk Writers Retreat. Current second-year fiction writer Lane Kareska also received one.
Watch out New Harmony, C-dale's coming at ya!
Watch out New Harmony, C-dale's coming at ya!
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Congrats to Andy McFadyen-Ketchum
News from Andy McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry):
Looks like Hayden's Ferry Review will be running my interview with SIUC's very own Benjamin Percy in November.
Congrats, Andy!
LINK:
Hayden's Ferry Review
Looks like Hayden's Ferry Review will be running my interview with SIUC's very own Benjamin Percy in November.
Congrats, Andy!
LINK:
Hayden's Ferry Review
Congrats to Sarah McCartt-Jackson!
Great news for second-year poet Sarah McCartt-Jackson--she's been selected to receive a scholarship to this year's Ropewalk Writers' Retreat!
Congrats, Sarah!
Find out more about Ropewalk here;
Ropewalk Writers' Retreat
Congrats, Sarah!
Find out more about Ropewalk here;
Ropewalk Writers' Retreat
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
MFA Graduation GALA--May 8, 2010
The Creative Writing Program of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Department of English
cordially invites you to attend
our MFA Celebration
May 8, 2010
6:00 PM
SIUC Student Center Renaissance Room
These nine graduating students will read briefly from their thesis works:
Jenna Bazzell
Justin Benton
Azizat Danmole
Laura Gross
Travis Mossotti
Hannah K. New
James Scoles
Reynardo Vargas
Amie Whittemore
Please join us in wishing them congratulations and godspeed. There will be a reception with refreshments before the readings and during the intermissions.
Graduate Faculty:
Pinckney Benedict, Rodney Jones, Judy Jordan, Allison Joseph, Beth Lordan, Jacinda Townsend, and Jon Tribble.
cordially invites you to attend
our MFA Celebration
May 8, 2010
6:00 PM
SIUC Student Center Renaissance Room
These nine graduating students will read briefly from their thesis works:
Jenna Bazzell
Justin Benton
Azizat Danmole
Laura Gross
Travis Mossotti
Hannah K. New
James Scoles
Reynardo Vargas
Amie Whittemore
Please join us in wishing them congratulations and godspeed. There will be a reception with refreshments before the readings and during the intermissions.
Graduate Faculty:
Pinckney Benedict, Rodney Jones, Judy Jordan, Allison Joseph, Beth Lordan, Jacinda Townsend, and Jon Tribble.
Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!
Very nice news this morning from second-year fiction writer Melissa Scholes Young:
The Village Pariah will be publishing my essay "Lying in Mark Twain's Footsteps" in their inaugural issue out this summer. That makes this Hannibal girl very proud!
The Village Pariah
Also, Paradigm is publishing a piece of my flash fiction entitled "The Town Crier."
Paradigm
Both are publishing print and online editions. I'll let you know when they are up!
The Village Pariah will be publishing my essay "Lying in Mark Twain's Footsteps" in their inaugural issue out this summer. That makes this Hannibal girl very proud!
The Village Pariah
Also, Paradigm is publishing a piece of my flash fiction entitled "The Town Crier."
Paradigm
Both are publishing print and online editions. I'll let you know when they are up!
Monday, May 03, 2010
News and Notes about/from SIUC MFA Alums
Poems by Jan LaPerle (MFA '06, poetry) appear in the new issue of Blazevox. Read them here:
Jan's poems
Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry)'s poem "Maenon" is forthcoming in Copper Nickel and his poem "Freak of the Week" is forthcoming in Cold Mountain Review.
Kevin McKelvey (MFA '04, poetry) writes: My Desktop Publishing course at the University of Indianapolis edited, designed, and printed books of creative writing by the 7th grade class at Indianapolis Public School #2, Center For Inquiry. Thirteen university students worked with twenty-nine 7th graders to print the books. Each book is a "flip" book with two authors, two front covers, etc. The 7th graders created the writing while working with The Second Story, a local nonprofit that works to improve kids' attitudes about writing, and students from Butler University. My UIndy students chose what to publish, edited the writing, and designed the books. We created 15 books and printed nearly 200 copies in all. Our release reading last week was a success for us and the 7th graders. Here's a link to an article on the project:
Kevin's project
And the Second Story's website: Second Story
Jan's poems
Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry)'s poem "Maenon" is forthcoming in Copper Nickel and his poem "Freak of the Week" is forthcoming in Cold Mountain Review.
Kevin McKelvey (MFA '04, poetry) writes: My Desktop Publishing course at the University of Indianapolis edited, designed, and printed books of creative writing by the 7th grade class at Indianapolis Public School #2, Center For Inquiry. Thirteen university students worked with twenty-nine 7th graders to print the books. Each book is a "flip" book with two authors, two front covers, etc. The 7th graders created the writing while working with The Second Story, a local nonprofit that works to improve kids' attitudes about writing, and students from Butler University. My UIndy students chose what to publish, edited the writing, and designed the books. We created 15 books and printed nearly 200 copies in all. Our release reading last week was a success for us and the 7th graders. Here's a link to an article on the project:
Kevin's project
And the Second Story's website: Second Story
Friday, April 30, 2010
Discover Paul Guest!
Terrific news for Paul Guest (MFA '99, poetry). His memoir, One More Theory About Happiness, has been chosen for Barnes & Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" Program.
You can pre-order Paul's latest here:
One More Theory About Happiness
Congratulations, Paul!
You can pre-order Paul's latest here:
One More Theory About Happiness
Congratulations, Paul!
News from Alex Lumans
Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction) sends this news:
I have a story called "Wands" in a new anthology called Three Times Daily that just got launched a week ago at the Cuirt Book Festival in Galway, Ireland. It features writing from all of the graduates of the NUIG Masters in Writing program (and somehow I burgled my way into its pages, too).
There's no real link for it yet, but here's the best I can do:
Galway
I have a story called "Wands" in a new anthology called Three Times Daily that just got launched a week ago at the Cuirt Book Festival in Galway, Ireland. It features writing from all of the graduates of the NUIG Masters in Writing program (and somehow I burgled my way into its pages, too).
There's no real link for it yet, but here's the best I can do:
Galway
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
More Pinckney Benedict News!
My story "Pig Helmet & the Wall of Life" is up over at Cal Morgan's terrific Fifty-Two Stories
Fifty-Two Stories. 52S is Harper Perennial's "little experiment in social engineering through the regular administration of short fiction," where they publish a new story every week. Our grad students should send them work. Link to submit is on the front page.
Congrats and thanks for the tip, PB!
Fifty-Two Stories. 52S is Harper Perennial's "little experiment in social engineering through the regular administration of short fiction," where they publish a new story every week. Our grad students should send them work. Link to submit is on the front page.
Congrats and thanks for the tip, PB!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
First-year fiction MFA Nick Ostdick has good news this afternoon:
I'll be presenting some fiction this fall at MMLA in Chicago (November 4-7). I'll be reading on the panel "Menace in Fiction,' and will be presenting my short story 'Mudholes' which was written this semester during Pinckney's workshop. Huge thanks to all in workshop who had a hand in shaping this story. Stoked.
LINK:
MMLA
I'll be presenting some fiction this fall at MMLA in Chicago (November 4-7). I'll be reading on the panel "Menace in Fiction,' and will be presenting my short story 'Mudholes' which was written this semester during Pinckney's workshop. Huge thanks to all in workshop who had a hand in shaping this story. Stoked.
LINK:
MMLA
Praise for Pinckney Benedict and Miracle Boy
from Pinckney Benedict, SIU fiction faculty and writer extraordinaire:
"Have just learned that MIRACLE BOY AND OTHER STORIES (Press53, May 23), has been longlisted for the The Cork City - Frank O'Connor Short Story Award. Cork
So there’s that."
There's that indeed! Congrats, PB!
"Have just learned that MIRACLE BOY AND OTHER STORIES (Press53, May 23), has been longlisted for the The Cork City - Frank O'Connor Short Story Award. Cork
So there’s that."
There's that indeed! Congrats, PB!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Congrats to Travis Mossotti!
Publication news from third-year poetry student Travis Mossotti: Copper Nickel accepted the poem "Marizibill" over the weekend.
Congrats, TM!
LINK:
Copper Nickel
Congrats, TM!
LINK:
Copper Nickel
Congrats to Kerry James Evans
Kerry James Evans (MFA '09, poetry) has had recent publication news:
The Pinch accepted my poem "Atomic Bible."
Congrats, KJE!
LINK:
The Pinch
The Pinch accepted my poem "Atomic Bible."
Congrats, KJE!
LINK:
The Pinch
Upcoming Writers on the Road Event: UMSL
The SIUC Graduate Writers Forum will present literary readings by writers from the University of Missouri Saint Louis' MFA Program on Friday, April 30th from 4-5:30 pm in the SIUC Student Center's Mississippi Room. The writers who will be reading from their creative works will be novelist Angie O'Gorman, poet K. William Kyle, fiction writer Kenny Squires and poet Joe Betz.
Congrats to Elena Pearson!
Elena Pearson (MFA '07, poetry) (who publishes under her maiden name, R. Elena Prieto) has had her poem "Courting Mary Ann Cotton" accepted for inclusion in A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry, edited by Oliver de la Paz and Stacey Lynn Brown.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Poemspotting: Travis Mossotti
Travis Mossotti's poem "I watched her going into a gas station" appears in the latest issue of Harpur Palate (volume 9, number 2), the national literary journal published at Binghamton University in New York.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Poemspotting: Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
"Winters, We Watch the Snow Descend Slowly," a poem by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09 poetry), appears in the Fall 2009 issue of South Dakota Review.
LINK:
South Dakota Review
LINK:
South Dakota Review
Writers on the Road: Mizzou Edition
tip courtesy Shawn Mitchell:
Thursday April 15th, we are sending a Writers on the Road contingent from SIUC to read in Columbia, MO for the MU folks that we had here last semester. The readers will be Mark Jay Brewin, Jr., Shawn Andrew Mitchell, Travis Mossotti, and Richard Pechous. It's at 7:00pm at Top Ten Wines in downtown Columbia, and it's going to be heckova good time.
Thursday April 15th, we are sending a Writers on the Road contingent from SIUC to read in Columbia, MO for the MU folks that we had here last semester. The readers will be Mark Jay Brewin, Jr., Shawn Andrew Mitchell, Travis Mossotti, and Richard Pechous. It's at 7:00pm at Top Ten Wines in downtown Columbia, and it's going to be heckova good time.
Congrats to Alex Lumans!
Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction) has some great post-AWP news to share:
"I have a story entitled "Tunnel Out of Georgia" in the newest issue of Black Warrior Review that came out in the last week or so. Page 1, baby!
And I also have a poem coming out in the next issue of The South Carolina Review (home state!) entitled "Endangered Species."
Congrats, Lumans!
"I have a story entitled "Tunnel Out of Georgia" in the newest issue of Black Warrior Review that came out in the last week or so. Page 1, baby!
And I also have a poem coming out in the next issue of The South Carolina Review (home state!) entitled "Endangered Species."
Congrats, Lumans!
Upcoming Literary Events in Carbondale
Learn more about the upcoming Little Grassy Literary Festival, sponsored by the Graduate Writers Forum of SIUC, here:
Little Grassy Literary Festival
Little Grassy Literary Festival
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Congrats to Travis Mossotti!
Travis Mossotti writes with news of several upcoming publications:
"It's No Secret" was picked up by the American Literary Review; "The Escape Artist" by Washington Square Review; and "Yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion" by Southeast Review.
Congrats, TM!
"It's No Secret" was picked up by the American Literary Review; "The Escape Artist" by Washington Square Review; and "Yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion" by Southeast Review.
Congrats, TM!
Literary Events in C-dale: Wednesday, April 14
Grassroots, SIUC's undergraduate journal, will have its spring release party this Wednesday:
Grassroots is pleased to announce we will be celebrating the release of our 2010 issue with a party this coming Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00 pm in the Hall of Presidents at Morris Library. We invite all faculty and students to read their work to help us get the party rocking! We'll have delicious desserts and good company, so bring your sweet tooth and a friend!
--Amy Mckenzie, Grassroots Editor-in-Chief
Also on the 14th, SIUC poet Judy Jordan will be presenting at the next Sigma Tau Delta meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 (6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Mississippi Room of the Student Center).
Professor Jordan’s first book of poetry, "Carolina Ghost Woods," won the 1999 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, the 2000 National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as the Utah Book of the Year Award, the OAY Award from the Poetry Council of North Carolina, and the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award. Her second book of poetry, "Sixty Cent Coffee and a Quarter to Dance," was recently published by LSU press. This past year she has completed two full-length plays and is currently working on a memoir and a third book of poetry.
Grassroots is pleased to announce we will be celebrating the release of our 2010 issue with a party this coming Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00 pm in the Hall of Presidents at Morris Library. We invite all faculty and students to read their work to help us get the party rocking! We'll have delicious desserts and good company, so bring your sweet tooth and a friend!
--Amy Mckenzie, Grassroots Editor-in-Chief
Also on the 14th, SIUC poet Judy Jordan will be presenting at the next Sigma Tau Delta meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 (6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Mississippi Room of the Student Center).
Professor Jordan’s first book of poetry, "Carolina Ghost Woods," won the 1999 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, the 2000 National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as the Utah Book of the Year Award, the OAY Award from the Poetry Council of North Carolina, and the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award. Her second book of poetry, "Sixty Cent Coffee and a Quarter to Dance," was recently published by LSU press. This past year she has completed two full-length plays and is currently working on a memoir and a third book of poetry.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Making Mama Proud: More Great News from MFA Carbondale folks
from James Scoles, third-year fiction writing student:
I've been awarded a major writing grant by the Canada Council for the Arts--six months of financial support--for me to work on my novel 'Spit in the Ocean.' The grant also covers a month-long return trip to Ireland this fall.
from Leslie Adams, first-year poetry student:
I just got the news that Quarterly West has accepted two poems, "Notes from the Cold" and "Elegy with Moon and Snake," for publication. Exciting!
from Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction):
The Los Angeles Review will publish my story "How to Make White People Happy" in October, and Pure Francis will publish my CNF piece "Communitas Lost" this summer.
How's that for good news!
I've been awarded a major writing grant by the Canada Council for the Arts--six months of financial support--for me to work on my novel 'Spit in the Ocean.' The grant also covers a month-long return trip to Ireland this fall.
from Leslie Adams, first-year poetry student:
I just got the news that Quarterly West has accepted two poems, "Notes from the Cold" and "Elegy with Moon and Snake," for publication. Exciting!
from Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction):
The Los Angeles Review will publish my story "How to Make White People Happy" in October, and Pure Francis will publish my CNF piece "Communitas Lost" this summer.
How's that for good news!
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Congrats to Emily Pruitt!
Emily Pruitt (MFA '03, poetry) has had two poems--"Adult Children Anonymous" and "Tokens"--accepted for publication by Big Muddy, the literary journal published by Southeast Missouri State University.
Congrats, EM!
LINK:
Big Muddy
Congrats, EM!
LINK:
Big Muddy
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Congrats to Lane Kareska!
Second-year fiction MFA student Lane Kareska sends exciting news from Ireland:
I was recently informed that my novel "I Will Kill the Sin Eater" made it to the finalist round of the New Rivers Press MVP contest. The prize is one thousand dollars and publication. This was a contest I entered because of CRWROPPS- so thanks again, Allison!
You are very welcome, LK!
LINK:
New Rivers Press
I was recently informed that my novel "I Will Kill the Sin Eater" made it to the finalist round of the New Rivers Press MVP contest. The prize is one thousand dollars and publication. This was a contest I entered because of CRWROPPS- so thanks again, Allison!
You are very welcome, LK!
LINK:
New Rivers Press
Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!
Current second-year fiction MFA student Melissa Scholes Young has upcoming publication news:
New Madrid accepted my nonfiction essay "Carne" for publication in their Summer 2010 journal. Jon edited this essay for me last fall, and I'm grateful!
Congrats, Melissa!
New Madrid accepted my nonfiction essay "Carne" for publication in their Summer 2010 journal. Jon edited this essay for me last fall, and I'm grateful!
Congrats, Melissa!
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Looking Forward: Little Grassy Literary Festival Schedule
2010 Little Grassy Literary Festival: April 22 & 23, 2010
sponsored by the Graduate Writers Forum
SIUC MFA Program in Creative Writing
Thursday, April 22, 2010:
3-4:30pm Readings by Todd Hearon and Jennifer Richter
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
6:30-8:30pm Readings by Ben Percy and Drew Perry
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Friday, April 23, 2010:
10-11 am Writers Panel Discussion: Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Carolyn Forche, David Clewell, Ben Percy, Drew Perry
11am-12pm Reading by David Clewell
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
12-1pm Book Signing and Reception
Morris Library, 1st Floor Rotunda
1-2 pm Reading by Carolyn Forche
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
sponsored by the Graduate Writers Forum
SIUC MFA Program in Creative Writing
Thursday, April 22, 2010:
3-4:30pm Readings by Todd Hearon and Jennifer Richter
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
6:30-8:30pm Readings by Ben Percy and Drew Perry
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Friday, April 23, 2010:
10-11 am Writers Panel Discussion: Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Carolyn Forche, David Clewell, Ben Percy, Drew Perry
11am-12pm Reading by David Clewell
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
12-1pm Book Signing and Reception
Morris Library, 1st Floor Rotunda
1-2 pm Reading by Carolyn Forche
Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Congrats to Jenna Bazzell!
Third-year poetry MFA student Jenna Bazzell is a winner in this year's annual AWP Intro Competition:
Details here:
Poetry Winners, AWP Intro
Details here:
Poetry Winners, AWP Intro
Storyspotting: Melissa Scholes Young
Second-year fiction student Melissa Scholes Young has a new story, "Scrap Metal Baby" in The Front View.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Poemspotting: Alums and Faculty
Poems by Leslie Adams (current first-year in poetry), Tim Shea (MFA '08, poetry) and SIUC faculty poet Allison Joseph appear in the latest issue of New South, a literary journal located at Georgia State University.
Poems by SIUC faculty poets Rodney Jones and Allison Joseph appear in the 35th anniversary issue of River Styx.
A review of MFA '04 Curtis Crisler's first book of poems, Tough Boy Sonatas, appears in the new issue of Big Muddy.
Poems by SIUC faculty poets Rodney Jones and Allison Joseph appear in the 35th anniversary issue of River Styx.
A review of MFA '04 Curtis Crisler's first book of poems, Tough Boy Sonatas, appears in the new issue of Big Muddy.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest Winners: 2010
Announcing the Winners of the 2010 Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest
SPONSORED BY THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM AND THE WOMEN’S STUDIES PROGRAM
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
Judge Lee Ann Roripaugh, poet and professor at the University of South Dakota, has chosen to honor the following poets and their poems:
UNDERGRADUATE WINNERS:
First place: Jonathan Veach for “Renoir’s Vase of Chrysanthemums”
Second place: Stephenie DeArcangelis for “How It Is, Not Why”
Third place: Rheanna Pulley for “Mondays in Winter”
GRADUATE WINNERS:
First place: Amie Whittemore for “Lightning Bug Season”
Second place: Sarah McCartt-Jackson for “Vanishing Point”
Third place: Ruth Awad for “When My Mother Returned”
Honorable Mention: Jonathan Travelstead for “Clam Gulch, Alaska”
Please join us on Monday, March 29 2010 at 4 pm in the SIUC Student Center Auditorium for an awards ceremony featuring a reading from our judge, Lee Ann Roripaugh, the author of On the Cusp of a Dangerous Year (SIU Press)and two other collections of poetry. The winners will also read their award-winning poems. There will be a booksigning and reception in the Old Main Lounge after the ceremony.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera, who was a poet and graduate student in English at the time of her death in 2003. Additional support for this contest comes from the Judge William Holmes Cook Endowment.
SPONSORED BY THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM AND THE WOMEN’S STUDIES PROGRAM
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
Judge Lee Ann Roripaugh, poet and professor at the University of South Dakota, has chosen to honor the following poets and their poems:
UNDERGRADUATE WINNERS:
First place: Jonathan Veach for “Renoir’s Vase of Chrysanthemums”
Second place: Stephenie DeArcangelis for “How It Is, Not Why”
Third place: Rheanna Pulley for “Mondays in Winter”
GRADUATE WINNERS:
First place: Amie Whittemore for “Lightning Bug Season”
Second place: Sarah McCartt-Jackson for “Vanishing Point”
Third place: Ruth Awad for “When My Mother Returned”
Honorable Mention: Jonathan Travelstead for “Clam Gulch, Alaska”
Please join us on Monday, March 29 2010 at 4 pm in the SIUC Student Center Auditorium for an awards ceremony featuring a reading from our judge, Lee Ann Roripaugh, the author of On the Cusp of a Dangerous Year (SIU Press)and two other collections of poetry. The winners will also read their award-winning poems. There will be a booksigning and reception in the Old Main Lounge after the ceremony.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera, who was a poet and graduate student in English at the time of her death in 2003. Additional support for this contest comes from the Judge William Holmes Cook Endowment.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Publication Congratulations to...
Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction):
I just had a story accepted for the Cincinnati Review (fall issue) called "Before I Offer Myself to the Birdmen."
And I also got a proposal accepted for a breakout session (called "Remaking the Real") at the
Ohio Festival of the Short Story that will go on this coming May 7 and 8 in Cincinnati.
Mark Brewin (second-year, poetry):
My poems "The Sunken House, The Rough Floor" and "Self-Portrait with a Mouse in my Future Mother-In-Law's Kitchen" have been picked up at La Fovea, an online publication with an interesting premise. I recommend others check it out...
I just had a story accepted for the Cincinnati Review (fall issue) called "Before I Offer Myself to the Birdmen."
And I also got a proposal accepted for a breakout session (called "Remaking the Real") at the
Ohio Festival of the Short Story that will go on this coming May 7 and 8 in Cincinnati.
Mark Brewin (second-year, poetry):
My poems "The Sunken House, The Rough Floor" and "Self-Portrait with a Mouse in my Future Mother-In-Law's Kitchen" have been picked up at La Fovea, an online publication with an interesting premise. I recommend others check it out...
Monday, March 22, 2010
Congrats to Mark Brewin!
Second-year poetry MFA student Mark Brewin has happy news to report:
I am pleased to e-mail you and say that the Los Angeles Review has accepted "From These Split Ends" and "Jersey Devil" for publication in their fine journal. Thank you so much.
-mb.
Congrats, Mark!
I am pleased to e-mail you and say that the Los Angeles Review has accepted "From These Split Ends" and "Jersey Devil" for publication in their fine journal. Thank you so much.
-mb.
Congrats, Mark!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Alumni Theater Project: Other People's Letters
Abby Wheetley (MFA '09, fiction) sends word of a very interesting upcoming theater project she and the folks in Special Collections have put together:
On the evening of April 8th, 2010, the Special Collections Research Center will be hosting an evening of dramatic readings from their collections. The event will begin at five thirty, take place in the John C. Guyon Auditorium and will be followed by a brief reception in the 1st Floor Rotunda with food and beverages.
Highlights include a letter from Charlie Chaplin during the McCarthy Era, a sustained correspondence from James Joyce to his publisher, a look into the daily life of a woman during the civil war and an entertaining account of a Paris trip from Henry Miller.
Attendees to the event can expect to be entertained, amused, shocked and touched by the intimacy and revelations that comes from reading Other People’s Letters. The event is free and open to the public.
The Special Collections Research Center of the Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale collects and preserves unique and rare historical materials in selected subject areas, and promotes the use of these materials by the Southern Illinois University Carbondale community, scholars, and the public. Its goal is to advance scholarship and further the educational, research, and service missions of the university.
On the evening of April 8th, 2010, the Special Collections Research Center will be hosting an evening of dramatic readings from their collections. The event will begin at five thirty, take place in the John C. Guyon Auditorium and will be followed by a brief reception in the 1st Floor Rotunda with food and beverages.
Highlights include a letter from Charlie Chaplin during the McCarthy Era, a sustained correspondence from James Joyce to his publisher, a look into the daily life of a woman during the civil war and an entertaining account of a Paris trip from Henry Miller.
Attendees to the event can expect to be entertained, amused, shocked and touched by the intimacy and revelations that comes from reading Other People’s Letters. The event is free and open to the public.
The Special Collections Research Center of the Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale collects and preserves unique and rare historical materials in selected subject areas, and promotes the use of these materials by the Southern Illinois University Carbondale community, scholars, and the public. Its goal is to advance scholarship and further the educational, research, and service missions of the university.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Alumni Reading Alert: Greg Schwipps, MFA '98, fiction
Greg Schwipps (MFA '98, fiction) reads from his work in Paducah, KY on Saturday, March 27 as part of the RiverTown Reading Series (7:30 pm at the Yeiser Art Center, 200 Broadway Street Paducah, KY 42001-0732). He'd love to to see some friendly SIUC faces in the crowd!
LINK: Yeiser Art Center
LINK: Yeiser Art Center
Contest Deadline Extension: Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest
CONTEST DEADLINE NOW EXTENDED TO MARCH 22, 2010
ANNOUNCING THE 2010 ROXANA RIVERA MEMORIAL POETRY CONTEST
Join SIUC’s Creative Writing and Women’s Studies Programs as we honor the memory of a wonderful poet and celebrate Women’s History Month.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera (1977-2003), who was a first-year creative writing graduate student from Lynwood, California. Roxana, a graduate of California State University Long Beach, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and English. While at SIUC, Roxana was a PROMPT Scholar and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of English.
To remember this special woman and poet, a campus-wide poetry contest will be held, with divisions for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Gift certificates will be awarded as prizes in both divisions:
$55 for first place $35 for second place $25 for third place
This contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Students of all majors are encouraged to participate in this contest.
This Year’s Theme: “Things I Would Do For You”
DEADLINE: Monday, March 22, 2010 at 4pm
Submission Guidelines: Submit an entry packet with:
1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles. Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
2) Poem(s) on individual sheets (one poem only per page). No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant. If sending entries via e-mail, please send in rtf file format only.
The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.
Entry packets should be submitted to Prof. Allison Joseph, English Dept., Faner Hall 2380, Mail Code 4503. Entries may be sent via campus mail or dropped off at the English Department office (Faner Hall 2380) during regular campus office hours. Entries can also by e-mailed to roxpoetrycontest*at*gmail.com (replace (at) with @)
Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held March 29, 2010.
ANNOUNCING THE 2010 ROXANA RIVERA MEMORIAL POETRY CONTEST
Join SIUC’s Creative Writing and Women’s Studies Programs as we honor the memory of a wonderful poet and celebrate Women’s History Month.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera (1977-2003), who was a first-year creative writing graduate student from Lynwood, California. Roxana, a graduate of California State University Long Beach, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and English. While at SIUC, Roxana was a PROMPT Scholar and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of English.
To remember this special woman and poet, a campus-wide poetry contest will be held, with divisions for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Gift certificates will be awarded as prizes in both divisions:
$55 for first place $35 for second place $25 for third place
This contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Students of all majors are encouraged to participate in this contest.
This Year’s Theme: “Things I Would Do For You”
DEADLINE: Monday, March 22, 2010 at 4pm
Submission Guidelines: Submit an entry packet with:
1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles. Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
2) Poem(s) on individual sheets (one poem only per page). No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant. If sending entries via e-mail, please send in rtf file format only.
The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.
Entry packets should be submitted to Prof. Allison Joseph, English Dept., Faner Hall 2380, Mail Code 4503. Entries may be sent via campus mail or dropped off at the English Department office (Faner Hall 2380) during regular campus office hours. Entries can also by e-mailed to roxpoetrycontest*at*gmail.com (replace (at) with @)
Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held March 29, 2010.
Congrats to Renee Evans!
Happy news this morning from Renee Evans (MFA '09, fiction):
My short short "The Fifth Jar" has been picked up for the June issue of Weave magazine.
Congrats, Renee!
LINK: Weave
My short short "The Fifth Jar" has been picked up for the June issue of Weave magazine.
Congrats, Renee!
LINK: Weave
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Reading Tomorrow: Corrected Location
MARCH 18, 2010
Allison Joseph and Allison Funk Poetry Reading
SIUC Student Center OHIO (not Mississippi Room), 4PM
Allison Funk is the author of four books of poems: The Tumbling Box (C & R Press, 2009); The Knot Garden (Sheep Meadow Press, 2002); Living at the Epicenter (Northeastern University Press, 1995); and Forms of Conversion (Alice James Books, 1986).
She is Professor of English at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Allison Joseph is the author of six books of poems, including the recently released My Father’s Kites (Steel Toe Books, 2010). She is director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at SIUC, and also serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard
Review.
The reading is free and open to the public. Books by both authors will be for sale after the reading.
Allison Joseph and Allison Funk Poetry Reading
SIUC Student Center OHIO (not Mississippi Room), 4PM
Allison Funk is the author of four books of poems: The Tumbling Box (C & R Press, 2009); The Knot Garden (Sheep Meadow Press, 2002); Living at the Epicenter (Northeastern University Press, 1995); and Forms of Conversion (Alice James Books, 1986).
She is Professor of English at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Allison Joseph is the author of six books of poems, including the recently released My Father’s Kites (Steel Toe Books, 2010). She is director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at SIUC, and also serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard
Review.
The reading is free and open to the public. Books by both authors will be for sale after the reading.
Two Amazing Upcoming Events: March 24/25, 2010
Two amazing upcoming events: March 24/25, 2010---one at John A. Logan, one on campus at SIUC.
Sundown Towns and Why They are Important in Southern Illinois
A free lecture by Dr. James Loewen
O’Neil Auditorium, John A. Logan College
Thursday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.
Sundown towns are communities that excluded African Americans (or sometimes Chinese Americans, Jewish Americans or other minorities) by force, law, or custom. These communities are called “sundown towns” because some of them posted signs at their city limits reading, typically, “N-----, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On You In…” Some towns are still all white on purpose.
Professor James Loewen, author of the book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism and creator of
the online newsletter The Sundown Town News: A Newsletter Dedicated to the Abolition of its Subject, has identified thousands of such towns across the country, including at least 440 in Illinois. Many of these towns are in southern Illinois, including several in the John A. Logan College district.
For more information, contact David Cochran at (618) 985-2828, extension 8689
Thursday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.
John A. Logan College - O’Neil Auditorium
The talk is free and open to the public
And:
The Black Affairs Council will be hosting an event for Women's History Month. We have invited Audrey Petty, Director of MFA-Creative Writing Program at University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. The lecture will be held on March 24, 2010 at 7:00P.M
Title of lecture:
Up South, Southside: Girlhood in the Promised Land: A Collection of Essays about Identity, Family, food and Place
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
She will be presenting an excerpt from Up South, Southside: Girlhood in the Promised Land, a memoir-in-progress. As a whole, the work is concerned withthe interplay between place and identity. With the occasion of a road trip South
with her husband and infant daughter as a structural framework for the narrative,she has set out to consider how the Great Migration has defined her family’s story and also shaped her own inner compass.
Audrey Petty, an award-winning author and Associate Professor/Director of the Creative Writing Program -English Department at the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana, will discuss her current work on an oral history of the Chicago Housing Authority’s high-rise housing projects. Petty’s poetry has been published in Crab Orchard Review and Cimarron Review. Among her other accomplishments, Ms. Petty has been awarded a residency at the Hedgebrook Colony, the Richard Soref Scholarship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Tennessee Williams Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she’s also been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and the Hewlett Foundation. For more information contact Black Affairs Council at 618-453-2534.
Sundown Towns and Why They are Important in Southern Illinois
A free lecture by Dr. James Loewen
O’Neil Auditorium, John A. Logan College
Thursday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.
Sundown towns are communities that excluded African Americans (or sometimes Chinese Americans, Jewish Americans or other minorities) by force, law, or custom. These communities are called “sundown towns” because some of them posted signs at their city limits reading, typically, “N-----, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On You In…” Some towns are still all white on purpose.
Professor James Loewen, author of the book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism and creator of
the online newsletter The Sundown Town News: A Newsletter Dedicated to the Abolition of its Subject, has identified thousands of such towns across the country, including at least 440 in Illinois. Many of these towns are in southern Illinois, including several in the John A. Logan College district.
For more information, contact David Cochran at (618) 985-2828, extension 8689
Thursday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.
John A. Logan College - O’Neil Auditorium
The talk is free and open to the public
And:
The Black Affairs Council will be hosting an event for Women's History Month. We have invited Audrey Petty, Director of MFA-Creative Writing Program at University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. The lecture will be held on March 24, 2010 at 7:00P.M
Title of lecture:
Up South, Southside: Girlhood in the Promised Land: A Collection of Essays about Identity, Family, food and Place
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
She will be presenting an excerpt from Up South, Southside: Girlhood in the Promised Land, a memoir-in-progress. As a whole, the work is concerned withthe interplay between place and identity. With the occasion of a road trip South
with her husband and infant daughter as a structural framework for the narrative,she has set out to consider how the Great Migration has defined her family’s story and also shaped her own inner compass.
Audrey Petty, an award-winning author and Associate Professor/Director of the Creative Writing Program -English Department at the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana, will discuss her current work on an oral history of the Chicago Housing Authority’s high-rise housing projects. Petty’s poetry has been published in Crab Orchard Review and Cimarron Review. Among her other accomplishments, Ms. Petty has been awarded a residency at the Hedgebrook Colony, the Richard Soref Scholarship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Tennessee Williams Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she’s also been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and the Hewlett Foundation. For more information contact Black Affairs Council at 618-453-2534.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Women's History Month: Upcoming Events
Check out this calendar of upcoming Women's History Month events:
Women's History Month events
Women's History Month events
Recent & Upcoming Alumni Publications: Hamm and Meyerhofer
from Justin Hamm (MFA, fiction '05):
Wanted to drop a line to let you know about some of my recent acceptances and so forth. First of all, Artocratic has a poem of mine, "Apocalypses I Covet, Apocalypses I Don't," in the March issue, and Plains Song Review's blog features a recording of me reading "illinois, my apologies," which they published last year.
Also, "the electric widower" appears in jmww's recently released "Best of" anthology IV and they'll feature a recording of the poem on their blog in conjunction with that in the near future, while in April, my poem "down home" will appear in decomP.
And finally, my short story, "I Am Not Lenny Coolidge" will appear in the inaugural issue of Revisitations later this month.
from Michael Meyerhofer (MFA, poetry, '06):
Got a few braggy poetry updates to pass on... “Number Twenty-Five,” was taken by Anti-Poetry, “Dedication” was taken by Rattle, “Dear Leviticus” was taken by Southern Indiana Review, “Affirmative Action” was taken by African American Review, and “The World’s Oldest Dildo” was taken by Juked. Also, my reviews of David Linton’s The Selected Poems of Li Po and Barbara Louise Ungar’s The Origin of the Milky Way were taken by Rattle.
Congrats JH and MM!
Wanted to drop a line to let you know about some of my recent acceptances and so forth. First of all, Artocratic has a poem of mine, "Apocalypses I Covet, Apocalypses I Don't," in the March issue, and Plains Song Review's blog features a recording of me reading "illinois, my apologies," which they published last year.
Also, "the electric widower" appears in jmww's recently released "Best of" anthology IV and they'll feature a recording of the poem on their blog in conjunction with that in the near future, while in April, my poem "down home" will appear in decomP.
And finally, my short story, "I Am Not Lenny Coolidge" will appear in the inaugural issue of Revisitations later this month.
from Michael Meyerhofer (MFA, poetry, '06):
Got a few braggy poetry updates to pass on... “Number Twenty-Five,” was taken by Anti-Poetry, “Dedication” was taken by Rattle, “Dear Leviticus” was taken by Southern Indiana Review, “Affirmative Action” was taken by African American Review, and “The World’s Oldest Dildo” was taken by Juked. Also, my reviews of David Linton’s The Selected Poems of Li Po and Barbara Louise Ungar’s The Origin of the Milky Way were taken by Rattle.
Congrats JH and MM!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Upcoming Poetry Reading: Women's History Month
MARCH 18, 2010
Allison Joseph and Allison Funk Poetry Reading
SIUC Student Center Mississippi Room, 4PM
Allison Funk is the author of four books of poems: The Tumbling Box (C & R Press, 2009); The Knot Garden (Sheep Meadow Press, 2002); Living at the Epicenter (Northeastern University Press, 1995); and Forms of Conversion (Alice James Books, 1986).
She is Professor of English at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Allison Joseph is the author of six books of poems, including the recently released My Father’s Kites (Steel Toe Books, 2010). She is director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at SIUC, and also serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard
Review.
The reading is free and open to the public. Books by both authors will be for sale after the reading.
Allison Joseph and Allison Funk Poetry Reading
SIUC Student Center Mississippi Room, 4PM
Allison Funk is the author of four books of poems: The Tumbling Box (C & R Press, 2009); The Knot Garden (Sheep Meadow Press, 2002); Living at the Epicenter (Northeastern University Press, 1995); and Forms of Conversion (Alice James Books, 1986).
She is Professor of English at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Allison Joseph is the author of six books of poems, including the recently released My Father’s Kites (Steel Toe Books, 2010). She is director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at SIUC, and also serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard
Review.
The reading is free and open to the public. Books by both authors will be for sale after the reading.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Joseph on "The Writers' Almanac"
Faculty poet Allison Joseph's poem "Elegy for the Personal Letter" (from her latest book My Father's Kites) was read today by Garrison Keillor on his radio program "The Writers' Almanac." You can hear the poem at
The Writers' Almanac
The Writers' Almanac
Monday, March 08, 2010
Forthcoming Poems from Alumni Poets
Will Tyler (MFA '09) has publication news as does Amy Blache Graziano (MFA '07):
Will:
I got another poem accepted. "My Devil" will be appearing in Clackamas Literary Review.
Amy:
Just got word that Blue Earth Review is taking two poems for their upcoming issue: "Dear Jesus" and "I Wonder if They Do it Anywhere Else."
Congrats, Will and Amy!
LINKS:
Clackamas Literary Review
Blue Earth Review
Will:
I got another poem accepted. "My Devil" will be appearing in Clackamas Literary Review.
Amy:
Just got word that Blue Earth Review is taking two poems for their upcoming issue: "Dear Jesus" and "I Wonder if They Do it Anywhere Else."
Congrats, Will and Amy!
LINKS:
Clackamas Literary Review
Blue Earth Review
Friday, March 05, 2010
Forthcoming Publications: Sexton and Evans
Recent alums Jared Yates Sexton (MFA, fiction, '08) and Kerry James Evans (MFA, poetry, '09) have had new work accepted for forthcoming publication:
Jared: Got word that my story "Just Listen" was accepted by the literary journal BULL for a future issue.
LINK: BULL
Bull
Kerry: North American Review just picked up my poem: "Two Prophecies."
LINK: North American Review
North American Review
Congrats, you two!
Jared: Got word that my story "Just Listen" was accepted by the literary journal BULL for a future issue.
LINK: BULL
Bull
Kerry: North American Review just picked up my poem: "Two Prophecies."
LINK: North American Review
North American Review
Congrats, you two!
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Accepted Poems by Happy Poets
Today's happy dance news:
First year poet Leslie Adams's poem "And This" has been accepted for publication in the Adirondack Review.
LINK to Leslie's poem:
And This
Second-year poet Mark Brewin's poem "Field Lesson" has been accepted for publication in Copper Nickel.
LINKS:
Adirondack Review
Copper Nickel
First year poet Leslie Adams's poem "And This" has been accepted for publication in the Adirondack Review.
LINK to Leslie's poem:
And This
Second-year poet Mark Brewin's poem "Field Lesson" has been accepted for publication in Copper Nickel.
LINKS:
Adirondack Review
Copper Nickel
Contest for current SIUC Students (Undergrads and Grads)
ANNOUNCING THE 2010 ROXANA RIVERA MEMORIAL POETRY CONTEST
Join SIUC’s Creative Writing and Women’s Studies Programs as we honor the memory of a wonderful poet and celebrate Women’s History Month.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera (1977-2003), who was a first-year creative writing graduate student from Lynwood, California. Roxana, a graduate of California State University Long Beach, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and English. While at SIUC, Roxana was a PROMPT Scholar and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of English.
To remember this special woman and poet, a campus-wide poetry contest will be held, with divisions for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Gift certificates will be awarded as prizes in both divisions:
$55 for first place $35 for second place $25 for third place
This contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Students of all majors are encouraged to participate in this contest.
This Year’s Theme: “Things I Would Do For You”
DEADLINE: Friday, March 19, 2010
Submission Guidelines:
Submit an entry packet with:
1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles. Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
2) Poem(s) on individual sheets (one poem only per page). No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant.
The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.
Entry packets should be submitted to Prof. Allison Joseph, English Dept., Faner Hall 2380, Mail Code 4503. Entries may be sent via campus mail or dropped off at the English Department office (Faner Hall 2380) during regular campus office hours. Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held March 29, 2010.
Join SIUC’s Creative Writing and Women’s Studies Programs as we honor the memory of a wonderful poet and celebrate Women’s History Month.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera (1977-2003), who was a first-year creative writing graduate student from Lynwood, California. Roxana, a graduate of California State University Long Beach, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and English. While at SIUC, Roxana was a PROMPT Scholar and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of English.
To remember this special woman and poet, a campus-wide poetry contest will be held, with divisions for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Gift certificates will be awarded as prizes in both divisions:
$55 for first place $35 for second place $25 for third place
This contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Students of all majors are encouraged to participate in this contest.
This Year’s Theme: “Things I Would Do For You”
DEADLINE: Friday, March 19, 2010
Submission Guidelines:
Submit an entry packet with:
1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles. Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
2) Poem(s) on individual sheets (one poem only per page). No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant.
The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.
Entry packets should be submitted to Prof. Allison Joseph, English Dept., Faner Hall 2380, Mail Code 4503. Entries may be sent via campus mail or dropped off at the English Department office (Faner Hall 2380) during regular campus office hours. Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held March 29, 2010.
Forthcoming Publications by Fiction Alums
Good news from Rachel Furey (MFA '09) and Chad Simpson (MFA '06):
from Rachel:
Allison,
Since this story has always been special to me, I'm happy to report
that "Growing Breasts for Spiderman" has finally found an appropriate
home: an anthology titled Wait a Minute, I Have to Take Off My Bra.
It will be published by Inkspotter Publishing in Sept.
Best,
Rachel
LINK: Inspotter Publishing:
Wait a Minute
from Chad:
Hi, Allison--
My story "Phantoms" (http://freightstories.com/Simpson.html) was just published in Freight Stories No. 6
Phantoms.
"Phantoms" is also the title story of my chapbook of flash fictions and short-shorts, which will be out on April 16th from Origami Zoo Press. More info is available here:
Origami Zoo
I hope all's well.
Cheers,
Chad
from Rachel:
Allison,
Since this story has always been special to me, I'm happy to report
that "Growing Breasts for Spiderman" has finally found an appropriate
home: an anthology titled Wait a Minute, I Have to Take Off My Bra.
It will be published by Inkspotter Publishing in Sept.
Best,
Rachel
LINK: Inspotter Publishing:
Wait a Minute
from Chad:
Hi, Allison--
My story "Phantoms" (http://freightstories.com/Simpson.html) was just published in Freight Stories No. 6
Phantoms.
"Phantoms" is also the title story of my chapbook of flash fictions and short-shorts, which will be out on April 16th from Origami Zoo Press. More info is available here:
Origami Zoo
I hope all's well.
Cheers,
Chad
Monday, March 01, 2010
Congrats to Nick Ostdick!
First-year fiction student NIck Ostdick sends this news:
My story "True Hair" published in December by Storyglossia has been nominated by the mag's editor for a 2010 StorySouth Million Writer's Award. Not quite a Pulitzer or anything, but I'm stoked.
Congrats, Nick!
LINK:
True Hair
My story "True Hair" published in December by Storyglossia has been nominated by the mag's editor for a 2010 StorySouth Million Writer's Award. Not quite a Pulitzer or anything, but I'm stoked.
Congrats, Nick!
LINK:
True Hair
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Literary Happenings in C-dale: Week of February 22, 2010
The Graduate Writers Forum presents readings by four current MFA students: poet Hannah Katie New, fiction writer Nick Ostdick, fiction writer Melissa Scholes Young and poet John Stanford Owen.
4PM SIUC Student Center Kaskaskia Room, Thursday February 25. Free and open to the public.
The staff of GRASSROOTS, SIUC's undergraduate literary and art magazine, presents an Open Mike Party, also on February 25th. Starting at 7 PM, there will be food and music in the Faner Hall Humanities Lounge. Bring your poems and prose to read, or just come listen. Free and open to all.
4PM SIUC Student Center Kaskaskia Room, Thursday February 25. Free and open to the public.
The staff of GRASSROOTS, SIUC's undergraduate literary and art magazine, presents an Open Mike Party, also on February 25th. Starting at 7 PM, there will be food and music in the Faner Hall Humanities Lounge. Bring your poems and prose to read, or just come listen. Free and open to all.
A Plethora of Good News from Alums and Current Students
So much good news to report from SIUC MFA alums and current students:
Betsy Taylor (MFA, fiction, '99) reports:
My flash fiction, The Chocolate Bar Kid, was accepted by Apparatus magazine, an online publication. The story went up this week, and the url is Apparatus
Tim Marsh (MFA, fiction, '06) says:
February has been a good month. Prick of the Spindle will publish my CNF piece "Getting to Know You" in its next issue (4.1, late March). I've also been selected as the feature poet for the Spring Issue of Litterbox Magazine (please refrain from the obvious joke if you don't like the poems). The poems "Post Grad" and "Adult Supervision, White Horse Beach. 4th of July" will appear in the issue.
Jason Brown (MFA, fiction, '08) writes:
Poetry: In early April, RockSaw Press will publish my poetry chapbook, Blue Collar Fathers, which should debut at the AWP conference, and I have poems in the current issue of the American Poetry Journal (“Advice for the New You”) and Spoon River Poetry Review (“Intersection”) —both poems are in the chapbook.
Fiction: The Literary Review has accepted for publication my short story “Big Cowboy” (a.k.a the penis festival story). And an excerpt “Hognose” from my thesis will appear in the Platte Valley Review.
Editing: I have finished editing, with Jay Prefontaine, the new anthology, New Stories from the Midwest (Ohio University Press), which is slated for a winter 2010/2011 publication. The generous Lee Martin wrote the introduction. I also have to say that the anthology would not have been possible without Shanie Latham, who I can’t thank enough.
Kerry James Evans (MFA, poetry, '09) sends this news:
SIUC alums are well-represented in Copper Nickel's new issue :
Adrian Matejka's "Ego Elevator Music," "Mass Appeal" and "Money Folder"
James Miller's "Ike Turner at the Stackhouse: Clarksdale, MS 1998" and "Evening Train: Skip James, February 1931"
Kerry James Evans' "Mary Magdalene Leaving Jesus" and "Atlanta"
A.K. Thompson (current second-year student, fiction) says:
The Smoking Poet accepted my creative non-fiction piece, "Poor Man's Cocaine ~ or ~ A Question of Tobacco" for publication in their next issue (March 2010), Website: The Smoking Poet
From James Scoles (current second-year student, fiction):
I got word yesterday that my story 'Train Running Through' was a Finalist in Glimmer Train's Open Fiction Contest. Also, huge, huge thanks to Pinckney Benedict for nominating a story of mine (featured in Prairie Fire) for Pushcart Prize XXXV.
From Rachel Furey (MFA, fiction, '09):
I have a couple more for you. Stymie Magazine accepted a piece I wrote back in Carbondale, "Hey, ref, what's up with the mercy rule?" for their Autumn/Winter '10 issue. I also had a short memoir piece,"Directing Frog Traffic," accepted into an upcoming anthology titled A Daughter's Story. A shout-out and thank you to the CRWROPPS list,where I discovered both of these opportunities.
Congrats to everyone on these successes! Thanks for keeping the MFA Carbondale blog lively!
Betsy Taylor (MFA, fiction, '99) reports:
My flash fiction, The Chocolate Bar Kid, was accepted by Apparatus magazine, an online publication. The story went up this week, and the url is Apparatus
Tim Marsh (MFA, fiction, '06) says:
February has been a good month. Prick of the Spindle will publish my CNF piece "Getting to Know You" in its next issue (4.1, late March). I've also been selected as the feature poet for the Spring Issue of Litterbox Magazine (please refrain from the obvious joke if you don't like the poems). The poems "Post Grad" and "Adult Supervision, White Horse Beach. 4th of July" will appear in the issue.
Jason Brown (MFA, fiction, '08) writes:
Poetry: In early April, RockSaw Press will publish my poetry chapbook, Blue Collar Fathers, which should debut at the AWP conference, and I have poems in the current issue of the American Poetry Journal (“Advice for the New You”) and Spoon River Poetry Review (“Intersection”) —both poems are in the chapbook.
Fiction: The Literary Review has accepted for publication my short story “Big Cowboy” (a.k.a the penis festival story). And an excerpt “Hognose” from my thesis will appear in the Platte Valley Review.
Editing: I have finished editing, with Jay Prefontaine, the new anthology, New Stories from the Midwest (Ohio University Press), which is slated for a winter 2010/2011 publication. The generous Lee Martin wrote the introduction. I also have to say that the anthology would not have been possible without Shanie Latham, who I can’t thank enough.
Kerry James Evans (MFA, poetry, '09) sends this news:
SIUC alums are well-represented in Copper Nickel's new issue :
Adrian Matejka's "Ego Elevator Music," "Mass Appeal" and "Money Folder"
James Miller's "Ike Turner at the Stackhouse: Clarksdale, MS 1998" and "Evening Train: Skip James, February 1931"
Kerry James Evans' "Mary Magdalene Leaving Jesus" and "Atlanta"
A.K. Thompson (current second-year student, fiction) says:
The Smoking Poet accepted my creative non-fiction piece, "Poor Man's Cocaine ~ or ~ A Question of Tobacco" for publication in their next issue (March 2010), Website: The Smoking Poet
From James Scoles (current second-year student, fiction):
I got word yesterday that my story 'Train Running Through' was a Finalist in Glimmer Train's Open Fiction Contest. Also, huge, huge thanks to Pinckney Benedict for nominating a story of mine (featured in Prairie Fire) for Pushcart Prize XXXV.
From Rachel Furey (MFA, fiction, '09):
I have a couple more for you. Stymie Magazine accepted a piece I wrote back in Carbondale, "Hey, ref, what's up with the mercy rule?" for their Autumn/Winter '10 issue. I also had a short memoir piece,"Directing Frog Traffic," accepted into an upcoming anthology titled A Daughter's Story. A shout-out and thank you to the CRWROPPS list,where I discovered both of these opportunities.
Congrats to everyone on these successes! Thanks for keeping the MFA Carbondale blog lively!
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