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

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!

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

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

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.

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 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

Congrats to Will Tyler

Will Tyler (MFA '09, poetry) has been named a finalist for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship! Congrats, Will!

LINK:
Finalists