Wednesday, March 28, 2012

2012 Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest Winners

Announcing the Winners of the 2012 Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest
SPONSORED BY THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM AND THE WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAM
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE

Judge Catherine Pierce, poet and professor at Mississippi State
University has chosen to honor the following poets and poems:

UNDERGRADUATE WINNERS:
Winner: Jessica Lynn Suchon for "When you glimpse his hand, the heel
of his shoe,"

Runner Up: Jeffrey Haynes for "My Great Aunt Dies of Creeping
Paralysis at Age Sixteen"
Runner Up: Jessica Lynn Suchon for "The Anatomy of Guilt"

GRADUATE WINNERS:
Winner: Max Schleicher for "Story"

Runner Up: Ruth Awad for
"A Name for the Year's Longest Night: My Father's Grade-School Crush
Among the Maronite Militia"
Runner Up: Austin Kodra for "Parentless, In Her Childhood Home"

Please join us on Thursday, March 29 2012 at 7 pm in the SIUC Student
Center Mackinaw Room for an awards ceremony featuring a reading from
our judge, Catherine Pierce, author of The Girls of Peculiar and
Famous Last Words, both published by Saturnalia Books. The winners
will also read their award-winning poems. There will be a booksigning
and reception in the Faner Humanities 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 Southern
Illinois University Carbondale at the time of her death in 2003.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Congrats to Max Schleicher!

Second-year poet Max Schleicher has great Friday news:

Good news. My poem "White Tent City" has been picked up by the Irish
magazine "The Stinging Fly."

Congrats, Max!!!!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Allison Joseph Receives AWP's Garrett Award

SIUC MFA Program Director Allison Joseph is the 2012 recipient of the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature:

Details here:

Joseph receives Garrett

Monday, March 19, 2012

Publication Forthcoming: Ruth Awad

I'm very excited and honored to announce that my poem "Karantina
Massacre" will be published by The New Republic and seen in print
during the next year. I'll keep you posted on a more specific date.
Happiness!

Congrats, Ruth!!! Excellent publication!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Publication Forthcoming: Andrew McSorley!

Second-year MFA Andrew McSorley has upcoming publication news:

The Lindenwood Review took my poem, "Winter's Ritual." Should be out this summer.

Congrats, Andrew!!!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Now Available: new poetry chapbook by Ingrid Moody!!

Poetry alum Ingrid Moody (MFA '07) has a new chapbook just published by Texas Review Press:

After a year of waiting...my book of poetry, Learning About Fire, has just been released from Texas Review Press! Check it out here:

Learning About Fire

Congrats, Ingrid!!!

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Women's Words Reading is Tonight!

To help celebrate 2012 Women's History Month, come hear the lovely ladies of SIUC's MFA program read their fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Tell your friends. Tell your students. Come out. Help us kick off 2012 Women's History Month programming in great fashion. Spread the word!

Readers include Ruth Awad, Jenny Flack, Brett Gaffney, Staci Schoenfeld, Maggie Graber, Alberta Skaggs, Allison Joseph, Jung Hae Chae, and Judy Jordan.

SIU Student Center, Missouri Room, 7 pm, March 8, 2012

Monday, March 05, 2012

Fantastic News for Jared (JY) Sexton!!!

MFA "08 fiction alum Jared (JY) Sexton has wonderful news:

I'm going to be the new Fiction and Screenwriting professor at Georgia Southern in Fall '12. It's bittersweet because I'm looking forward to the new post, but I'm leaving a lot of lovely people and the state I adore. Thanks to everyone who's been supportive over the last few weeks, and Go Eagles.

Congrats, Jared, and best of luck in Statesboro!

Nick Ostdick score!

Congrats to third-year fiction writer Nick Ostdick:


Fresh off AWP Chicago tomfoolery, I'm pleased to say The Northville
Review has accepted my short story 'Thursday' for an upcoming issue.
Neat, right?

Very neat. Congrats, NO!