upcoming publication for John Stanford Owen

The good news keeps on coming--this time from third-year poet John
Stanford Owen:

I'm happy to announce "First Barrow" will be appearing in the Southeast Review.

Congrats, JSO!!!

More Brewin doings

Looks like they just can't get enough of poetry alum Mark Brewin (MFA
'11) in Memphis:

It seems that The Pinch is so interested in my work that the
Editor-and-Chief just emailed me and asked that besides having my poem
"Seven Places..." as the April "Poem of the Month" that she would love
one of her favorites of my submission "Lily of the Valley" be printed
in the upcoming issue as well!

Congrats, MJB!

Catching Up with Brooks Rexroat (MFA '11)

Fiction alum Brooks Rexroat also has a lot of great news in his update:

An update for the blog:

My hyper-short story "Vacuum" appeared in issue 21 of Boston Literary
Magazine. It's out in print and online at
http://www.bostonliterarymagazine.com/fall11dribble.html.

The Jet Fuel Review at Lewis University published "Five Meals in
Paris" in its fall edition. http://jetfuelreview.com/?page_id=749

"In the Center" was included in the first issue of Literary Juice.
http://www.literaryjuice.com/#/in-the-center/4558199081

Generations Literary Magazine has accepted the story "Wisdom of Age"
for its upcoming third print edition.

The folks at Alt Hist Fiction have posted an interview with me. It's
up online, along with an excerpt from my story "To the Stars," which
came out in the new edition of that publication.
http://althistfiction.com/2012/01/13/interview-with-brooks-rexroat-author-of-to-the-stars/

My story "Destroying New Boston," which was first published last July
by The Cleveland Review was the story of the day for Jan. 31 at
http://fictiondaily.org

"Last Night" was chosen by author Louise Doughty from among 700
submissions as one of six finalists for the Telegraph Newspaper's
(England) Short Story Competition.

I've also got a Web site up and running at brooksrexroat.com

Catching up with Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction)

Fiction alum Tim Marsh (MFA '06) has loads of great news:

Hey Allison! Hope the new year is treating you right! Things are
pretty awesome on this end. It's been a while and a lot of things have
happened:

Publications: New Plains Review has just published my essay "Patience"
in their latest issue; The Kartika Review has just included one of my
pieces "Banjar Dalung" in their 2011 Anthology of Asian Pacific
Islander American Literature, available on Lulu and Amazon; Ninth
Letter will be publishing my nonfiction piece, "Something Californian"
in their Spring 2012 issue; Quiddity will be publishing another essay
of mine in their 2012 issue, due out in the spring I think.

Fellowships: I've received a full bursary from the Tenot Foundation in
France, which grants me 6 weeks at the CAMAC Centre d'Arts, in
Marnay-sur-Seine, not far from Paris. Utterly stoked about this. I've
also received a scholarship to the Can Serrat International Arts
Center and will be spending June as a writer-in-residence in
Montserrat, Spain.

Bigger News: Though I'm not totally committed to this yet, I also just
received a conditional acceptance into the Aberystwyth PhD Creative
Writing Program in Wales. I'm a finalist for a departmental
scholarship that would fund my entire first year...so please keep your
fingers crossed, and anything else on your body that can overlap.

More publication news for Mark Brewin!

More great news for Mark Brewin (MFA '11):

I am happy to say that my poem "On Thunderstorms" was recently accepted for
publication at Georgetown Review, as well as my poem "Seven Places I Have
Found My Grandmother in the Last Six Years" which was not only accepted at
The Pinch, but will be featured as their "Poem of the Month" for April!

Congrats, Brewin! Wonderful!

2012 Roxana Rivera Poetry Contest Guidelines

ANNOUNCING THE 2012 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:

$50 for the winning entry, $25 for two runner-ups

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: "Her Body, Her Self"

DEADLINE: Friday, March 23, 2012 at 4pm

Submission Guidelines: Send an entry packet with:

1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem title(s). Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.

2) No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. One poem per page. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant. When sending entries via e-mail, please send in rtf or doc file format (no docx) —send all poems as one file.

The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.

Entries accepted via e-mail only at
roxpoetrycontest-AT-gmail.com

(replace -AT- with @ in sending e-mail).

Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held March 29, 2012.

Re: publication news

Congrats to third-year poet Jung Hae Chae!

So happy to share news that my poem, "Happiness" found a
home--Georgetown Review will publish it in 2012 or 13 or 14 (strange,
but they didn't confirm the exact date). No complaints though.

Something to look forward to! Congrats, Jung!

Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!

Great news for MFA '11 fiction grad Melissa Scholes Young:

I just got word that my short story "Holding Hands," which used to be
called "Anywhere But Here," will be published with Sliver of Stone. I
saw that they published your awesome naked mole rat poem, so I know
I'm in good company. The story is the first in my short story
collection, and I'm pretty proud it finally found a home.

Congrats, MSY!!!

Also:

I have an interview with Ana Menendez up at Fiction Writers Review:

Menendez interview

My past interviews with Devil's Kitchen's own Danielle Evans and Jennine Capo Crucet are over there, too.

Spectacular News for fiction alum Chad Simpson

Delightful news for MFA '05 grad Chad Simpson--his story collection "Tell Everyone I Said Hi"--has won the 2012 Iowa Short Fiction Prize!!!!

Details here
Iowa winners

Congrats to Brett Gaffney!!

First-year poetry MFA Brett Gaffney has great news to share:

Precipitate just accepted by poem "La Isla de las Muñecas, Xochimilco, Mexico."

Congrats, Brett!!!

Helena "Hel" Bell update

Congrats to Helena Bell (MFA '08) on the new story publication:

"All the Young Kirks and Their Good Intentions" is now live at Clarkesworld!

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/bell_02_12/

Alex Lumans: Recent Publications

Word from fiction grad Alex Lumans (MFA '09):

A story of mine entitled "Eighty-SIx Ways to Cross One Desert" was
accepted by Fifty-Two Stories. And Booth took a story called "Phys Ed
112: You and Your Apocalypse."

Hobart also accepted a story of mine that's told in tweets called
"Twitterfeed: TheSinner'sCorpse." It's up now:
http://www.hobartpulp.com/website/january/lumans.html

I also have a story starting today at Necessary Fiction called
"Acknowledge the Corn" for their Origin Stories Month:
http://necessaryfiction.com/writerinres

And The Collagist will soon publish my book review of Michael Griffith's Trophy.

Congrats on everything, Lumans!

Congrats to Leslie Adams!

Third year MFA poetry student Leslie Adams sends this great news all
the way from France:

West Branch will be taking "Half-Water Meditation," "Men Eating
Alone," "Meditation with Lines from Wallace Stevens," and "The Beach
House." It's great when some of your favorites get picked up together!

All best, and miss you all,

Leslie

Congrats, Leslie!

Congrats to Max Schleicher!

Great news this morning from third-year poetry MFA Max Schleicher:

Lake Effect is publishing my poems "Hunger Weather" and "January
Coyote." My first pub.

Congrats, Max!!!

forthcoming story for Helena "Hel" Bell

MFA '08 grad Helena "Hel" Bell writes with this lovely news:

Clarkesworld Magazine (you may remember that they published a story by
Alex Lumans a while back) has accepted "All the Young Kirks and Their
Good Intentions" Will send a link when it goes live.

Congrats, Hel!!!

New Poem from Mark Brewin

Recent MFA grad Mark Brewin has a new poem up on line at Mason's Road:

"...just came out today from Mason's Road. It's a longer piece
titled, "Letter about my last night in Carbondale, Illinois."

http://www.masonsroad.com/issue-4/poetry-issue-4-2/letter-about-my-last-night-in-carbondale-illinois-to-colin-joseph-campbell/

Congrats, Brewin!

Congrats to Andrew McSorley!

Lovely news for second-year poet Andrew McSorley:

Rougarou, the online literary journal at the University of Louisiana,
Lafayette took my poem "Backyard Rink."

Congrats, Andy!!!!

Congrats to Shawn Mitchell!

Third-year fiction student Shawn Mitchell shares this great news:

I had an essay on the Cuirt Literary Festival picked up for the next
issue of P&W!

Congrats, Shawn!

Congrats to Staci Schoenfeld and Brett Gaffney!

Some fine news for two first-year poets:

First-year poetry MFA student Staci Schoenfeld has publication news:

I just received word that nibble will publish two of my poems -
"Desire from A to Z" and "Valentine" in their next issue!

Congrats, Staci!!

First year poetry MFA student Brett Gaffney also has publication news:

The Medulla Review accepted two of my poems into their next (all women) issue
The poems are "Night People" and "The Scream Queen."

Congrats, Brett!!

Congrats to Brenna Lemieux (MFA '11)

Great news for poetry alum Brenna Lemieux:

I'm writing with the glad tidings that three of my poems have recently
been accepted for publication: "Someone Else's Pain" and "Mrs. Eder's
Sunday School Class" got picked up by Bellevue Literary Review, and
"The Gospel of Household Plants" was accepted by cream city review.