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

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!

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

A Profile of Judy Jordan by SIUC's student newspaper

Read the profile here:
Judy

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!

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

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!

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 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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

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!

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 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

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!

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

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

Storyspotting: Melissa Scholes Young

Second-year fiction student Melissa Scholes Young has a new story, "Scrap Metal Baby" in The Front View.

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.

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.

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...

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Women's History Month: Upcoming Events

Check out this calendar of upcoming 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!

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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!

Poemspotting: Amie Whittemore

Current third-year poetry MFA Amie Whittemore's poem "Movement of Heat" appears in the Winter/Spring 2010 (Volume 22, number 1) issue of Sycamore Review .

Congrats to Kerry James Evans (MFA '09)!

Kerry James Evans (MFA '09) has been one busy poet:

I'm the featured poet for Beloit Poetry Journal for the month of February. So far we've had some good discussion up on the forum: musicality, blues, section breaks, space, distance, landscape and more. I'm looking forward to see where the discussion can go.

Join the discussion at
Kerry James Evans

I also have poems in the current issues of Fugue and The Florida Review and Beloit Poetry Journal just accepted two more poems for publication: "An Empty House" and "Packed in Ice."

Congrats, KJE!

Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!

Second-year fiction MFA student Melissa Scholes Young has news to share as well:

The editor of Mothering just called to let me know they want my essay, "To Nurse or Not to Nurse" (forgive me, Shakespeare, but Mama needs a new pair of shoes), to be the feature article in their May/June print magazine.
LINK: Mothering

Also, my paper "In Service of the Body: An Academic and Creative Approach to the Interdisciplinary Study" was accepted for presentation at the National Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference at Indiana University in March. It's a research paper that resulted in a short story. I wrote it last semester between Dr. Klaver's class and Beth's workshop.

Congrats, MSY! Way to work academia!

Congrats to Brenna Lemieux

Second-year poet Brenna Lemieux writes again from Ireland:

I'm writing to let you know that I'm behaving myself (for the most part) here in Ireland and that I've just heard from
The Connecticut Review that they've accepted the poem "My Father's Moonlilies" for publication in their next issue.

Congrats, Brenna! Someone likes SIUC MFAs in CT!

Storyspotting: Alex Lumans (MFA '09)

Alex Lumans (fiction, MFA '09) has a story in the latest issue of the Greensboro Review (Fall 2009, Number 86). The story is titled "Brainbarn."

Congrats to Tim Marsh (MFA '06)!

Fiction grad Tim Marsh has good news to share:

I had a few acceptances last month. My piece "A Month Before 30, Summit of Signal Hill" will appear in an upcoming edition of The Splinter Generation. The Evansville Review will also publish my CNF story "Discovery Channel" in Issue XX.

LINKS:
Splinter Generation
Evansville Review

Congrats, Tim! Keep the good news coming!

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

Current third-year poetry student Travis Mossotti continues to place poems in fine magazines:

The Cincinnati Review accepted "One Act: Opening Night" for publication. Also, the Connecticut Review accepted "Too Many Hillsides for the Dead" for one of their upcoming issues. I love snail-mail surprises.

Congrats, TM!

LINKS:
Cincinnati Review
Connecticut Review

Allison Joseph's new book now available

Faculty poet Allison Joseph's latest collection of poems, My Father's Kites, is now available from Steel Toe Books.

Alumni Reading Alert: Melanie Dusseau MFA '03, poetry)

Melanie Dusseau, MFA '03, author of the new poetry collection The Body Tries Again will read from her book at 3 pm on Thursday, February 25th, at the Carlson Library on the main campus of the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. This venue is located at 2801 Bancroft, in the Canaday Center, 5th Floor. For more information, visit
U Toledo Library

Congrats to Jan La Perle (MFA '06)

Poetry alum Jan LaPerle (aka Jan Matthews) has had a short-short published by Hobart! Congrats, Jan!

Congrats to John Flaherty (MFA '09)

John Flaherty (MFA '09, fiction) writes with new story news:

Hi, Allison -

Just wanted to report that a story of mine went up today on McSweeney's. It is entitled "An Aspiring Club DJ Reluctantly Moves On to Weddings." I'm including the link here, and it is also available on their iPhone app, if, you know, you're into that sort of thing.

Hope all is well!

Best,

John Flaherty

Congrats, John!

Words, Photos, Music

A multimedia presentation of a ghazal written by faculty poet Allison Joseph for the re-opening of SIUC's Morris Library can be found here.

Alumnispotting: Sou'wester and Southern Indiana Review

A new poem ("A Mural in the Abandoned Cane Hill Asylum") by Melanie Jordan (MFA '01) appears in the new issue of Sou'wester, the literary journal of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

New poems and stories by SIUC-connected authors appear in the most recent issue of Southern Indiana Review. In this issue, you'll find new poems by faculty poet Allison Joseph and poetry alum Matthew Guenette and a new story by fiction alum Ben Percy.

Congrats to Rachel Furey (MFA '09)

Congrats to MFA fiction alum Rachel Furey on getting two pieces accepted for publication:

Since it wouldn't have seemed quite right if I had gotten a piece infor one of my parents and not the other, I'm happy to report that Ihave work forthcoming in both the Thanks Mom (due out in March) and Thanks Dad (due out in April) editions of
Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Hope all is well here. Ice and snow here, but staying warm.

Congrats, Rachel to you and your parents!

Reminder: Help for Haiti Benefit Tomorrow

Details here:
Benefit Press Release

Congrats to Brenna Lemieux

Second-year poet Brenna Lemieux sends good news from Ireland:

I just found out one of my poems got picked up by New Delta Review, so I thought I'd brag a little. It's called "Life of Eloise (Temporary Exhibit)."

Congrats, Brenna! We miss you in C'dale!

Alumni Publications: Forthcoming and Recent

Melanie Dusseau (MFA '03, poetry)'s first book of poems, 

The Body Tries Again (Word Press), is now available and can be ordered  from Amazon. com and Barnes & Noble.

Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction)'s story "Excavating the Blind" appears in
Story Quarterly #43. The journal is now published at Rutgers University-Camden.

Andy McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry) writes to say: "Looks like the South Dakota Review is taking "Winters we Watch the Snow Descend Slowly." That makes a third of the poems in my thesis published....feels more legit somehow..."

Congrats to all these fabulous alums!

Upcoming Alumni Readings: Adrian Matejka (MFA '01)

Poetry alum Adrian Matejka will be reading from his work both close to home and far away:

via Jake Adam York, editor of Copper Nickel at the University of Colorado Denver

Poet Adrian Matejka, author of Mixology, a 2008 National Poetry Selection, and contributor to the 13th issue, will read at 4pm on Wednesday, January 27th in the Recital Hall of the King Center on the Auraria Higher Education Campus. Books will be on sale. Copper Nickel 13, will sell for $5 to ANY student with an ID. A reception will follow at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm, at 6pm, with a contributor reading at 7pm.

Adrian will also read with his faculty colleagues at our sister school, SIUE, in Saint Louis:
Thursday, Jan. 21, SIUE is hosting a reading by creative writing faculty at the Regional Arts Commission on 6128 Delmar at 6 p.m. Adrian Matejka, Stacey Lynn Brown, Valerie Vogrin, Geoff Schmidt, and Allison Funk will read. The event is open to all.

Upcoming Literary Event in Carbondale

HELP FOR HAITI: A LITERARY BENEFIT
Sponsored by the MFA Program in Creative Writing
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Thursday, January 28, 2010
SIUC Student Center Cambria Room
7-8:30 PM
Free and open to the public with donations gratefully accepted
All donations to go to the International Relief Fund of the American Red Cross

Rodney Jones poem to appear in BAP 2010

Beloved MFA faculty member will appear in Best American Poetry 2010 (editor, Amy Gerstler) with his poem "North Alabama Endtime!"
Congrats, Mr. Jones!

Fantastic news from fiction faculty member Jacinda Townsend!

I'll let Jacinda tell you all in her own inimitable style:

My book deal is a done deal now, so yes feel free to share this on the blog--it's a historical novel called Saint Monkey and it's with Norton, though I'm not sure when it's coming out. (I've been told to think this weekend about a "delivery date," about which I'm a little freaked, but I think I'm going to seriously tunnel in and try to revise by June, because let's be for real I'm not going to get anything done this summer with two kids all up in my grill 24/7.

Congrats on the book deal, Jacinda!

Congrats to...

MFA poetry alum Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum:

Spoon River Poetry Review will be publishing "The Lives of Boys" and "Self-Portrait, 1997" in the coming months.

and

current fiction student Melissa Scholes Young:

After too many rejections to count, my baby, my "Scrap Metal Baby," has been accepted for publication in The View From Here's print journal for April 2010. "Scrap Metal Baby" is a short story that came out of a writing assignment in Pinckney's workshop. It was and is a stretch and a challenge for my writing style to write surreal. Pinckney made me do it. I'm grateful. "Scrap Metal Baby" can now be born. Her mama needs a rest.


Congrats Andy and Melissa!

Pinckney Benedict Goes International!

Fiction faculty member Pinckney Benedict has the following great news:

Good news: My new fiction collection, Miracle Boy and Other Stories, which will be published in the US by Press53 in May, has been picked up by the excellent Salt Publishing for UK, European, and Australian publication in September.

More info at
Miracle Boy and Other Stories

Alumni Reading Alert: Melanie Dusseau (MFA '03) to read at College of DuPage

The invitation comes from Liz "Kershner" Whiteacre (MFA '02, poetry):

I invite you to banish just-before-mid-term blues and spend Wednesday, February 17th with me to celebrate Melanie and her first collection, The Body Tries Again. She'll be performing the 17th from 7-8:30 p.m. (I can get you an invite to the faculty dinner too... ;) in SRC 2800 in Glen Ellyn, IL at College of DuPage. Join Mel and me for a minication (there are talks of hitting the Shed and Magnificent Mile Thursday)--you deserve it. And, the glow from this reunion could get you easily to spring break (for that, you're on your own).

For info on Mel D's new book, visit:
The Body Tries Again

Curtis Crisler (MFA '04) featured on Read Write Poem

Read Write Poem is a great site for poets and poetry lovers. MFA alum Curtis Crisler (poetry, '04) was recently interviewed for a piece there:
The B Sides

The poem referenced in the article above can be found here: They will say

Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) to appear in BAP 2010

Adrian Matejka (MFA '01, poetry) 's poem "Seven Days of Falling" (the first poem in his award-winning collection Mixology) has been selected to appear in the 2010 edition of Best American Poetry! Congrats, AD!

Congrats to Melanie Martin (MFA '04, poetry)

Congrats to Melanie Martin (MFA '04, poetry)! Three of her poems ( "This Body, This Anchor", "Casting a Line", and "Poem for Roxana") are scheduled to be published in an upcoming anthology titled
Beside the City of Angels: An Anthology of Long Beach Poetry, (edited by Paul Kareem Tayyar). The anthology will be published by World Parade Books in February.

Ben Percy (MFA '04) reads at River Styx

Fiction alum (MFA'04) Ben Percy will read as part of the River Styx at Duff's Series in St. Louis, MO on January 18, 2010:

River Styx reading series

Congrats to Andy McFadyen-Ketchum!

Andy McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry) writes with an impressive list of forthcoming publications:

My poem "Corridor" will appear in Southern Indiana Review, a section of "Marysarias" in CENTER out of U of Missouri, "Constellations" in Blueline out of New York (if you have short nature poems, send them there!), and "To Touch the Moon" in Grist out of U of Tennessee. I also have an interview with Robert Wrigley forthcoming in the Missouri Review, an interview with Nicky Beer forthcoming in New Orleans Review (her first book,The Diminshing House, will be out Monday!), and a review of Michael McGriff's Dismantling the Hills forthcoming in Third Coast.

Congrats, AMK, on all these forthcoming pubs!

Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) nominated for NAACP Image Award!

Adrian Matejka (MFA'01) has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the Poetry Category for his National Poetry Series-winning collection Mixology! Congrats, AD!

NAACP Image Awards

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

Allison,

Just got notice that the Valparaiso Poetry Review accepted the poem "My Brother's House" for publication next fall. I was pleasantly surprised to find and read your poem in the current issue.

Thanks,

Travis

Congrats, TM, and thanks for noticing!

LINK:
Valparaiso Poetry Review

Congrats to Mark Brewin!

Second-year poetry MFA student Mark Brewin continues to have success getting his poems in fine venues:

ahoy, allison.

wow. goodness. i got a lovely e-mail yesterday from the River Oak Review asking to publish my poem "What Einstein Saw Before Typing His Theory of Relativity," and after checking my e-mail today (some 19 hours and 1200 miles later...) i got an e-mail from The Pinch expressing their interest in publishing "The Group" and "Our Lady of the Water Glass." what a week. keep it coming.

hot dog.
mb

Congrats, MB!

LINKS
River Oak Review
The Pinch

Congrats to Helena "Hel" Bell!

Helena "Hel" Bell (MFA '08, poetry) writes with good news as well:

Hey Allison, I finally have news for the blog! My poem "Cleaning the Quail" was accepted this morning by Pedestal Magazine.

~Hel

Congrats, Hel!

The Pedestal

Congrats to Leslie Adams!

First-year poetry MFA student has good news for a Monday afternoon:

Hi Allison,

I'm happy to report that The Adirondack Review has accepted my poem "And This" for publication!

Also, I was informed this weekend that two of my poems were among the fourteen finalists for the Yellowwood Prize, which Mark ultimately won with his awesome poem.

Good news all around!
Leslie Adams


Congrats, Leslie!

LINKS:
The Adirondack Review
Yalobusha Review

Congrats to Mark Brewin!

Current second-year poetry MFA student Mark Jay Brewin has a big win to celebrate this weekend. His poem "Our Lady of Mount Carmel" is the winner of the Yellowwood Prize from the Yalobusha Review!

Mark, whose poem was selected for this honor by Beth Ann Fennelly, will receive $500!

Congrats, Mark!

LINK:
Yalobusha Review

Congrats to John Flaherty

Congrats to John Flaherty (MFA '08, fiction) on the publication of his latest story:

Hi, Allison -

Wanted to report that my story "American Soiling Fees" is up at www.the2ndhand.com. The story is quite short, but it involves Ireland, Goldman Sachs, Tatyana Ali, and puking. In other words, it is posted just in time for the Holidays.

Hope all is well,

John Flaherty

LINK:
American Soiling Fees

Congrats to Nick Ostdick!

Start the weekend with a story by first-year fiction writer Nick Ostdick!

Hey Allison,

Hope your weekend is off to a great start. Just wanted to give word that my story 'True Hair' has just been published in the December issue of Storyglossia. A nifty little interview with me should be on the site as well. It's a great little mag and I'm stoked to have the story there.

Here's the link:
True Hair

Many thanks.

-NO

Congrats, Nick!

Congrats to Michael Meyerhofer (MFA '06, poetry)

Michael Meyerhofer (MFA '06, poetry) writes with a lot of upcoming credits:

Hey, Allison. I've had some good luck the past couple months and thought I'd pass these on.

My poems "Westbound Elegy" and "Post Grads" were taken by American Poetry Journal, "Touch" was taken by Los Angeles Review, and "Tattoo Parlor" was taken by Barn Owl Review. Also, "To the President of the American Begonia Society," "Mother’s Day," "If The World" and “Racial Memories” were taken by New York Quarterly. A short story, "The Hero's Wife," was accepted by Planet Magazine. Last, my poem, "Oasis," will be published as an Honorable Mention in the New Millennium Writings poetry contest, judged by Nikki Giovanni.

Hope you're well! Take care,

MM

Congrats, MM! That's a lot of published and forthcoming work!

LINKS:
American Poetry Journal
Los Angeles Review (they like us; they really like us!)
Barn Owl Review
New York Quarterly
Planet
New Millennium Writings

Congrats to Sara Burge!

Sara Burge (MFA '08, poetry) writes:

Hi Allison,

My Spock poem, "Vulcan Logic," is finally going to see the light of day in Los Angeles Review, and "Metal Concubines" will be published by Juked as one of the finalists in their poetry competition. Those poems have been floating around for a while, so I'm happy they found their homes!

Sara Burge

Looks like they like us in LA! Congrats, Sara!

LINKS:
Juked
Los Angeles Review

Congrats to Will Tyler (MFA '09)!

Allison,

I'm finally writing with some good news. I had three poems accepted for publication over the weekend. Albatross picked up "Breakup on the Guadalupe" and "Elegies and Requiems." And the Los Angeles Review accepted "Capital Wire and Cable, 1968."

--Will

Congrats, Will--three poems accepted in one weekend is quite a weekend!

LINKS:
Albatross
Los Angeles Review

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

Current third-year poetry student Travis Mossotti has this news:

Harpur Palate has accepted "I watched her going into a gas station," for publication. I also found out that my manuscript About the Dead was a semi-finalist for the Brittingham and Pollak Poetry Prizes out of the University of Wisconsin.

Congrats, TM!

LINKS:
Harpur Palate
U of Wisconsin Poetry Series

Congrats to Alex Lumans!

Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction) writes from chilly Colorado:

Allison,

Letting you know that Southern Humanities Review picked up two of my poems ("For the Restless Flycatcher" and "On the Eve of My Father's Second Book") for its next issue.

And my story "The Human Moments" that was originally published in Clarkesworld a couple years ago is now coming out this month in the anthology Realms 2: The Second Year of Clarkesworld.

It's also 3 degrees here right now.

Lumans

Congrats, AL!

LINKS:
Southern Humanities Review
Realms 2

Congrats to Jake Boyd (MFA '07)

from an e-mail note from Jake Boyd (MFA '07, poetry):

The poem "Burning Billboards" is up on BOMB's website for the next week, along with a high falootin' Q & A.
Here's the link:
Bomb
Jake's Q & A

Also, the poem "Meditation at Sunrise" will appear in North American Review this spring, and the poem "Trying to Remember a Hermit Thrush" will be in Hawk and Handsaw. I've got some chapbooks circulating, but I've backed off trying to unleash a full-size book on the unsuspecting world.

Congrats, Jake!

LINKS:
North American Review
Hawk & Handsaw

Congrats to Kerry James Evans!

Kerry James Evans (MFA '09, poetry) will have his poem "Bones" published in an upcoming issue of Briar Cliff Review.

Congrats, KJE!

LINK:
Briar Cliff Review

Good News from Rachel Furey (MFA '09, fiction)

Great news keeps on coming for and from Rachel Furey (MFA '09, fiction):

Allison,

Apparently, it's my lucky week. It actually snowed in Texas! And I
have the following news to pass along: my short story "After Failing
at Suicide" was a finalist for the 2009 Fulton prize and now appears
in the winter issue of The Adirondack Review. Also, Squid
Quarterly nominated "In front of the Aquarium" for a Pushcart Prize.

All the best,
Rachel

LINKS:
Adirondack Review
Squid Quarterly

Congrats, Rachel! Keep the good news coming!

Essayspotting: Tim Marsh

A new essay by Tim Marsh (MFA '06, fiction) has just been published at Connotation Press:

At the Hanover U Haul

Storyspotting: Renee Evans (MFA '09)

A new story by Renee Evans (MFA '09, fiction) has just been published by Paradigm:

A Late Lunch

Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!

Second-year fiction writer Melissa Scholes Young has lovely news to share:

The Yalobusha Review, the literary magazine of the University of Mississippi, has accepted a piece of my nonfiction entitled "Silk Flowers."
Yalobusha Review

My essay "Living and Sometimes Laughing" just came out in the anthology Voices of MS published by LaChance.
LaChance Publishing

And some old and new news. "Guinea Pig," which was published by the New Plains Review, has been nominated for a Pushcart. Alex Lumans found this link online to a video excerpt of Doug Goetsch introducing me and the reading.
New Plains Review
Melissa reading "Guinea Pig"

Congrats, MSY, on everything!

Congrats to Rachel Furey!

Rachel Furey (MFA '09) has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize!

Allison,

I'll tag onto Janelle's note by letting you know that Main Street Rag is also nominating my story "The Pet Mortician" for a Pushcart Prize.

Hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving!

Best,
Rachel

Congrats, Rachel!

Rachel's story appears in this anthology:
XXEccentric

Congrats to Janelle Blasdel!

Congrats to second-year fiction writer Janelle Blasdel:


I just found out that Main Street Rag is nominating my short story "Vampire Crop" for a Pushcart Prize. This is the story that came out last spring in the anthology Dots on a Map.

Congrats, JB!

LINK:
Main Street Rag's Fiction

Congrats to Katie Darby!

First-year fiction writer Katie Darby sends more good news to round out the week:

Hey Allison,

I just had a story picked up for publication! My story "A Color Story" will be forthcoming for the Spring 2010 issue of "The Meadowland Review." Good news! What a way to round out this week.

Love,
Katie

Yeah, Katie! Congrats!

LINK:
Meadowland Review

Congrats to Renee Evans!

The story acceptances keep coming for Renee Evans (MFA '09, fiction):

Dear Allison,

Paradigm just accepted "A Late Lunch" for publication.

Give yourselves hugs for us!
-Renee

Congrats, Renee!

LINK:
Paradigm Journal

Congrats to Sara Burge!

Sara Burge (MFA '08, poetry) tops off today's spate of fantastic news with this:

Allison!
I just found out my manuscript, Eternal Return, won the DeNovo Award through C&R Press!!!!!!
Oh My GAWWWDDD!!!!! (Hyperventilate!)

Sara Burge

Congrats, Sara! Catch your breath and go out and celebrate!

LINK:
C&R Press