Alumni Publications: New and Forthcoming

SIUC MFA alums have been busy:

Brenna Lemieux (MFA '11, poetry):
Ploughshares has just accepted my poem "Precision," for its Winter 2012 issue.

Mary Jay Brewin, Jr. (MFA '11, poetry):
My poem "Kansas Burning" was accepted for publication at storySouth. I
like the sound of that.

Melissa Scholes Young (MFA '11, fiction):

My interview with Devil's Kitchen's very own Jennine Capo Crucet is
up at Fiction Writers Review. Enjoy!

http://fictionwritersreview.com/interviews/how-to-leave-and-why-you-stay-an-interview-with-jennine-capo-crucet

Congrats to all on these excellent publications!

SIUC MFA Program Ranked at #25 in 2012 Poets and Writers rankings!

Poets and Writers Magazine has ranked the SIUC MFA Program in Creative Writing at #25 in the nation!

Details here:
the Top 50

Welcome to Carbondale, New MFA Students!

MFA Carbondale is happy to welcome the following new students to Carbondale:

Josh Bontrager, Poetry
Jenny Flack, Fiction
Mary Kate Flannery, Fiction
Elise Foster, Fiction
Brett Gaffney, Poetry
Maggie Graber, Poetry
Josh Gray, Fiction
Ben Guerette, Fiction
Patrick Hunt, Fiction
Austin Kodra, Poetry
Zach Macholz, Poetry
Staci Schoenfeld, Poetry
Ashley Sigmon, Fiction

Welcome and thanks for coming!

MFA Orientation: Monday, August 15 @ 3:30 pm

Come one, come all (MFA students and faculty that is):

MFA Orientation for New and Returning Students
MFA Program in Creative Writing
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Meeting time: 3:30 pm
Meeting date: Monday, August 15th, 2011
Meeting place: Harry T. Moore Auditorium, Faner Hall

We will welcome our new class of MFA students officially to the SIUC MFA Program!

Travis Mossotti to be featured on "The Writer's Almanac"!

2011 MFA poetry alum Travis Mossotti has more good news:

Just found out that Garrison Keillor is going to be reading my poem, "Crossing the Gap" on NPR's The Writer's Almanac this upcoming Monday, August 8th 2011. The broadcast will be available online at
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/, The Writer's Almanac official website.

Great news, Travis!!!

Congrats to Nick Ostdick!

Third-year fiction MFA student Nick Ostdick starts August off with some very good news:

My story 'Thursday' has been picked up by Anthills for their sixth issue due in November. It's the first story from thesis to be picked up. How 'bout that, huh?

Congrats, Nick!!!

Travis Mossotti update

Travis Mossotti is now a daddy!  And yes, his poems are still being accepted everywhere:

Genie and baby are doing great: sleeping, feeding, sleeping, feeding, well, you get the picture. I read Cora the last half of "Song of Myself" between last night and the early hours of the morning. She was a fan. Might move on to some Allison Joseph next.

Got some pub news: 5AM took "At the Deli Counter" for publication this winter, and Dark Horse accepted "Delivering the Bad News" for this fall.   

Congrats on the publications, Travis, and congrats to you and Genie and the birth of Cora!

Mark Brewn publication update

Poetry alum Mark Brewin (MFA '11, poetry) writes:

I am pleased to announce that my poem "On Garages" was accepted for publication at Arroyo Literary Review. Thanks very much to all of my peers and professors from SIUC for helping this piece get this far. I hope all is well, and--I must say--I miss The 'Dale quite a bit.

Congrats, MJB!

Brenna Lemieux publication update

MFA '11 grad Brenna Lemieux writes with fine poetry publication news:

I'm writing with some publication news for a steamy summer day. I just found out that Prairie Schooner will publish my poems "Three-Fingered Willy" and "Mislaid Memory about Pigeons," and RHINO has accepted "Ear Training.

Congrats, Brenna!!!!

Fantastic News for Alex Lumans!!!

Great news from fiction alum Alex Lumans (MFA '09):

I was awarded a fellowship to attend the MacDowell Colony. So, this fall, I'll be there for seven weeks in the deep dark woods of New Hampshire.

American Short Fiction accepted a story of mine, "The Unicorns," for publication in their web exclusives. It will be on their website in August.

The Normal School accepted my story "Limes" for publication.

I received Honorable Mention in the 2011 Press53 Open Award for Short Story and I was also a finalist in their Short-Short Story category.   http://www.press53.com/OpenAwards_2011.html

And my stories in The Yalobusha Review and The Journal are now officially out.  http://thejournalmag.org/archives/112

Congrats, Lumans!!!!

Good News While Waiting!

Travis Mossotti (MFA '10) sends good news while he and wife Genie wait for the new addition to their family:

Good news as we await the little one to arrive by stork, Manchester Review took "Hills" for their October 2011 issue. A decidedly American epic poem, scooped up by a British mag. Go figure.

Congrats, TM!

Kevin McKelvey update

News from poetry alum Kevin McKelvey (MFA '04):

The Indiana Arts Commission awarded me a grant to write poems about the Wabash River in Indiana. Looking forward to new poems and research, and also offering readings and writing workshops in Geneva, Huntington, Peru, Logansport, Delphi, Lafayette, Perrysville, Terre Haute, Vincennes, and New Harmony. 

Congrats, Kevin!!!

Catching up with Brooks Rexroat (MFA '11)

Great news from fiction grad Brooks Rexroat:

Exciting publication news from my home state and abroad...
The Cleveland Review has accepted my short story, "Destroying New Boston." It should be posted July 31 at clevelandreview.net.
My short-short "Legacy" will appear in the upcoming 13th issue of The Literary Bohemian, published out of the Czech Republic. literarybohemian.com


Congrats, Brooks!!!

Congrats to Pete Lucas!!

Good news on a hot day for second-year fiction writer Pete Lucas:

My short story "A Selfish Gift" will be published in the next print issue of Gertrude.

website: gertrudepress.org


Congrats, Pete!

Mid-Summer Alumni News: July 11, 2011

News from:

Chad Simpson (MFA 05, fiction):

My story "The Woodlands" is the July web exclusive over at American Short Fiction. The story's here: http://www.americanshortfiction.org/index.php?Itemid=7, and there's an interview with me about the story here: http://www.americanshortfiction.org/blog/?p=4631.

I also received some good news from folks with SIUC ties: My story "American Bulldog"--from COR's Land of Lincoln issue--has been chosen by John McNally to appear in Jason Brown and Shanie Latham's New Stories from the Midwest 2011, which is going to be put out by Indiana University Press.

And: My story collection was recently named one of three finalists for Sarabande's Mary McCarthy Prize. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only former Saluki on the list of finalists and semi-finalists: http://www.sarabandebooks.org/?page_id=71

Helena "Hel" Bell (MFA 08, poetry)

a flash fiction piece I wrote has just been published by Brain Harvest:

http://www.brainharvestmag.com/2011/07/please-return-my-son-who-is-in-your-custody/

Congrats to Ruth Awad!!!

Congratulations to third-year poet Ruth Awad for winning this year's poetry contest from Copper Nickel!

Details here:

Copper Nickel

new Josh Woods anthology coming soon!

Great news from Josh Woods (MFA '09, fiction):

I've got a new anthology out that features very cool work from two other SIUC MFAers, Lumans and Flaherty. The anthology is a collection of stories about villains called, believe it or not, The Book of Villains. It releases Aug. 30th, but pre-orders get a massive discount. Below is the link.

 

Please help me spread the word!

 

http://www.mainstreetrag.com/Villains.html

Josh is also the editor of the Versus Anthology (Press 53, 2009).  

 

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

Great news for fiction grad Tim Marsh (MFA ''06):

I have some news for the blog: This autumn I'll have stories appearing in Quiddity and Sweet. I've also just received a writer's fellowship to the Can Serrat residency program in Barcelona, which will give me 4+ weeks in Spain either this November or next April, 2012.

Congrats, Tim, on all your good news!

Melissa Scholes Young Update

Melissa Scholes Young (MFA '11, fiction) has loads of juicy news:

I have the poems "Coconut Water," "Piranha Fishing," and "Escape from Brazil" in the spring editions of Cold Mountain Review, Tampa Review, and Tapestry.  Also, I got a big girl job teaching writing full-time at American University beginning this fall.  Couldn't have done any of that good stuff without the amazing folks at SIU. A million thanks to you and Jon and the whole crew. See you in D.C.!

Congrats on all this great news, Melissa!!!!

Congrats to Sequoia Nagamatsu!

Great news for second-year fiction MFA student Sequoia Nagamatsu:

Just got word that my story, "The Passage of Time in the Abyss", has been accepted for the 2012 issue of Gargoyle Magazine. And I'd just like to give a shout out to everyone who helped me with this one esp. those who reminded me of Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth in their critique letters, which ended up being a quite helpful model. Huzzah!

Congrats, Sequoia!!!!