Vandenberg Featured in The Writer's Almanac

"First Snowfall in St. Paul," a poem of cold days and locked brakes by alum Katrina Vandenberg (1997), appeared  in the November 26 edition of The Writer's Almanac.

Yarbrough Novel Named Notable Book of 2013

The Washington Post has named The Realm of Last Chances, by alum Steve Yarbrough (1985), among its Notable Fiction of 2013! 

Michael Lindgren writes, "This beautifully wrought book concerns Kristin and Cal Stevens, a middle-aged California couple who settle in a small town in Massachusetts. The story tracks their halting assimilation into a world that feels foreign and brittle, and it is so keenly observed that its depiction of these lost souls conveys outsize emotional force."

Askew Interviewed in Tin House Blog

Head on over to the Tin House blog for a terrific interview with Rilla Askew, visiting associate professor and author of, most recently, Kind of Kin. Rilla reveals the links between acting and writing, the indispensability of villains, and how perseverance must be tempered with surrender. A wonderful read!

And if that whets your appetite, check out Rilla's essay "Rhumba," which appeared in issue 57 of Tin House.

Dougherty in Jet Fuel Review & More

Enjoy three new poems by first-year student Kevin Dougherty. "Lullaby" and "Heap" appear in the fall 2013 issue of Jet Fuel Review. And the lovely, lonely "Saturday Poem/Instead of Pittsburgh" was published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

New Gilchrist Story in China Grove

Pick up the inaugural issue of China Grove for a brand new story by Ellen Gilchrist! "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" comes from Ellen's latest collection, Acts of God, to be published by Algonquin Books in April 2014. It appears in issue 1 of the China Grove literary journal, alongside a lengthy interview with Ellen. 

Applications Closed for Assistant Prof. of Fiction Writing

Thank you to all who applied for our Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing position! The deadline to apply was Friday, Nov. 15, and though some may still be in the mail, the number and quality of applications we've received is impressive. We're excited to read your work and learn more about you in the coming weeks. And we look forward to scheduling Skype interviews with our top candidates in January. 

New Fiction at Knee Jerk

The latest issue of Knee Jerk features a story by recent graduate Kaj Tanaka (2013). Read "Eugenia Will Come Back To You Someday." Kaj also has three pieces of short short fiction in the current issue of Pank. 

Harris Lauded by Italian Ministry of Foreign Culture

Congratulations are due to alum Elizabeth Harris (2000). Her translation of Giacomo's Seasons by Italian novelist Mario Rigoni Stern was recently honored with an award from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Culture. Brava, Elizabeth!

Brock to Read in Baltimore, DC

For our friends and alums in Baltimore and DC: Geoff Brock, professor of poetry and translation, will be reading in your cities this weekend!

Friday Nov. 15 at 4 pm--The Humanities Center and English Dept. of JHU will host Geoff in Gilman 208 on the Johns Hopkins campus.

Saturday Nov. 16 at 2 pm--Geoff will read at the Smithsonian Institute National Portrait Gallery, along with Eavan Boland, Jorie Graham, John Koethe, Yusef Komunyakaa, Paul Muldoon, Steve Scafidi Jr., Michael Schmidt, Dave Smith, Tracy K. Smith, and C.D. Wright, his co-contributors to Lines in Long Array. For more info, click here.

MFA Program Hosts Joyce Carol Oates for Free Reading, April 21

Acclaimed writer Joyce Carol Oates, author of more than fifty novels as well as dozens of short story collections, books for children and young adults, essays and poetry collections, will read from her work at 7p.m., on Monday, April 21, 2014, at the Fayetteville Town Center. The event, part of the University of Arkansas Programs in Creative Writing and Translation Distinguished Readers Series, is free and open to the public.

“Ms. Oates is among the most admired and accomplished writers of our time,” said Todd Shields, interim dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. “We are honored to host such a distinguished artist and to share her knowledge and work with our community.”

Since 1963, forty of Oates’ books have been included in the New York Times list of notable books of the year. Her novel, Them, won the National Book Award in 1970. Other honors include two O. Henry Prizes, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction, and the M. L. Rosenthal Award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 2009, Oates was given the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Book Critics Circle and the next year was awarded the National Humanities Medal for her contributions to American letters.

Oates currently serves as the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, where she has taught since 1978.

Born in Lockport, New York, Oates began writing as a teenager after her grandmother presented her with a typewriter. At the age of 19, she won the Mademoiselle college fiction contest. Throughout high school and college, she followed a strict regimen of writing, drafting novel after novel.

Since then, her career has been marked by productivity—publishing books at the rate of roughly two a year—as well as eclecticism. Her oeuvre contains essays, plays, anthologies, literary criticism, children’s books and poetry in addition to fiction, encompassing countless genres, styles, voices, topics, and modes of creative expression.

“The scope and variety of her works crashes through literary boundaries,” said Davis McCombs, director of the Programs in Creative Writing and Translation. “If you enjoy horror stories, gothic romances, mysteries, suspense, young adult novels, even reportage, you’ll find something of interest in Ms. Oates’ work. And, of course, she’s one of the most respected voices in literary fiction working today.” 

Oates is best known for her novels Them; Blonde, a fictional portrait of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe; The Falls, which won France’s Prix Femina; We Were the Mulvaneys, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and for her most anthologized short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Her most recent works include Daddy Love and The Accursed, and her new novel, Carthage, due to be published in January 2014.

In addition to the reading, Ms. Oates will meet with students in the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing during her visit.

The creative writing program’s Distinguished Readers Series is made possible by the Fine Arts Activity Fee, the Department of English, and the James E. and Ellen Wadley Roper Professorship in Creative Writing. Their generous support means there is no charge to attend Ms. Oates’ reading, and no tickets are required. Books will be for sale at the venue, with a signing to follow the reading.

Apply Now for Asst. Professor of Fiction Writing!

Old Main, University of Arkansas

We're two weeks away from the Nov. 15 deadline to apply for our tenure-track position of Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing! If you're still wondering whether you can see yourself in Fayetteville, consider autumn in the Ozarks. 

And for more information about the job, click here.

Awards for Recent MFA Graduates

If you've been wondering what our recent MFA graduates have been up to, the answer is: quite a lot! 

Over the past few years, former students have won: 
* Stegner Fellowships at Stanford University
* the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award 
* the Ruth Lily Poetry Fellowship
* Exeter’s George Bennett Fellowship
* Fulbright fellowships for study & research abroad
* fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
* the Playboy College Fiction Contest (three times in the past ten years, but who's counting?)
* and been finalists for the Yale Younger Poets Prize.

Works by our graduates regularly appear in:
* Best American Stories
* Best American Poetry
* Best American Essays
* Prize Stories: The O’Henry Award
* The Pushcart Prize anthology
* Best New American Writing
* plus virtually every major literary journal and magazine, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, Poetry, Esquire, and The Atlantic Monthly.

Recent graduates have secured publishing contracts from the some of the most prestigious presses in the country, including FSG, Norton, and William Morrow, sometimes while still in the program.

We couldn't be more proud!