Lee Okan (Fiction, January 2015) has published a monograph, Sexual Violence in Comics:The Ethics of Visualizing Trauma with Bloomsbury. Use Code GLR AT8 for a 35% discount!
Thato Mwosa’s (WSS, June 2017) short film, Until Further Notice, has been selected for the 33rd New York African Film Festival (May 16) and the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (August 7-15th 2026). This is Thato’s second selection at the MVAAFF since her first feature film, Memoirs of a Black Girl, screened in 2021.
Caitlin Robinson’s (WFYP, June 2018) “When The Tall Ships Sing” has received an honorable mention in the #50PreciousWords 2026 contest.
MER 24, the Mothers & Family Issue, features works by the following alumni: Rachel Becker (Poetry, January 2025), Amy Asherah (Nonfiction, January 2023), Lisa DeSiro (Poetry, June 2010), Frances Donovan (Poetry, June 2019), and Suzanne Edison (Poetry, June 2016).
David Farrow’s (Fiction, June 2022) “The Last Eleven Seconds” has recently been published as the opening story in Flash Fiction Online (Issue 151, April 2026).
Celeste Mohammed’s (Fiction, June 2016) picture book Legends of the Lake has been purchased by Greenwillow Publishing, with an expected Summer 2027 release date. This book is about Pitch Lake, the world’s largest natural asphalt deposit, located in Trinidad.
Masobe Books, a Nigerian publishing company, has announced the acquisition of Celeste’s novel-in-stories, Ever Since We Small.
And Celeste’s short story “Plenty Time” has been shortlisted for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The story “centers on an act of kindness between an elderly widow and another woman in a struggle for dignity.”
Julie Lam (Fiction, June 2019) served as editor and producer of the 2026 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Entry: Strangely Optimistic. She says, “My goal in making this film with Nina Storey for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is to help people learn about Long COVID as a disability. I particularly want people to see how dysautonomia impacts LC patients.” Watch it here.
Claudia Rueda’s (WFYP, January 2010) book, Hungry Bunny, is now available in Ukraine from Gnome Bom Publishing.
Robbie Gamble’s (Poetry/Nonfiction, January 2017/June 2020) poem “Shout” has been published in Raw Head Journal (Issue 2), and his flash essay “Rhythm” is a finalist in the Karen Kao CNF Flash Essay Contest.
Guard My Heart, the latest from Sabrina Fedel (WFYP, January 2014), is now available for pre-order from Penguin Random House.
Michael Mercurio (Poetry, January 2017) reads his poem, “Critique of Pure Reason,” as part of the Midwest Writing Center’s video series for National Poetry Month.
Pamela Petro (Nonfiction/Graphic Novel & Comics, Mentor) has been selected for the 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship in General Non-Fiction. “Our new class of Guggenheim Fellows is representative of the world’s best thinkers, innovators, and creators in art, science, and scholarship,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and President of the Guggenheim Foundation.
Aqueela C. Britt’s (Fiction, June 2018) short story, “Stoop Talk,” has been published in the Bangalore Review (April 2026).
Cassie Seinuk’s (WSS, June 2013 & Mentor) play Close Distance Disappearing Acts has received the Platinum award for Stage Play in the WRPN Women’s International Film Festival, among other accolades. A list of showtimes are available here.
Her screenplay “Rough Trade” is a semifinalist for Breakthrough Screenplay – Feature (Unproduced) in the 2026 Long Island Cinema Festival.
July Westhale (Poetry, June 2013) is the Featured poet of the week. July’s interview with OnlyPoems entitled “The Work of Joy” focuses on their practice of joy through curiosity.
Julia Leef’s (Fiction, June 2018) short story, “Unprecedented Weather Patterns,” has been published in Redivider Journal.
Abbie Harlow’s (WFYP, June 2019) latest novel, The Butterfly’s Sting, has made the 2026 Rise: Feminist Book Project List for the Young Adult: Fiction category.
The Butterfly’s Sting was also one of the best-of-the-year book picks of CBC Choices, an annual list created by the librarians of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center.
KB Ballentine (Poetry, June 2007) has three poems: “Constellation of Pebbles,” “An Astonishment of Stars,” and “Valley of Dying Stars” published in Dandelion Scribes.
Her poem “Dog Days,” is published in the Remington Review (Spring 2026).
Kyle Gregory (WSS, January 2019) stars in the short film Late Fall, now making its way around the festival circuit.
Amanda Todisco-Arevalo (Fiction, June 2021) has a short story “Density” in 365 Tomorrows.
Nancy Temple (WSS, June 2021) is thrilled to announce that her short play “The Ties That Bind” will be featured in the Second Seven of the Fusion Festival on June 8 in Albuquerque.
Nathan Tavares’s (Fiction, June 2011) latest book, The Disco at the End of the World, is now available for pre-order from Penguin Random House.
Suzanne Cope (Nonfiction, 2007) was recently featured on Deborah Kobylt Live to talk about her book, Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis.
Cocklebur, the latest poetry collection from Erin Belieu (Poetry, Mentor), can now be pre-ordered from Copper Canyon Press. One of her new poems from this collection, “With Ax in Hand,” was chosen for the Editor’s Prize by Copper Nickel Journal, and can be read in its latest issue, 42.
Check out these titles available for PRE-ORDER!
Resources & Opportunities
- Erin Cecilia Thomas (Fiction, January 2023) will be teaching Music Into Written Word on Saturday, June 20th, 2026, at The Porch House in Nashville, TN. This seminar will look at the intersection of music and writing, and is available to non-members. See their website for more information.
- Kate Fussner (WFYP, June 2021) is teaching the course MG/YA Manuscript Toolkit For Publication Success through Grub Street. The class will run May 7 – May 28, 2026 from 6pm – 8:30pm on Zoom. Seats are limited. Registration is required. Scholarships are available. For more information and to register, visit grubstreet.org.
- Sara Zarr (WFYP, Mentor) will teach a week-long Fiction workshop at The Glen. The workshop will run July 12-18 in San Diego, CA. To register, visit The Glen.
- The Writers’ Room of Boston, a writing space available to writers in the Boston area, is offering discounted memberships to alumni and current students of the Lesley MFA in Creative Writing program. For more details, please email us at lesleycambridgecommon@gmail.com.
Do you have any recent writing successes or news you’d like to share with the Cambridge Common Writers community? Let us know by reaching out to us at lesleycambridgecommon@gmail.com!
Comments are closed