It’s a great joy, as the year comes to a close, to look back on all of the accomplishments of the Lesley MFA community from the past twelve months. The End-of Year Celebration and Gift Guide is becoming a great CCW tradition! Our community members have published books, won awards, given interviews, taught workshops, produced plays and films, sent out stories and poems and essays to journals, and generally been all-around exemplary literary citizens. 2024 has seen the world spiral into an increasingly contentious and disorienting space, and we have needed, more than ever before, the power of the well-written word to enlighten, inspire, and entertain us. This celebration lists some of the highlights achieved by Lesley alums and mentors in 2024. The Gift Guide is a basket of the fruits of their labors, and an opportunity to support our fellow writers by buying and sharing their work. Please join us in lifting up this extraordinary community.
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Celebrating Our Writing Successes
We’ve loved celebrating your Publication News and Announcements throughout the year. Here are just a handful of highlights from an incredible year.
Candice Iloh’s (WFYP, June 2017) YA novel-in verse Salt the Water was named a 2024 Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association. “An intriguing and relatable world led by a charming protagonist. The poems ease into one another, threading a refreshing story of honing one’s voice, intuition, and independence. Daring, beautiful, and necessary.”
Andrea Ballou (Poetry, June 2015) received the 2024 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize in Poetry for her debut collection Family Business, which will be published by Persea Books.
Leah Glennon (Fiction, June 2019) had her first published piece, a flash creative nonfiction titled, “Daniel,” in the January-February 2024 issue of Hippocampus Magazine.
Saraciea J. Fennell (WFYP, January 2020) co-edited the YA short story collection The Black Girl Survives In This One, which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly: “Using authentic voices to detail Black experiences through a horror lens, debut creator Evans and Fennell (Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed) aim to ensure that Black girls survive their gruesome respective situations via a stellar lineup of 15 Black writers.”
Michelle Boland (Poetry, January 2019) published several poems this year, including “X” in CALYX, “Where the Children Play” in Pangyrus, and “Apple Maggot” in Solstice.
Rachel Kadish (Fiction, MFA Writing Faculty) has a guest essay “The Most Important Writing Exercise I’ve Ever Assigned” in The New York Times.
Nada Samih-Rotondo (Fiction, June 2012) was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for her memoir All Water Has Perfect Memory.
Bonita Lee Penn (Poetry, January 2015) published a new poetry collection When the Trees Finally Testify with Get Fresh Books: “Bonita Lee Penn’s words in When the Trees Finally Testify are at once a sharp-edged sword and a sweet balm of healing for what aches. Her poetry speaks to histories that beckon us to remember and reclaim our truths. Bonita marries rage with the divine and gives new life to poetics.”
Amy Mevorach’s (Nonfiction, January 2023) review of A.J. Verdelle’s book, Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison was published in CALYX.
Celeste Mohammed’s (Fiction, June 2016) short story “Terre Brulee” was shortlisted for the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Kevin Prufer’s (Poetry, MFA Writing Faculty) debut novel Sleepaway was published by University of Chicago Press: “An allegory for post-pandemic America, Sleepaway grapples with questions concerning friendship, race, and family amid the horror of inexplicable, arbitrary annihilation.”
Julie Cyr’s (Poetry, January 2017) poem “Leda in the Gulf” was poem of the month for May in Mom Egg Review.
Kate Fussner (WFYP, June 2021) was longlisted for the Mass Book Awards for her queer middle-grade novel-in-verse The Song of Us, which was also listed in the Amazon 2024 Best Children’s Books of the Year, ages 12-14.
Sara Levine’s (WFYP, January 2006) picture book Sensitive was listed in the Amazon 2024 Best Children’s Books of the Year, ages 5-9.
L Scully (Nonfiction, January 2023) is listed in BookCAMP in their feature “40 Under Forty” making a positive impact on the independent publishing world.
Robbie Gamble’s (Nonfiction, June 2020) essay “Marta,” about an encounter with a migrant in distress on the Arizona/Mexico border, was published in Tahoma Literary Review, and later nominated for Best of the Net. “Marta” also appeared in translation in the Spanish journal Las Nueve Musas and in the Columbian journal Revista Corónica.
Nathan Tavares (Fiction, June 2011) had a feature article “The Last Gay Erotica Store” in Esquire. He also had an article “Trixie Mattel Is Here to Fix Her Home, Not Your Life” in GQ Magazine.
Tony Eprile (Fiction, MFA faculty) had an essay “Bards Behind Bars: Reading Sartre Aloud Inside a Maximum-Security Prison” in the Summer 2024 issue of The American Scholar.
Erin Belieu (Poetry, MFA faculty) had a poem “Late Autumnal, With Cockroach” in the July/August 2024 issue of Poetry.
Thato Mwosa (WSS, June 2017) was selected to participate in Meryl Streep’s The Writer’s Lab, a program dedicated to elevating the work of women and non-binary screenwriters over the age of 40. She worked on her script, Rati, a coming-of-age drama set in Botswana.
Hayley Krischer (Fiction, June 2009) had an article in People magazine: “I Wrote a Novel About a Real Celebrity — And She ‘Can’t Wait to Read It’ (Exclusive)” where she discussed her process for writing Where Are You, Echo Blue?
McKensi Scy Pascall (WSS, June 2024) was awarded a Fellowship with the Public Theater in Manhattan to produce Theater with their Mobile Unit Department over a 6 month period.
Jody Hobbs Hesler’s (Fiction, June 2017) new novel Without You Here was listed on the AWP Member Bookshelf.
Jasmine Warga’s (WFYP, June 2013) novel, A Rover’s Story, was highlighted by Publishers Weekly as one of the children’s books powering the STEM/STEAM engine: “It’s a work of fiction that was exhaustively researched and provides solid STEM facts layered into a fun, character-driven read.”
Enzo Silon Surin (Poetry, 2012) developed a new podcast It’s a Poetic Life w/Enzo the Poet, up on Spotify. He is also offering poetry consultations through his website.
Elizabeth Shick (Fiction, January 2019) had an article “Ten Books That Reveal Myanmar for the Complex Mosaic It Is” in Literary Hub.
E. Christopher Clark (Fiction, June 2005) published the first two chapters of his comic book, The Blood of Seven Queens, a fairy tale mash-up which asks the question, “What if Red Riding Hood grew up to be the Queen of Hearts?!”
Benjamin Roesch (Fiction, January 2016) discussed his new book The Rest of Your Life Soundtrack (which was #1 on IngramSpark’s 2024 list for Young Adult Fiction/LGBTQ+/Lesbian) on a special episode of the podcast Perspectives on Pages. His dual book launch with Jody Hobbs Hesler (Without You Here) can be seen on the Cambridge Common Writers’s YouTube channel.
Jason Reynolds (WFYP, MFA faculty) had a whirlwind year. He was awarded a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship. He also announced that he is founding Heirloom Literary & Media, a new literary agency. Among his many media engagements, he appeared on The Daily Show, promoting his YA novel Twenty-Four Seconds from Now, which he also discussed in an interview in Publishers Weekly.
Jorge Armenteros (Fiction, June 2012) published a new novel, The Curvature Of An Absence with Spuyten Duvvil Press: “In spare prose that is quietly lyrical and languidly hypnotic, Armenteros makes much of little in this fable-like landscape that seems to inhabit an eternal present.”
Cheryl Eagan-Donovan (WSS, January 2012) published a peer-reviewed article, “Music and Lyrics by E.O” in The Oxfordian, Vol. 26, examining how the musical skills and knowledge possessed by Edward de Vere strengthens the case for his authorship of the Shakespeare canon. She is also currently in production for All the World’s a Stage, a feature-length documentary about Shakespeare and the Invention of Modern Theatre, celebrating “the power of theater as a subversive force of misrule, disrupting conventional ideas about gender, sexuality, politics, race, class, and ethnicity.”
A grand total of three Lesley MFA authors were included in the newly-published anthology of middle-grade short stories, On the Block: Stories of Home, from Penguin Random House. Stories about the multigenerational immigrant families living at the Entrada apartment building include “Apt 5B: Lila Sooklal” by Tracey Baptiste (WFYP, MFA Writing Faculty), “Apt 6A: Ro Chen” by Andrea Wang (WFYP, June 2011), and “Apt 3D: Amira Dawoud” by Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013).
Sharisse Zeroonian (WSS, January 2024) was featured in an interview on the Playwright’s Spotlight podcast, discussing her evolution as a writer through academia, offending your audience, and many more topics.
Amy Grier (Nonfiction, January 2017) reviewed the novel The Golden Land by Elizabeth Shick (Fiction, January 2019) in Compulsive Reader.
Fred Joiner (Poetry, June 2015) had a poem “Sikasso Snow” in the anthology Embodying Biodiversity: Sensory Conservation as Refuge and Sovereignty from The University of Arizona Press.
Holiday Gift Guide
It’s been a tough year for books in the United States. Show some love to your fellow authors and readers by gifting one (or more!) of these fantastic stories that published this year. Or treat yourself (there’s no such thing as too many books, only too little shelf-space)! And you can find even more books on our bookstore page!
“Rome sparkles on every page of this delightful and smart romance. A sweet and heartfelt take on fake-dating with enough adventures for the most unforgettable Roman holiday!”
— Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, author of Kisses & Croissants
“Unforgettable…Using authentic voices to detail Black experiences through a horror lens, debut creator Evans and Fennell (Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed) aim to ensure that Black girls survive their gruesome respective situations via a stellar lineup of 15 Black writers… Through vivid dialogue and descriptions of ancestral practices like hoodoo, Black culture remains at the forefront of each story.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Oh combines a slow-burn romance with feminist themes focusing on women and girls supporting one another in the male-dominated K-pop industry to create a vibrant and dynamic story. A first purchase title from an author who does not miss.’ — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Wang’s tightly woven plotting and lively dialogue paint a rich portrait of the ups and downs of middle-school friendships, social awkwardness, and a desperate desire to belong….an excellent companion to Kelly Yang’s Front Desk series and Grace Lin’s Pacy Lin series.”
— The Horn Book
“A genuine celebration of family, friends, and the immigrant experience.”
— School Library Journal, starred review
“The mystery drives this exquisitely paced story that readers will quickly consume. The characters are the beating heart of this tender, quiet tale —each drawn with texture, depth, and warmth. A slowly unfurling delight.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Huey’s convincing narrative portrays Misaka as a gifted player who worked hard to perfect his skills and quietly earned the respect of fans as well as his teammates. Kang’s illustrations are notable for their strong structural quality and sometimes haunting tonal effects. A worthwhile picture-book biography of a little-known Japanese American.” — Booklist
“The…steady transformation that Levine traces from upset to familiarity and joy feels real and satisfying.” — Publishers Weekly
In a classic upstairs-downstairs tale, award-winning author Tavi Taylor Black spins an intricate web of idealism’s battle against harsh reality. Set at a time when suffrage was at its height, temperance was gaining momentum, and war loomed in Europe, this spellbinding novel shines a light on inequities we still face today.
“Armenteros compels us to hear our own roar of the river and follow the course. He is one of our most innovative, introspective and brilliant writers.”
— American Book Review
“This book feels like candy in the best possible way: delicious, addictive, and impossible to put down. Heavy Hitter is a celebrity romance that’s both joyfully escapist and achingly real — Katie Cotugno is at the top of her game. A smart, sexy confection.” — Rachel Lynn Solomon, New York Times Bestselling author of The Ex Talk and Business or Pleasure
“D. Dina Friedman’s revelatory book captures the essence of what it means to be and remain human in times of tyranny. This book is a meditation tool for both seeker and cynic.”
— Magdalena Gómez, Poet Laureate of Springfield, MA (2019-2022); author of Mi’ja, a memoir noir
“Hobbs Hesler writes with nuance and beauty about mental illness and resilience, family and friendship and love, about characters who are so much more than a diagnosis. She is a masterful storyteller, both honest and hopeful.”
— Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade and The Bigness of the World, and Series Editor, Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
“Timely, sharp, and unputdownable, Where Are You, Echo Blue is a stunning exploration of 00s-era child stardom, told through the eyes of both a hungry journalist and the woman who defined that journalist’s childhood.”
— Jenny Hollander, USA Today bestselling author of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead
Inspired by the allergy-friendly movement, this board book can be displayed on your doorstep in place of a teal-painted pumpkin to signal that you’re offering non-food trinkets for trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
“[A]n uncomplicated portrait that highlights how the intersection of environment and creative freedom formed an artist for whom ‘everything was art, and art was everything.’” — Publisher’s Weekly
“A beautiful book, this can be book-talked or shared in lessons on civics. This has a place in larger collections.”
— School Library Journal Review
“With This American Ex-Wife Lenz adds to her already impressive canon of cultural criticism. . . . Through a vivid mix of research, reporting, and personal anecdote, [she] reveals the power imbalances inherent to traditional heterosexual marriage, and calls for a radical act of refusal by women who have been too-long defined by their relationships to men.”
— Literary Hub
“Sobering and illuminating. A must-read for anyone wondering where the women are in oil and where they could be.”
— Myriam J.A. Chancy, author of Harvesting Haiti: Reflections on Unnatural Disasters
“Roesch captures the nuances of the period, but this isn’t a period piece; the characters in this book wrestle with questions about relationships of all sorts, as well as what it means to have a dream (potentially) come true.”
— Michael Mercurio, Director of Community Engagement for the Faraday Publishing Company
“If you long to free yourself from the trance of addiction, this brilliantly organized workbook will guide you with compassion and clarity.”
— Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and Trusting the Gold
“Balancing the personal with the political and showing romance side by side with a blood-soaked reality, this engrossing story is about the difficult necessity of revisiting trauma. The Golden Land radiates with cultural empathy, a glow that might light a path toward justice.”
— Michael Lowenthal, author of Charity Girl
“The hearts of even the most strident arachnophobes will melt at this story of unlikely pals, and the ultimate message of loving oneself and one’s friends just as they are remains a worthy one.” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Raw and believable. Zarr shines a harsh light on a child’s experience growing up in a family affected by alcoholism. For readers in similar situations, that light may offer an essential ray of hope.” — School Library Journal
“Caitlin Krause’s book is a masterclass in digital wellbeing. Our tech often overwhelms, and Krause shows us how to reclaim awe and wonder. Essential reading for anyone looking to succeed in this age of noise, disruption, and change.”
— Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern School of Business
“Subject matter one might initially read as fodder for tabloid tales is transmuted into the profound knowledge of the scope of the loss and its terrifying repercussions. I am both heartbroken by these poems and astonished by their writer’s enviable skill.”
— Cate Marvin, author of Event Horizon
“At its heart Album of Not concerns itself with the not – not what never existed but the excision of what existed […] This remarkable collection confronts the perpetuity of loss through poems that are often surreal and always arresting.”
— Cindy Veach, author of Her Kind
“Only a poet as deft as Penn can call out the American traditions of violence and oppression with the same strength and clarity as she praises Black generosity and love. When the Trees Finally Testify is a book of texture and capaciousness like none I’ve read before.”
— Adrian Matejka, Editor, Poetry magazine
“The novel thoughtfully illustrates some of the harsh realities of being a uniquely vulnerable, dark-skinned boy in a world that refuses to see you and the resulting anxiety that can occur. […] An experiment in grace and care that’s as hopeful as it is imaginative.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Prufer paints beautifully the solace of found family after loss, the ways we both fail and step up to take care of each other. In a poet’s voice, here aches the bittersweet awareness of how few moments we have alive. Here glows how we choose to love in the moments we have left.”
— Brenda Peynado, author of The Rock Eaters
“Jason Reynolds has done it again! But in a totally new way. His take on Neon’s first time with Aria, his true love, is fresh from start to finish. Who wouldn’t want a first time partner like Neon? He’s tender and sweet and scared and funny. He’s a romantic. This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and everyone) wait for your Neon!”
– Judy Blume, New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. and Forever…
‘Tis the Season for Pre-Orders!
One valuable gift you can give to your fellow authors is to pre-order their upcoming books–it’s a great way to help stir up interest and drive future sales! And it gives you something to look forward to in 2025!
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