the TONIC, a new literary journal affiliated with the MFA Program at Lesley University, has published its inaugural issue.
AJ Verdelle (Fiction, MFA faculty) served as the guest editor for the inaugural issue of the TONIC, and is featured in an interview “A Few Words About the Writing Life.”
Valley Shaia (WFYP, June 2021) has two poems “divisible by two” and “echoes” in the inaugural issue of the TONIC.
Sara Levine (WFYP, January 2006) has a new picture book Sensitive now available for preorder.
Gene Luetkemeyer’s (Fiction, June 2015) novel My Year at the Good Bean Cafe was a finalist in the Readers’ Favorite 2023 Book Award Contest in the Fiction-Tall Tale category.
Jason Reynolds (WFYP, MFA faculty) has a poem “Charwoman Interrupted Again,” a response to a photograph by Gordon Parks, on the website of the National Gallery of Art.
Saraciea J Fennell (WFYP, January 2020) was highlighted in two articles, each taking note of one of the two anthologies she has co-edited: The Black Girl Survives in This One, discussed in Publishers Weekly, and Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed in LatinMediaCo. She also wrote an article for PopSugar, “Embracing Protective Hairstyles Is a Way to Honor My Blackness as a Latina.”
Mary Ann Honaker (Poetry, June 2016) has a poem “Fate” in the Summer 2023 issue of Sheila-Na-Gig.
Kevin Prufer (Poetry, MFA faculty) has a new book The Fears now available for preorder from Copper Canyon Press.
Hunter Liguore (Fiction, 2012) has a new book, The Modern Art of War: Sun Tzus’ Hidden Path to Peace and Wholeness, now available for preorder.
Robbie Gamble (Poetry, 2017) has three new poems out: “To Anna, On Her Retirement” in ONE ART: a journal of poetry; “On Learning That Malcolm X, as a Young Man, Cased and Robbed the Home of My Relative in a Boston Suburb” in the Decolonial Passage; and “What We Learned About Homeless Footcare” in The Inkwell.
Natalie Padilla Young (Poetry, January 2009) has a poem “So Close to the Ground” in the September/October 2023 issue of the West Trestle Review.
Katherine Karch (WFYP, June 2018) has a flash short story “The Colony Ship’s Companion” in the current issue of Radon Journal.
Elizabeth Shick (Fiction, January 2019) discusses her novel The Golden Land in an interview on the GSMC Book Review Podcast.
Greg Berman (WSS, June 2018) has a new play Bartow, which will have premiere staged reading in Astoria, Oregon on Oct. 6, 7, and 8.
Jennifer LeBlanc (Poetry, June 2012) has a poem “Avaricia, Greed” in the Fall 2023 issue of Thimble Literary Magazine.
Cindy House (Fiction, June 2017) will be teaching a 10 week course in memoir titled “Writing Our Lives” at Ball & Socket Arts, beginning October 11.
Emily Inouye (WFYP, June 2011) has been awarded the 2023 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature for her novel Beneath a Wide Silk Sky.
Jasmine Warga (WFYP, June 2013) will be a featured presenter in the Thought Leadership Series at Lesley University in March 2024.
Kate Fussner’s (WFYP, June 2021) novel-in-verse The Song of Us is listed a potential award winner in the listing “Newbery/Caldecott 2024: Fall Prediction Edition” in the School Library Journal, along with Jason Reynold’s (WFYP, MFA faculty) picture book There Was a Party for Langston, King O’ Letters.
Michelle Knudsen’s (WFYP, MFA faculty) YA novel Evil Librarian was included in the list “10 Most Awesome (and Awful) Fictional Librarians in Literature” in Book Riot.com.
Rose Viña’s (WFYP, January 2016) picture book Alicia Alonso Dances On was included in the list “60 Empowering Books Starring Latina Mighty Girls” in A Mighty Girl.com.
Jody Hobbs Hesler’s (Fiction, June 2017) short story collection What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better? is listed in “The 15 Must-Read Small Press Books of Fall” in Electric Lit.
Nada Samih-Rotondo’s (Fiction, June, 2017) memoir All Water Has Perfect Memory is listed in “The 15 Must-Read Small Press Books of Fall” in Electric Lit.
Candice Iloh (WFYP, June 2017) is interviewed about their recent novel-in-verse Salt the Water in Publishers Weekly.
Enzo Silon Surin (Poetry, 2012) has received a Best of the Net nomination in Solstice: a Magazine of Diverse Voices for his poem “There Are No Lessons for the Dead.”
Check out our Calendar to see all the amazing events our community is engaged in this month!
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS!!
From Janna Morishima – a literary agent and the founder of Kids Comics Unite:
KCU Pitchfest is a competition that showcases unpublished graphic novel projects aimed at kids or teen readers. Here are the key details:
- Submission Period: October 10th to October 24th.
- Judges: A panel of industry agents and editors.
- Winners Announcement: Live event on November 4th.
- Entrance fee: $95
- Visibility: Winning projects will be displayed in a searchable online gallery, and shared widely with hundreds of agents, editors, and art directors. (You can see last year’s gallery here.)
This competition provides an excellent platform for emerging talent to gain exposure and potentially connect with industry professionals. If you know of any students who might be interested or have suitable projects, please spread the word.
For more information or to submit a pitch, creators can visit https://kidscomicsunite.com/kcu-pitchfest-2023/.
Feel free to reach out at [email protected] if you have any questions or require additional details. We would love to see students from your program submit their work! Thank you so much for your time.
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Washington University in St. Louis invites applications for a joint appointment for a tenure-track faculty position in the Performing Arts Department (75%) and the Department of English (25%) at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin in the fall semester of 2024. This position is open to a specialist in playwriting and/or other modes of writing for performance (e.g., opera/musical theatre libretti, TV/radio serials). Candidates with additional experience in devised, multi-mediated forms, adaptation, and/or translation are especially welcome to apply. An MFA in playwriting and/or PhD in a closely related field is required at the time of appointment. Duties may include teaching “Introduction to Playwriting” and other courses, producing our annual Hotchner Festival of new student plays, maintaining an active profile writing for production and/or publication, advising students, participating in department governance, and university service. Diversity and Inclusion are core values at Washington University, and we seek to create inclusive classrooms and environments in which a diverse array of students can learn and thrive.
Qualifications
This position is open to a specialist in playwriting, screenwriting, and/or other modes of writing for performance (e.g., opera/musical theatre libretti, TV/radio serials). Candidates with additional experience in devised, multi-mediated forms, adaptation, and/or translation are especially welcome to apply. An MFA in playwriting or screenwriting and/or PhD in a closely related field is required at the time of appointment.
For the full job posting and to apply, please visit: apply.interfolio.com/129806
Application Instructions
Application materials should include:
• a cover letter
• a curriculum vitae
• a statement of creative practice (tracing the trajectory of your creative vision as it has manifested in production and/or publication)
• a teaching statement (describing specific assignments or methods for convening an inclusive classroom or workshop space in which students can effectively meet learning objectives)
• a sample dossier of ≤ 25 pages of supporting material (e.g., short plays, excerpts from full-length plays, video links and/or reviews of produced works)
• upon request only: In late October, select candidates will be asked to submit a full-length writing sample of their choice, representative syllabi, and the names of three recommenders. These materials should be ready to submit by November 3rd. If letters of recommendation are further requested, they should be received by mid-December.
Applications received before October 2nd will receive full consideration. Consideration after that date will be at the discretion of the search committee.
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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 [email protected]!
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