Department of Creative Writing
News & Accolades – May 2016:
Wendy Brenner makes "The Cut" as One of 56 Women Journalists Everyone Should
Read: nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/queens-of-nonfiction-56-women-writers-everyoneshould-read.
Congratulations, Wendy!
Nina de Gramont’s short story “The Inconsistency of Sunlight” has been accepted by
The Colorado Review and her essay “All the Conditions of Love” has been accepted by
the Harvard Review.
We also congratulate Nina on her tenured appointment to associate professor!
Malena Mörling has been awarded a Black Mountain Institute Fellowship at the
University of Las Vegas for Spring 2017.
unlv.edu/news/release/black-mountain-institute-announces-2016-17-fellows
Congratulations, Malena!
Emily Louise Smith is included in Boulevard's new issue as part of a symposium on the
future of literary publishing.
Congratulations, Emily!
Lynn Watson’s short story "The Dead You've Left" was published in Gargoyle Magazine.
Congratulations, Lynn!
Michael White was the recipient of the 2016 CAS Faculty Research Award—the
College’s most prestigious scholarship award—awarded at the Spring Convocation in
April.
Congratulations, Mike!
Creative Writing BFA senior Ryan Budd gave a reading Tuesday, April 19 as part of the
Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series. He was joined by the current GilbertChappell poet mentor, Eric Weil, who has been working with Ryan.
See more at http://books.blogs.starnewsonline.com/22246/student-poet-and-mentorto-read-april-19-at-northeast-library.
BFA student Theresa Duck has published her book,
Celestial Kitty Danny-Chan: Book One: Mahou Shoujo.
Tess is a sophomore at UNCW, currently working toward
her degrees in creative writing and communication studies.
Congratulations, Tess!
BFA student Alexis Garrett won first place in the 2016 Creative Writing Awards for
College Writers. Her work will be honored at a ceremony in NYC, and her story will be
published in an upcoming issue of East End Elements, the literary arts magazine of the
eastern campus of SCCC.
Congratulations, Lexie!
MFA student Pernille Larsen won the first prize poetry fellowship from Martha's
Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and will attend July 10 - 16th. Her poem "SelfPeptalk by the Poet in Her Storage Room" was chosen as the winner by Marcus Wicker.
Congratulations, Nilla!
MFA student Katie O’Reilly has a feature story about gender bias in the alternative
conception industry forthcoming in the Summer 2016 ‘Money’ issue of Bitch.
Congratulations, Katie!
MFA student Beth Roddy has been awarded a fully-funded residency at Brush Creek
Foundation for the Arts for the month of June (June 6-July 1) at Brush Creek Ranch in
Saratoga, Wyoming.
Congratulations, Beth!
MFA student Stephanie Trott was accepted to the Tin House Summer Workshop for
short fiction.
Congratulations, Stephanie!
MFA student Emily Wilson has three poems, "I'll Build Us a Home (i)," "I'll Build Us a
Home (ii)," and "I'll Build Us a Home (iii)," will appear in the July 2016 issue of Thrush.
Two poems, "The Fortune Teller Predicts a Journey" and "Postcard an Almost Lover
Never Sends to Me," appear in The Boiler Journal—who nominated Emily for the 2016
Best New Poets!
Congratulations, Emily!
MFA alum Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams (’07) penned an essay, “Life after Life,” that
explores her father going homeless and her becoming a guardian to two small children
on three-days' notice. The piece is now live at Arrive Magazine—Amtrak's on-board
magazine, with a readership of millions.
Congratulations, Hannah!
MFA alum Emily Kruse Carr (’04) was an AWP ‘Member in the Spotlight’ for March. Read
the overview of the feature here and the complete interview here.
Emily Carr has been a finalist in seven national book contests, most notably The
National Poetry Series 2011. Her second book of poetry, 13 Ways of Happily: Books 1 &
2 (Parlor Press 2011), was chosen by Cole Swensen as winner of the 2009 New
Measures Poetry Prize. She has received fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center,
the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Jack Kerouac House, Writers in the
Heartland, and Camac Centre d’Art.
Congratulations, Emily!
The Seattle Review of Books picked up MFA alum (’07) Bill Carty’s poem “The Quick”
about (spoiler!) bees and the perils of brushing your teeth in the dark.
Congratulations, Bill!
MFA alum Samantha Deal (’13) is a winner of the 2016 Writers @ Work Fellowship
Competition. And MFA alum Heather Hammerbeck (’15) was a finalist.
Congratulations, Sam (and Heather)!
MFA alum Rebecca Eades’ poem “A Tidy Universe of Chaos” appears on Rust & Moth
online and is forthcoming in the Summer 2016 print edition.
Congratulations, Becky!
MFA alum Jason Frye (’05) has an article “Open-Sky Camping Across North Carolina” up
on Our State. Read it at ourstate.com/author/jasonfrye.
Also see his piece in the Charlotte Observer, “10 Greatest Sights in Great Smoky
Mountains National Park.”
Congratulations, Jason!
MFA alum Rochelle Hurt (’11) has a nonfiction essay in the Summer 2016 issue of The
Black Warrior Review.
Congratulations, Rochelle!
MFA alum Katie Jones (’14) has a poem, "The Neighborhood on Labor Day," in the
current issue of BOAAT.
Congratulations, Katie!
MFA alum Shawna Kenney ('07) published the longform profile Happily Ever Afterbirth
on Narratively.
Congratulations, Shawna!
MFA alum Veronica Lupinacci has a beautiful tribute poem, “Happy Birthday John,” in
Unbroken Journal.
Congratulations, Veronica!
MFA alum Robert Dean Lurie (’05) announces his latest book,
We Can Be Heroes: The Radical Individualism of David Bowie.
Utilizing song lyrics, interviews, biographical resources, and commentaries
from a diverse range of writers and artists, We Can Be Heroes follows the
strong thread of radical individualism running through David Bowie's work and
life, exploring its parallels with the ideas of such diverse figures as Friedrich
Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac … Madonna and Lady Gaga, a contrast that
demonstrates that his philosophical foundation, largely absent from the work
of these and other more image-oriented performers, has guaranteed his body
of work the sort of longevity usually only accorded to authors and visual
artists.
Congratulations, Robert!
MFA alum (’99) Anne Russell's new book The Mystical
Magical Amazing Fantastical Gardens of Airlie was
launched May 6 at Airlie Gardens, with 15 original fullpage color illustrations by Wilmington artist Alexandra
Morse.
Congratulations, Anne!
MFA alum Carson Vaughan (’14) is featured on ApartmentTherapy’s highly-coveted
house tour section! apartmenttherapy.com/house-tour-a-couple-shares-a-120-squarefoot-trailer-230496
In the latest USA TODAY Travel installment during his epic road trip, Carson writes about
one of his favorite cities: Asheville, NC. Read more about the year-long journey at
localcolorxc.com.
Congratulations, Carson!
On the last night of his 20s, MFA alum Ethan Warren (’14) and
his 2016 feature film West of Her picked up 5 awards at the
Scruffy City Film & Music Festival in Knoxville.
Best Narrative Feature
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Original Song
Watch the movie trailer at vimeo.com/166844252 and read
more at westofherfilm.com.
(We’re also thrilled that Ethan and his wife are expecting a baby
girl in October!)
Many congratulations, Ethan!
The May 2016 issue of Our State magazine features articles by Department of Creative
Writing faculty member(s):
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TRAVEL & CULTURE | “Letters to the Sea” by Philip Gerard
CLASSICS: HISTORY | “The Great Oyster War” by Philip Gerard
See more at ourstate.com/issue/may-2016-issue.
The May issue of Wilmington’s Salt magazine features a wealth of Creative Writing
folks. Regular columnists include faculty members Clyde Edgerton and Virginia Holman,
and MFA alums Anne Barnhill (’01), Jason Frye (’05), Dana Sachs (’00), and Barbara
Sullivan (’11), among others.
Read it here: issuu.com/saltmagazinenc/docs/salt_may_2016.
A link to the digital magazine is here: saltmagazinenc.com.
Phil Furia hosts the daily segment ‘The Great American Songbook’ on WHQR 1:302:00pm, and during the Morning Edition on Fridays at 6:00am.
Philip Gerard is a regular commentator on WHQR—listen to his broadcast segments
every other Thursday at 7:35a, 8:50a, or 5:45p, or online in the WHQR Thursday
Commentaries at whqr.org/people/philip-gerard.