News about publications and awards from MFA candidates and alumnae/i.
MFA Candidate News
Kendra Atleework received a CLA Graduate Fellowship.
Elena Carter won the 2014 Gesell Award in Creative Nonfiction.
Jesus de la Torre is the co-winner of the 2014 Gesell Award in Fiction.
J. Fossenbell's hybrid fiction series, "Ziggy and the Infinites," is up now at Moonshot.
Isabel Harding's short story "Pet Tricks" appears in the summer 2013 issue of NEAT.
Su Hwang and Trevor Ketner will each have three poems published in the upcoming Prairie Gold: An Anthology of the American Heartland, published by Ice Cube Press in Iowa.
Janna Knittel is the co-winner of the Academy of American Poets James Wright Prize, selected by judge Garrison Keillor.
Katherine Lee is the co-winner of the 2014 Gesell Award in Fiction.
Carrie Lorig has a poem with Russ Woods in the new issue of The Destroyer, as well as a video poem up at The Continental Review.
Elizabeth O'Brien is the co-winner of the Academy of American Poets James Wright Prize, selected by judge Garrison Keillor.
Anna Rasmussen won the 2014 Gesell Award in Poetry.
Elisabeth Workman's poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Altered Scale, Cant, Coldfront, Deluge, Gesture, Martin Stannard's August 1, 2013, Ping Pong, and Third Rail. She published a new chapbook, Any Rip a Threshhold, with Shirt Pocket Press this fall. Her first full-length book, Ultramegaprairieland, is forthcoming from Bloof Books spring 2014.
MFA Alumnae/i News
A big congratulations to our alums who received 2014 Artist Initiative Grants from the MN State Arts Board: Brian Laidlaw (music); Sarah Fox and Michelle Matthees (poetry); and John Colburn, Sally Franson, Kate Hopper, Josh Ostergaard, and Claire Stanford (prose).
Swati Avasthi (MFA 2010) published her second young adult novel, Chasing Shadows, with Knopf. The book incorporates prose and comic book graphics. Interview here.
Emily Bright (MFA 2008) published her debut short story in the autumn issue of Kansas City Voices. Her poetry appears in three anthologies published in November: The Heart of All That Is: Reflections on Home (Holy Cow! Press), FEAST: Poetry and Recipes for a Full Seating at Dinner (Black Laurence Press), and A Ritual to Read Together: Poems in Conversation with William Stafford (Woodley Press). Her first story for radio, "Labor of Love," aired on Interlochen Public Radio in October.
Amanda Coplin (MFA 2006), author of the novel The Orchardist, won the Whiting Writers Award, a $50,000 prize given annually to 10 writers who show "exceptional talent and promise in early career." She also received a 2013 American Book Award.
Lightsey Darst (MFA 2003) published her second collection of poetry, Dance, with Coffee House Press.
Amanda Fields (MFA 2005) wrote a guest post about motherhood and writing on the Superstition Review blog. She gave birth to Fiona Cairene Austin on May 6. She also co-edited the collection In, Around, and Away From Tahrir: Emerging Expressions of Egyptian Identity, which will be published in 2014 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Kristin Fitzsimmons (MFA 2013) published a chapbook, all these empty bone bowls, with Dancing Girl Press.
Alex Jones (MFA 1991) published the essay "Matinee" in the fall issue of the Santa Monica Review, as well as "The Big Breakfast" in this winter's issue 45 of Harvard Review.
Molly Sutton Kiefer (MFA 2012) was a finalist for the 2013 Noemi Book Award for Poetry for her collection PINE.
Brian Laidlaw (MFA 2011) will have his first poetry collection, Narcissus the Stuntman, published by Milkweed Editions in 2015, along with a companion album of original music. He released the EP Echolalia.
David LeGault (MFA 2011) was cited as a Notable Essayist in the 2013 edition of Best American Essays (edited by BA alumna Cheryl Strayed) for his essay "Significant Screams," originally published by Barrelhouse.
Alex Lemon (MFA 2004) will publish his fourth poetry collection, The Wish Book (Milkweed Editions) in December; it was named to the Library Journal's list "Ten Essential Poetry Titles for Winter 2014."
Francine Marie Tolf (2006) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her essay, "Sheeba at Twenty," which appeared in Under the Sun.
Ryo Yamaguchi (MFA 2008) was a finalist for the 2013 Noemi Book Award for Poetry for his collection The Refusal of Suitors; the book will be published by Noemi Press.
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