Compiled by Jefferson Beavers
Republished from “We Grow Writers”
Manuel Alfaro (English Education undergrad student) — Accepted into the Teach for America program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, to earn both his master’s degree and teaching credential.
Rodolfo Avelar (English undergrad student) — Accepted a summer internship with the independent nonprofit press Milkweed Editions in Minnesota. Won the Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prize for Social Justice Writing for the poem “I Had a Dream my Dad Died Before I Could Tell Him I’m Gay.”
Marisol Baca (BA English) — Named the fourth Fresno Poet Laureate by the Fresno City Council, the first woman to hold the position. [News release]
Venita Blackburn (English faculty) — Presented at the Sonoma County Writers Camp workshop, “Twists, Turns and Revelations: Secrets and Surprises in Story.”
Sara Borjas (BA English) — Published the poem “Ars Poetica” in the journal Ploughshares. Interviewed by Brenda Delfino for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Mariah Bosch (Creative Writing grad student) — Published the book review “Beauty, Death, and the Power of Place in Monique Quintana’s ‘Cenote City’” in the journal Tropics of Meta.
Cindy Bradley (MFA Creative Writing) — Published the essay “Octillo” in the Mojave Heart Review journal.
Krystal Cantú (Creative Writing grad student) — Named this year’s graduate Student of Distinction, MFA Creative Writing program, for the Department of English.
Alexandra Carrillo (BA English) — Accepted into the MFA program in creative writing at San Jose State University.
Joseph Cassara (English faculty) — Won the Edmund White Award for LGBTQ fiction from The Publishing Triangle for his debut novel, “The House of Impossible Beauties” from HarperCollins/Ecco Press.
Steven Church (English faculty) — Named a Fresno State Provost’s Award winner for Research, Scholarship and Creative Accomplishment.
Anthony Cody (Creative Writing grad student) — Nominated by The Boiler Journal for a Best New Poets 2018 award for the poem “no te quedes.”
Ronald Dzerigian (MFA Creative Writing) — Published the poem “We Watch Our Dog Eat Flowers” in the journal Sprung Formal.
Megan Evans (English grad student) — Named this year’s graduate Student of Distinction, MA English program, for the Department of English.
Kathy Fagan (BA English) — Interviewed by poet Maggie Smith for The Mentor Seriesin the journal The Rumpus.
Angel Gonzales (Creative Writing grad student) — Won the Ernesto Trejo Memorial Poetry Prize for the poem “An Ode to Hands.”
Nou Her, Yia Lee, and Jer Xiong (Creative Writing grad students) — Presented the panel discussion and workshop “Hmong American Creative Writing” at the 19th Hmong National Development Conference in San Jose, and also at the 40th Central California Research Symposium at Fresno State.
Melanie Hernandez (English faculty) — Named a Fresno State Provost’s Award winner for Promising New Faculty. Awarded a grant to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute “Privilege and Prejudice: Jewish History in the American South.” Designated the Jay T. and Deborah Last Fellow for short-term academic research by the American Antiquarian Society, including participation in the Center for Historic American Visual Culture (CHAViC) summer seminar, “The Political is Visual.”
Shelby King (English undergrad student) — Won the Larry Levis Memorial Poetry Prize for the poem “Clinton Avenue.”
Primavera Leal Martinez (English undergrad student) — Named this year’s Undergraduate Dean’s Medalist for Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities. Also named this year’s undergraduate Student of Distinction for the Department of English.
Yia Lee (Creative Writing grad student) — Won the Fresno Fiction Prize for her story “Cute Little Veins.” Also won the Soul Vang Prize for Poetry for the poem “The Thurbeasts.”
Alison Mandaville (English faculty) — Published the poems “Box Puzzle,” “Lunch on Willapa Bay,” and “Photojournalism: Syria” in the magazine Superstition Review. Awarded summer writing residencies at Playa Summer Lake in Oregon and at the Blue Mountain Center in New York for her poetry project on the theme of water. Also awarded a residency at Soaring Gardens in Pennsylvania for a collaborative project with visual artist Marlys Mandaville.
Marisa Mata (English undergrad student) — Accepted into the MFA program in creative writing at Cal Arts in Valencia, California. Won the Fresno Creative Nonficton Prize for her essay “More Than Simple Science.”
James O’Bannon (MFA Creative Writing) — Will publish the poem “and now the doctor asks if depression is a family” in a forthcoming issue of Waxwing Journal.
Monique Quintana (MFA Creative Writing) — Hosted a launch event in Fresno for her debut novella, “Cenote City,” from Clash Books.
Ernesto Reyes (English undergrad student) — Published the story “Virginia Slims” in the journal Brilliant Flash Fiction. Will publish the story “Day-dreamer” in a forthcoming issue of The Big Windows Review journal, the story “Sleep Texting” in a forthcoming issue of the poetry magazine Better Than Starbucks, and the essay “Sorry, everyone, but there’s no such thing as the American Dream” in a forthcoming issue of Work Literary Magazine.
Nohemi Samudio Gamis (English undergrad student) — Won the Fresno Fiction Prize for her story “The Second Name de Lou.”
Burlee Vang (MFA Creative Writing) — Published the poem “Somewhere in the Cosmos” in the Pos Moua poetry collection “Karst Mountains Will Bloom” from Blue Oak Press.
Mai Der Vang (English faculty) — Published the poem “Sorrowed” in the journal The Rumpus. Also published the poem “Monument” in the Pos Moua poetry collection “Karst Mountains Will Bloom” from Blue Oak Press.
Soul Vang (MFA Creative Writing) — Published the poems “Afterland” and “A Love Poem” in the Pos Moua poetry collection “Karst Mountains Will Bloom” from Blue Oak Press.
Tara Williams (MFA Creative Writing) — Accepted a full-time position to teach English at Mohave Community College.
Jer Xiong (Creative Writing grad student) — Won the Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize for her essay “Notes on the Dead.” Published the poem “The Jump” in the Pos Moua poetry collection “Karst Mountains Will Bloom” from Blue Oak Press. Also published the poem “Silver” in the journal maivmai.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 