Fresno State alumna Olivia Muñoz, left, won the Latin-American Poetry Chapbook contest and will publish her debut book this fall; new alumna Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras won the Arts and Humanities Graduate Dean’s Medal.
Kudos to #FresnoWriters is an ongoing series on the Fresno State MFA blog, celebrating the professional accomplishments of students, alumni, and faculty in Fresno State’s Creative Writing Program and Department of English. This compilation includes news between January and May 2024.
Compiled by Jefferson Beavers 5/24/24
Republished from We Grow Writers
Chloe Abella (B.A. student) — Published the poems “cosmic tree” and “not quite 90s kid” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
William Arcé (faculty) — Received a $5,000 Humanities for All grant from California Humanities for the project, “Hispanic Student Veterans Initiative.”
Stacey Balkun (alumni) — Completed her Ph.D. in English with creative writing concentration from the University of Mississippi, where she was named recipient of the English Department’s Kenneth Holditch Scholar Award. Named the inaugural Marilyn Harris Teaching Fellow for the 2024 Longleaf Writers Conference in Seaside, FL. Her poem “Lent in the Anthropocene” was named a poetry finalist for a 2024 Mississippi Review Prize. Published the essay “Something Not Fully Flourished” for the University of Arizona Poetry Center blog. Her book “Sweetbitter” was reviewed by Danielle Hanson for the Cider Press Review.
Stephen Barile (alumni) — Published the poems “Seeing the Ocean for the First Time in the journal Ovunque Siamo; “The Other Chuck Moulton Tree is a Modesto Ash” in the magazine Perceptions; and “Underground Gardens” in Willawaw Journal.
Jefferson Beavers (staff, alumni) — For the fifth year in a row, recognized by Fresno State’s Richter Center with a President’s Faculty and Staff Service Award for community volunteering.
Venita Blackburn (faculty) — Her novel “Dead in Long Beach, California” was featured in the Washington Examiner and the Orange County Register. The book was selected by Alta Journal for the California Book Club. The book was also included in the Elle list “The 29 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of 2024” and the New York Times list “9 New Books We Recommend This Week.” Her story collection “How To Wrestle a Girl” was included in the Literary Hub feature on “Writing Sports Narratives: The Great Divide Between Playing and Watching.”
Sara Borjas (alumni) — Published the poems “Decolonialish Love Ars Poetica” in the Hayden’s Ferry Review; and “Palestine is Showing Us That Decolonization is Not Abstract” and “Homo naledi” in the journal AGNI.
Ellis Brewer (B.A. student) — Published the stories “Gender Soup” and “Unclassifiable” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Audra Burwell (MFA student) — Published the poem “Shunned Oasis” as part of the California Arts Council series Our California: Poems from Fresno County, curated by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick. Also published the poems “Embryo” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets; “Freudian Death Drive,” “Evocation,” and “Redaction” in the journal Elephant Eyes; “Learned Grief” in Levitate Magazine; and “Germination” in Thimble Literary Magazine.
Michael Cantú (alumni) — Published the poems “Starship” and “A Requiem for Juan Jose” in the Rising Phoenix Review.
David R. Carrasco-Gomez (B.A. student) — Published the poems “Lycanthropic Reflections of a 21st Century Peasantry” and “Chicano Dionysus and the Third D.U.I.” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Daniel Chacón (alumni) — Published his seventh book, the novel “The Last Philosopher in Texas: Fictions and Superstitions,” with Arte Publico Press. The novel was reviewed in Kirkus Reviews and was selected as an El Paso Matters book club pick.
Anthony Cody (alumni) — Published the poem “Removal, Return” in the National Poetry Month series from The Rumpus.
Isabella De La Torre (B.A. student) — Accepted into Loop Abroad’s summer 2024 Texas Zoo Management program. Named a finalist in Fresno State’s annual Art Song Festival poetry competition.
Valentino Di Pietro Hernandez (B.A. student) — Published the story “Home of Smells” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Brian Dunlap (alumni) — Published the poem “Perhaps History is Only the Stories We Want to Hear” as part of the California Arts Council series Our California: Poems from Los Angeles County, curated by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.
Ronald Dzerigian (alumni, staff) — Began releasing periodic music as vocalist and songwriter for the band NO/AND. [Follow on Instagram]
Lillian Faderman (emeriti faculty) — Featured on the NEA Art Works podcast for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kathy Fagan (alumni) — Her previously published poem “There are Plenty of Angels, She Said in the LADIES” was featured in the Paris Review’s daily poem.
Analaura Flores (B.A. student) — Named honorable mention for the undergraduate Larry Levis Poetry Prize for the poem “matriarch,” as selected by Éric Morales-Franceschini. Named honorable mention for the graduate Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize for the essay “Est. 2004,” as selected by John Hales.
Rebeca Abidail Flores (alumni) — Presented the solo sculptural exhibition “Play Ground” at Medicine for Nightmares bookstore in San Francisco.
Will Freeney (alumni) — Reviewed the Jen Cheng book “Braided Spaces” for Passengers Journal.
Pilar Christiana Graham (alumni) — Published the poems “Female,” “Taken,” and “Man of Signs” in the Cold River Press anthology “Voices: Anomalies, Pathologies and Paradise,” the D.R. Wagner memorial issue.
Eddie P. Gomez (alumni) — Published the articles “Elkin Guzman on the Beauty of Co-Fermentation” and “Standout Coffee from the San Francisco Coffee Festival” in Barista Magazine.
Sean A. Gordon (faculty) — Published the article “Lyric Screaming: On Simone White, Misery, and Collectivity” in the Hopkins Review.
Luis Granados Torres (M.A. student) — Named the English Department’s 2024 M.A. Student of Distinction.
Mia Amor Hernandez (B.A. student) — Published the poem “Not My First Language” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras (MFA student) — Named the College of Arts and Humanities 2024 Graduate Dean’s Medalist. Named the English Department’s 2024 MFA Student of Distinction. Published the poem “Alien” in Sunhouse Literary, and was interviewed by Ai Li about the poem. Named honorable mention for the graduate Ernesto Trejo Poetry Prize for the poem “N St. Mottled Bark,” as selected by Éric Morales-Franceschini.
Soreath Hok (MFA student) — Interviewed by Dorothy Chow for the Death in Cambodia, Life in America podcast. Interviewed by Christina Lopez of FOX26 for AAPI Heritage Month.
Beto Huerta (MFA student) — Published the story “Miss Stallion” in the magazine Chaotic Merge.
Gabriel Ibarra (alumni, faculty) — Published the poem “Un Pinche Sandwich” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Ra Jarrar (faculty) — Published the eBook “You Are a Teen Mom: Instructions” as part of the Everand Originals series curated by Roxane Gay. Was an invited featured speaker for The People’s Graduation at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, with additional coverage in The New Yorker. Included in the GLAAD list “Celebrating Arab LGBTQ+ Creatives Making Waves in Entertainment Today.” Her novel “A Map of Home” was included in the Electric Literature list of “8 Coming of Age Novels About Immigrants and First Generation Americans.”
Madison Johansson (M.A. student) — Recognized by Fresno State’s Division of Research and Graduate Studies as the M.A. English program’s 2024 exemplary graduate student.
Celeste Jones (B.A. student) — Named honorable mention for the graduate Fresno Fiction Prize for the story “Girl Meets Bison,” as selected by J.J. Anselmi.
Vincent Landeros (alumni) — Published the story “The Puffin and the Heron” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Primavera Leal Martinez (alumni) — Completed her Juris Doctorate in law from the University of California, Berkeley.
Angelina Leaños (MFA student) — Published the poem “Incantation I” in Arkana journal. The poem won the journal’s Editor’s Choice Award. Also published the poems “I Must Confess” and “My Pen is My Weapon (In a World of Chaos)” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Phoua Lee (MFA student) — Published the story “Mini-mall Melancholia” in the journal diaCRITICS, from the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network. Named winner of the graduate Ernesto Trejo Poetry Prize for the poem “pov: asian girl vendetta no. ∞,” as selected by Éric Morales-Franceschini. Named winner of the graduate Fresno Fiction Prize for the story “Project Magic Girl Survival Show,” as selected by J.J. Anselmi. Named winner of the graduate Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prize for Social Justice Writing for the poem “Kinfolk,” as selected by Monique Quintana. Named winner of the Soul Vang Prize for Poetry for the poems “Darling Lady Ghost,” “Tiger Bite,” and “Re-tend the Mourning Garden,” as selected by Jer Xiong. Interviewed the author Alexandra Chang for The Normal School magazine.
Hannah Grace Leece (B.A. student) — Published the article “‘Ain’t I A Woman?’: Advancing the Conversation on Medical Gaslighting” in the Macksey Journal.
Stefan Leiva (MFA student) — Named winner of the Andrés Montoya creative writing prize contest, as selected by Steven Sanchez. Named honorable mention for the graduate Fresno Fiction Prize for the story “To Be Wanted, Seen, and Safe,” as selected by J.J. Anselmi.
Suzanne Lummis (alumni) — Published the poem “The Other Woman” in The High Window quarterly poetry review. Announced the publication of a new poetry collection, “Crime Wave,” forthcoming 2025 with Giant Claw Press.
Samantha Martinez Palomares (B.A. student) — Published the poem “A Love Letter to August” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Elizabeth McBrearty (B.A. student) — Named a finalist in Fresno State’s annual Art Song Festival poetry competition.
Sharon K. McClain (MFA student) — Named honorable mention for the graduate Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize for the essay “A Walk To the Park,” as selected by John Hales.
Michele McConnell (faculty) — Presented the research paper “Connecting to our communities with responsive literacy research practices” at the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA. Voted in as California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) vice president for the ATE. Also, three book chapters have been accepted for publication: “Portraiture in literacy research,” in the Oxford Press book “Encyclopedia for Social Justice Vol. 6: Language, Literacy, Youth, and Culture”; “Making feedback social: Humanizing assessment and feedback in writing instruction” in the U of Michigan Press book “Responding to Writing: A Practical Sourcebook for Instructors”; and a co-authored CCTE white paper, “ScienceS of reading.”
Haley McNeely (B.A. student) — Featured in the article “Clovis resident revives literary journal” in the Clovis Roundup.
Angela Medina-Felix (MFA student) — Named honorable mention for the graduate Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize for the essay “Home,” as selected by John Hales. Named honorable mention for the graduate Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prize for Social Justice Writing for the essay “Home,” as selected by Monique Quintana.
Andrea Mele (alumni) — Published the essay “Me and Ursh Once More” for the MarchXness tournament. Accepted a new position as the program manager for the Fresno Arts Council.
Victoria Monsivaiz (MFA student) — Interviewed the author Éric Morales-Franceschini for The Normal School magazine.
Sarah Fawn Montgomery (alumni) — Published the poems “Wading” in Heavy Feather Review; “Chronic Pain as Tidepool” in Lumina Journal; “Chronic Pain as Porthole” and “Fathom” in Diode Editions; and “Grief-Fed” in the journal Salamander. Her previously published poem “Taxidermy” was nominated by the magazine Okay Donkey for the Best New Poets anthology. Announced her forthcoming essay collection, “Abbreviate,” forthcoming in 2025 from Harbor Editions.
James T. Morrison (MFA student, staff) — Published the essay “One More Day” in the magazine Slate.
Lena Mubsutina (alumni) — Interviewed by Samina Najmi for The Normal School magazine.
Olivia Muñoz (alumni) — Won first place in the 2024 Latin-American Poetry Chapbook contest from the Blue Mountain Review. Her debut chapbook, “These Women Carry Purses Full of Knives,” will be published later this year. Published the poems “A Dining Room Floor in Léon, Guanajuato, México” in the journal Gnashing Teeth; “This is My Impression of a Very Good Girl” in the magazine Thimble Literary; and “Counter Space” in the San Pedro River Review. Selected to join the Tim Seibles workshop “Once Upon a Midnight Sunrise: Writing Narrative Poems,” with the Voices of Our Nations Arts (VONA) foundation.
Samina Najmi (faculty, MFA student) — Published the essay “One Summer in Gaza” in the Doubleback Review. Interviewed the authors Susan Muaddi Darraj, Lena Mubsutina, and Deema K. Shehabi for The Normal School magazine.
Genesis Ochoa (B.A. student) — Published the poem “To the Moon, and never back” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Emily Peacock (B.A. student) — Named winner of the undergraduate Larry Levis Poetry Prize for the poem “a series of letters out,” as selected by Éric Morales-Franceschini. The poem was published in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets. Named honorable mention for the undergraduate Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prize for Social Justice Writing for the poem “Songchild,” as selected by Monique Quintana.
Aura Peredia Garcia (B.A. student) — Published the story “my youth consumes me as i get older” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Shelby Pinkham (alumni) — Published the poems “Treatment for Mood Disorders” and “Because I No Longer Want to Die” in The Offing magazine. Interviewed the author Victoria Chang for The Normal School magazine.
Leslie Kay Quintana (B.A. student) — Published the poems “Between Father & Daughter,” “Secret Engines,” and “how do you Mother?” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Monique Quintana (alumni) — Selected as an awardee for the 2024 Overseas Faculty Development seminar in Mexico City, Puebla, and Tlaxcala, hosted by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. Published the stories “The Hatching Bowl” in Litmora Literary Magazine; “That’s Still My Stone Serpent” in Sun House Literary; “Cold Locket” and “Cave Locket” in the Folklore Review; and “winter fruit” in the journal Wind-Up Mice. Her previously published story “Moctezuma” was featured by the editors of National Flash Fiction Day. Interviewed the author Myriam Gurba for The Normal School magazine.
Jacob Reina (alumni) — Announced the publication of his debut memoir, “Purity of the Sky,” forthcoming in June from Atmosphere Press. Published the stories “To See the Saffron Wither” in Twisted Vine Literary Arts Journal; and “Waiting for Alyona” in the Free Spirit anthology “Reaching the Dead End,” part of the Poets’ Choice series.
Delaney R. Olmo (alumni) — Published the poems “Two Witches: Alternate Versions” and “Removed Time” in Unleash Lit. Her manuscript “The Golden Hunting Years” was named a finalist for the 2023 Charles B. Wheeler Poetry Prize.
Lupe Remigio Ortega (alumni) — Completed her Ph.D. in rhetoric and writing studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Accepted a tenure-track teaching position at the University of Washington, Bothell for the fall.
Ernesto Reyes (alumni) — Published the stories “Gamer” in the magazine Drunk Monkeys; “Impressions” in the magazine Apocalypse Confidential; and “The Hurt Business” in the Brilliant Flash Fiction anthology “TENacity.”
Kaylee Ruiz (B.A. student) — Named winner of the undergraduate Mireyda Barraza Martinez Prize for Social Justice Writing for the poem “The Stolen Land of the Free,” as selected by Monique Quintana.
Joshua Sagouspe (B.A. student) — Published the poem “For Dead Friends” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets. Named a finalist in Fresno State’s annual Art Song Festival poetry competition.
Alberto Saldaña Uribe (MFA student) — Recognized by Fresno State’s Division of Research and Graduate Studies as the MFA Creative Writing program’s 2024 exemplary graduate student.
Guadalupe Salgado Partida (incoming MFA student) — Named winner of the Andrés Montoya creative writing prize contest, as selected by Steven Sanchez.
Emily Jo Scalzo (alumni) — Published the poem “My Body Is a Forest Fire” in the magazine Magnets and Ladders.
Taylor Seals (MFA student) — Published the poems “on Hands” and “Dear Hair” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Anthony Shemaria (MFA student) — Published the article “What About That Genghis Khan Song?” in Fresno State’s Graduate Writing Studio blog.
Jacob Simmons (MFA student) — Named winner of the graduate Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize for the essay “The Elsewhere or: On Reading A Brief History of Time,” as selected by John Hales. The essay was published in the New Limestone Review. His presentation “Living In the Stereogram” was accepted for the 2024 Desert Nights, Rising Stars conference at Arizona State.
Diara Spencer (B.A. student) — Published the poem “It Crescendoed” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
James Tyner (alumni) — Promoted to the role of Principal Librarian of Support Services for the Fresno County Public Library.
Brian Turner (alumni) — Published the essay “On the Formation of Clouds” in the magazine Fusion. Published the poems “These Visitations” with Dorianne Laux in World Literature Today; and “Houdini in a Barrel” in the Penguin Random House anthology “Spellbound: Poems of Magic and Enchantment,” edited by Kimiko Hahn and Harold Schechter. Featured in the Poets House Hard Hat Reading series, and in the Rhode Island PBS series Story in the Public Square.
Marcus Valadez (alumni) — Published the poem “MUD” in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Mai Der Vang (faculty) — Named the recipient of a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was included in a Columbia University feature on Guggenheim fellows. Her invited talk for the Verse Like Water program at Central Lakes Colleges in Minnesota was featured on Lakeland PBS. Her poetry collection “Yellow Rain” was mentioned by the author Viet Thanh Nguyen in the Irish Independent.
Natalie Vasquez (B.A. student) — Named the English Department’s 2024 B.A. Student of Distinction. Received a scholarship award from the City of Fresno Women’s Commission. Published two untitled photographs in the journal Flies, Cockroaches and Poets.
Stella Luna Velez (B.A. student) — Named winner of the undergraduate Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize for the essay “All Those Unruly Gardens,” as selected by John Hales. Named winner of the undergraduate Fresno Fiction Prize for the story “Tomorrow Morning Alone,” as selected by J.J. Anselmi. Won Fresno State’s annual Art Song Festival poetry competition for her poem “In the Instance of Life.” The poem was performed live, five times in five original compositions by student composers and vocalists.
Ashley Wells (alumni) — Won first place in the creative nonfiction category of the 2024 Utah Original Writing Competition for the essay “Awash.”
Did we miss your accomplishment? If you’re a student or alumni of the English Department and you have a special announcement, a new job, a professional or creative success, or an inspiring story that you’d like to share, please submit this short “Share Your Success Stories” form, or contact staff Jefferson Beavers by email or at 559.278.1569.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 