From left, Fresno State MFA alumni Tiffany Crum, Samina Najmi, and Delaney R. Whitebird Olmo have all announced their debut books will be published in 2025.
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 May and August 2024.
Compiled by Jefferson Beavers – 9/04/24 – Reposted with permission from “We Grow Writers.”
Marisol Baca (alumni) — Featured in the story “Unique Crowdfunding Campaign Leads to Creative Writing Endowed Scholarship” on Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Stacey Balkun (alumni) — Published the essay “Pride and Poetry: Spotlight on Queer Voices Past, Present, and Future” on the University of Arizona’s Poetry Center blog.
Deborah Bento (B.A. student) — Published the story “Happy Holidays” in the San Joaquin Review.
Audrey Bergen (alumni) — Published the poems “Solitude” and “Overlooked” in hais: a literary journal.
Katie Bergman (alumni) — Published the poem “To Him Who Answers When You Knock, I Think” in the San Joaquin Review.
Venita Blackburn (faculty) — Published the essay “Why I Write: I Know Ghosts” in Alta Journal. Her novel “Dead in Long Beach, California” was included in the Electric Literature list of “65 Queer Books You Need to Read in Summer 2024,” and the NPR list “Best fiction books to read this summer.” The book was reviewed by Christopher Soto in The Nation; and by John Freeman, Steffan Triplett, Anita Felicelli, Stephanie Burt, Taylor Byas, Sarah Stone, and David L. Ulin in a series of analytical essays for Alta Journal’s California Book Club. [transcript]
Ryan Blunt (alumni) — Published the poem “Today” in the San Joaquin Review.
Sara Borjas (alumni) — Accepted a new position as a poetry editor for Noemi Press.
David Borofka (retired faculty) — Announced the publication of a new story collection, “The Bliss of Your Attention” from Johns Hopkins University Press. Published the stories “Live With It” in the journal The Broken Teacup; and “Appeasement” in the Brussels Review.
Mariah Bosch (faculty, alumni) — Accepted a new position as managing editor for Noemi Press.
Cindy Bradley (alumni) — Published the essay “Jungleland” in the Missouri Review. Interviewed for the Five Questions series from SugarSugarSalt Magazine.
C J Brady (alumni) — Accepted an MFA admission offer to study creative writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Published the poems “Jones’ Body” and “Tears” in hais: a literary journal.
Ellis Brewer (alumni) — Published the essay “E. Butterfly” in the San Joaquin Review.
Antonia “Gabi” Brittsan (alumni) — Accepted a new position as a vice principal at Hoover High School in Fresno.
Audra Burwell (MFA student) — Accepted a new job as a tutor with the California Teaching Fellows Foundation. Published the poems “My womb / a bruised apple” and “God of Sleep” in hais: a literary journal; “Self-Portrait,” “Angina,” and “Fighting Extinction” in the San Joaquin Review; “Death is the Scent of Soil” in the magazine Ink In Thirds; “Germination,” “Ode to family secrets,” and “Self-actualization” in the journal Champagne Room; and “Grieving a Friend” in Young Ravens Literary Review.
David Campos (alumni) — Published the poem “Lizard Blood” in the new “Latino Poetry: The Library of America” anthology, edited by Rigoberto González for Penguin Random House.
Mialise Carney (alumni) — Published the poems “Raw” and “Transfiguration” in dialogist.
David R. Carrasco-Gomez (MFA student) — Published the poems “Mea Invicta Luna” and “Cathedral Carved Into a Sleeping Man’s Thigh” in hais: a literary journal; and “Thoughts on the Table, Fruit, and Flowers” in the San Joaquin Review..
Daniel Celaya (alumni) — Published the story “The Sins of the Father” in the San Joaquin Review.
Daniel Chacón (alumni) — His new novel, “The Last Philosopher in Texas” was reviewed by Jose B. Gonzalez for Latino Stories. The novel’s title story was published in New Letters. He was interviewed about the book by KVIA ABC-7 in El Paso for a television feature, by El Paso Matters for a newspaper feature, and by Louie Saenz for the KTEP public radio program Weekend Perspectives.
Corrinne Clegg Hales (emeriti faculty) — Featured in the documentary short film “A Poet Lives Here,” produced by Marisa Mata for CMAC TV’s EmpowHERd Voices 2024 showcase.
Thalia Contreras (B.A. student) — Published the poem “Untitled” in hais: a literary journal.
Holley Cotham (B.A. student) — Published the essays “Dear Mx.” and “Dear Mx. II” in the San Joaquin Review.
Tiffany Crum (alumni) — Announced the publication of her debut novel, “This Story Might Save Your Life,” forthcoming in 2025 on the Pine and Cedar imprint of Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing.
Martin Dabon (credential student) — Published the story “Ants at the End of the World” in the San Joaquin Review.
Isabella De La Torre (MFA student) — Her poem “The Reintroduction of the Pyrenean Ibex” won first place in the Fresno County Public Library’s annual poetry contest, as selected by Angela Chaidez Vincent. Published the poems “Dance of the Tigers” and “Bone-Reader” in hais: a literary journal.
Valentino Di Pietro Hernandez (alumni) — Published the story “The Cheese Seller” and the photographs “Couple(s)” and “Bulldog” in hais: a literary journal. Published the story “Starbucks Birthday,” the poem “Manhood,” and the photograph “Slowdance” in the San Joaquin Review.
Maiyang Dove (alumni) — Published the essay “My Heirloom” in hais: a literary journal.
Ronald Dzerigian (alumni) — Featured in the story “Unique Crowdfunding Campaign Leads to Creative Writing Endowed Scholarship” on Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Eduardo Espinoza-Gonzalez (B.A. student) — Published the essay “A Misstep and a Disjointed View of Change,” the stories “Bonnie and Sitter” and “Tales of Henry in the end,” and the poems “Como Tu, Like Me,” “Scene 11 Act 23-Family Dinner,” “Adult Combat Move List,” and “Universe 06093” in hais: a literary journal. Published the story “Ronald’s Graveyard Shift” and the poem “In Lindsay” in the San Joaquin Review.
Kathy Fagan (alumni) — Published the poem “Wedding Picture of My Parents” in Under a Warm Green Linden.
Lillian Faderman (emeriti faculty) — Featured in the story “Nine years after marriage equality, the union between WLW is more important than ever” in GO Magazine. Her nonfiction book “The Gay Revolution” was included in the Washington Post’s list of “7 great political books.” Interviewed for the article “Who was ‘Lisa Ben,’ the Woman Behind the U.S.’s first Lesbian Magazine” in Smithsonian magazine.
Madylin Garcia (B.A. student) — Published the poems “for the dearest people in the dirtiest places” and “Econopathy” in the San Joaquin Review.
Eddie P. Gomez (alumni) — Accepted a tenure-track position teaching English at Modesto Junior College. Published the article “6 Amazing Drinks in Kansas City, MO” in Barista Magazine.
Stephanie Gutierrez (B.A. student) — Published the story “Lessons in Drowning” and the poem “Clementines by the Sea” in the San Joaquin Review.
Christopher Gutierrez Cazares (B.A. student) — Published the poem “Échale Ganas” in the San Joaquin Review.
Lillian Hammerstrom (alumni) — Published the story “The Score,” the poem “Twinkle,” and the essay “The Itch Unseen” in the San Joaquin Review.
Hannah Henning (B.A. student) — Published the poem “Motorcycle Woman” and the photograph “Bee on an Apple Blossom” in the San Joaquin Review.
Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras (alumni) — Won a 2024 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. The fellowship, which is among the largest awards offered to young poets in the United States, includes a $27,000 prize. Published the poems “Catalogue,” “Different Ways to Locate Abuela,” and “Zapoteca” in About Place Journal; “Outline of the Green Rain Balcony” in Small Orange Journal; and “Seven-Eighths of a Broken Window” in Mulberry Literary. Published the poem “ID” in the HarperCollins anthology “Here to Stay: Poetry and Prose from the Undocumented Diaspora,” edited by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Janine Joseph, and Esther Lin.
Soreath Hok (MFA student) — Awarded the national CIC/Anna Chennault Scholarship from the Asian American Journalists Association. Featured in the Business Journal story “Fresno journalist returns to family donut shot with a story in mind.”
Uvllia Ibarra (MFA student) — Published the poem “Mashed Potatoes” in the San Joaquin Review.
Ra Jarrar (faculty) — Her memoir “Love Is an Ex-Country” was included in the Autostraddle list of “75 Books for Every Pride Vibe,” and the Book Riot list of “The Best Recent LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride.”
Madison Johansson (M.A. student) — Presented the paper “Placing Justice and Joy in Latinx Studies” at the annual Latinx Studies Association conference in Tempe, AZ.
Scott Knoll (alumni) — Published the story “Postcards from Yosemite” in hais: a literary journal.
Raquel Lara (alumni) — Published the story “The Ravaged Bitch” in the San Joaquin Review.
Angelina Leaños (MFA student) — Published the poems “My Birth from the Earth,” “Stargazers,” “Dear Reader,” and “Recuerdos y Legados” in hais: a literary journal; and “Yo soy Juana Inés” in the FRUITSLICE magazine pride issue.
Phoua Lee (MFA student) — Published the story “selfish love game” in midsummer literary magazine. Featured in the story “Hmong American Ink and Stories marks fifth anniversary of literary journal” in Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Yia Lee (faculty, alumni) — Featured in the story “Hmong American Ink and Stories marks fifth anniversary of literary journal” in Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Joseph LeForge (M.A. student) — Published the poems “Fire and Ink,” “Grave Keeping I,” and “Grave Keeping II” in hais: a literary journal.
Allyssa Lucero (alumni) — Accepted a new position as the reading and writing specialist for Fresno State’s TRiO Student Support Services program. Published the poem “Peeling Fruit” in the San Joaquin Review.
Suzanne Lummis (alumni) — Published the essays “South of the Grapevine: Three Poets, Thirty-Three Lines” and “Tower of Power: The Life of Linda J. Albertano” in Poetry Flash. Co-authored with Ron Koertge, published the poem “Picnic” in the journal Rattle.
Stella Luna Velez (alumni) — Published the poems “Tits Out Sushi,” “On the Days When I Think of Dying,” and “Den Hunting” in hais: a literary journal.
Alison Mandaville (faculty, MFA student) — Presented the workshop “Slow Tech: A Playful Workshop on Using Paper and Crayons for Teaching and Scholarship” for the International Graphic Novels and Comics Conference in Norwich, UK.
Juan Carlos Mantilla (faculty) — Presented the paper “The Tiahuanaco ruins and the early modern Andean creation of a global Antiquity” at the Antiquaires voyageurs conference in Rome, Italy.
Samantha Martinez Palomares (alumni) — Published the essay “SAM” in the San Joaquin Review.
Carolina Mata (alumni) — Published the poems “Sizzling” and “Cutting the Pain from My Body” in the Querencia Press 2024 summer anthology.
Marisa Mata (alumni) — Her documentary short film “A Poet Lives Here,” about the poet and educator Corrinne Clegg Hales, was screened at CMAC TV as part of the EmpowHERd Voices 2024 showcase.
Georgina Mating (B.A. student) — Published the story “Snowy Egrets” in the San Joaquin Review.
Elizabeth M. McBrearty (alumni) — Published the poems “Compiled Language” and “Critical Analysis” in hais: a literary journal.
Sharon K. McClain (MFA student) — Published the poem “Unearthing Home” as part of the California Arts Council series Our California: Poems from Fresno County, curated by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick. Published the essay “A Brute Force” and the photographs “trilogie de fleurs” in the San Joaquin Review. Gave an invited presentation on academic mindfulness for Fresno State’s Graduate Student Success Center.
Rumi M. Mijares (alumni) — Published the story “The Old Man and the Meadow” and the poem “Mother and Daughter” in hais: a literary journal.
Sarah Fawn Montgomery (alumni) — Published the poems “Diagnosis as Horizon,” “Child’s Play,” and “Pearl” in Pithead Chapel; “My Husband Goes with Me to Doctors so They Will Believe My Pain is Real” and “A Doctor Says He Understands Women Can Be Fussy Because He Has Daughters” in the South Florida Poetry Journal; “Recovery” and “A Doctor Says I’m Too Young for My Body to Be This Old” in Tinderbox Poetry Journal; “Diagnosis as Fishing Net” in The Shore; and “When the Pain Meds Wear Off” and “Prognosis” in dialogist. Published the essay “Stain” in the journal Shenandoah. Published the story “Second Skin” in the magazine Lost Balloon. Her story “Leap,” previously published in Necessary Fiction, was included in the Best Small Fictions 2024 anthology from Alternating Current Press.
Yamille Moss (MFA student) — Published the micro-chapbook “Harangue from Salt” with Ghost City Press, as a part of their 2024 summer series.
Olivia Muñoz (alumni) — Published the poems “After dinner” in La Raíz magazine, and “This is My Impression of a Very Good Girl” in Thimble Literary Magazine. Appeared on the Dante’s Old South podcast from the Southern Collective Experience radio show.
Samina Najmi (faculty, MFA student) — Won the 2024 Aurora Polaris Prize from Trio House Press for her manuscript “Sing Me a Circle: Love, Loss, and a Home in Time.” The memoir (her debut) will be published in 2025. Interviewed for the Insurgent Feminisms podcast, “In Love and War: Collective Memory and the Self,” from the Radical Books Collective.
Janet Nichols Lynch (alumni) — Announced the forthcoming publication of her 16th book, the middle-grade historical novel “Ellen of Allensworth” with Bedazzled Ink Publishing in fall 2024; and her 17th book, the novel “More to Life” with Legacy Books Press in fall 2025. [author website]
Genesis Ochoa (B.A. student) — Published the poem “The Lobotomy of Jane Doe” in the San Joaquin Review.
Delaney R. Whitebird Olmo (alumni) — Announced the publication of her debut poetry collection, “The Golden Hunting Years,” forthcoming in 2025 from Flowersong Press.
Dawn Parker (B.A. student) — Published the story “Pink and Purple Willow Trees” in the journal Elephant Eyes; and the story “Con Joined” and the poem “O2” in hais: a literary journal.
Taylor Petersen (alumni) — Accepted a new position as librarian in the Teacher Resource Center inside the Fresno State Library.
Katie Quigley (B.A. student) — Published the poems “Missing: Have You Seen This Woman?” “Don’t Run on Wishes,” and “Crimson Birth” in hais: a literary journal.
Monique Quintana (alumni) — Published the stories “Nicknames for Dinosaurs” and “The Piñata” in hex literary. Her story “Moctezuma,” previously published by Dream Pop Press, was featured in Flash Flood, the UK’s national flash fiction day. Her story “the zoo cru and other assimilations: a triptych,” previously published in Grimoire Magazine, was newly deconstructed by the Psycho Holosuite zine. Interviewed by Ai Li Feng for The Attic Blog from SUNHOUSE Literary.
Lizette Ramirez (B.A. student) — Published the essay “In a Country I Don’t Belong In” in the San Joaquin Review.
Ernesto Reyes (alumni) — Accepted a tenure-track position teaching English at Fresno City College. Published a story in the TENacity Brilliant Flash Fiction anthology.
S. Reyna (B.A. student) — Published the essay “Buttercup” in hais: a literary journal.
Benjamin Rigby (B.A. student) — Published the poems “A Childhood Peeking,” “Idiopathic & Juvenile,” and “To Be a Boy with Curly Hair” in the San Joaquin Review.
Raúl Rivera-Garcia (B.A. student) — Published the essay “A Conversation” in the San Joaquin Review.
Linda Flor Rodriguez (B.A. student) — Published the poems “Te Quiero Mucho” and “Here” in hais: a literary journal.
René Rodríguez-Astacio (faculty) — Published the co-authored book chapter “Miles to go: Tracing Spider-Man’s Puerto Rican identity down many divergent roads,” in the anthology “Transmedia Applications in Literacy Fields,” edited by J.D. DeHart for IGI Global Publishing. Published the co-authored articles “Capes, Cultures and Racial Representation in Children’s Superhero Narratives: A Critical Race Content Analysis of DC Graphic Novels for Kids” in the Journal of Children’s Literature; and “Criticality and the Cowl: Teaching Black Superhero Narratives with DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults” in The ALAN Review. Invited to chair the Children’s Literature Research Award for the Children’s Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Joshua Sagouspe (M.A. student) — Published the poems “I Watched a Butterfly” and “Quiet” in hais: a literary journal; and “Burst” in the San Joaquin Review.
Guadalupe Salgado Partida (MFA student) — Published the poem “Ode To the Bus Terminal” in Zócalo Public Square.
Steven Sandage (B.A. student) — Published the story “Whispers in the Rearview” and the poem “San Fernando Blvd” in the San Joaquin Review.
Yamil Sárraga-López (faculty) — Published the co-authored book chapter “Miles to go: Tracing Spider-Man’s Puerto Rican identity down many divergent roads,” in the anthology “Transmedia Applications in Literacy Fields,” edited by J.D. DeHart for IGI Global Publishing.
Taylor Seals (MFA student) — Featured in the story “Unique Crowdfunding Campaign Leads to Creative Writing Endowed Scholarship” on Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Billy Segura (B.A. student) — Published the story “Leaves in the River” and the photograph “Lonely Pier in Japan” in the San Joaquin Review.
Anthony Shemaria (MFA student) — Published the articles “Masters of the Literature Review” and “The Development of Desire to Write is Tied to Our Mindset about Writing” in Fresno State’s Graduate Writing Studio blog.
Navdeep Singh Dhillon (alumni) — Featured in the story “Young Writers’ Conference spotlights alumni author” in Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Jordan Solis (B.A. student) — Published the stories “The Second Tuesday of September” and “Time Can’t Make Me Forget” in the San Joaquin Review.
Daniel Speechly (alumni) — Published the essays “An Acquaintance with Geumjeong Mountain” in Panorama journal; and “Ready to Gorge” in The Inquisitive Eater. Published the story “Lofty Heights” in the Corvus Review.
Michael Steiner (alumni) — Published the poems “The City’s Spirit,” “In Fresno,” “One of Those Days,” and “10pm, Walking Home” in hais: a literary journal; and “In Medias Res” and “Collapse” in the San Joaquin Review.
Brian Turner (alumni) — His poetry was included in the composer Jake Runestad’s new choral-orchestral album “A Dream So Bright.”
Jessica Turney-Lúa (alumni) — Promoted to interim director of Fresno State’s TRiO Student Support Services program.
Natalie Vasquez (alumni) — Published the poem “Something About Those Mariachi Women…” and the photographs “Flight of the Pages” and “The San Joaquin of My Childhood” in the San Joaquin Review.
Giovany Villalobos (alumni) — Published the poem “Cycle of Life” in the San Joaquin Review.
Liza Wieland (former faculty) — Announced the publication of her new novel, “The Journal of Djuna Malik,” forthcoming in 2026 from Livingston Press.
Brenna Womer (faculty) — Published the essay “Girl” in the Los Angeles Review.
Brandon Xiong (alumni) — Published the story “Fare-Well,” the photos “Untitled” and “Mirror World,” and the poems “Things My Mother Did,” “Talk to the Moon,” and “Wallflower” in hais: a literary journal.
Jer Xiong (alumni) — Published the essay “Flaws” in Lunch Ticket. The essay won the magazine’s 2024 Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction.
Katie Xiong (B.A. student) — Published the essays “Sons Like Him Give Birth to Daughters Like Me” in hais: a literary journal, and “On Transient Friendships” in the San Joaquin Review. Featured in the story “Young Writers’ Conference experiences opens up the world of creative writing” in Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
Emily Vang (B.A. student) — Published the poem “To Know Juan in all of His Forms” in the San Joaquin Review.
Mai Der Vang (faculty) — Featured in the story “Hmong American Ink and Stories marks fifth anniversary of literary journal” in Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities blog.
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.
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