Undocupoets co-founder headlines English Department spring literary lineup

February 14, 2025.Reading time 17 minutes.

Marcelo Hernandez Castillo in black and white

Fresno State’s Department of English welcomes 10 acclaimed authors and scholars this spring for campus visits, including the poet and translator Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, the co-founder of Undocupoets, a collective that brings recognition to works written by undocumented poets and spreads awareness about the societal barriers they face as writers.

Young Writers’ Conference experience opens up ‘the world of creative writing’

April 22, 2024.Reading time 11 minutes.

Katie Xiong in front of a green landscaped background.

Katie Xiong, an English major who currently studies creative writing as an undergraduate at Fresno State, will now experience her first Young Writers’ Conference on campus.

2024 Young Writers’ Conference spotlights alumni author

April 15, 2024.Reading time 8 minutes.

Singh Dhillon describes himself as “a Punjabi boy at heart” and said that his keynote address for the Fresno audience will include a reading from Sunny G’s opening chapter solely because it ends with the words “Fres-Yes.”

Alumni novelist headlines 2023 Young Writers’ Conference

April 18, 2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Fresno State’s English Department will host its 43rd annual Young Writers’ Conference, welcoming alumni author Ethan Chatagnier back to campus for the keynote address.

In Memoriam: Dr. Ray McKnight

August 31, 2022.Reading time 17 minutes.

Ray McKnight - Credit: Michelle Garcia/She Breathes Photography

Dr. H. Ray McKnight, a Fresno State professor emeritus of English, passed away on Aug. 5 in Richmond, California. He was 88.

Young Writers’ Conference welcomes graphic memoirist to campus

April 12, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Kristen Radtke, author of the graphic memoirs “Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness” (2021) and “Imagine Wanting Only This” (2017) sits in a chair in her office in front of a computer, but she is looking down. A bookshelf is behind her.

The conference will feature an awards ceremony, keynote speaker Kristen Radtke, and writing workshops led by Master of Fine Arts graduate students. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, inside the Satellite Student Union.

English Department hosts authors, scholars for spring virtual visits

March 9, 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

Four headshots: Nic Stone, Gerald Vizenor, Hanif Abdurraqib and Dr. Monica De La Torre

Fresno State’s Department of English will host multiple distinguished authors and scholars this spring for virtual campus visits.

Young Writers’ Conference is a labor of love

April 10, 2020.Reading time 14 minutes.

Department of English lecturer Tanya Nichols, who has coordinated the Young Writers’ Conference since 2007, welcomes area high school students and teachers to campus in 2017. Photo by Jefferson Beavers.

March 25, 2020, was supposed to be a monumental day for Fresno State’s Department of English, as it was set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its annual Young Writers’ Conference. But due to public health precautions for COVID-19, long-time conference coordinator Tanya Nichols had to do what so many artists have done during the pandemic — improvise.

English Department brings blockbuster literary lineup to campus in March

March 3, 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

Erika L. Sánchez, Ishmael Reed, Danez Smith, Naomi Shihab Nye

In a two-week span in March, Fresno State’s Department of English welcomes four nationally renowned and best-selling authors to campus to share their voices and literary art.

Authors and scholars to visit English Department conferences

February 5, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Several distinguished authors (pictured) will visit Fresno State English Department conferences this spring

Six distinguished authors will headline three scholarly and creative conferences presented by Fresno State’s Department of English this spring.

English alumni inspire high school writers and teachers at campus conference

April 28, 2017.Reading time 15 minutes.

~ Photo above (taken by Jefferson Beavers): Department of English lecturer Tanya Nichols, who has coordinated the Young Writers’ Conference for more than a decade, welcomes area high school students and teachers to campus. ~ Video by Jenny Toste, University Communications ~ Article by Jefferson Beavers, communications specialist for the Department of English Two alumni […]

Young Writers’ Conference draws hundreds to Fresno State campus

March 30, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

Winners from 2017 Young Writers' Conference

~ Video by Jenny Toste, University Communications ~ Photos by Jefferson Beavers Almost 250 students and 37 teachers from 22 schools came to the Fresno State campus for the 37th annual Young Writers’ Conference on Wednesday, March 29. At the opening ceremony in the Satellite Student Union, student writers learned who had won various prizes. The […]

Trio of authors visit English Department conferences

February 25, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

Kristin FitzPatrick, Arturo Arias and Wendy Rose

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Three distinguished authors will headline two conferences presented by Fresno State’s Department of English this spring. The eighth annual Undergraduate Conference on Multiethnic Literatures of the Americas will take place March 10 and 11, featuring keynote addresses from scholar, critic and author Arturo Arias and poet, artist and […]