Debra Dean's The Mirrored World Published

Debra Dean’s second novel, The Mirrored World, has just been published by Harper Collins.  In the book Dean reimagines the life of Russia's Saint Xenia, whose journey from a life of privilege to  tending the poor in St. Petersburg's slums is told from the point of view of her younger cousin and friend, Dasha. Learn more about the book by going to Debra Dean's Facebook Author page.

On Thursday, Sept. 6th, at 8 PM, everyone's invited to Dean's launch reading at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave, Coral Gables.  Readers can learn here where else her book tour is taking her.

The MFA Program Welcomes Julie Marie Wade

Julie Marie Wade is the newest addition to the faculty of the MFA Program in Creative Writing. Wade, who will be teaching memoir/nonfiction, completed her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Humanities with creative dissertation at the University of Louisville in 2012, after having received a Master of Arts in English at Western Washington University and a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry at the University of Pittsburgh.

She has received the Chicago Literary Award in Poetry, the Gulf Coast Nonfiction Prize, the Oscar Wilde Poetry Prize, the Literal Latte Nonfiction Award, two Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prizes, the AWP Intro Journals Award, the American Literary Review Nonfiction Prize (read her prize-winning piece here), the Arts & Letters Nonfiction Prize, an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, the Thomas J. Hruska Nonfiction Prize, and the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir.  She is the author of two collections of lyric nonfiction, Wishbone:A Memoir in Fractures (Colgate University Press, 2010) and Small Fires (Sarabande Books, 2011), and two collections of poetry, Without (Finishing Line Press, 2010) and Postage Due (White Pine Press, forthcoming in 2013). Learn more at www.juliemariewade.com

John Dufresne Named a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow

John Dufresne, Professor of Creative Writing at FIU, recently received one of Guggenheim's prestigious fellowships for 2012.  In an interview with FIU News, Dufresne said, "It’s quite a thrill to have been given this fellowship and recognition [...] It feels like a validation of the work I’ve been doing over the years. It’s a surprise and a great feeling. I still consider myself an apprentice. I’m still trying to get better at what I do." Read the complete article here. 

FIU Student Literary Award Winners Announced

Congratulations to all the winners of the FIU Student Literary Awards!

POETRY (Judge: John Hodgen)
Graduate Winner: Julio Machado, "Maid Hour"
Graduate Runner-up: Patrick Norris, "Luciferge", "Ohio's Finest", "I Like Fish"
Undergraduate Winner: Valeria Manavallo, "Franz"
Undergraduate Runner-up: Melanie Martinez, "Boondocks"

NONFICTION (Judge: Kat Meads)
Graduate Winners (a tie)
Justin Bendell, "Kurt Cobain Avengers"
Jennifer Maritza McCauley, "New Britain Ghosts"
Graduate Runner-up" Fabienne Josaphat, "When Looking in the Mirror"

FICTION (Judge: M. Evelina Galang)
Graduate Winner: James Elens, "Brothers After the Storm"
Graduate Runner-up: Alexandra Handwerger, "Girl Scouts"
Undergraduate Winner: Brett Kaplan, "Monty"

Academy of American Poets Prize (Judge: Michael Hettich)
Winner: Marci Calabretta
First Runner-up: Parker Phillips
Second Runner-up: Amy Hughes

Les Standiford Receives FIU Torch Award

Professor Les Standiford, Director of the Creative Writing Program, has been honored with the 2012 FIU Faculty Torch Award, which was given to him at the Torch Award Gala on March 3rd.  The awards are given to distinguished alumni and to one faculty member, each year.  The faculty award honors "an outstanding member of the Faculty whose achievements have brought distinction to the faculty member and our University. Selection is made from candidates who have distinguished themselves by obtaining a high level of accomplishment and who possess high standards of integrity and character." 

Campbell McGrath Reads from His New Book on April 13 at 8:00pm

Friday, April 13, at 8 pm, Campbell McGrath will be reading from his new book of poetry, In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (Ecco Press/HarperCollins), at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL.

Come early for wine and cheese beforehand!



Learn more about Campbell McGrath

Isabel Allende Receives Lawrence Sanders Award at FIU

Isabel Allende received the Lawrence Sanders Award, given by the Creative Writing Program, on the evening of March 5th.  After the award presentation, a standing room only audience enjoyed listening  to a warm, witty, and moving conversation between Allende and Professor Debra Dean.

The award, established in 2010, is given to an author whose work demonstrates the highest literary merit and has gained popular appeal.  Previous recipients are Scott Turow and Pat Conroy. With 19 books that have sold more than 57 million copies in 35 languages, Allende epitomizes the spirit of the award. The Chilean author began her writing career as a journalist and has since collected an array of literary awards from around the world. She has addressed the question of popular appeal and literary merit, writing in the UK’s Observer, “The fact people think that when you sell a lot of books you are not a serious writer is a great insult to the readership.”