Heading to #AWP18

This week, I’ll be going to Tampa for the 2018 Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference. As always, it will be a very busy few days—inspiring and exhausting. This year, it will be a little different, since I’ll get to hang out with some of my students who are taking a Short Residency classContinue reading “Heading to #AWP18”

Writer’s Resolution: Start or Update Your CV

This post is primarily for my MFA students, though it is a good new year’s resolution for any writer: start or update your CV. Curriculum Vitae is a fancy term for resumé, though the difference is that the focus of your CV is broader, and you will use it for applying for academic jobs, grants,Continue reading “Writer’s Resolution: Start or Update Your CV”

More Advice for Poets

This is a follow-up post to the one I made recently about Poetry Submissions. This week, I placed two poems in Valley Voices, and on the recommendation of editor John Zheng, I sent 3 haiku to Asahi Haikuist Network who took them for upcoming issues in October and next May. What I learned from this (or was reminded of)Continue reading “More Advice for Poets”

Poetry Submissions

It’s been a busy period, getting classes started, welcoming new students to our MFA program, and working on the schedule for next semester — yes as an administrator, I always have to be thinking ahead! Yet maybe the most fun part of the new academic year has been spent with poetry submissions, which I’m lookingContinue reading “Poetry Submissions”

Dispatch from the #MSBookfest

This past Saturday, I spent almost 10 hours outside on the capitol grounds in Jackson, Mississippi. Under normal circumstance, you might have to be crazy to do that in August, but this was no ordinary Saturday. It was the 3rd annual Mississippi Book Festival, and I was there in my third role. The first yearContinue reading “Dispatch from the #MSBookfest”

The Life of a Blog Post

Today, I want to take a little trip down my own geek highway. Every now and then (maybe more often than I’m willing to admit), I check the stats on my blog. It’s one of the features I like about WordPress, by the way. I can see who’s reading what and sometimes that affects whatContinue reading “The Life of a Blog Post”

How A Writer’s Craft Came to Be.

Today, I received copies of my introductory 4-genre creative writing textbook, A Writer’s Craft, hot off the presses in both hardback and paperback. So it seemed like a good time to reflect back on how I got to this point. When I began the project, I wasn’t planning on publishing a textbook; in fact, the initialContinue reading “How A Writer’s Craft Came to Be.”

Welcome: A Writer’s Craft!

It’s been a long journey to this point, but today marks a turning point in my writing career. My introductory 4-genre creative writing textbook, A Writer’s Craft is now available. I don’t have my copies yet, but it’s on the Palgrave website and listed as In Stock for paperback, e-book, and hardback. Now, besides beingContinue reading “Welcome: A Writer’s Craft!”

Low-Res or Fully Funded: an MFA Decision

I write a lot about MFA programs because I direct the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. I mention this to let you know I am biased on this topic, but I’ve been thinking about the advice people often get about applying for MFA’s: don’t unless it’s fully funded. On theContinue reading “Low-Res or Fully Funded: an MFA Decision”

How To Find the best MFA program in Creative Writing (for you)

Summer is a time when many prospective MFA students begin searching for programs. Or maybe you’ve already begun that search, but it is now intensified as the application season approaches. Those who want to apply for an MFA need to have a good idea of their top choices soon, so they can work on craftingContinue reading “How To Find the best MFA program in Creative Writing (for you)”