Recent graduate Celeste Gainey’s chapbook manuscript, In the land of speculation & seismography has been selected as the runner-up for the 2010 Robin Becker Chapbook Prize by guest judge Eloise Klein Healy and has been invited for publication in the Seven Kitchens 2011 Summer Kitchen Series. The Robin Becker prize is given annually for an original, unpublished poetry manuscript in English by a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered or Queer writer and is awarded in two categories: one by a writer with no previous book or chapbook, and one by a writer with previous book or chapbook publication.

Two poems, “Offshore” and “Nuclear,” by student Kevin Finn, will be published at Coal Hill Review, the Autumn House Press online journal. The review will be available September 1, 2010.

Recent graduates Blaine Martin (Poetry) and Bridgette Nofsinger (Fiction) have each earned adjunct teaching positions for the Fall, 2010 semester. Martin will be teaching at DeSales University and Nofsinger at the University of Pittsburgh and at Carlow University.

Alum Wayne Cresser’s story "Anything About an Airport," appears in MotifV2: Come What May: An Anthology of Writing About Chance, published by Motes Books. For more information, visit http://www.motesbooks.com/motif.html.

Cresser recently did a reading and panel discussion on the topic "Writing Collections vs. Novels" with fiction writers Jody Lisberger and Amity Gaige at the University of Rhode Island's Ocean State Summer Writing Conference.

He also blogs about pop culture at www.popkrazy.com.

The journal shaking like a mountain, which was created, and is edited and operated by alumni Vito Grippi and Wayne Cresser, announces its first ever fiction contest. >>Read more about the contest (PDF)

Student Emme Devonish’s poem “Heatwave" has been published in The Lyric, Volume 90, Spring 2010.

Alum Deena November has recently had poems published in Nerve Cowboy, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and Pittsburgh’s City Paper.

Alum Melissa Andre’s poem "The Treatment and Mistreatment of Fish" appears in the current (Spring 2010) issue of Gastronomica magazine and her poem "Tomatoes" has been accepted for publication in Literary Mama, and is expected to appear in the October 2010 issue.

Recent graduate Susan Stringfellow Craig has received the Pierce Loughran Memorial Scholarship to study at the Yeats Memorial Center in Ireland. In addition, her poem "Communion" will be published in the Spring edition of 5.A.M. and she has also been published in the anthology Ashes to Ashes.  

Alum Sue Rumbaugh’s story, "Stuck in a Music Lesson" has been accepted and will appear in the June 2010 edition of the Bicycle Review, an online literary journal out of California. The same journal also published a piece of Rumbaugh’s creative nonfiction entitled "Applying Mint Julep and a Hot Pink Story” in their June 2009 edition.

Patricia Dobler Poetry Award Winner for 2010 is Margot Wizansky! Read her winning poem, along with the judges remarks, and the author’s bio by clicking here.

Molly Prosser, 2007 alum-poetry, will be speaking at the University of Baltimore on March 29th on the topic of Popular Writing. The discussion will focus on Molly's experience as a Fashion Writer generating content for an online fashion boutique website (ModCloth.com), as well as her knowledge of social networking writing -- a newly emerging field for professional writers.

Molly will also be speaking on this topic in the 2011 January MFA residency in Pittsburgh.

Celeste Gainey’s poem "Flótti" has been selected as the March poem of the month on the Writers at Work Web site. You can access the poem by going to www.writersatwork.com, clicking on "poem of the month," and following the prompts.

Graduate Fred Shaw’s poem “Saturday Poem: Delivery at The Sisters of Mercy” appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Saturday, February 27, 2010.

Kathryn Graves-Messer will be a featured reader at the Calyx Press 34th anniversary celebration being held on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at the Covallis Arts Center, 700 SW Madison, Corvallis, OR 97339.

Bridgette Nofsinger’s poem “Two-Hour Delay” was published in the Saturday, February 20, 2010 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Elizabeth Carter, MFA '08, is under contract to write two fully-funded feature screenplays: one is a novel adaptation and the other is regarding a historical figure. Both will be filmed in the Northeast. Liz is also creating an LLC to start her own production company.

Victoria Dym's poem "Where Clowns Shop" is forthcoming in Pearl Magazine, Issue #3. She is also "Poet in Person" at Mt. Lebanon Middle School for Poetry Month on April 16, and is conducting two classes for grades 5-8. In addition, she is teaching with the Young Writers' Institute at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

MFA grad April Johnston has had two stories, "Third Street" and "How the Parking Authority Ruined My Saturday Night," accepted for publication in Fast Forward: A Collection of Flash Fiction, Volume Three, to be released in summer 2010.

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