Get the latest campus MFA Alumni Publishing
For more than sixty years, the graduates of our university's Creative Writing Program and the Department of English have enjoyed great successes in literary publishing. This page focuses on our distinguished alumni since 1995, when the program transitioned into a full Master of Fine Arts program.
Here's a partial (and growing!) list of MFA alumni publishing accomplishments since 1995.
First Books Published (Poetry)
Megan Anderson Bohigian (2006)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Sightlines (Tourane Poetry Press, 2013, chapbook)
Additional books:
Vanishing Point (Orchard Street Press, 2019, chapbook)
Stacey Balkun (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Jackalope-Girl Learns to Speak (Dancing Girl Press, 2016, chapbook)
Additional books:
Lost City Museum (Bull City Press, 2016, chapbook)
Eppur Si Muove (Porkbelly Press, 2019, chapbook)
Fiolet & Wing: An Anthology of Domestic Fabulist Poetry (Liminal Books, 2019, anthology co-editor)
Michelle Brittan Rosado (2011)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Theory on Falling into a Reef (Anhinga Press, 2016, chapbook)
Additional books:
Why Can't It Be Tenderness (U of Wisconsin Press, 2018)
Kenneth Robert Chacón (2004)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
The Cholo Who Said Nothing and Other Poems (Turning Point Books, 2017)
Anthony Cody (2020)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Borderland Apocrypha (Omnidawn, 2020, finalist for National Book Award)
Brian Dunlap (2013)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Concrete Paradise (Finishing Line Press, 2018, chapbook)
Ronald Dzerigian (2016)
Guiseppe Getto (2007)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry; MA English, Composition
Familiar History (Finishing Line Press, 2016, chapbook)
Cynthia Guardado (2012)
Michael Maniquiz (2006)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Revolver (U of the Philippines Press, 1997)
Sarah Fawn Montgomery (2010)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
The Astronaut Checks His Watch (Finishing Line Press, 2014, chapbook)
Additional books:
Leaving Tracks: A Prairie Guide (Finishing Line Press, 2017, chapbook)
Regenerate: Poems of Mad Women (Dancing Girl Press, 2018, chapbook)
Quite Mad: An American Pharma Memoir (Ohio State U Press, 2019)
Andrea Mortimer Rhoads (2006)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
The River: Reflections on Life and Poetry (Tourane Poetry Press, 2017, chapbook)
Sasha Pimentel (2007)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Insides She Swallowed (West End Press, 2020, winner of American Book Award)
Additional books:
For Want of Water and Other Poems (Beacon Press, 2017, winner of National Poetry Series)
Yinka Rose Reed-Nolan (2013)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
First Crush (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2016, chapbook)
Michael David Roberts (2004)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry; MA English, Composition (1989)
The Particulars of Being (In the Grove Press, 2003)
Steven Sanchez (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
To My Body (Glass Poetry Press, 2016, chapbook)
Additional books:
Photographs of Our Shadows (Agape Editions, 2017, chapbook)
Phantom Tongue (Sundress Publications, 2018)
Emily Jo Scalzo (2010)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
The Politics of Division (Five Oaks Press, 2017, chapbook)
James Tyner (2009)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry; BA English, Literature (2003)
The Ghetto Exorcist (Autumn House Press, 2009, chapbook)
Also of note:
Fresno Poet Laureate (2013-15)
Burlee Vang (2009)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction
The Dead I Know: Incantation for Rebirth (Swan Scythe Press, 2010, chapbook)
Also of note:
Winner of a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with his brother Abel Vang. Co-directed the feature films "Bedeviled" and "The Uncanny."
Soul Choj Vang (1999)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry; BA English, Literature (1996)
To Live Here (Imaginary Friend Press, 2014)
Erik Wilbur (2018)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
What I Can Do (Chestnut Review Press, 2020, chapbook)
First Books Published (Fiction)
Kyle Aisteach (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction
Little Dystopias: A Collection (Lightning Cellar Publications, 2015)
Kristin FitzPatrick (2009)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction
My Pulse Is an Earthquake (West Virginia U Press, 2015)
Sarah Harian (2013)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction; BA English Education (2010)
The Wicked We Have Done: A Chaos Theory Novel (Penguin/InterMix, 2014)
Additional books:
Our Broken Sky: A Chaos Theory Novel (Penguin/InterMix, 2014)
A Vault of Sins: A Chaos Theory Novel (Penguin/InterMix, 2014)
Eight Will Fall (Henry Holt and Company, 2019)
Janet Nichols Lynch (2002)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction
American Music Makers (Walker and Company, 1991)
Additional books:
Women Music Makers (Walker and Company, 1992)
Casey Wooster's Pet Care Service (Atheneum, 1993)
Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins: Stories (2004)
Peace is a Four-Letter Word (Heyday Books, 2005)
Chest Pains: A Novel (Bridge Works Press, 2008)
Messed Up (Holiday House, 2009)
Addicted to Her (Holiday House, 2010)
Racing California (Holiday House, 2012)
My Beautiful Hippie (Holiday House, 2013)
Wheel of Fire (2016)
Commie Pinko (2017)
Tanya Nichols (2004)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction; BA English, Literature (2001)
The Barber's Wife (Alternative Book Press, 2014)
Additional books:
The Circle Game (Alternative Book Press, 2018)
Stinger (West of West Books, 2019, co-authored with Bill McEwen)
Monique Quintana (2016)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction; BA English, Literature (2013)
Cenote City (Clash Books, 2019, novella)
Additional books:
My Favorite Sancho and Other Fairy Tales (Sword and Kettle Press, 2020, chapbook)
Feroz Rather (2010)
Elizabeth Schulte Martin (2009)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction
Everything You Came to See (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018)
Navdeep Singh Dhillon (2006)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction; BA English, Literature (2002)
Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions (Dial Books, 2021)
First Books Published (Creative Nonfiction)
J.J. Anselmi (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
Heavy: A Memoir of Wyoming, BMX, Drugs and Heavy Fucking Music (Rare Bird Books, 2016)
Additional books:
Doomed to Fail: The Incredibly Loud History of Doom, Sludge, and Post-Metal (Rare Bird Books, 2020)
Carole A. Firstman (2013)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
Origins of the Universe and What It All Means: A Memoir (Dzanc Books, 2016)
Monte Francis (2004)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
By Their Father's Hand: The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre (Harper Collins, 2007)
Additional books:
Ice and Bone: Tracking an Alaskan Serial Killer (WildBlue Press, 2016)
Liz Scheid (2008)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
The Shape of Blue: Notes on Loss, Language, Motherhood & Fear (The Lit Pub, 2013)
Rachel Starnes (2010)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
The War at Home: A Memoir (Penguin Books, 2016)
Ashley Wells (2012)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction; BA English, Literature (2008)
The Cowgirl and the Racehorse: A Recovery (Skinner House Books, 2020)
Anthologies Published
Hmong American Writers' Circle
How Do I Begin? A Hmong American Literary Anthology (Heyday Books, 2011)
Co-edited by alumni Anthony Cody, Burlee Vang, Soul Choj Vang, and Andre Yang
The Normal School
The Spirit of Disruption: Landmark Essays from The Normal School (Outpost19, 2018)
Edited by faculty Steven Church; selections, editing, and promotion by MFA students in the English 286 Practicum in Literary Arts course
Publishing and Editing Jobs
Erin L. Álvarez (2013)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction; BA English, Literature (2010)
Previously:
Editorial Assistant, Fourth Genre
Stacey Balkun (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Chapbook Series Editor, Sundress Publications
Cindy Bradley (2016)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction; BA English, Literature (2011)
Assistant Nonfiction Editor, Pithead Chapel
Reader, Under the Sun
Peter Driscoll (2012)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction
Previously:
Production Manager, Dwell Magazine
Jeffery Gleaves (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
Digital Engagement and Content Director, The Academy of American Poets
Previously:
Digital Manager, The Paris Review
Director of Marketing and Publicity, Dzanc Books
Web Assistant, Harper's Magazine
Karen Eileen (Sikola) Kovach (2009)
MFA Creative Writing
Senior Editor, Beable Education
Previously:
Development Editor, National Geographic Learning
Nicole Lassen (2014)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
Previously:
Production Manager, Dwell Magazine
Production Manager, Afar Magazine
Sarah Fawn Montgomery (2010)
MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction
Previously:
Nonfiction Assistant Editor, Prairie Schooner
Monique Quintana (2016)
MFA Creative Writing, Fiction; BA English, Literature (2013)
Contributing Writer, Luna Luna Magazine
Brandi Spaethe (2013)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Previously:
Program Associate, Poets & Writers, California office
Vuong Quoc Vu (2006)
MFA Creative Writing, Poetry
Founder, Tourane Poetry Press
Founder and editor, Perfume River Poetry Review