Fall 2013 Special Event: This I Believe Book Launch and Assignment

At 2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 17, longtime public radio personality Bob Edwards hosts the launch for the new book This I Believe-Kentucky. The event, part of Spalding's Festival of Contemporary Writing, takes place on campus in the University Center Building auditorium. The MFA Program provides tickets to all fall residency MFA faculty and students, and attendance is required for MFA students.

Among the essayists featured at the event are Kentucky poet laureate Frank X Walker (P '03), Spalding President Tori Murden McClure (CNF '05), MFA Program Director Sena Jeter Naslund, and MFA faculty members Dianne Aprile and Silas House, as well as authors George Ella Lyon and Sallie Bingham. Bob Edwards interviews these writers, who also read their essays. The event will be recorded and used in several This I Believe segments for upcoming episodes of The Bob Edwards Show (Sirius XM) and public radio show Bob Edwards Weekend.

Book sales take place before the reading, during intermission, and after the event. MFA students and faculty receive a $5 off coupon toward purchasing the book. Following the reading, MFAers are invited to a reception in the Huff Gallery and Library Lecture Lounge on the lower level of the Spalding Library.

During residency, MFA students complete an assignment to write a short "This I Believe" essay (not more than a page) of their own. When they submit the assignment, students indicate whether they are willing to read their essay at a plenary follow-up session at the end of residency. The essays of those willing to share are put into a pot at the plenary session, from which Sena draws. The authors of the chosen essays read their work aloud to MFA students and faculty.

MFA alumni may request a complimentary ticket to the event by emailing Administrative Director Karen Mann at kmann@spalding.edu. Seating is first come, first seated. Those interested in VIP tickets, which include reserved seats and a pre-reading reception, should see http://thisibelieve.org. Plenty of free parking is available nearby.

Bob Lehrman Joins Fall 2013 MFA Residency Faculty

Novelist and speechwriter Bob Lehrman joins the Spalding MFA residency faculty this November to serve as residency faculty and Workshop co-leader for Writing for Children and Young Adults. Bob is the author of six books, four of them novels, including Juggling, named one of the 15 "great books" for teenagers by Ms. Magazine and an American Library Best Book.

Photo by Michael Thaul Lehrman

Besides writing novels in his own name, Bob has also made a career of writing speeches for others. Kurt Vonnegut introduced Bob to speechwriting by offering him an assistantship at Iowa-on the condition that he teach speech. After decades spent writing speeches and after writing the most widely used book by political speechwriters, at residency Bob will deliver a lecture about the craft of speechwriting, what makes it worth doing, how you can combine it with writing under your own name-and how writing fiction shapes what he does. A graduate of Tufts and The University of Iowa Writer's Workshop, where he studied with Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Yates, Bob's first novel, Juggling, was published by Harper&Row in 1982. Bob's novel The Store That Mama Built was one of three finalists for the 1993 National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature.

Bob is one of America's best-known speechwriters, writing thousands of speeches for Democratic politicians, corporate and nonprofit CEOs, and celebrities, including a three-year-stint as Chief Speechwriter in the White House for Vice President Al Gore. His book The Political Speechwriter's Companion: A Guide for Speakers and Writers (CQPress 2009) won praise from Democrats, Republicans, and a wide variety of journalists and academics for its even-handed approach and the way it fuses Bob's storytelling ability with his political insight.

Bob appears frequently on radio and TV to talk about speech, writes op-eds and articles on politics under his own name, and conducts speechwriting workshops. In the last few years, Bob has written a series of widely read cover stories for the Christian Science Monitor Weekly Magazine, and in 2012, he won Narrative Magazine's Winter short-story contest. He lives in Washington, D.C., where he is Adjunct Professor at American University, which in 2010 named him its Adjunct of the Year.
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Fall Literary Explorations Lecture: "The Enigmatic Life and Poetry of W. B. Yeats"

Kathleen Driskell presents the plenary lecture "The Enigmatic Life and Poetry of W. B. Yeats," which explores the work of one of most important literary figures of the twentieth century. Yeats is often called the "grand-daddy" of modernism, and his work reflects his richly complicated life: Yeats was a Protestant who believed in and fought for Irish nationalism (though he was disdainful of democracy); his first (and only) language was English, yet he wanted to create an Irish literature to bring to the world. Interestingly, even though Yeats is considered an important modern figure, his poetic style often seems to fit more snugly within the eighteenth century than the nineteenth. After attending this lecture, MFA students will have a deepened knowledge of this complex twentieth-century literary figure and how his life's work continues to influence the writing and thinking of today's writer.

The Literary Explorations plenary lecture is presented to MFA students and faculty at residency by a faculty or guest of the Spalding MFA Program. This lecture series explores important literary figures or literary movements or periods to help MFA students better understand the global canon and great literary writers and thinkers of the world.
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Agent Joy Harris and Publicist Sharyn Rosenblum Visit Fall Residency

During the Fall 2013 residency, the MFA Program presents guests Joy Harris of the Joy Harris Literary Agency and Sharyn Rosenblum, Vice President and Senior Director of Media Relations for William Morrow. During their session, Joy and Sharon address why writers need agents in the world of new media and self-publishing and what agents do beyond selling the book-though selling the book is no small thing. Joy and Sharyn also discuss why authors need publicists, providing an understanding of how publicity efforts play into a book's publication, how to go about creating a media campaign, the dynamics of a book tour, and educating an author to be his or her own best advocate. Both Joy and Sharyn hope that MFA students and faculty will come to their session with lots of questions.
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Fall 2013 Celebration of Recently Published Books Features Six Readers

Six readers take part in the Celebration of Recently Published Books on Saturday, November 16, at the Egan Leadership Center. Eleanor Morse reads from her novel White Dog Fell from the Sky, Greg Pape reads from his poetry collection Four Swans, and Julie Brickman reads from her short story collection Two Deserts. After a brief intermission, Susan Campbell Bartoletti reads from her middle-grade novel Down the Rabbit Hole: The Dairy of Pringle Rose; Program Director Sena Naslund reads from her novel The Fountain of St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman, and Helena Kriel screens a portion of her feature film Skin, directed by Anthony Fabian and starring Sophie Okonedo. The reading runs 4:30-6:30 p.m., including intermission, and is open to the public. Light snacks are provided, and a book signing follows.
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CNF and Screenwriting Students Come Together for a Combined Discussion on Adaptation

During the November residency in Louisville, creative nonfiction and screenwriting students come together for a combined Book- and Script-in-Common discussion on Frye Gaillard's nonfiction book In the Path of the Storms and the script he helped adapt from his book. At residency, after creative nonfiction and screenwriting students view the regional Emmy-awarded documentary film, also called In the Path of the Storms, students join in a discussion with Frye, the award-winning author of more than twenty works of nonfiction. Students read both the book and the script for the adapted documentary (posted in the portal) before coming to residency.
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MFA Books Now Available Online from Spalding's Bookstore

Books by MFA faculty and guest speakers are now available for purchase online from Spalding's bookstore. The books can be shipped directly to the student's home or held for pick-up on campus.

To place an order, go to the MFA portal page and click Bookstore's MFA Page, found under MFA Quick Links. Books sold on consignment are not available on the website. or tablet.

Please contact Kathleen with questions about these sessions at kdriskell@spalding.edu.
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Students and Faculty Can Get Extra Dining Dollars

Students and faculty who purchase an item of MFA wear from CafePress (http://cafepress.com/SpaldingMFA) valued at $15 or more receive an extra $15 in dining dollars for meals at the Fall 2013 residency. Dining dollars are used like money at several restaurants near campus. Dining dollars are intended to be used for residency lunches; however, the same restaurants (if open) also accept them for breakfast and dinner. Dining dollars are found in the Welcome Envelope, which is distributed the first day of residency.

Complete information about dining dollars is available in the Residency Arrival Information document posted on the MFA portal and the Residency Curriculum and Events Schedule (posted a few days before residency).

To receive the extra $15, email Karen Mann ( kmann@spalding.edu) proof of purchase of an item of MFA wear valued at $15 or more before Wednesday, November 6. In the subject line, type "extra dining dollars."
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Enrollment Now Open for Summer 2014 Residency in Prague and Berlin

Students and alumni may sign up now for travel to the Summer 2014 residency in Prague and Berlin, which will take place July 10-22. Travel enrollment is open until February 1.

The residency's Program Book in Common is Franz Kafka's The Castle. Students also read German fairy tales, books or scripts by faculty, and works by authors or scriptwriters native to the region. The curriculum also includes faculty-led workshops (including the teaching seminar), lectures, panel discussions, readings, and mentor conferences, just as in spring or fall residencies. Graduation takes place in Berlin on July 21.

Considered one of Europe's most romantic cities, Prague was untouched by the bombs of the world wars. A walking tour lets us explore Prague's Old Town, including the atmospheric Charles Bridge, and visit its castle, the largest in the world. We visit the Jewish Quarter on a separate tour that focuses on Kafka, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century.

MFAers investigate the interrelatedness of the arts by attending a Black Light theatre performance, which mixes mime and modern dance to create a multimedia, avant-garde theatre experience found only in Prague. An optional "Prague by Night" tour offers the chance to see the city by boat after dark.

From Prague, we travel to Berlin, which emerged as a vibrant metropolis after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. We tour the city by bus to see the major sights and visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. For further arts exploration, we visit the world-famous Pergamon Museum, known for its classical antiquities and Islamic art. In the evenings, MFAers may opt to take in a cabaret or go on a walking tour of Berlin's modern architecture.

Residency travel is coordinated by EF College Study Tours. For complete details, visit http://spalding.edu/academics/mfa-in-writing/mfa-residency/mfa-summer-residency/. Contact Associate Administrative Director Katy Yocom at kyocom@spalding.edu with questions.
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Alumni Trip to Prague and Berlin with the Summer 2014 Residency

MFA alumni are warmly invited to travel with the MFA Program to Prague and Berlin. Alumni Association director Terry Price coordinates the group of alumni travelers. Alums are included in all non-classroom events described in the article above and are also invited to sit in on many MFA curriculum sessions. For complete details about the alumni trip, including daily activities, costs, and enrollment information, visit http://spalding.edu/academics/mfa-in-writing/mfa-alumni/. Alumni have until February 1 to sign up for the trip; those who sign up by January 10 receive a $250 early-bird discount. Contact Katy Yocom at kyocom@spalding.edu with questions.
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Northern California Regional Alumni Event Focuses on Social Media

On Saturday, October 5, a dozen MFAers met at the Fort Mason Center on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The group, comprising seven alumni, three students, faculty member Jody Lisberger, and Karen Mann, enjoyed a presentation by alumna Cory Jackson (F '12) on "Social Media for Writers: Before Publication and After." Cory is the author of two books, If I Lie and Touched. The group introduced themselves by sharing how they use social media, and a good discussion ensued. After refreshments and more lively chat, the event closed with readings by Lisa Mitzel (W4C '06), Jody Lisberger, Kate Buckley (P '10), Janet Schneider (F), Frances Nicholson (P '04), and Cynthia Allar (P '04). Several of the group went to dinner afterward, and everyone left looking forward to the next event.

Alumni regional events are fairly new for the MFA Program-the one in San Francisco was only the fifth, but the idea is taking off. Events can be built around a reading or author appearance, or they can take place for their own sake. Either way, alumni regional events are open to all Spalding MFAers (students and faculty included!) and friends, especially those who love writing as much as you do! If you would like to host or help organize an event in your area, contact Marjetta Geerling at marjettag@gmail.com.

L-R, back: Keiko Sanders (W4C), Cynthia Allar (P '04), Janet Schneider (F), Kate Buckley (P '10), and Lisa Mitzel (W4C '06). L-r, front: Karen Langford (W4C), Cory Jackson (F '12), Frances Nicholson (P '04), Jody Lisberger, Karen Mann, and Jennifer Anthony (W4C '05). Not pictured: Beatrice Bowles (W4C '03)

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Creating Community

Reading with Karla
by Katy Yocom

For the past nine years, I've spent a half-hour every Thursday morning sitting down with a student at Engelhard Elementary, just a few blocks from Spalding. I go there as a literacy tutor through a communitywide program called Every1Reads, but I don't read to "my" student. Instead, my student reads to me.

Over the years, I've worked with different kids, but for the past four years, it's been all Karla and me. When we started, she was an adorable six-year-old. Now she's ten and still pretty adorable. Karla is smart and speaks two languages, but she's been behind in her reading skills. She loves to read, though. She dives into those books.

The school's reading room is stocked with books at different reading levels, and we're supposed to choose books at Karla's test-verified level for vocabulary, sentence complexity, etc. But honestly, those written-to-reading-level books aren't so great. What Karla really loves to do is get a book out of the school's library and read it to me. The library books are better. Last year, we read Frog and Toad Are Friends. When Karla's in a good mood, she does voices for the characters. Karla's usually in a good mood.

My job is to sit with Karla, help her pick a book, take a quick look through the text to set some context, and identify the hard words in advance. While she's reading, I help her figure her own way past any stumbling blocks, and when she's finished, we talk about the story to make sure she understands it. Karla almost always understands it, but when she doesn't, we have some great conversations.

At the end of the school year, there's a "volunteer appreciation day." We get certificates and a speech from the principal. I don't care about that part of it. What I care about is the last half-hour, when we go to the cafeteria and eat sheet cake and drink punch with our kids. The cake is terrible, but there's celebration in the air. Karla gets so excited. She holds my hand and we pose for pictures together. The event usually happens smack in the middle of residency. I sneak away to be there. I wouldn't miss it.

Last Valentine's Day, Karla wrote me a letter in pencil on a sheet of notebook paper. It begins this way: "Dear Ms. Katy, "You are very pretty and very smart thainks for all your help on my reading you make me feel happy when I am sad."

Who gets that kind of love? Spalding MFA faculty, on their end-of-semester evaluations, maybe? I don't know, but I'm humbled. And kind of amazed, but also not, because when I stop to think about it, Karla makes me feel happy when I'm sad, too.
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Tell Us About Your Service Projects!
Spalding University tallies students' service hours and has the goal of reaching 1.3 million hours this year. MFA students report their service hours by emailing mfadropbox@spalding.edu with the subject line "service hours." Include the dates of service, total number of hours, the organization, and a brief description of the service. Hours can be added up and reported every few weeks or every few months.
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My Profile on MFA portal page
MFA students and faculty should add their pictures to their profile page on the MFA portal page. This picture shows up when emailing from Spalding email accounts. It's easy to do! On the MFA portal page, click on your name (to the upper right). Click on MY PROFILE. Click on EDIT MY PROFILE. Find the PICTURE section and add the picture.
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Spalding Email Accounts
The MFA staff use student and faculty Spalding email accounts to communicate. Please check your account regularly. To forward your Spalding email to your home email account, see http://spalding.edu/about/technology/portal/. To receive your Spalding email account on your phone (or iPod or iPad), see http://spalding.edu/about/technology/spalding-mobile-access/.
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Check Out the MFA Blog
MFA faculty and alumni blog at blog.spalding.edu/mfainwriting. New posts are added weekly. The comment feature is now available.
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Facebook Fanpage Posts Contest and Other Information
The MFA Program has begun posting announcements regarding contests, calls for submissions, and grants on the MFA Facebook Fanpage. MFAers are invited to share their writerly news on the MFA fanpage. Send news about readings, blog entries, pictures, or other items of interest to mfafacebook@spalding.edu.
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MFA Alumni Association
The website for the MFA Alumni Association is http://www.spaldingmfaalum.com. If you have questions or are interested in working with this group, send Terry Price an email at terry@terryprice.net. Check out the Spalding MFA Alumni Facebook page.
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Alumni Access to MFA News and Residency Lectures
MFA alumni may access the MFA portal page to listen to residency lectures and to see the latest in MFA news. Go to my.spalding.edu. Username: MFAportal and Password: MFAportal! (Note: the password is case sensitive and there is an exclamation mark at the end of it.)

Life of a Writer

Alice Catherine Jennings (P) recently published “Three Cinquains after the Exhibition: III Bienal Ciudad Juárez-El Paso Biennial 2013” in In Other Words: Merida (http://www.inotherwordsmerida.com.) In addition, her poem “Accordion Lesson” is forthcoming in Boyne Berries in Trim, Ireland. As founder/director of The Global Reading Group, a virtual literary salon, she is pleased to announce the group’s upcoming selections: Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (October 15th); Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (December 1); and Beowulf, as translated by Seamus Heaney (January 15). Free and open to interested readers worldwide. For more information, contact Alice at alicejjennings@gmail.com.
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Paul Alan Ruben’s (F) short story “The Underdog” has been accepted for publication (approx. November 2013) by Pennsylvania English, Volume 35. The story is part of a nearly completed collection of thematically linked short stories that interrogate father and son, now tentatively titled Terms of Engagement. Paul would like to thank Mary Clyde for her close reading of this work and her encouragement.
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Julie Brickman’s story collection, Two Deserts, was released October 1 by Hopewell. On October 5, To Be Continued Bookstore in Metuchen, New Jersey, Julie’s hometown, hosted her launch. This was the same day as her high school reunion and the 50th anniversary of Metuchen’s downtown fair.
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K. L. Cook accepted a tenured position, beginning fall 2013, at Iowa State University, teaching in the MFA in Creative Writing and Environment Program. A new tenth-anniversary paperback edition of his collection of linked stories, Last Call, has just been published by University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books.
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Edie Hemingway will be a featured speaker, along with author Joseph Bruchac and North Carolina poet laureate Joseph Bathanti, at the Children’s Literature Symposium to be held at Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina) on Saturday, November 9. The symposium is designed to provide current teachers, librarians, and education majors ways to use reading, creative writing, and storytelling to excite their students about social studies, history, and other areas. See http://www.news.appstate.edu/2013/09/23/childrens-literature-symposium-2/ for more information.
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Alumni

Susan Arscott (W4CYA ’12) has signed two book contracts with Canadian publisher Champagne Books. Her YA novel The End of Normal will be published on June 1, under the name SC Arscott, and her short romance Erica’s Fantastical Vacation will be published on November 1,  2013 under the name Gabriella Austen. The books will be available via all major electronic booksellers.
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Priscilla Atkins (P ’08) has poems published: “Father Talk” in ABZ: A Poetry Magazine (Number 8, 2013); “My Mother Eats French Toast” in Tattoo Highway (Number 23, August 2013); “Some Days Your Death Is Small Enough” in The Fourth River (Autumn 2013). On September 15, Minotaur’s Spotlight posted a review of the poem “Delores” (Apply Valley Review, 8.1). “The Captivating Life of My Ten-Years-Older, First-Boyfriends’ Ex-Wife,” “Is This What You Want?,” and “Imaginary Marylands” in Tell Us a Story (August 6, 2013). This fall, she is teaching Feminist Visions of Justice (women’s and gender studies theory class) and Of Humanity and Humor (a first-year seminar) and is serving as Director of Women’s Studies at Hope College.
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Eric Cravey (CNF ’11) of Orange Park, Florida, addressed the September 30 weekly meeting of the Golden Quill Club at Fleming Island High School on Fleming Island, Florida. His interactive lecture “The Hero’s Journey: Twelve Steps to Great Storytelling” ended with a Q&A session with the students and their advisor.
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Adriena Dame (F ’07) is proud to announce the following rockstar guest editors for 94 Creations 5 (http://www.94creations.com): Brian Leung, Kim Crum, and Teneice Durrant. Her other publication, Iris Brown Lit Mag (http://www.irisbrownlitmag.com), which debuts February 2014, features the following phenomenal guest editors: Pamela Sneed, Rachel Harper, and Stephanie Schroeder (both journals are now accepting submissions). Adriena’s short story, “Lib,” is forthcoming in Weave Magazine, January 2014. She recently read for Sonja de Vries’s Ignite the Ink show, Crescent Hill Radio, and will be featured in a reading at Carmichael’s Bookstore on November 24. She currently teaches writing at Indiana University Southeast and is teaching undergraduate creative writing at Spalding University in the spring. She continues to serve as a board member for the Kentucky Foundation for Women; to support Generation iSpeak, a youth literary arts organization; and to facilitate the efforts of the publicity committee for Louisville Literary Arts.
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Susan Detweiler’s (CNF ’10) essay, “Under the Cloud” (The Missouri Review, Winter 2012), is cited as a 2012 notable essay in Best American Essays. The essay draws upon two pieces of work Susan did during her MFA at Spalding: her senior lecture on the first atomic bomb as depicted in literature contemporary to the time of the Hiroshima bombing and a memoir piece about her San Francisco childhood, filled with atomic bomb drills and the threat of nuclear war. Susan says she has the MFA in Writing at Spalding to thank!
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Charlotte Rains Dixon (F ’03) recently returned from two weeks in France, where she co-led a writing workshop in the Catalan town of Ceret. She continues to mentor writers, ghostwrite, and blog (http://www.charlotterainsdixon.com) and also promote her novel, Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior.
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Karen George (F ’09) participated in Tupelo Press’s 30/30 Project, in which she wrote a poem a day in August, each posted at http://tupelopress.wordpress.com/3030-project/3030-project-august-2013/.
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Chris Helvey’s (F ’06) novel, Whose Name I Did Not Know, was recently published by Hopewell Press.
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Marci Rae Johnson’s (P ’05) poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Redivider, Books & Culture, Windhover, Perspectives, and Metazen and in the forthcoming anthology Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. She is co-editor of the forthcoming anthology The Relief Book of Poems, from Relief journal, and she recently gave readings at InKY in Louisville, at the Illinois State Poetry Society, and at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. She also organized and will participate in a panel titled “The Subversive Spirit: Poetry Writing from the Edge of Faith” at the upcoming February 2014 AWP writing conference. She teaches in the English department at Valparaiso University.
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Mary Knight (W4CYA ’13) received an honorable mention in the 2013 SCBWI-Midsouth fiction contest for her middle-grade novel The Unabridged Dictionary of Curley Hines. Mary also attended the SCBWI-Midsouth conference in Nashville this September.
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Marilyn Moss (CNF ’09) is pleased to announce the publication of Bill Moss: Fabric Artist & Designer, a book that traces the life and work of a true pioneer in the creation of tension fabric structures. Bill Moss first changed the world of camping with the invention of the Pop tent and then went on to shake the world of fabric architecture with the many forms that we now take for granted. Lavishly illustrated with historic photographs, the book chronicles Moss’s creative life from his early years until his death in 1994. For more information: http://www.billmosstents.com.
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Sherry Palmer (CNF ’12) is pleased to announce the publication of her short story, “New York, You, and 54 Too” in Foliate Oak, an electronic literary magazine. The story is the result of an assignment in Richard Goodman’s workshop, and she wants to thank Richard for the challenge. Here is the link: http://www.foliateoak.com/sherry-mccaulley-palmer.html
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Molly Power’s (F ’07) story “The Polish Girl” will be published in the New Rivers Press anthology, American Fiction Volume 13. The story was selected, along with nineteen others, as a finalist in their 2013 American Fiction Short Story Contest of 2013. The anthology will be released in October 2014.
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Bob Shayne (SW ’07) is putting together a production of a feature film from his script Saving Christmas, about saving the life of a dog whose late owner committed him to death in her will. A portion of the profits will go to animal charities. All Spalding grads are invited to check out the film’s website, watch the video explaining the story, and vote for your favorite animal charity at http://www.savingchristmasthemovie.com. Bob hopes you’ll like the film on Facebook and follow it on Twitter and Instagram, and help spread the word among your friends and fans on and off Facebook. Bob says, “If we can go viral, it will greatly influence potential investors and actors. Under Comments you can also tell us whom you’d like to see starring in the film.”
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Rosanna Staffa’s (F ’13) “The Call” will appear in the next issue of Spry Literary Journal.
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Cristina Trapani-Scott (F & P ’09) profiled Tecumseh (Michigan) High School graduates for the fall issue of Homefront Tecumseh magazine for a “Where are they now?” piece. Included in the piece were a graduate who is now working in Casablanca for the U.S. Consulate as well as a Chicago-based filmmaker. In a previous issue of Homefront, she wrote a piece about her experience appearing on the Katie Couric Show with her daughter, Kiki, and how through that appearance she has connected with another mother whose daughter was born with Kniest syndrome. Cristina appeared on the show in January because her family was profiled in Andrew Solomon’s National Book Critics Circle Award-winning book Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity. Finally, Cristina’s poem “Photo on a Cellar Wall” was excerpted by Delia De Santis and Venera Fazio, editors of Sweet Lemons 2: International Writings with a Sicilian Accent, for an essay they co-wrote. The essay was included in the book Writing Our Way Home, part of the Guernica Editions Essential Anthologies Series.
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Julia Watt’s (F ’05) new novel, Secret City, was just published by Bella Books.
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Personals

Our heartfelt sympathy to Cynthia Allar (P ’04) on the death of her father, Edward Rausch, on September 11.

Our heartfelt sympathy to Debra Kang Dean on the death of her sister, Allyson Kang, on October 6.

Our heartfelt sympathy to George Getschow (CNF ’05) on the death of his mother, Jean Getschow, on October 3.
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Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) for Spring 2013

FAC members are announced by the MFA Office at the beginning of each semester. The Program Directors consult with the FAC about recommendations for admissions and about programmatic and administrative development and changes. Both faculty and students are invited to make suggestions to the FAC for exploration by the Program Director and larger faculty. However, students and faculty should directly and immediately consult the Associate Program Director about any issues concerning specific individuals' performance in the program.

• Rachel Harper, fiction
• Jeanie Thompson, poetry
• Nancy McCabe, creative nonfiction
• Edie Hemingway, writing for children and young adults:
• Gabriel Dean, playwriting/screenwriting

Reminders and Notes

Financial Aid: The MFA Program offers scholarships to students entering their first semester in the program. Returning students who desire financial assistance other than student loans should apply for graduate assistantships. Applications for scholarships and assistantships should be directed to the MFA Office (mfa@spalding.edu). Information for assistantships is on the MFA portal page.

Federal student loans are available to all eligible graduate students and are available for the fall, spring, or summer semesters. For help with financial aid questions, call Gina Kuzuoka at 800-896-8941, ext. 4330 or 502-873-4330 or email gkuzuoka@spalding.edu. Students may enter or update their FAFSA information online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

For Fall 2013 semester: Fill out the FAFSA for the 2013-14 school year, using 2012 tax information. Refer to MFA Financial Aid FAQs on the MFA portal page..
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Classifieds in the newsletter: Submissions of writing-related advertisements, such as calls for submission, services for writers, etc., may be made to mfanewsletter@spalding.edu.

Like our Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/SpaldingMFA

Find MFA gear and wear
http://www.cafepress.com/SpaldingMFA

Online information: Newsletters are archived online at www2.spalding.edu/newsletter/menu.htm.
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Life of a Writer: Please remember to email Life of a Writer news to the program because this is a vital part of our community—sharing writing successes. The program wants to share good news with everyone and compiles records of publications, presentations, readings, employment, and other related information on faculty, students, and alums.

Life of a Writer pieces should be written as a paragraph in third person. Include area of concentration in parenthesis after name. For example, (F) for fiction, (P) for poetry, (CNF) for creative nonfiction; (W4C) for writing for children and young adults, (SW) for screenwriting, and (PW) for playwriting. For alumni, please include the year of graduation, such as Jake Doe (SW ’08). Spell out month and state names. Include title(s) of the work, publishers, date of publication, and complete web site addresses when appropriate. Send to mfanewsletter@spalding.edu.

Examples of kinds of activities that might be included in the Life of a Writer column are publishing in journals or magazines or in book form, winning awards or other prizes, giving a public reading, visiting a classroom to talk about writing, judging a writing competition, attending a writers conference, serving on a panel about writing, or volunteering in a project about writing or literacy.
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About The Masthead: The image in our masthead is the emblem of a photograph of a Louisville fountain, "River Horse," by Louisville sculptor Barney Bright. The sculpture references both the location of Louisville as a river city on the banks of the Ohio and as the host, for more than 125 years, of the Kentucky Derby. The winged horse Pegasus, of Greek mythology, has long been associated with the literary arts and the wings of poesy.
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Sena Jeter Naslund, Program Director
Karen J. Mann, Administrative Director
Kathleen Driskell, Associate Program Director
Katy Yocom, Associate Administrative Director
Ellyn Lichvar, Administrative Assistant
Taj Whitesell, Newsletter Editor
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Direct No.	Person	Toll Free Ext. 800-896-8941
502-873-4400	Katy Yocom	4400
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502-873-4330	Vickie Montgomery	4330

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