NKU writers to present free public reading of published works Feb. 20 at Steely Library
News from NKU...
For immediate release...
Wednesday - Feb. 16, 2011
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Graduates and students from the Northern Kentucky University Master of Arts in English program have seen a recent flurry of publication activity as their creative work are appearing in books and journals across the country. Many of these students will participate in a public reading in the Eva G. Farris Reading Room of NKU's Steely Library on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 2-4 p.m. All are welcome and some authors will be signing books.
Ryan Clark, a 2010 graduate from the program, will have a non-fiction book titled Wrestling Reality: Inside the life and mind of the world's first gay wrestling superstar published by ECW Press (Toronto) in the fall of 2011.
The book details the life, career and suicide of wrestling star Chris Klucsaritis ("Kanyon"). In 2004, Kanyon revealed that he was gay, which posed serious challenges to his wrestling career. Clark met Kanyon at a speaking event at NKU on National Coming Out Day in 2006. Kanyon's speech then inspired Clark to tell Kanyon's story.
"To just get a publisher interested in your work makes you feel sky-high," Clark said. "I really feel lucky to be able to say that my work here at NKU is going to be published and a lot of people will get the opportunity to see it. And I feel like I'll be doing justice to the subject of the book as well. His story needed to be published and needed to be told."
Another 2010 graduate of the program, Lorraine Zago Rosenthal, had her debut novel Other Words for Love published by Random House/Delacorte Press.
"It was a dream come true when my debut novel was sold to Random House/Delacorte Press," she said. "The road to publication is long, and it requires hard work and perseverance. But all of that effort felt worthwhile when my novel hit bookstore shelves. The positive feedback I've received from those who have read the novel has been overwhelming, and I'm very fortunate to be able to share this story and its characters with readers."
NKU's Master of Arts in English program began in the fall of 2008 and there are 75 students currently enrolled. The program offers disciplinary areas in composition and rhetoric, creative writing, literary studies, professional writing and digital humanities. Most students who enroll in the program are or plan to be P-12 teachers, professional writers, future college teachers and creative writers.
"The publishing record of NKU's English graduate students is amazing, especially for a program just completing its third year," said Dr. Roxanne Kent-Drury, the program's director. "Their success is a testament to the high standards of our program, the dedication of our faculty and the emphasis our writing workshops place not only on nurturing ability, but also on developing publishing savvy."
Additional program details are available at http://english.nku.edu/gradprogram. For more information, call (859) 572-6636 or email englishgrad@nku.edu.
The following students and graduates of NKU's MAE program had or will have work published in the 2010-2011 academic year:
- Ryan Clark (MA in English, Fall 2010): Wrestling Reality: Inside the life and mind of the world's first gay wrestling superstar will be published by ECW Press (Toronto) this fall; profile of legendary NKU sportscaster Mike Tussey in the winter issue of Northern magazine
- CB Droege (MA in English, Spring 2010): "Phoenix Brothers (Violence Incarnate)", "End of the World (Apocalypse Limericks)," Abandoned Towers magazine; "Baked NASA (Cook to the Stars)" amphibi.us magazine; "Last Girl" 2013: The Aftermath (anthology)
- Nicci Mechler (current MAE graduate student): "Cinderella's Niece" in Rapunzel's Daughters from Pink Narcissus Press; "Good Bad Habits" in Like A Cunning Plan! from Circlet Press
- Stephanie Knipper (MA in English candidate, Spring 2011): "Being Enough", New Plains Journal; "Modeling Life", Echo Ink Review -- Spring 2010 (Story won Echo Ink's Writing and Editing award and has been nominated for a Pushcart); "Nothing", Melusine; "Lost", Tipton Poetry Journal -- Spring 2010; "To Mary Oliver”, Tipton Poetry Journal -- Summer 2010
- Mary Anne Reese (current MAE graduate student): "Archbishop Romero's Alb Speaks", Sojourners Magazine --March 2010; "Red All Over", Licking River Review--Fall 2010; "Human Sacrifice", Motif 2: Come What May (an anthology published by Motes Books, ed. Marianne Worthington); "Touching the Wound", "Inauguration" and "The Vatican Emissary Meets Archbishop Romero" in S.O.S. For A Better World 2010 (anthology, ed. Saad Ghosn); "Elegy for a Bonfire" and "Strangers in the Night," Ohio Poetry Day Best of 2010 anthology; Chapbook "Raised by Water" was accepted by Finishing Line Press to be released in March 2011
- Lorraine Rosenthal (MA in English, Spring 2010): Debut novel Other Words for Love (Random House/Delacorte Press. Jan. 2011)
- Amber Whitley (MA in English, Spring 2010): "Blackout" May December Publications e-book January 2011; "One More Toast" Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer. November 2010; "Alphabet Cereal" appears through CellStories July 2010; "Stuck" Peace Corps at 50: The Heart of Eurasia anthology -- May 2011; "Waiting for Spring," Licking River Review -- Fall 2010
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