All the Places We Love Have Been Left in Ruins – Ariel Francisco It’s been a good week for alums–yesterday we announced that MFA alum Liv Mammone’s first poetry collection will come out next year with Game Over Books next August, today we can tell you that Ariel Francisco’s fourth collection, All the Places We Love Have Been Left in Ruins, is being released by Burrow Press this month! In this collection, Ariel mourns his native Miami in this elegiac elegistic meditation on how home can be shaped by climate change and gentrification. Even more special, is that this is a bilingual edition–Spanish translations by Ariel himself appear beside the original English text. Ariel is no stranger to the QC MFA blog–you may remember his poem in  The New Yorker–but you may want to check out our virtual alumni bookshelf to se […] ” All the Places We Love Have Been Left in Ruins – Ariel Francisco”

Liv Mammone – Fire in the Waiting Room It’s official: MFA alum Liv Mammone’s first book of poetry, Fire in the Waiting Room, is coming out with Game Over Books next August! Although this is her first collection, Liv is no stranger to publication, having been included in five different anthologies since her MFA, as well as being selected as Poem-a-Day on both the Academy of American Poets website and The Poetry Foundation. After her MFA, Liv competed team for Union Square Slam as the first disabled woman to be on a New York national poetry slam team and appeared in the play The Fall of All Atomic Angels as part of a festival that was named Best of Off Off Broadway by Time Out Magazine. We were already super proud of her, and we continue to be overjoyed by her success! Liv is just one of our many success stories here at the Queens College MFA Program. If you’d like to learn more about our alumni, please head to […] “Liv Mammone – Fire in the Waiting Room”

A Day with Cartoonist and Artist Ivan Velez – October 23 Queens College is committed to bringing writers and artists whose work speaks to the diverse community of our campus and our borough, which is why we are so proud to welcome cartoonist, writer, educator, and teaching artist Ivan Velez Jr. to campus on October 23rd. Velez will be with us all day, visiting Professor Orchard’s contemporary Latinx Literature class and giving, not one, but two comics workshops for the QC community. This event is co-sponsored by Writers at Queens, The English Department, The MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Translation, The MFA in Social Practice, and The Program in Latino Studies, and in celebration of Queens College Hispanic Heritage Month. Bio: Ivan Velez Jr. is a Latino American cartoonist, writer, educator, and teaching artist known for the creation of the groundbreaking comic book series Tales of the Closet, and for his pioneering work with Milestone Media, Marvel, and DC Comics. He’s currently an independent cartoonist, and a teaching artist in New York and forever toils on his Creative Capital Award-winning comics project The Ballad of Wham Kabam. Schedule: 12:15-1:30pm “Monster of the Bronx: A Comics Workshop” (aimed at undergraduates), Klapper 672 (art classroom). Light refreshments served and books for sale. 1:30-2:30 Lunch 2:30-3:30 Break 3-4:30pm Visit Professor Bill Orchard’s class, English 360: A Queer Decade, Latinx Literature and Art Since 2015. King Hall 105. 4:30-5:00 Break 6:30-8pm “Drawing in Color: A Comics Workshop” (aimed at grad students in the MFA in writing, art, and MA program/several classes attending). […] “A Day with Cartoonist and Artist Ivan Velez – October 23”

2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction – Alaya Dawn Johnson Visiting Professor Alaya Dawn Johnson has been chosen for the shortlist for the 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction! The prestigious Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction is an annual $25,000 cash prize given to a writer for a single work of imaginative fiction. Just ten books were chosen by the Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation, with the final winner to be chosen by a selection panel of authors: Margaret Atwood, Omar El Akkad, Megan Giddings, Ken Liu, and Carmen Maria Machado. Each year, we invite a new writer to teach with us every year so that students can dive further into different aspects and genres of writing and get a fresh perspective on their work. Alaya Dawn Johnson has definitely continued in our tradition of great Visiting Professors! Her nomination for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, as well as her recent win of the Best Fiction for Younger Readers Award by the British Science Fiction Association, shows the kind of expertise you can expect from our faculty! Congratulations to Alaya for this incredible nomination! We’re hoping for more good news when the f […] “2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction – Alaya Dawn Johnson”

Sep 30: A Reading by Alaya Dawn Johnson Writers at Queens is proud to present a reading by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Johnson is this year’s visiting faculty at the Queens College MFA […]

Jason Tougaw makes the homepage of Salon That’s right, our very own Director, Jason Tougaw made the homepage of Salon this week with his article “Dems, listen to Eminem’s one-man culture war.” Salon has been a trusted destination for progressive journalism since 1995, so Jason’s exploration of Eminem’s evolving political consciousness is the perfect piece to be number one this week in this essential publication! You should go check it […] “Jason Tougaw makes the homepage of Salon”

A Reading by Alaya Dawn Johnson Writers at Queens is proud to present a reading by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Johnson is this year’s visiting faculty at the Queens College MFA Program and, fresh off her win of Ursula K. Le Guin Award, will be reading from her impressive body of work. After the reading, Johnson will join in a conversation with the QC community led by MFA alum Megan Pindling, which will be followed by a reception with refreshments and books for sale. We hope you take the chance to meet and greet this award-winning author! Admission is free to all, and will also be streamed over Zoom, via the URL below. We hope to see you there! September 30th at 7PMQueens CollegeChoral Room 264, Aaron Copland School of Musichttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/81060471449?pwd=nkqiiFe3dlrDeuU4KBYz1ERqo53aBR.1 BIO: Alaya Dawn Johnson is an award-winning author of speculative fiction for adults and young adults. Her most recent adult novel, Trouble the Saints, was the recipient of the World Fantasy Award for best novel. Her short story collection, Reconstruction, was published by Small Beer Press in January 2021. Her latest YA novel, The Library of Broken Worlds, is a finalist for the Ursula K. Le Guin award. She is current a Visiting Professor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Literary Translation at CUNY Queens […] “A Reading by Alaya Dawn Johnson”

Alaya Dawn Johnson

Chandanie Somwaru Wins Ruth Lilly Fellowship MFA alum Chandanie Somwaru has just been named a recipient of the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship. The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the $27,000 prize is intended to support exceptional US poets between 21 and 31 years of age. The fellowships were established in 1989 by the Indianapolis philanthropist Ruth Lilly and expanded in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund. Chandanie won the Birdhouse Chapbook Prize from Ghostbird Press for Urgent Where the Mind Goes Scattered (2021) when she graduated, so we knew she was destined for great things. Her writing has been published in Poem-A-Day, Honey Literary, Solstice, SWWIM, The Margins, and other outle […] “Chandanie Somwaru Wins Ruth Lilly Fellowship”

Jason Tougaw: Psychology Today Our own Jason Tougaw has an interview in Psychology Today with Iraq War veteran Michael Ramos about Ramos’ memoir The After: A Veteran’s Notes on Coming Home. In the interview, Tougaw and Ramos explore writing for multiple audiences and other craft issues arising from depicting his experience as a soldier. There’s a reason why Psychology Today listed this under their Emotional Essential reads! Go find out for yourself while you read the interview for […] “Jason Tougaw: Psychology Today”

Small Press Flea 2024 Whe […] “Small Press Flea 2024”

Jonathan Alexandratos: Sewing Bears MFA alum Jonathan Alexandratos has created a play from idea to finish using what they are calling “The Colbert Method,” based on an anecdote seen on the Late Show tiktok account (@colbertlateshow) Stephen Colbert where he mentioned he and his friends used to take plays from concept to stage in nine days. The final product, called Sewing Bears, is based on the 1907 “Teddy Bear Scare” and is set to open on July 17th, running for only two nights: July 17th and 18th at 7:30pm in Chelsea Market’s Maker’s Studio (448 West 16th Street, New York, NY). Tickets are at $10 and $20 levels and can be purchased here. All profits benefit Girls Who Code, an organization dedicated to tearing down gender barriers in tech.  You can read more about Jonathan’s process in bringing this play to life, alongside their collaborators, in Broadway World, or buy your tickets direc […] “Jonathan Alexandratos: Sewing Bears”

Nicole Cooley Should Be On Your Summer Reading List Our own Nicole Cooley is featured in LitHub’s “Six Poetry Collections to Read in July.” This list, curated by Rebecca Morgan Frank, has been crafted not just to bring you the best of the best of just-published poetry books but also to bring you places during these summer months, as Morgan Frank puts it “New Orleans and small towns in Virginia and Michigan; the varied landscapes of California; Jeju City in Korea; and where we all meet up far too often: cyberspace.” Who doesn’t want to travel on the cheap? Head over to LitHub to hear about Nicole’s latest book of poetry, Mother Water Ash, and all the places you might go this summer, thanks […] “Nicole Cooley Should Be On Your Summer Reading List”

Liv Mammone – Poem of the Day A big congratulations to MFA alum Liv Mammone, who is the Poem-a-Day on the Academy of American Poets website! Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series of the Academy of American Poets featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. torrin a. greathouse is the guest editor of July. This is fresh off the heels of Liv being selected as the Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day back at the end of June, so you know that Liv’s upcoming book, Fire in the Waiting Room (Game Over Books, 2025) is going to be much acclaimed. Go read (or listen) to Li […] “Liv Mammone – Poem of the Day”

Book Launch for Jonathan Kravetz – 6.25.24 MFA alum Jonathan Kravetz is having his book launch for his debut novel, How We Were Before, tomorrow night as part of the Half King Reading Series at Revision Lounge and Gallery tomorrow night! If you’re free, head down to […] “Book Launch for Jonathan Kravetz – 6.25.24”

Powerhouse Arts Community Day The first Powerhouse Arts Community Day will feature hands-on workshops, demonstrations, screenings, and conversations with PHA Print, Ceramics, and Public Art shops, as well as partner organizations, artists, and educators. Textile Arts Center, Reel Works, Beam Center, Center For Urban Pedagogy, Makeville Studio, UrbanGlass, ESPO’s Art World, The Alpha Workshops, NYC Resistor, Craftspring, Street Lab, MGC Community Print Studio, and The People’s Creative Institute will all be on site. Powerhouse Arts (PHA) is a not-for-profit organization committed to creative expression. Our purpose-built facility hosts an extended network of art and fabrication professionals and educators who work together to co-create and share artistic practices vital to the wellbeing of artists and the communities to which they belong.  This family friendly, all-ages event, taking place across three floors in our purpose-built art-making facility, will also include performances in our beautiful, light-filled Loft and Brooklyn College’s M.F.A. Students Thesis Exhibition in our Lobby. The event runs 1–5pm (doors close at 4:30pm) and is free with RSVP: RSVP Walk away with a screenprint; bring your own shirt for an ESPO original; design a zine; make a button; paint with clay; learn soldering, glassblowing, marbling, community weaving, blockprinting; and much […] “Powerhouse Arts Community Day”

John Rice in McSweeney's MFA alum John Rice just had a piece published by McSweeney’s Internet Tendency this morning, a review of the 7-Eleven french toast breakfast sandwich, under their Reviews of New Foods section. McSweeney’s Publishing is a non-profit publishing house based in San Francisco, California, founded by author Dave Eggers in 1998. In addition to their daily humor website, McSweeney’s also publishes approximately ten titles a year, as well as the quarterly literary journal Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, The bimonthly magazine The Believer, Illustoria (an art and storytelling magazine for six to 11-year olds), and, formerly, the legendary food journal Lucky Peach. McSweeney’s Internet Tendency is considered one of the most preeminent publications for literary satire and humor, so a big congratulations to John is in order! Go check it out now, and think about it every time you are near a 7- […] “John Rice in McSweeney’s”

MFA X MFA: Artcake Gallery I’m seeing double–two […] “”

Richard Prins – Best American Essays 2024 We just got some excellent news today: MFA student Richard Prins has been selected for The Best American Essays 2024. Richard, fresh off the heels of winning an NEA Fellowship, had his essay “Because: An Etiology” selected by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and acclaimed New York Times critic Wesley Morris. The Best American series selects twenty essays out of thousands of nominations from literary journals which represent the best examples of the form published the previous year. Each year an established writer is brought in to act as judge for this prestigious anthology, but is presided over by series editor Kim Dana Kupperman at HarperCollins. The anthology officially publishes towards the end of October, so you can preorder your copy now. Or, you can read Richard’s inventive essay “Because: An Etiology” in the Potomac Review. […] “Richard Prins – Best American Essays 2024”

Louis Armstrong House Museum Fellowship Reading – 5/25 05/25/2024 – 1:00 pmThe Louis Armstrong House Museum34-56 107th StreetQueens, NY 11368 Each year, the Queens College MFA Program partners with the Louis Armstrong House Museum to create a residency for two of our students. During this time, each writer conducts research on any aspect of the materials in the archives that relate to or revolve around Louis Armstrong’s larger-than-life story and magnificent musical career, with the intention of developing their own creative work. This reading, in Louis’ own garden, is the culmination of their work. This year’s fellows Nina DalleyHood and Danielle Gutkovich will read from the creative works they developed in conjunction with their time in the archives. Afterward, a small reception will take place, featuring tours of Louis Armstrong’s actual house. The Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) sustains and promotes the cultural, historical, and humanitarian legacy of Louis Armstrong by preserving and interpreting Armstrong’s house and grounds, collecting and sharing archival materials that document Armstrong’s life and legacy, developing programs for the public that educate and inspire, and engaging with contemporary artis […] “Louis Armstrong House Museum Fellowship Reading – 5/25”