The Creative Writing Department won the Outstanding Collaboration Award for The Indigenous People’s Day Event, where we worked with ACC’s Student Life to host a reading by Stephen Graham Jones. (see image below)
We co-hosted six Literary Coffeehouses over the last few months, pivoting like so many others to the online format. These events are in partnership with Malvern Books and feature a local writer; afterwards, we host an open-mic where attendees can read for four minutes. Our featured readers include: Jedah Mayberry, W. Joe Hoppe, Nicky Drayden, Richard Santos, ire’ne lara silva, and Jacob Grovey. (see image below)
As one student writes of the events, “ACC Literary Coffeehouse hosted at Malvern Books has been the single most influential event in my writing and creative life. It was there that I first found myself taking a leap into vulnerability. Knowing that I was safe and surrounded by a group of welcoming peers encouraged me to take the leap into a larger world. It was there that I began to believe in my writing.”
Other events this year include the ACC to Author Event, where four writers discussed their writing life and the role the Creative Writing Department played in their journey. (see image below)
One attendee had this response, “The ACC Author Event you hosted was wonderful and very inspirational. I am so glad I was able to attend, hear the great panel that spoke, and love that so much success is coming from the ACC Creative Writing Department. Just wanted to say, thank you.”
The Creative Writing Department hosts the national poetry and fiction Balcones Prizes, and in March we hosted the two winners, Max Porter (for his novel, Lanny) and Maya Phillips (for her collection, Radiopidemic, an audio series written by Creative Writing students writers and produced by Drama has been a successful collaboration. Season 1 (Fall 2020) / Season 2 (Spring 2021) (see image below)
For more information, watch ACC Drama’s Makers and Methods conversation with two Creative Writing student writers as well as faculty member, Laura Neill and Drama Department Chair, Dr. Marcus McQuirter and the sound designer for the fall series.
