ANNOUNCEMENTS

STONECOAST SUMMER 2025 RESIDENCY

As we prepare for Stonecoast’s Summer 2025 residency (June 12–21, 2025), we’re excited to share a few highlights we think will make our time on USM’s Portland Campus especially memorable. We’re delighted to welcome our newest faculty member, candice iloh, along with distinguished guests Debra Spark, Lewis Robinson, Julia Bouwsma, and Matthew J.C. Clark, each bringing a great deal of experience and fresh insight to our Stonecoast community. If you can only make it to one event this June, we’d direct you to the residency’s cornerstone event, The Task Before Us: Standing Up for Freedom. Stonecoast faculty members John Florio and Alex Jennings, and guests, will explore how literature, comedy, and law serve as bulwarks to our liberties. Every freedom we enjoy is the product of acts of disobedience and disruption, in the streets and on the page. And when new forces attempt to undermine what people can do, say, or write, literature, comedy, and law will rise together in opposition. After the talk, Rick Bass, Debra Marquart, and Mihku Paul (Fiction, S’10) will lead a community writing salon. Robin, Justin, and Nikki would like to extend their gratitude for your ongoing support and are looking forward to welcoming all who can join us during the residency. As always, alumni and friends are welcome to attend our evening events. We hope to see you in Portland!

Stonecoast Summer 2025 Residency Schedule

ALUMS 

Jillian Abbott’s (Popular Fiction, S’04) short film, Urban Gardener, edited by Emmy Award winner Delores Edwards, was selected for the Triborough Film Festival.

Sarah Baldwin (Creative Nonfiction, S’15) recently had two pieces published: a flash essay in Cleaver Magazine and an essay in Pangyrus. She can trace both pieces back to her time at Stonecoast and the wonderful mentors, faculty, and students she was so lucky to work with.

Since writing a novel can take some people years and more years, and in need of some small gratifications, Kathy Briccetti (Creative Nonfiction, W’07) has returned to the shorter forms. She’s pleased to have recently placed essays in Passager (Winter 2025); Five Minutes; Third Act (forthcoming); and a photo in Mother Egg Review (vol 23). And, to her surprise, two of her poems won first place in the 104th Annual Ina Coolbrith Circle Poetry Contest over here in California. Write on! 

Linda Buckmaster (Creative Nonfiction, S’11) recently gave a talk and on-line gallery showing of her traveling literary banners exhibit, “Of Cod and Communities,” at Obras Foundation in Estremoz, Portugal, where she is part of a three-week artists and writers residency. The exhibit is an adaptation of her hybrid book, Elemental: A Miscellany of Salt Cod and Islands.

Amy Burroughs (Creative Nonfiction, W’16) was awarded a two-week residency at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences in Georgia, which she attended in April.

Jen Dupree (Fiction, W’15) had an essay featured in Necessary Fiction’s “Research Notes.”  The essay chronicles the (not very linear) journey of her second novel, What Do You Want from Me?, which came out in April.

Terri Glass’s (Poetry/Creative Nonfiction, S’13) poem “Blue” appears in the anthology, Blue: A Hue Are You. This anthology has quotes, artwork, excerpts of writing and poetry that focuses the way poets, writers, and visual artists perceive and use this color such as Cezanne, Chagall, Rilke, WS Merwin, Li Po, to contemporary poets such as Victoria Chang, Alberto Rios, and Terri. You can order the book through Jambu Press.

Jessica de Koninck (Poetry, W’11) will be reading from the 2025 anthology What the House Knows (Terrapin Books) on May 8, 7:00-8:30 p.m.  To register for the Zoom, click here. On May 18, also from 7:00-8:30 p.m., she will be reading with the poets published in the October, 2024 Jewish Experience section of the Midwest Review; to register, click here. Jessica has poems forthcoming in Image, Lips, Epiphany, Tofu Ink Arts Press, and The Journal of New Jersey Poets.

Nina B. Lichtenstein (Creative Nonfiction, S’20) is happy to share that registration opens on May 20th for Maine Writers Studio’s second “Embodied Stories” Fall Retreat (October 17-19) for Women on Bailey Island, Maine. Find out more here. Also, MWS’s next Lit Salon & Open Mic is May 14th, as usual at OneSixtyFive: the Inn on Park Row in Brunswick, ME. Welcome! Finally, Nina’s memoir, Body: My Life in Parts, which had its origin story during her Stonecoast years, is finally coming out from Vine Leaves Press on May 27th. If any Stonecoasters and friends are interested and/or willing to read an eARC and share a review on Goodreads & beyond (we know about those pesky algorithms), give her a holler at nblichtenstein@gmail.com.

Nylah Lyman (Poetry, S’10) has three poems included in Pearl Street Press’s forthcoming debut anthology, Rising from the Ashes: Musings on Menopause. Co-edited by Lisa Siedlarz and Vivian Shipley, the anthology is scheduled for release on April 30.

Acree Graham Macam (Fiction, W ’25) helped edit, under the guidance of Stonecoast grad and prose reviews editor J Brooke (Poetry, S’19), a review of Denne Michele Norris’s When The Harvest Comes by Kelsey L. Smoot for The Rumpus. Acree’s own work also appeared in The Rumpus this month: “We Must All Transition: Paul B. Preciado’s Dysphoria Mundi.”

Nadja Maril (Fiction, W’20) is pleased to share that her three poems “Overkill” “At the Doctor’s Office” and “City Living” are in the current issue of Samjuko magazine, and you can read them here. Blink-Ink has included Nadja’s micro fiction “Pilgrims” in their Seed-themed issue and their 2025 Spring Party online readings event. And later this month her flash CNF essay “Against the Current” will be published in the Spring/Summer issue of Instant Noodles Literary Magazine.

Catharine H. Murray (Creative Nonfiction, S’17) will be teaching Memoir 101: A Women’s Writing Weekend in the Hamptons May 16-18. In a quiet neighborhood of Sag Harbor, only three blocks from a private beach, Catharine will guide a small group of writers, exploring both the craft of writing and the potential for healing through excavation of story. Sumptuous home-cooked meals, fine wines, and a sunset visit to a local vineyard will nourish body and soul as we celebrate deeper connection with self and one another.  Click here for more information. 

Suri Parmar (Popular Fiction, W’17) is happy to announce that Killing Off Connor, a feature-length thriller film she co-wrote, will have its official world premiere at LA Film Fest’s Independent Filmmakers Showcase on May 14, 2025. While Suri has previously done production work for television movies, Killing Off Connor marks her first feature film credit as an above-the-line creative. More distribution news will be announced shortly.

Marisca Pichette (Popular Fiction, S’21)is delighted to celebrate Every Dark Cloud’s one-month book birthday with a group reading at Salem Horror Fest on May 3rd!

Shannon Ratliff (Creative Nonfiction, S’16) has launched Analog Lava Lamps, a newsletter about memory, media, and the things that last beyond the scroll. Blending cultural commentary with tactile reflection, a new issue comes out every Wednesday.  

Jess Reilly-Moman’s (Creative Nonfiction, W’25) essay “The Horse and the Sea” was published in Panorama’s Survival issue as “new nature writing.”

J. Stephen (Steve) Rhodes’s (Poetry, W’11) newest poetry collection, Earthen Vessels: A Family Memoir in Poetry, has been accepted for publication by Pine Row Press and will be coming out late summer or fall of 2025: “In rich narrative woven with effective punches of lyric poetry, Earthen Vessels grapples with and celebrates the author’s rich yet troubled first two decades of a life rooted in a family that encouraged and nurtured wisdom, engagement, spirituality and the arts yet complicated its children’s path to maturity with issues of alcoholism, anger and rigor. A prose introduction provides key family history and socio-cultural context that allow the reader to journey seamlessly into the following poems, which are offered in a variety of forms, with more than a few odes and elegies doing justice to an experience that keenly is at once the author’s and the reader’s own.”

Tamie Parker Song (Creative Nonfiction, S’12) wrote a poem about her husband, who is from Gaza, titled “Up Until They Started Killing,” and it can be found at Killing the Buddha, here. 

Lisa C. Taylor‘s (Poetry, S’04) debut novel, The Shape of What Remains, continues to sell well. She embarked on national book tour in mid-April and has read in Kansas, Missouri, Connecticut, and will head to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in May with a brief interlude in Ireland where she’ll reunite with treasured friends including Ted and Annie Deppe. She spent a day at Eastern Connecticut State University where she once taught visiting classes and reading in the evening. For information on her reading schedule, visit her website under events. She will return to Colorado on June 1 just in time to get ready for the Mesa Verde Writers Conference (July 9-11) and the first ever Mesa Verde Literary Festival where 48 writers will converge on tiny Mancos, Colorado, including Stonecoaster Eugenio Volpe (Fiction, W’05)! There are just two openings for the Mesa Verde Writers Conference as of this date. The literary festival is completely free and open to all on July 12 in Mancos (the gateway to Mesa Verde National Park). There will be readings, panels, and teen workshops plus two bestselling featured authors. Lisa hopes to see some of you there!

Cindy Williams Gutiérrez’s (Poetry, W’08) third poetry collection, This Tender Geography, has been recently released by FlowerSong Press. The collection explores the tender terrains of family, mortality and forgiveness. About the author, National Book Award Winner Craig Santos Perez writes, “Cindy Williams Gutiérrez is one of my favorite contemporary poets. Throughout [this book], she maps the thresholds of loss and love through carefully crafted narratives and haunting images. Every page feels like an ocean of emotions breaking open.” Washington State Poet Laureate Emerita Claudia Castro Luna says, “This wonderful book, full of inventive forms and gratitude, is a sort of remedy itself for days when we might need a dose of beauty.” This Tender Geography is available from FlowerSong Press here or from independent bookseller Powell’s Books here.

FACULTY  

Lots of news from Faith Adiele (Creative Nonfiction) this month!

• African Book Club 10th Anniversary Relaunch. In 2025, the Faith-hosted African Book Club celebrates 10 years with a new chapter. Now partnering with Oakland’s Sistah SciFi, the club moves beyond the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) and relaunches on Sunday, May 18, with an in-person discussion of My Parents’ Marriage featuring author Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond.
• Writing About Others. Faith Adiele returns as a guest speaker in Paulette Perhach’s popular online essay-writing workshop, Posing Naked on the Page. She’ll discuss her own work and the art of Writing About Others. The three-month class begins April 24, featuring an intimate group setting, a stellar speaker lineup, and $50 off with code PosingNakedWithFaith.
• Essay as Form. As part of the 11th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, writer and professor Faith Adiele moderates a conversation on the essay’s power to capture complexity and innovation. Panelists Steve Wasserman, José Vadi, Keenan Norris, and Steinbeck Fellow Chino Lee Chung will explore how memoir, criticism, and cultural reflection converge in their work.
• Embrace Furiously This Burning World: Writers Reckon with Now. CCA faculty members Faith Adiele, Zeina Hashem Beck, Jasmin Darznik, Yalitza Ferreras, and Aimee Phan will read new work exploring crises like climate change, political instability, and social justice. Their writing bears witness, interrogates systems, and imagines new futures, reflecting the Bay Area’s legacy of radical art and activism.
• “The Eye Exam” featured in The Offing’s 10th Anniversary Anthology. Faith’s essay “The Eye Exam,” nominated for a Pushcart Prize, is featured in The Offing’s 10th Anniversary Anthology. The celebration, held in March at the ICA in Los Angeles during the AWP Conference, marked a decade of innovative, inclusive literary work. It was a joyful occasion to reflect on bold publishing that amplifies underrepresented voices.
• Santa Clara Review. Faith is featured in Santa Clara Review, Volume 112, Issue 1, with both an insightful essay and a thought-provoking interview. Her essay, 24 (8×3) Sentences on Walking and Writing, and the interview, Reimagining and Re-encountering Through Memoir, provide a deep dive into her creative journey, exploring the transformative power of memoir.

Debra Marquart was commissioned by ISU University Museums to write five ekphrastic poems in response to works of public art installed on the Iowa State University Campus. The works the poems addressed were from five noted visual artists/sculptors including Manuel Neri and Albert Paley, among others. Click for links to poems and photos of sculptures.

Elizabeth Searle (Fiction, Popular Fiction, Scriptwriting) appeared ‘In Conversation’ with 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner Jayne Anne Phillips at the Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain, MA, on April 8th as part of the Jamaica Plain Literary Series. An excerpt from Elizabeth’s feminist thriller novel Lock Her Up appears in the new Spring 2025 Solstice magazine.