ANNOUNCEMENTS

BARON WORMSER, 1948-2025

Baron Wormser, former Poetry faculty member at Stonecoast, passed away on October 7th. He had an extraordinary impact on his students at Stonecoast (even those of us who weren’t his students!). Some of the online obituaries and remembrances can be found at Vox Populi, Seven Days, and the Poetry Society of Vermont. Lisa C. Taylor (Poetry, S’04) writes, “The sudden death of Baron Wormser, mentor to many at Stonecoast, is both a personal loss and a loss to readers and the greater writing community. Baron was my mentor for three semesters including my critical thesis. After I graduated in 2004, we kept in touch and I visited him in both Maine and Vermont and hosted him when I lived in Connecticut. He wrote a blurb for my first collection of poetry and I have acknowledged him in every book, including my recent novel, which I sent to him in April. His wife’s painting graces the back of one of my short story collections. There was no one quite like Baron. Not only did Baron write and publish poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, particularly essays, he kept a Substack called The Exciting Nightmare. Deepest condolences to his wife Janet, his children Owen and Maisie, and his many, many friends. He will be greatly missed.”

STONECOAST ALUMNI ENRICHMENT SERIES #4

On Submissions by Marisca Pichette, November 11th, 7:00 p.m., on Zoom (Sign up here)

Marisca (Popular Fiction, S’21) will tackle the question plaguing every author upon finishing a piece: what’s next? From revision to research and beyond, she will chart the road to publication, considering cover letters, pitches, pay rates, synopses, and the daunting task of finding the perfect home for a submission. Come prepared to venture into the weeds of short form publication! Whether fiction, poetry, essay, hybrid, or all of the above, this workshop aims to hone market literacy and put writers squarely on the path of selling their writing.

Marisca Pichette is a queer author based in Massachusetts. Since earning her MFA from Stonecoast in 2021, she has published more than three hundred pieces of short fiction and poetry, appearing in Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Vastarien, The Deadlands, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fantasy Magazine, Asimov’s, Nightmare Magazine, and many others. Her collection, RIVERS IN YOUR SKIN, SIRENS IN YOUR HAIR, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker and Elgin Awards. Her eco-horror novella, EVERY DARK CLOUD, is out now from Ghost Orchid Press. 

CURRENT STUDENTS

Trans Poetics Archive, a project by current Stonecoast MFA student t love smith (Poetry), launches its Second Annual Poetry Contest as well as an all-new Second Rodeo Slam. See flyers and go to transpoeticsarchive.org for more information.

ALUMS 

Jillian Abbott’s (Popular Fiction, S’04) short film Urban Gardener will be screened at the Yonkers Internation Film Festival on November 9 at 2:00 p.m. This short was the basis of a grant she received from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs to make a longer short film. That (the new film, Urban Gardener) will be screened at Two Coves Community Garden in Astoria, NY, on November 29 (rain date December 6).

Sarah C. Baldwin (Creative Nonfiction, S’15) was delighted to profile Fred Schiffman, a paragon of humanism in medicine, for the fall 2025 issue of Medicine@Brown.

Lindsey Barlow‘s (Popular Fiction, W’19) article “Every Other Thing Is Me: Wordsworthian Romantic Transcendence in the Postmodern Possession,” concerning A.S. Byatt’s remarkable novel Possession,has been published by Popular Culture Review in the second issue of the journal’s 36th volume. Lindsey’s article was published on October 15th, 2025, and is accessible via Wiley. An early draft/version of this article was Barlow’s third semester research project, which was completed under the mentorship of Liz Hand in early 2018.

Elizabeth Beechwood (Popular Fiction, S’14) is excited to announce the release of her new book How to Write Animal Characters: The Secrets to Creating Nonhuman Characters that Capture a Reader’s Imagination. This writing reference book grew from her Stonecoast paper (mentored by Elizabeth Hand) and her popular workshop of the same name. How to Write Animal Characters outlines the four elements—POV/Perception, Behavior, Intelligence, and the Wilding—that writers can manipulate to create believable animal characters for their stories. Many thanks to Sarah Parke (Popular Fiction, W’15) for all her amazing editorial and graphic work. Learn more on Elizabeth’s website. 

“…these verses are mine,” wrote Greek noblewoman and influencer Julia Balbilla, who carved three epigrams on the foot of the Colossus of Memnon in AD130, these dusty crumbling acts of graffiti her only works to survive her. Now acclaimed poets Carina Bissett (USA; Popular Fiction, S’18) and Lee Murray (NZ) breathe new life into her writings, and others like her, parsing the pages of historical writings to uncover stories lost between the lines. From Sappho to Sinéad, from Tubman to Kahlo, Bissett and Murray lift women’s voices from the margins in a vibrant collection of sixty erasure biographical poems that resonate with universal truth.

it is true / it is true / it is true / everything —Carina Bissett

her words / the shadow of her / whisper —Lee Murray

The fully illustrated collection, which includes reflections and biographical vignettes, releases on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2026, and will be available in both paperback and ebook versions from editor Lisa Kastner, CEO of Running Wild / RIZE. Pre-order at Amazon. 

J Brooke’s (Poetry, S’19) poem “Finite Dignity” (spoiler alert: it’s about Pope Francis and Michelangelo and Trans rights) is out this month in the 2025 print edition of Slippery Elm. The poem is part of J’s debut collection, I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side, forthcoming from Driftwood Press in 2026. And in their continued role as Editor of Prose Reviews for The Rumpus, J would like to remind writers who have an interest in reviewing a book that they can contact them at J.Brooke@therumpus.net.

Linda Buckmaster (Creative Nonfiction, S’11) announces the publication of Journey Waters: Poems, Prose, Places, a retrospective of 25 years of writing. She is bringing it out through her Huntress Press,a Maine micro publisher of books celebrating the interweaving of place and story. If you are in the Belfast, Maine, environs, stop in for the Launch Party on Sunday, November 9, 2:00-4:00 p.m., at Local Color Gallery.

Anthony D’Aries (Creative Nonfiction, W’09) presented at the 50th Anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run Conference at Monmouth University. His paper examines the film and literary influences of Springsteen’s lyrics. NPR covered the event. Anthony also joined the board of the Arthur Miller Writing Studio Project. This nonprofit organization is raising funds to refurbish and relocate Arthur Miller’s hand-built writing studio to the grounds of the Roxbury, Connecticut, library. Once there, the studio will serve as an educational and creative space for the greater community. In August, Anthony interviewed Arthur’s daughter Rebecca for an article that appeared in the September/October issue of Litchfield Magazine.

Renée S. DeCamillis, (Popular Fiction, W’14) is excited to announce another book event for her latest release, Try Not to Die: By Your Own Hand, an interactive novel about suicide ideation and prevention. This is a charity novel, with all profits donated to Maine’s Mobile Crisis Hotline run by The Opportunity Alliance. On Wednesday, November 19th, at 6:00 p.m., Renée is hosting a Book Talk and Suicide Prevention Discussion at Baxter Memorial Library in Gorham, Maine, with special guest Carrie Swarthout, Director of Crisis Services at The Opportunity Alliance. This is a free event and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase, but a purchase is not required to attend the event. The library also carries the book for people to check out.

Jessica de Koninck’s (Poetry, S’11) poem “Carrying the Bones” appears in the most recent issue of Image. The late, extraordinary, Stonecoast instructor, poet and essayist, Baron Wormser, was kind enough to look at an early version of the poem for her and provide his ever-sage advice. He will be much missed. She dedicates the poem in his memory. Three of Jessica’s poems appear in the latest issue of the Journal of New Jersey Poets, and she has a poem forthcoming in Tofu Ink Arts Press. On November 9, she will be featured at an Ekphrastic Poetry Performance at the Heidi Gallery in Livingston, NJ, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. 

Terri Glass’s (Poetry/Creative Nonfiction, S’13) chapbook of haiku, A Bridge between Worlds, was a finalist for the Blue Light Poetry Prize and will be published by Kelsay Books in the summer of 2026.

Veda Boyd Jones (Fiction, S’17) had an excerpt of the novel she wrote for her Stonecoast thesis accepted as a short story, “The Interview,” in Proud to Be, volume 14, which will be released on November 11. This is the third excerpt from that novel to be published in different anthologies. 

Emily Levang (Creative Nonfiction, S’19) has an interview published in The Dark Mountain Project. “Burning in Relation” is a conversation with Indigenous artist Moira Villiard, centered on her illustrations for the new children’s book Ishkode: A Story of Fire, which explores Ojibwe fire practices.

Nina B. Lichtenstein (Creative Nonfiction, S’20) had an essay in HuffPost Personal about how, at her Oslo, Norway, book launch event, she discovered she has a half-sister she never knew about, and what this means for her writing and memoir. Nina’s “Your Body, Your Story” 3-week workshop is happening in-person at MWPA’s Mechanics Hall in Portland. Go HERE for more info & to register. Her Maine Writers Studio’s monthly Lit Salon & Open Mic will take place in Brunswick on November 12th. All are welcome! Bring a friend and something to share at open mic.    

On Friday, November 7th at 3:00 p.m. at the Crimebake Conference in Dedham, MA, Alison McMahan (Popular Fiction, W’10) will teach a Master Class on Cliffhangers in fiction. In this master class we will learn about the different types of cliffhangers: plot cliffhangers, character cliffhangers, thematic cliffhangers, structural cliffhangers. We will study the mystery novella Ice Blonde by Elaine Viets and analyze the cliffhangers. Attendees should plan to read the novella (available in print and on Kindle) before attending the workshop. Read about it here. 

Ellen Meeropol (Fiction, W’06) is pleased to announce the publication of her sixth novel, Sometimes an Island, on March 3, 2026. A mosaic novel told through a constellation of interwoven voices and timelines, Sometimes an Island spans generations and continents to explore belonging, displacement, and the human drive to endure after climate catastrophe. The book can be pre-ordered from Sea Crow Press.

Catharine H. Murray (Creative Nonfiction, S’17) will be at the South Portland Public Library on November 18th at 6:00 p.m. to give a reading from her memoir Now You See the Sky and lead a discussion on writing and grief. Also, Story Jam, school of writing in Chicago, has invited Catharine to teach an online workshop entitled Create A Collection. This zoom event will meet Sunday afternoon, November 9th, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. EST. With prompts, lessons and discussion on technique and theme, Catharine will help you find structure and vision for your collection. The workshop is open to new and veteran writers looking to move their work into the larger conversation while developing new skills. There will be an opportunity for workshopping your writing with feedback from Catharine and the group in an optional add-on extra hour. FMI and to register, click here. Finally, Catharine will be teaching two residential intensive writing retreats in November which are already full. For information about her 2026 retreats, email writingwithcatharine@gmail.com.

Nitasia Roland (Popular Fiction, W’19) has created and published with Urania Press Sublime Thresholds Tarot and has written the nonfiction companion book Unlocking Mythopoetic & Archetypal Codes of the Sublime. The book was based on her 2019 Stonecoast Master’s thesis, “The Endurance of the Sublime: Tracing the Significance and Effects of the Sublime from Eighteenth Century Romanticism to Contemporary Literary Horror and Ecogothic.” An abridged version of the thesis can be read here. With Weiser Books, Nitasia has also published Tarot Chimera ~ Arcana of Odilon Redon; pre-orders are available through Amazon, and you can also visit here. Also available for pre-order through www.uraniapress.com is Nitasia’s Oracle deck Sublime Thresholds ~ Gods & Magic.

On Saturday, November 29th, sid sibo (sidney woods; Fiction, W’19) will host an online workshop for northern Colorado’s Writing Heights Writers Association on Beyond-Human, including perspectives from our planetary cohabitants and sharing fabulous examples from modern literary stars like Talia Lakshmi Kolluri and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.

FACULTY  

Elizabeth Searle (Fiction, Scriptwriting) discussed her new book The Drama Room on A Mighty Blaze; a recording of the show is available for viewing on www.amightyblaze.com on YouTube or on Facebook. Elizabeth’s book is widely available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Bookshop, Booktopia, and more; see info here. Elizabeth’s upcoming events include a Duxbury Literary Circle luncheon reading/discussion in Duxbury MA, on November 18th. **Stonecoasters in or near NYC: Save the Date: December 21st, 6:00 pm.: a Stonecoast NYC reading at Throwback Bar on Amsterdam Ave will feature Elizabeth and SC alums Sandra Collier (Fiction, W’20), Steph Loleng (Fiction, W’20), and Leah Siviski (Fiction, W’20). All will be welcome!**