Recent Accomplishments and Awards
FALL 2011
NEW BOOKS
Gina Frangello (adjunct faculty), Men Undressed, Other Voices Books, October 2011
Megan Stielstra (MFA alum, adjunct faculty), Everybody Remain Calm, Joyland ECW Press, October 2011
Patty McNair (MFA alum, faculty), The Temple of Air, Elephant Rock Books/Productions, September 2011
Geoff Hyatt (MFA alum, adjunct faculty), Birch Hills at World's End, Vagabondage Press, September 7, 2011
Gabriel Levinson (alum), ed., A Brief History of Authoterrorism, Antibookclub, Chicago, September 2011
Patricia Pinianski writing as Patricia Rosemoor (adjunct faculty), Hot Trick, Carina Press (digital first), October 2011
Todd Dills, ed., (MFA alum), All Hands On: the 2ndHand After 10, 2001-2011, The 2ndHand, August 2011
Rea Frey (alum) with Stephany Alexander, The Cheat Sheet: A Clue by Clue Guide to Finding out if He's Unfaithful, Adams Media, June 2011
Marcus Sakey (MFA alum), The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes, June 9, 2011
David Anthony Witter (alum), Oldest Chicago, Lake Claremont Press, January 2011
J.A. Konrath (Alum), Shaken, AmazonEncore Feb 2011
Patricia Pinianski (Faculty) as Patricia Rosemoor, Brazen, Harlequin Intrigue, Feb 2011
J.A. Konrath (Alum), Draculas available on Amazon, Nov 2010
Raul Palma, Jr. (Alum), Lole, available on Amazon, Nov 2010
Mark Beyer (MFA Alum), The Village Wit available on Amazon Sep 2010
Robert C. Koehler (MFA Alum), Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, with a foreword by Marianne Williamson, Xenos Press, 2010
BOOKS FORTHCOMING
Kathie Bergquist (Faculty), editor of anthology Windy City Queer: LGBTQ Dispatches from the Third Coast, University of Wisconsin Press, November 2011
Christina Katz (MFA alum), The Writer's Workout: 366 Tasks & Techniques from Your Writing Career Coach, Writer's Digest Books, December 6, 2011
Augustus Rose (Faculty), Conman, Pugilist Press, Fall 2011
Sam Weller (Faculty) and Mort Castle (Faculty), Live Forever: An Anthology of All New Stories in Honor of Ray Bradbury, William Morrow, 2012
Mort Castle, New Moon on the Water, Dark Regions Press, 2012
David Peak (MFA alum), Glowing in the Dark, Aqueous Books, 2012
Laurie Lawlor (Faculty), Biography of Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, Holiday House, 2012
Nancy Grossman (MFA alum), Asst. Director, University Honors Program, De Paul University, Chicago, A World Away, Young Adult fiction, Disney-Hyperion, July 17, 2012
Geling Yan (MFA alum), Nanjing Heroes, Harvill Secker, pub., UK only, February 2012
Jesse Jordan (alum), Gospel Hollow, Casperian Books, spring 2012
Arnie Bernstein (MFA Alum), Swastika Nation: Führers, Politicians, Mobsters and the Rise and Fall of the German American Bund, St. Martin's Press. Fall 2013
Gina Frangello (adjunct faculty), A Life in Men, Algonquin Books, No date available
WORK IN ANTHOLOGIES
Tina Jens (adjunct faculty), Liz Baudler (student), Frank Migacz (student), in ½ Nelson Press, issue #2, Halfnelsonpress.wordpress.com, September 2011
Deb Lewis (Faculty), Jeff Oaks (MFA Alum), Sheree Greer (MFA Alum), April Newman (MFA Alum), Rose Tully (Fiction Writing Alum), Windy City Queer: LGBTQ Dispatches from the Third Coast, University of Wisconsin Press, Fall 2011
Stephanie Shaw (MFA Alumna, Theater faculty), novella "Mademoiselle Guignol" published in anthology Tattered Souls 2, Cutting Block Press, August 2011
NOVEL MADE INTO FILM
Geling Yan's (MFA alum) novel, The Thirteen Women of Nanjing, made into film, directed by Zhang Yimou, staring Christian Bale, July 2011
AGENTS AQUIRED
Ann Marie Ortega signed with a New York agent to sell her "cozy" series, summer 2011
EXHIBTS
Francesa Thompson (student), "All My Relations," photography and story exhibit, photography by Melinda Myers (Photography alum), at Maya Essence, 4357 N. Lincoln Avenue, October 8-15, 2011
AWARDS
Sam Weller (Faculty), Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, shortlisted for The Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction, 2011
FICTION PUBLISHED
Mort Castle, (Faculty) "The Doctor, The Kid, and The Ghosts in the Lake," F Magazine 9; "Dreaming Robot Monster," Mighty Unclean, Dark Arts Books; "The Old Man and the Dead," Best New Zombie Tales, Vol. 2, Aug 2010, and in Otto Penzler's Zombie Archives, Vintage Books 2012
Maggie Ritchie, "The Knowledge of Scars," story in Annalemma, July 2011
NONFICTION PUBLISHED
Greg Baldino (student), "Blumenkraft," illustrated by Noelle Barby, essay about anti-Nazi resistance movements in German, published in comic anthology War: The Human Cost, from Paper Tiger Press, September 2011
Bill Hillmann, The Chicago Reader, essay about his experiences in high school August 22, 2011; also July 4, 2011, oral telling of his experiences running with the bulls, NPR The Story
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Aaron Golding (Faculty), "A Sharp" (Audio Documentary) American Public Media: The Story
EDITING
Mort Castle (Faculty), All American Horror of the 21st Century: Best of the First Decade, Wicker Park Books, Apr 2012
REVIEWS AND MEDIA ATTENTION
Patricia Ann McNair (faculty), interviewed by Jonathan Messinger about her new book The Temple of Air, in TimeOut Chicago, September 8, 2011
Bill Hillmann, The Chicago Tribune Magazine, "remarkable person" interview, August 2011
Yan Geling (Alum) 13 Women of Nanjing, (Novel) adapted into film titled Nanjing Heroes featuring Christian Bale, Dec 2011
PERFORMANCES
Judy Veramendi (MFA Alum), Alegrias Y Lágrimas (Joys and Sorrows) Raven Theatre Oct 24, 2011
CAREER NEWS
Andrew Micheli (MFA Alum, adjunct faculty) named Executive Director, Arts & Business Council, Chicago, September 2011
Stephanie Kuehnert (MFA alum, adjunct faculty) writing for Rookie online magazine for girls, September 2011
Greg Baldino (student), doing book reviews for Booklist
Leah Tallon (alum), assistant editor, fiction, of The Nervous Breakdown online mag
NEW PROJECTS
The Handshake Magazine, started by MFA Candidates Dan Duffy (editor and publisher) and Kevin Kane (managing editor). Online release May 21. Print release June 21, 2011, featuring writing by Don De Grazia (Faculty).
My congratulations go to Shawn Shiflett and Chris Maul Rice, faculty advisors to Hair Trigger, as well as to the student editors of Hair Trigger 32 and the students whose excellent stories and essays went into creating such a fine edition. Once again, these talented students have, in their diverse voices and commitment to excellence, exhibited the power of Columbia's unique mission.
Silver Crown to Hair Trigger 32 (published May 2010)
Silver Crown to Fictionary (published fall 2010)
Congratulations to the following Fiction Writing students, faculty, staff, and alums for their individual CSPA Gold Circle awards:
Hair Trigger 32 Awards
First Place Certificate in Experimental Fiction to Stephen Tartaglione for his story "The Tongue"
First Place Certificate in Traditional Fiction to Mark Byrne for his story "Bow and Arrow"
First Place Certificate in Magazine Essay to Maggie Ritchie for her essay "The Pinball Expo"
First Place Certificate in Humor to Mark Byrne for his story "Bow and Arrow"
Second Place Certificate in Traditional Fiction to Joe Quigley for his story "Heroine"
Third Place Certificate in Traditional Fiction to Nicolette Kittinger for his story "Eleventeen"
Third Place Certificate in Magazine Essay to Christian Woodruff for his story "In Your Absence"
Third Place Certificate in Humor to Joe Quigley for his story "Heroine"
Certificate of Merit in Traditional Fiction to Laura Fisher for her story "The Black Bedsheets"
Certificate of Merit in Traditional Fiction to Eliza Fogel for her story "Who Brought the Whores?"
Certificate of Merit for Photography Portfolio to Dawoud Bey for his portfolio "American Character: A Photographic Journey"
Fictionary Awards
Third Place Certificate in Non-fiction: Article to Jonathan Fullmer for "The Fountain of Youth: Lit Fiction Writers in the YA Genre," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
First Place Certificate in Non-fiction: Interview to Karen Schmidt for "Joyce Carol Oates: The Fictionary Interview," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Second Place Certificate in Specialty Interest Magazine: Overall Design to Guido Mendez for Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Third Place Certificate in Cover Design: Two or More Colors to Guido Mendez for Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Third Place Certificate in Typography: General Use of Typography throughout Magazine to Guido Mendez for Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
First Place Certificate in Single Illustration that Complements the Content of the Accompanying Copy: Black and White to Kevin Necessary, "To Be or Not to Be (a Young Adult Fiction Author)," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Second Place Certificate in Informational Graphics: Color: Mort Castle & Guido Mendez, "Craft Construction: Call it Good Writing," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
First Place Certificate in Page Design: Literary Multi-Page Presentation to Guido Mendez & Karen Schmidt, "Joyce Carol Oates: The Fictionary Interview," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Second Place Certificate in Page Design: Literary Multi-Page Presentation to Jonathan Fullmer, Guido Mendez & Stephen Tartaglione, "On the Shelf," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Third Place Certificate in Page Design: Literary Portfolio to Jonathan Fullmer, Guido Mendez, & Stephen Tartaglione, "On the Shelf," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Certificate of Merit in Page Design: Special or General Interest Magazine Single Page Design to Guido Mendez & David Peak, "The Anxiety of Brevity: The Rise of Flash Fiction," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Certificate of Merit in Page Design: Special or General Interest Magazine Single Spread to Stephanie Velasco, "Damn Right, It's Better than Yours! Chicago's Lit Scene Fans its Feathers," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago
Certificate of Merit in Page Design: Special or General Interest Magazine Multi-Page Presentation to Guido Mendez, "Real World: Columbia-When Writers Start Getting Real," Fictionary, Columbia College Chicago










Recent Accomplishments and Awards
