Welcome back to the hottest news from the hottest MFA! It's only been two weeks since the last roundup, but our students, alumni, and faculty have been working overtime to make sure we always have something to shout about. We've got plenty of great news from the first half of August, but first let's look at everything that slipped through the cracks in our June/July post!
JUNE/JULY NEWS
CAROLYN GUIDO CLIFFORD - Cincinnati Fringe Festival
Carolyn Guido Clifford’s play “Date Me!” was featured in the main lineup of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.
LOVE and subscribe to Date Me, the improv show where you might find yourself in the hot seat. Anna, our host, discovers falling in love is like guac—it will cost her, but with the right guy it’s worth it.
She has also joined the Hannon Theatre Company as Artistic Director at Loyola High School.
Cincinnati Fringe Festival | Hannon Theatre Company | Author Website
CHARLES G. THOMPSON - Writing Residency
Charles G. Thompson attended a writers and artists residency in France.
With 25-30 artists-in-residence per residency, Chateau d'Orquevaux offers a respite from "real" world energy. Artists are provided a private studio and can fully immerse themselves in the environment and the French country lifestyle.
Chateau d'Orquevaux | Author Website
WENDY MAXON - Short Story Published
Wendy Maxon’s horror story "School's Out For Summer" was published in "Soul Scream Antholozine -- Fear and Loathing: Horror Tales for a Changed World."
We’ve met the Enemy - US.
We live in a changed, divided, fractured world. What we held dear got replaced by fear or anger, depending on the bubble we willingly locked ourselves in. Where it goes from here is a scary thought.
And that’s where we come in. "Soul Scream ANTHOLOZINE: Fear and Loathing" features disturbing, thought-provoking horror tales for a chilling changed world that explore what lurks further down this path of bile we’re on. A wide variety of authors and artists offer glimpses of what might come and how we might face it.
We’re in this together. Let’s look for a way to get out … alive.
Soul Scream Antholozine | Author Website
ASHLEY GRANILLO - Pura Belpré Honor Award
Ashley Granillo’s debut novel, “Cruzita and the Mariacheros,” won the Pura Belpré Honor Award.
This award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
Cruzita and the Mariacheros: Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous. But she can't go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family's bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tío Chuy died. Cruzita's great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery--the family legacy--and now that he's gone, nothing is the same.
When Cruzita's not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn't know how to play her great-grandpa's violin and she's not fluent in Spanish. At first, she's convinced her whole summer will be a disaster. But as she discovers the heart and soul of mariachi music, she realizes that there's more than one way to be a star―and more than one way to carry on a legacy.
Pura Belpré Honor Award | Cruzita and the Mariacheros | Author Website
LEANNE PHILLIPS - Signed Deal for Debut Novel, Short Story Published
Leanne Phillips signed with Sibylline Press for her debut novel, “California Is an Earthquake,” and nonfiction book “Busy Women Write Books.”
"California Is an Earthquake" is a collection set against the backdrop of California's turbulent history and explores themes of motherhood, family, passed-down trauma, and resilience (fall 2027). Her nonfiction book tentatively titled "Busy Women Write Books" is about the things that get in the way of women writing the books they've always dreamed of writing.
She also had a short story, "Lullaby," published in the anthology "Better Off Dead Vol. 1."
Few modern songwriters are as well-known and beloved as the prolific team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. But, despite the duo's creativity, it's doubtful that even they could have imagined what might happen when a group of talented crime authors used their song titles as prompts for devious tales of theft, abuse, revenge, substance abuse, murder and more. The proof is contained within these pages.
The seventeen stories that comprise "Better Off Dead Vol. 1" follow Elton John's career from the 1970 release of the eponymously named Elton John, through the 1973 release of the iconic double album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Featured are works by such award-winning authors as Joseph S. Walker, John Floyd, David Dean, Robert Lopresti, Mark Coggins, Josh Pachter, and Mary Anna Evans.
So sit back, put your feet up, and stream some Elton John/Bernie Taupin records while enjoying these memorable tales of crime and depravity. It's no Sacrifice...at all.
Sibylline Press | Better Off Dead Vol. 1 | Author Website
ANDRÉA FERRELL GANNON - Spotlight in West Trade Review
Andréa Ferrell Gannon’s poem “Flyers in the Bathroom, Prairie Wind Casino, Pine Ridge Reservation, the State of South Dakota” was spotlighted at West Trade Review.
Andréa Ferrell Gannon, MFA, is a mother, a native Californian, and the daughter of an immigrant and Lakota father. She taught HS French and Spanish for years, then English to immigrants and refugees. Find her in The Washington Post, GRXL, Poet Lore, The Prose Poem, Cultural Daily, and Best of American Poetry.
West Trade Review | Poem Spotlight
BILL RATNER - Poetry Book Published
Bill Ratner’s poetry book “LAMENTING While Doing Laps In the Lake” was published.
Bill Ratner’s stories are poems of humor, elegy, childhood adventure, and deep adult insight. A book of remembering, forgetting, reinventing, and re-mythologizing the world with a bright lightness of heart, blended with the delicate detail of fine China, and the cold truth-telling of a rambunctious toddler or finally, repentant man.
LAMENTING While Doing Laps In the Lake | Author Website
MAGGIE DOWNS - Articles Published
Maggie Downs had essays published in “Off Assignment’s” Letter to a Stranger column and “SUCCESS” magazine.
“To the Hiker Carrying Two Backpacks” and “Naked and Unafraid: How Bathing Rituals Around the World Taught Me to Accept My Body” tell stories of grief, bodies, what we carry with us, and what we let go.
To the Hiker Carrying Two Backpacks (excerpt): "At first, I thought it was some kind of flex. Who hauls two packs through the Andes while I'm here rationing breaths? My mind spun stories. Maybe you were training for a desert ultra-marathon or some other punishing pursuit. Or maybe you were just that guy, the one who makes effort look effortless, moving with an ease that feels like an affront to the rest of us—the ones laboring under the weight of our ambitions and underdeveloped cardiovascular systems."
Naked and Unafraid (excerpt): "The air was thick with moisture, nearly dense enough to taste. Above me, the ceilings arched—domed and ornate, like a cathedral built for water instead of worship. Around me, bodies moved with effortless ease, unselfconscious in a way that seemed unattainable. I didn’t know how to be one of them. But I stepped forward anyway."
To the Hiker Carrying Two Backpacks | Off Assignment BTS | Naked and Unafraid | Author Website
TRAVIS HEDGE COKE - eBooks Published
Travis Hedge Coke released “Us Living in Fictional Cosmogonies” and “Mutant Thoughts” as eBooks.
"Us Living in Fictional Cosmogonies" explores franchise & serial comfort worlds, from Smurfs to The Matrix, their politics, sociology, physical laws, aesthetics & authors, and how those affect us and our we operate in our own world. Frasier. Freddy Krueger. Sailor Moon. Star Trek. X-Files. Bill and Ted. Savage Dragon. The Addams Family. The Munsters. Rainbow Brite. The Waltons. Jack Kirby's Fourth World. Revolutionary Girl Utena. The Street Fighter. Twin Peaks. Toni Morrison! Ludwig van Beethoven! Leiji Matsumoto! Prince! P-Funk! More!"
"Mutant Thoughts: Examining New X-Men, the Early 21st Century, and Ourselves" looks at the X-Men run written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Phil Jimenez, Marc Silvestri, Frank Quitely, Igor Kordey, et al & the post-9/11 rise in military recruitment, porn recruitment, nationalism, incelism, superhero movies, military fetishism, liberal hypocrisy & queer ways around all that."
AUGUST 1-15 NEWS
TOPH WHITMORE - Playwriting Competition Finalist
Toph Whitmore’s play “The Place Where the Geese Have Been” was selected as a finalist in the McLaren Memorial Comedy Festival.
A staged comedy about consulting, change, PowerPoint, loyalty, change, disruption, agility, change, and doing what’s wrong right for the client.
McLaren Memorial Comedy Festival | Author Website
TOM PROVOST - Movie Cast
“Young Washington” film, co-written by Tom Provost, added Ben Kingsley and Andy Serkis to cast.
Oscar winner Ben Kingsley (The Thursday Murder Club), BAFTA winner Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum) and Grammy winner Joel David Smallbone (Unsung Hero) are new additions to the cast of "Young Washington," a recently announced presidential origin story from Wonder Project and Angel Studios.
Directed by Wonder Project’s Jon Erwin (Jesus Revolution, House of David), the film stars the previously announced William Franklyn-Miller as a young George Washington, chronicling the beginnings of America’s first president. After making a tremendous mistake that triggers the French and Indian War, an ambitious 22-year-old Washington must face his failures and find the courage to become the leader that will forge a nation.
He was also hired full time at Chapman University teaching film directing and screen acting.
Deadline Article - Young Washington | Tom Provost IMDb
JAIME PARKER STICKLE - Publishers Weekly Review
Jaime Parker Stickle’s debut novel, “Vicious Cycle,” received a rave review in Publishers Weekly.
This provocative debut and series launch from Stickle centers on former investigative reporter Corey Tracey-Lieberman. Three years ago, Corey was routinely recognized on the street for her work at a top-rated L.A. news station. After being laid off following her exposure of sexual harassment at the station, she’s become an instructor at Cyclone Spin Studio and the anxious mother of nine-month-old Jacob. When the bodies of two teenage Latina girls are found hanging from a tree in a bird sanctuary near Corey’s home, police are quick to suggest a gang connection before declaring the deaths suicides instead. Corey isn’t convinced by either hypothesis. With Jacob securely strapped to her chest in a baby carrier, she does some preliminary sleuthing of her own. Then a third victim turns up—someone Corey knows well—and she becomes fixated on finding the killer, ignoring opposition from her husband and the police. Stickle buttresses her well-executed mystery plot with sharp wit, visceral depictions of Corey’s postpartum anxiety, and a surprisingly stark focus on systemic violence against women. Readers will be hungry to hear more from Corey soon. Agent: Dara Hyde, Hill Nadel Literary. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly Review | Vicious Cycle (Pre-Order) | Author Website
TOD GOLDBERG & IVY POCHODA - Best American Anthology
Tod Goldberg and Ivy Pochoda were both selected for the upcoming “Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025” anthology.
City in Ruins author Winslow selects 20 splendid shorts for the latest volume of this long-running anthology series. Many of the most memorable entries reflect contemporary political and social tensions. In Tom Andes’s “Never Mind in Two Thousand,” a bitter ex-cop gets fired up when his new neighbors temporarily block his driveway. Eventually, neighborly frictions—including the protagonist’s sense that the public no longer respects police—escalate to violence. “Eat My Moose” by Erika Krouse tackles assisted suicide, focusing on a protagonist who’s helped more than 200 people end their lives. Krouse’s lyrical prose enhances the poignant plot; her lead describes a newly dead client as “the stillest thing I had ever known, like outer space must be, like the point between exhale and inhale, like the eternal present moment, like love.” Other stories update California noir for the Adderall generation (Tod Goldberg’s “A Dog’s Year”), trace the details of a murder through a series of grisly tattoos (Ivy Pochoda’s “Jackrabbit Skin”), and offer tantalizing twists on the classic PI story (Gary Phillips’s “The Darklight Gizmo Matter”). Fans of crime fiction will be thrilled. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly Review | Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025 (Pre-Order) | Tod Goldberg Website | Ivy Pochoda Website
EMILY SCHLEIGER - TV Pilot selected for Film Fest
Emily Schleiger’s TV pilot “Lola’s Not Alone” was selected for the Broad Humor Film Fest.
A mom who prefers friendships with the dead, struggling to bond with her pre-teen son, moves to a picture-perfect wellness town to befriend the living. But she discovers her calling, and unwelcome gift, is to help the seemingly flawless residents confront their shadows.
Broad Humor Film Fest showcases the funny films and written work of women. An excerpt of the pilot will be read by actors as part of the festival on August 29th in Santa Monica.
Broad Humor Film Fest Tickets | Writer Website
LILLIANA WINKWORTH – Upcoming Play
Lilliana Winkworth will be performing her play “The Baby: Mystery Radio Theater Live!” at The Elysian in LA.
A campy love letter to 1930s mystery radio plays, "The Baby: Mystery Radio Theater Live!" was written and produced by and will star Lilliana Winkworth on September 13th at the Elysian in LA.
Treat yourself to a night of thrills, chills, and live Foley as a radio play is performed before your very eyes, featuring two of the best tales from the greatest (fictional) detective series of 1930s pulp magazine fame. Tyler Walker and Lilliana Winkworth present The Baby! Millionaire playboy Gaston Novis fights crime and international communism using his genius intellect and his current disguise as a… baby. That’s right! After an experiment in the mystic arts went awry, our hero is trapped in the body of a baby but with the mental faculties of a grown man. Cries for milk in the night stir fear into the hearts of ne’er-do-wells and audiences alike. With the help of his former fiancée turned nanny, Nanny Goodwin, the Baby puts injustice to bed. Or at least, down for a long nap.
"The Baby" Tickets | Lilliana Winkworth Instagram
MEGAN ECCLES - Debut Novel Pre-Order
Megan Eccles’ debut novel “Sing the Night” will be published by Grand Central Publishing and Piatkus Books on February 24, 2026.
Discover a fantastical story inspired by The Phantom of the Opera, as musical magicians compete for the once-in-a-lifetime role as the King’s Mage, but only if their magic–or fellow contestants–don’t destroy them first–perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Erin Morgenstern.
For as long as Selene remembers, she’s only wanted one thing: to sing the boldest, brightest magic into existence and win L′Opéra du Magician. To the winner goes the spoils of being declared King′s Mage, a position her father held years ago, before he lost control of his magic and spiraled into madness, leaving Selene an orphan.
But when the competition turns cutthroat and a competitor steals Selene′s song, the chance to redeem her father’s legacy begins to slip through her fingers. Until, in the depths of the opera house, she discovers a mysterious and beautiful man trapped within a mirror. He offers not only the magic of music, but a darker sorcery of shadow, blood, and want. He can help Selene if she helps him in return—but his forbidden magic may not be worth the cost.
As the competition continues and mages are driven to ruin competing for the king′s favor, Selene must navigate betrayal, the return of childhood love, and the price of ambition.
Sing The Night (Pre-Order) | Author Website
Are you a student or alum with amazing news we should be shouting about? Email heather.scheeler@ucr.edu with all of your new awards, publications, articles, and anything else incredible that deserves a shout out!