Selected covers from our alumni and faculty work
鈥淭here is something quite powerful about having a creative writing program in a city, and a borough, with such a vibrant literary scene and such a storied literary history,鈥� says聽Helen Phillips, 鈥渂ut on a campus like 可乐视频鈥攚hich has a feeling of serenity and intimacy, and is somewhat removed from the sometimes frenetic energy of the city鈥攖hat provides a pool of quiet for creative risks.鈥�
This fall, Helen Phillips and聽聽added award nominees to the list of experiences they share. Phillips鈥� book聽聽(Simon and Schuster, 2019) was longlisted for the聽聽and Winslow鈥檚聽聽(Bloomsbury, 2019) is on the shortlist for聽, the winner to be announced in December. 可乐视频 and its writing programs have been the wellspring for a number of award-winning novelists, playwrights, poets, and authors who have joined a 鈥渟toried literary history鈥� of which Phillips speaks. Below are a few of the alumni and faculty who have earned some distinguished accolades.
Below are alumni and faculty who have earned more recent accolades.
Annie Baker 鈥�09
Annie Baker 鈥�09 M.F.A. was awarded a聽, as well as an Obie for Excellence in Playwriting, among other honors, for her play聽. The drama draws on the disorientation Baker experienced while watching a digital projection of an Ingmar Bergman movie.
Paul Beatty 鈥�89
聽鈥�89 M.F.A. won the聽聽for his novel聽聽(Oneworld, 2015), a biting satire about race in America. Beatty was the first American to capture the top British literary prize, known as the award that honors 鈥渢he finest in fiction,鈥� and which comes with a cash prize of 50,000 British pounds and a designer bound edition of the book.
Rosamond S. King
Rosamond S. King, associate professor in the聽English Department聽and director of the college鈥檚聽Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, won a聽, the signature honor of the nation鈥檚 leading organization advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer literature, for her poetry book聽聽(Nightboat, 2017).
R. O. Kwon 鈥�08
聽鈥�08 is a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow. Her debut novel聽聽(Penguin 2018) about a college student at a top university who is drawn into a cult with ties to North Korea was named best book of the year and given high marks by numerous media outlets and publications, including NPR,听The Atlantic,听The New York Times Book Review, and聽The Washington Post.
Young Jean Lee
Young Jean Lee, an Obie Award winner, Lee鈥檚聽聽was mounted on Broadway in 2018. She is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship among others. She is the first Asian-American woman to have a play performed on America鈥檚 main stage.
Ben Lerner
Ben Lerner, distinguished professor of English, is the author of three books of poetry (, 2004;聽, 2006; and聽, 2010鈥攁ll Copper Canyon Press) and three novels (, Coffee House Press, 2011;聽, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011; and聽, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019), among other publications. Lerner is a recipient of the聽MacArthur 鈥済enius grant鈥�聽as well as Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships.
Kristen Meinzer 鈥�08
Kristen Meinzer 鈥�08 M.F.A. is culture producer for聽聽and co-host of The Takeaway鈥檚聽. The Takeaway, which reaches an audience of over 2 million listeners nationwide, is a recipient of the Radio Television Digital News Association鈥檚 Edward R. Murrow Award. Meinzer is a regular commentator on聽Soundcheck,听BK Live, the New York broadcast of聽All Things Considered, the聽Brian Lehrer Show, and the New York broadcast of聽Morning Edition.
Sara Shepard 鈥�05
Sara Shepard 鈥�05 M.F.A. is the author known for the bestselling聽聽(HarperTeen) and聽聽(HarperTeen) book series; both were developed into television series on A可乐视频 Family.
Ocean Vuong 鈥�12
聽鈥�12, a聽MacArthur 鈥済enius grant鈥� winner, is the author of the poetry collection聽聽(Copper Canyon Press, 2016) and a debut novel,听聽(Penguin, 2019), for which he has been nominated for the聽聽and the聽.
