NEW COURSES APPROVED

ENGL 55: Novel Writing II

ENGL 56A & ENGL 56B: Magazine Editing and Publishing

Novel Writing II is a natural continuation of ENGL 54: Novel Writing, and is also suitable for writers who already have a novel in progress but who have not taken ENGL 54. This course will be offered for the first time in Spring 2021.

Magazine Editing and Publishing is a two-semester sequence in which students learn the skills and responsibilities of editorial staff at a literary magazine. The class is responsible for producing Scheherazade, the annual literary magazine of Monterey Peninsula College. ENGL 56A is expected to be offered for the first time in Fall 2021. ENGL 56B will be offered in the subsequent Spring semester.

Consult the Schedule of Classes to find Creative Writing classes offered each semester at MPC.

The Creative Writing Club meets on

Thursdays, 3:00 - 4:00 PM in HU105

Scheherazade Issue 8 is now available!

Congratulations to

Creative Writing Students:

Mackenzie Miller,

 accepted into the English Program

at Saint Mary's College of California.

Windsor Zachary Buzza,

 accepted into the Animation Program

at CSU Fullerton.

Therese Grate,

 accepted into the Bachelor's Degree Program in English

at the University of Washington.

Aleix Hodges,

accepted into the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program

in Creative Writing at San Jose State University.

Russell Swartz,

accepted into the Bachelor's Degree Program in English

at UC Santa Barbara.

Ruben Cota,

accepted into the Bachelor's Degree Program in English

at UC Irvine.

And to the most recent recipients

of the MPC Certificate in Creative Writing:

 Windsor Zachary Buzza

Stephanie England

Robin Jepsen

Jeff Barnard

Clark Coleman

Therese Grate

Clark Coleman receives his Certificate in Creative Writing

from Instructor/Program Coordinator Henry Marchand

Fall 2018

MPC CREATIVE WRITING STUDENT PUBLICATIONS

Jeff McKown's  first novel, Solid Ground, has been published by Nine Star Press. The book tells the story of writer Conor McLeish, who realizes as his 40th birthday approaches that he is finally living the life he’s always dreamed of -- and that he isn't happy. With a gift for self-sabotage and an unfortunate Jameson habit, Conor faces crises in his relationship with his longtime boyfriend, Will, with his parents and force-of-nature grandmother, and with the man he sees in the mirror, who so far just hasn't been what he might be. Jeff McKown is now working toward completion of his second novel, which he has worked on in MPC fiction writing classes.

B.A. Rios' Rain Shadow is now available from Amazon and other vendors.

The Creative Writing Program is pleased to announce the publication of the first novel by former MPC student B.A. Rios. The author worked on this, the first book of a series, in fiction and novel writing classes here at MPC, and it's a thrill to once again enter the forbidding, drought-stricken world of this vividly imagined story, rich in character and action.

Linda Jones' poem, "Life Turns," has been published in VoxPoetica. She has also published a book of narrative essays, Romancing the Sur: Reflections on Life in Big Sur.

 Lawrence Harris' poem, "A Passing," appears in the online poetry journal, The Voices Project.

Tanya R. Fadem's poem, "Like Vines: A Response to The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo" appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing. She has since completed a chapbook of poems, working with Creative Writing faculty member Brandi Kary in an Independent Study.

"the dirt and the bone," a poem by Brittany Winland, appeared in a recent issue of Kestrel: A Journal of Literature and Art.

Former Creative Writing Club President and Scheherazade Managing Editor Ivan Garcia is attending San Francisco State University. Ivan was a contributing writer for The Monterey County Weekly's print and online editions before heading north; here you can read his "Confessions of a Car Week First-Timer."

"The Quarry," a short story by former Scheherazade Managing Editor Marc Ferris, has been selected to appear in Last Outpost, an anthology of military-themed science fiction from World Weaver Press.

"The Guaxineau," another of Marc's stories, appears in the horror anthology Creature Stew.

"Chaos Eternal," a short story by Sam Patchin, appears in the Sediments literary journal anthology, A Haunting.

"A Rabbit Named Justice," by former Creative Writing Club President Sarah Goodman, appears in Issue 6 of Petrichor Review. Ms. Goodman is now a graduate of Humboldt State University.

MPC CREATIVE WRITING FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

A poem by MPC Creative Writing instructor Brandi Kary will appear in the June 2019 issue of Virga. She has previously had poems in The Homestead Review and The Voices Project. Her poetry has also been published in Flutter Poetry Journal, Calliope Magazine, and elsewhere. Brandi will serve as a judge in the Tor House poetry contest this year, along with former MPC English faculty members Elliot Roberts and George Lober.

MPC Creative Writing instructor Henry Marchand's short stories have appeared in The Flexible Persona, Cleaver Magazine, Penduline Press, and other online and print publications. His nonfiction (features, commentary, book reviews) has appeared in The New York Times, The International Herald-Tribune, The Boston Globe, Common Dreams News Center, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine, The Toledo Blade Magazine, and elsewhere.

 RESOURCES FOR CREATIVE WRITERS

The Creative Writing Program maintains a lending library of books, magazines and videos of interest to writers. Housed in the Humanities Division Conference Room (HSS104), the library is accessible when the room is not in use for other purposes (academic meetings, students taking make-up tests, meetings of The Great Books Club, etc.)

Available to borrow and return are books about writing as well as novels and books of poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction; writing-related magazines, including The Writer's Chronicle, Poets & Writers, and more, and recent editions of The Novel & Short Story Writer's Market.

Also available for borrowing are books by writers who have come to MPC as Guest Authors,including Christopher Moore, Okey Ndibe, Ada Limon, Tami Haaland, Craig Johnson, Brenda Hillman, Jane Smiley, Benjamin Percy, Nick Taylor, and more.

DVDs of Guest Authors Series events featuring many of these writers are also available in HSS104 and at the campus library. (The library also has Guest Authors' books.)

If the room is not in use when you arrive but is locked, ask Michele Brock in the Humanities Division Office (HSS109) to let you in.

Please do not enter the room if a meeting or make-up test is in progress.

And finally, please look for links to writing resources on the Program's web pages. You'll find The Association of Writers & Writing Programs' (AWP) web site and more.

(The MPC Creative Writing Program is a member of AWP, the world's largest organization for creative writers, creative writing students, and creative writing instructors.)

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