EXCITING NEWS & UPDATES FROM SPALDING'S NASLUND-MANN SCHOOL OF WRITING STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY & STAFF
Students
Amanda Byrne (F) and her husband, Shane, own Clickety Clack Typewriters, a typewriter repair shop and museum in Rolla, Missouri. They recently appeared on St. Louis On the Air for NPR to discuss their love of typewriters and how they transform the writing process. Instagram: @clicketyclacktypewriters. Facebook: Clickety Clack Typewriters.
Faith Miller (F) has stories in the current issues of Litro Magazine and Jonah Magazine and has a novel excerpt forthcoming in Spare Parts.
Faculty & Staff
Kathleen Driskell (chair, faculty, P) was a recent guest on Silas House’s podcast Writing Lessons. She discussed best practices for writing and editing poetry. Her sixth collection of poetry, Goat-Footed Gods, will be released March 22 from Carnegie Mellon University Press. She recently agreed to serve on the advisory board of the Kentuckiana Youth Poet Laureate Project. After attending the AWP conference in Los Angeles, she travels to southern Florida to serve as a committee member of a SACSCOC university review committee.
Lynnell Edwards (associate programs director, faculty, P) reads on February 12 from her new book of poetry, The Bearable Slant of Light, with the Kentucky Great Writers series at the Carnegie Center in Lexington. On March 19, she reads at Broadway Books in Portland, Oregon.
Roy Hoffman (faculty, F, CNF) interviewed Naslund-Mann colleague Elaine Neil Orr about her new novel, Dancing Woman, for the online literary magazine Necessary Fiction. He conversed with Naslund-Mann’s Angela Jackson-Brown about her new novel, Untethered, at Page & Palette bookstore in Fairhope, Alabama. Roy’s travel essay on Cuba will appear in a forthcoming issue of Mobile Bay magazine, about a recent trip with the Mobile-Havana Society. At Mobile’s Jewish Film Festival, Roy led an interfaith audience discussion about the Jewish French film Stay with Us.
Robin Lippincott’s (faculty, F, CNF, W4CYA) flash fiction piece, “The Road We Live On,” recently published in Still: The Journal, has been nominated for the anthology Best Microfiction 2025.
Lee Martin (faculty, F, CNF) has a story, “Sin on Wheels,” in Coolest American Stories 2025.
Lesléa Newman (faculty, W4CYA) recently had a poem titled “Complicated Fruit” published by the Jewish Book Council’s Witnessing Series and an essay, “My Grandmother’s Chutzpah,” published by the On Being Jewish Now series. Her picture book, Joyful Song: A Naming Story has received the following honors: Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Silver Medal; Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of the Year; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year; Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of the Year; The Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year; Boston Globe Best Books of the Year; Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Books of the Year; Chicago Public Libraries Best Books of the Year; New York Public Library Best Books for Kids; Junior Library Guild Selection; Finalist for the California Indie Booksellers Association Golden Poppy Award; and long list, Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Award.
Elaine Orr’s (faculty, CNF, F) third novel, Dancing Woman, was released January 21 by Blair Publisher. North Carolina Literary Review writes of it: “The beautifully rendered setting and incidents bear comparison to classic works about women of European descent struggling for a new sense of significance and self in a foreign culture. . . . A riveting book about art in life, Dancing Woman invites its readers to bring the hidden into the light, discover its true nature, and allow it to shine.” The novel follows aspiring artist Isabel Hammond to northern Nigeria where she finds her passion for life dangerously reignited after a night of love with a musician and returns the next day to her good husband. She walks a tightrope between the call of her art and the covenant made with her husband. Then she learns she is pregnant. Elaine interviews her own character in Women Writers, Women’s Books and is interviewed on WRBH Reading Radio, Turn the Page, and Necessary Fiction, the latter interview with Roy Hoffman.
Greg Pape (faculty, P) has a selection of poems just published in This Place the Gods Touched Earth: Poetry by Montana’s Poets Laureate 2005-2025, published by The Montana Arts Council & Montana Historical Society Press. His poem “For a Dead Friend’s Birthday” was published in SALT, Issue 7.
Katy Yocom (associate director, F ’03) spoke with alum Tammy Oberhausen (F ’17) about Tammy’s debut novel, The Evolution of the Gospelettes, at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville. Katy teaches a craft class at the online San Diego Writing Workshop on February 7-8 and at the online California Writing Workshop on June 13-14. On February 19, she reads alongside other Spalding alums at the kickoff event for the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture at the Louisville Free Public Library. On April 14, she sits down with Lee Martin to talk about his new novel, The Evening Shades, at Carmichael’s.
Alumni
Priscilla Atkins (P ’08) is grateful to Thimble Literary Magazine editors for nominating her poem “Cough” for a Pushcart Prize (2024). “Pea Notes” appears in The Headlight Review (2024), “My Mother Likes Men” in Quarterly West (2024), “Breast Exam” in Naugatuck River Review (2024), “Pierrot” in Open Doors (2024). “Quick” is due out in Barrow Street, March 2025.
Natalie Axton’s (F ’19) Appalachia Book Company seeks playwrights to adapt Appalachian ballads into short radio plays for a podcast in production. For more information on this paid opportunity, email Natalie by February 10 at natalie@appalachiabook.co.
Kelsey Blair’s (CNF’24) essay “Untaming our Garden” was published in the fall digital edition of Welter, the University of Baltimore’s literary magazine. Her micro essay “Seven Years Old” was published on Five Minutes, which features hundred-word pieces about five minutes in a life.
Connor Bjotvedt (P ’18) has written another collection of poetry, which will be available on April 29. The preorder is live and can be found at Outpost Press/ Wayfarer Books.
Roy Burkhead (F ’04) earned a second Post-Master’s Certificate in Writing Enrichment (fiction) in March from the Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing. In 2024, he accepted the position of Senior Technical Writer with Veterans EZ Info Inc., where he works in support of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Starting with the Spring 2025 semester, Roy has returned to his English adjunct professor role at Western Kentucky University. Currently, he is actively submitting his poetry, fiction, and novel query letters to the usual literary suspects. Find Roy online at https://www.rlburkhead.com/
Elizabeth Burton (F ’16) recently published three pieces. A micro memoir, “Water,” in Good River Review, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A flash fiction piece, “To the Woman Talking to Her Therapist on Speaker at Waffle House,” appeared in South Florida Poetry Journal. Her short story, “Of Love and Water,” was published as a chapbook, available for preorder through Appalachia Book Company. Find out more about her at elizabethburtonwriter.com.
Brandi Bradley (F’14), has a new murder mystery, Pretty Girls Get Away with Murder, to be released on March 14. When a young entrepreneur is killed, everyone in town points fingers at his New Age, neo-hippie, miracle-manifesting, smokeshow of an ex-girlfriend, Gabbi – including the victim’s best friend, Jenna. As detective Lindy D’Arnaud and her partner Boggs search for a motive, they begin to wonder if this is a case of jealous violence or shady business dealings gone sour. In Lindy’s personal life, things aren’t much clearer. When Lindy’s wife’s ex-boyfriend–and sperm donor to their baby–decides to move back to town, she finds herself competing for her wife’s affection. Can they be postmodern in Western Kentucky where living as a queer person is tenuous enough already? Told through the shifting perspectives of Lindy, Gabbi, and Jenna, Pretty Girls Get Away with Murder is a twisty page-turner for fans of Southern noir and NBC’s Dateline.
Avitus B. Carle’s (F ’16) debut flash fiction collection, These Worn Bodies, was the winner of the 2023 Moon City Press Short Fiction Award and was published in November. The collection consists of short-short stories (all 1,000 words or less in length), presenting in a variety of forms including a single sentence, crossword puzzle, legal documents, and a resume.
Cheré Coen (F ’23) will speak April 4 at the annual Books Along the Teche Literary Festival in New Iberia, Louisiana. Cheré, a travel writer, will speak on “Destination Publication: Turning Travels into Books and Articles.” She is the author of Exploring Cajun Country and Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana as well as fiction under her pen name of Cherie Claire. Her mystery novels feature a travel writer as the main character and sleuth.
Whitney Collins (F ’18) will be reading with fellow Sarabande Books author Lauren K. Watel at “Hearts and Knives: An Evening with Lauren K. Watel and Whitney Collins” at 7 p.m. February 19 at Carmichael’s Bookstore, 2720 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville. Whitney will read from her latest book, Ricky & Other Love Stories, available from Sarabande.
Daniel DiStasio’s (F ’05) short story “Shuttered” will appear in the Spring 2025 issue of Avalon Literary Review. His story “Like Walking in Air” appears in the 30th Anniversary issue of Pinyon.
Kelly Cass Falzone (P’22) has been named a 2024-2025 Art Wire Fellow by OZ Arts Nashville and The Porch Writer’s Collective. This collaboration gathers a cohort of youth and adult writers to respond to OZ Art’s season of dance, theatre, and music performances through ekphrastic writing, culminating in a reading in June. Kelly’s manuscript Last Year’s Rain, This Year’s Soil was longlisted for the 2022-2024 Sexton Prize for a First Book of Poetry. Her poem “Trigger Warning” was co-awarded first prize in the Please See Me 2024 Mental Health Awareness writing contest, and her sonnet “Threshold” won third prize in the Medmic Summer Poetry Contest. Medmic also published Kelly’s poem “To the Doctor Giving Her a ‘Handful of Months.’” Please See Me also published “The First Sound,” “Our Waters,” and “Our Revision.” Kelly is grateful to the Spalding community for their impact on her work.
Carolyn Dawn Flynn (F, CNF’12) is celebrating the publication of her narrative memoir, Boundless, which is about how, when you have become no one, how do you become someone again? That is the big question for her, as an author, magazine journalist and single mother of twins, as she faces the impending empty nest and the death-spiral of the newspaper industry. In Boundless, Flynn’s eighth book, she turns to the deeper questions about the stages of women’s lives as she faces the hard stop of motherhood. Order from Bookshop and support a local independent bookstore. Or order on Amazon.
Marjetta Geerling (W4CYA’11) was recently featured on the podcast This Book Made Me, hosted by Kim Middleton. Marjetta and Kim discussed the enduring wisdom in The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and the importance of children’s literature in our modern world. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Karen George (F’09) had a short story included in Sheila-Na-Gig Editions’ short fiction anthology, The Last Word & Other Stories, and poems published in Slippery Elm Literary Review, Orchards Poetry Review, Permafrost, and Pink Panther Magazine. In October, she was a featured reader at Poetry on Brick Steet, Zionsville, Indiana, and the Poet & Song Series, Falcon Theatre, in Newport, Kentucky. In November, she read at Word of Mouth Cincinnati. She’s on Facebook as @karenlgeo, and her website is https://karenlgeorge.blogspot.com/. Poems: “Headlong,” “Apertures,” “Ode to Knots,” three poems in Heron Tree, and a poem in The Indianapolis Review.
Holly Gleason (CNF '15) was named the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Association's Independent Journalist of the Year in December. She started the new year receiving an Audie nomination, given to recognize the year's achievements in spoken word, especially audio books and dramas. Gleason was recognized in the Original Work category for "The Boar's Nest: Sue Brewer & the Birth of Outlaw Country," an Audible podcast she wrote with longtime friend Dub Cornett and Broadway playwright Rachel Bonds. And on Feb. 6, Kenny Chesney announced on "CBS Mornings" Heart*Life*Music, co-written with friend and longtime collaborator Gleason. Published by Harper Collins, the book will be released Nov. 4. It's available for pre-order now.
K.L. Going’s (CNF ’22) new picture book, Can’t Stop Kissing That Baby (illustrated by Fiona Lee), comes out on March 11. This celebration of motherhood will be published by Simon & Schuster and will also be published in Italy.
Tara Goldstein (F ‘06), Founding and Artistic Director of Gailey Road Productions (which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2027) has recently produced an audio book from her novel Home of Her Heart, is now available at https://gaileyroad.com or on popular podcast platforms at Gailey Road Audio, available on podcast platforms. Tara has also produced a new website for her latest project, The Love Booth, which now features four separate Love Booth verbatim theatre projects about queer and trans moments of activism and care from the late 1950s to the present day.
Lynn Hoffman’s (PW and W4CYA’15) full length play Three Mothers advanced to Round 2 (from 1,500 scripts to fifty scripts) in the 22nd Centre Stage New Play Festival.
Lynn participated in The Threshold Theater’s November 2024 Playwriting Challenge – 30 days of writing 30 new scenes/monologues/5-to-10-minute plays (whatever happened) in response to prompts generated by the theater.
Annie Howard (CNF ’24) published her first essay, “The Note,” about her struggle with the mental health system, in Mad in America on January 24.
Katie Massa Kennedy’s (P ’24) poem “The Longing to Be Held” has been selected for inclusion in the Spring 2025 issue of Rust & Moth literary journal.
Mary Knight (W4CYA’13) published What the Seahorse Told Me, a novel for middle grade readers, in August by Middleton Books. She celebrated the book’s release with family, friends, and some of her middle grade readers at a launch at Lexington’s Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. In addition to an author reading, door prizes, and Hawaiian appetizers, a model of a live volcano was part of the festivities. Her story is set in Hawaii, where she will conduct author visits in March. Middleton Books also published a picture book, The Cat’s on My Lap! this January, written by Mary with illustrations by Jonathan Scott. The story was conceived during an all-cohort writing exercise at Spalding over fifteen years ago.
Marilyn Millstone (PW ’16) was named a 2024 Roe-Green “Visiting Voices” Ambassador by the Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF). Thanks to funding from this program, a staged reading of four of her short plays was presented at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Baltimore on November 16 by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. The performance was followed by a spirited community conversation, with all four directors and some of the eleven actors joining the playwright onstage; a highlight of the conversation were remarks by DGF Program Manager Jacquelyn Jordan, who travelled to the event from New York City.
Andrew Najberg (P ’10) recently published The Neverborn Thief (Olive-Ridley Press, 2024), In Those Fading Stars (Crystal Lake Publishing, 2024) and Try Not to Die in the Shadowlands (Vincere Press, 2024). He has three forthcoming novels under contract: Extinction Dream (Wicked House Publishing, 2025), Paradise Falls (co-authored with Patrick Reuman, Wicked House Publishing, 2025) and Dead Hearts Eat the Light (Wicked House Publishing, 2026).
Tammy Oberhausen’s (F’17) debut novel, The Evolution of the Gospelettes, was published in November by Fireside Industries, an imprint edited by Silas House, who described it as a “nuanced, funny, and hugely entertaining look at faith, doubt, hypocrisy, and holiness.” Novelist Lee Smith wrote, “Through the universal metaphor of music, it tells more about our changing region than any book I have read in years. I literally couldn’t put it down.” Tammy participated in a panel, “Strike a Chord: The Symphony of Music and Writing” at the Kentucky Book Festival in November and has made appearances at a number of bookstore and library events, including conversations with Silas House at the Capitol Theatre in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and with Katy Yocom at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville. Connect with her on Instagram @tammyo.writer, on Facebook @Tammy Oberhausen Author, on Bluesky @Tammy Oberhausen, or at her website, tammyoberhausen.com.
Lindsey Pharr’s (CNF ’24) essay “Bone by Bone,” which she shared at her graduate reading, is out now in Issue 26.1 of River Teeth. She also has a micro essay forthcoming in Brevity. She is currently teaching her first semester as an adjunct instructor at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina.
Terry Price’s (F’06) short story, “Cantilever,” was selected and published as the featured piece in the January 2025 issue of the online literary journal Bloom.
Amy Le Ann Richardson (F’09) is pleased to announce the publication of her first full-length poetry collection, Out of Places, from Pine Row Press. This collection brings readers into the heart of Kentucky’s landscapes, where the pulse of nature and human experience intertwine. Rooted deeply in the soil of Appalachia, Richardson’s poems explore themes of climate change, environmental loss, and the delicate balance of the earth, while never succumbing to despair. Out of Places is a celebration of resilience and reverence, reminding us of the small wonders that sustain us even in the face of disaster.
Charles Rix (F ’23) had his short play “Ghost Hoarders” performed in the Fall New York Short Play Festival at the Players Theater in New York City. This was his third short play to be produced in NYC. He also had the first professionally produced public reading / performance of his full-length play Advent performed at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (MSD) in New York City in October. Fun fact: MSD Theater is an historic off-Broadway theater where Tennessee Williams had the first reading of his play Summer and Smoke in 1947.
Rosemary Royston (P’09) recently had her essay “Stages” published with Feels Blind Literary and her poem “Ode to Wasabi Peas” published with Black Moon Magazine.
Samuel Smith (F ’24) has been nominated for the 2025 AWP Intro Journals Project with his short story “Whistle the Ballad Softly” (feel free to read it here). His story is set in 1918 Tennessee, where a lonesome moonshiner reflects on young love and the present threat of a wild animal. Smith has also had the surreal privilege of working as a background actor in the Gus Van Sant film Dead Man’s Wire, shot in downtown Louisville this January and February. Seeing the cast and crew collectively shape a narrative is inspiring and eye-opening, so Smith recommends writers from all backgrounds apply to casting calls and experience filmmaking from such a unique vantage point. Smith can be found on Instagram and Bluesky @samyallsmith.
Maria Steinmetz (W4CYA ’14) had her poem “Ariadne Wonders” published by Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things in October. The poem can be found on Ember’s website: https://read.emberjournal.org/maria-c-steinmetz/ariadne-wonders/