Student Successes

BRITTANY BALLARD won the Denver Write Club’s monthly competitive reading series with her short story, “Chopin.” Her work of creative nonfiction “Things I Haven’t Told You” was published by Suspect Press. She was in my Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 workshops.

BREANNA CHIA conducted an interview with me that appears in Angels Flight – literary west. She published an essay, “The Act of Seeing,” in Blog//The Los Angeles Review of Books. She was in my Fall 2017, Winter 2020, and Fall 2020 workshops.

WILLIAM DEVERELL, who has taken several of my workshops, most recently in Spring 2021, has a short story, “Driftwood,” in The Cost of Paper, Volume 5. His short story, “Arraigned,” appears in Angels Flight — literary west. He was awarded a California Writing Residency in Lake Arrowhead by the 1888 Center + Yefe Nof. He published his short story, “Evangel,” in Exposition Review, Volume 1. “Evangel” was nominated for the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.

JOSHUA ELIAS, who was in my Fall 2016 and Fall 2017 workshops, was selected by The New Short Fiction Series for its 14th Annual Emerging Voices Group Show in North Hollywood.

ARABELLA FIELD has a micro-story, “Breakfast Blend,” on The Rose City Sisters. She has taken five of my workshops.

JAIME GOODRICH was admitted to the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College in fiction. She has been in four of my workshops, most recently in Winter 2022.

LINDA JASSIM’s stories, “L.A. Story: The New Neighbors” and “The Crossing,” have been published on Hamline Lit Link. Linda read “The Crossing” as part of the Drunken Masters series at The Escondite in DTLA. Her story “The Wall” was published on VietnamWarPoetry.com. Linda has been in seven of my workshops, most recently in Spring 2021.

JULIA LU was admitted to the three-year, fully funded MFA Program in Fiction Writing at UNLV. She will work as a graduate assistant, and the university will cover her tuition and cost of living. Julia took six of my workshops, most recently in Fall 2022.

SAVANNA PARRA has published a short story “Pull” in West Trade Review. Savanna studied with me in 2017 and 2019.

MAJELLA PINTO will be attending the Antioch University low-residency MFA program in Creative Writing. She was in my Fall 2020 workshop.

LILI RAMIREZ published a short story, “Just Pure Pleasure and Joy,” in the online magazine, Rebelle Society. Lili was in my Fall 2019 and Winter 2021 workshops.

DANIEL SPIELBERGER got into the MFA program in Creative Writing at CalArts. While there, he will also take Critical Studies courses. Daniel was in my Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 workshops.

BRIAN TRAN got into the MFA program in fiction writing at Washington University in St. Louis. He will receive a fellowship that covers the cost of tuition and provides a $23,000 annual stipend. Brian attended the Tin House Summer Workshop in Portland, Oregon. He was in my Fall 2015 workshop.

RACHEL VOGEL’s story “Visitors” won the 2019 Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize from American Short Fiction and was published in that magazine. The judge was Rebecca Makkai. Rachel has a story, “Skinny,” in Harvard Review. Rachel was in my Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 workshops.

MAGGIE WELSH has a micro-story, “The Conference,” on The Rose City Sisters. She has taken several of my workshops, most recently in Fall 2023.