MFA News & Events

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Prose alumnus Steven Dunn's literary accomplishments have earned him the prestigious Whiting Award.

In 2016, Dunn penned Potted Meat. The book was a Colorado Book Award Finalist, Tarqaulin Sky Book Awards Co-winner, and a Small Press Distribution Bestseller. It was adapted into a short film, “The Usual Route,” which played at the Los Angeles International Film Festival and the Houston International Film Festival, among others.

Two years later, he produced water & power, a novel that plunges into military culture and engages with perceptions of heroism and terrorism.

In April, Dunn received a $50,000 Whiting Award, the nation’s largest literary award for emerging writers. The Whiting Awards, given to 10 writers annually, are “based on early accomplishment and the promise of great work to come.” 

-Michael Candelaria

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Rebecca Renner, from the first class of Stetson's MFA in 2018, published award-winning novel Gator Country in 2023. Renner is a contributing writer to National Geographic. Her article on vivid and unusual dreaming during the pandemic was viewed by over a million readers. 

Ryan Rivas is the author of the text-image book Nextdoor in Colonialtown (Autofocus, 2022) and the novella Lizard People (ThirtyWest, 2023). He is the Publisher of Burrow Press, and the Coordinator of MFA Publishing at Stetson University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. A Macondo Writers Workshop fellow, his work has appeared in The Believer, The Rumpus, Literary Hub, Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012, and elsewhere.

Amanda Ellard, Stetson MFA alumni, class of 2022 is currently getting her PhD in Creative Writing and teaching English at Ohio University. Amanda is also the Prose Editor of Quarter After Eight literary journal and a Guest Editor for The Master's Review. Ellard is also previously the Assistant Fiction Editor for New Ohio Review. At Ohio University, Amanda has taught Creative Writing Fiction Workshop and Writing & Rhetoric and will be teaching a Speculative Fiction literature class forthcoming. Amanda's website is anellard.wordpress.com.

Sarah Frances Hicks, Stetson MFA alumni, class of 2020, reunited with Terri Witek, Stetson MFA Faculty, at Disquiet International in Lisbon, Portugal 2025.
Sarah is currently pursuing her PhD in Philosophy at European Graduate School, is a visiting Lecturer at Linkoping University, and is an independent researcher. Most recently, Sarah published an article in the De Ethica Philosophy Journal and in Filozofia Journal.

Dejah Griffin who is a current candidate for the MFA at Stetson University’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing. Dejah has been chosen for a scholarship to the 2025 Chuckanut Writers Conference which specializes in “connection with fellow storytellers.” 

Nikki Fragala Barnes, Stetson MFA class of 2019, successfully defended her dissertation at UCF Texts and Technology PhD in 2025.

Nikki Fragala Barnes, PhD, MFA, is a transdisciplinary scholar of the arts and humanities and an instructor of Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida. Barnes serves as the president of the Orlando Area Poets, a chapter of the FSPA, with the editorial collective of the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, and on the board of directors at the Central Florida LGBTQ Museum of History, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, and the Mennello Museum of American Art. Nikki Fragala Barnes (they/she, @bynikkibarnes) is an experimental poet and participatory installation artist, using language as material. Recent scholarly work appears in Multimodal Rhetorics and Digital Creative Writing Pedagogies, and recent creative work appears in the state of Florida’s literary journal, Of Poets and Poetry. Barnes’ most recent publication was an interview regarding poets who are also professors. Nikki is also the final judge for an international poetry contest that is the next Frost partnership with the Winter Park Paint Out through the Albion Polasek Museum. 

Mary Duerksen, Stetson MFA Alum class of 2020, has a poetry/song piece being performed by the Community Chorus of Detroit May 16-17, 2025 from their body of work focusing on the topic of immigration. Duerksen started many of the pieces that launched this ongoing project while at Stetson University MFA. Congratulations Mary on your upcoming performance! “Mary is a nonbinary performance, visual and sound poet whose work seeks to discover new intersections of language, symbol and art. They focus on identity and status, especially challenging the norms of gender, politics and justice. They have been published in The Crambo, Clamor, Light, Space and Time Online art competitions and by Burrow Press. Working frequently in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Olivanti-Duerksen has performed in venues in the USA as well as Argentina and Brazil. Olivanti-Duerksen holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Stetson University.” 

Pablo Vindel, Stetson MFA class of 2019, hosted an Artist Book Launch in January for “Hunch-Premonition, a tactile and visual essay that delves into the intricate processes of creation and memory. Enclosed in a translucent parchment pouch and featuring covers in Fedrigoni Pergamena paper with shiny gold foil on the front, the artist’s book introduces a series of Ultrachrome prints on 220g Hahnemühle PhotoRag Book & Album paper (100% cotton). Meticulously scored, folded, and delicately stitched with hand-dyed silk crepeline thread — dyed naturally with cochineal and beetroot-and waxed by hand, the publication includes a jewel cast in brass: a symbolic anchor that transcends the materiality of the book itself, highlighting the tension between the enduring and the ephemeral.” To see more of Pablo's work: https://pablovindel.es/

Stetson MFA Alumni, Dona Mayoora, class of 2023, has a forthcoming book in 2025 containing a selection of visual poems from Insight Publica (who have previously published two of Mayoora’s text poetry books). Mayoora is a visual poet and artist, creating in Malayalam and English. Dona received an MFA from Stetson University in 2023. Dona's work has been exhibited in 9 countries at international exhibits. Mayoora, while studying Poetry in the Expanded Field, received the WTPLive Literary Award for the poetry collection, “Neela Monga.” 

Ayoola’s abstract “Sickle Cell Anatomy: The Silenced Skeleton,” has been accepted for presentation at the 2025 SCCAPE conference. Ayoola, a Sickle Cell Warrior and advocate, creates as a form of healing and awareness. Follow her journey at @artby_ayo to see her work, some of which is featured in the image here. 

Push Cart nominee and A Public Space Writing Fellow, Bre’Anna received her MFA from Stetson in ‘24. Her piece “Spell Me, An enunciation,” is featured in Guernica.