MFAW News

Jason Sebastian Russo photo by Steve Gullick Tired of Talking About Guitar Pedals: 5 Questions for Jason Sebastian Russo

By Craig Morgan Teicher

Jason Sebastian Russo is currently studying fiction and poetry in the Writing Seminars as a dual-genre MFA candidate. He’s also the residential teaching fellow for the Spring term. But before he came to Bennington, he had a long and flourishing career in indie rock—he was a member of the legendary Mercury Rev as well as a number of other bands, including Hopewell, Guiding Light, and Pete International Airport. As he begins his semester on campus, he and I talked about how he found his way from the stage to the page, the differences between songs and poems, and the power and importance of teaching.

10 New Faculty Members Get to Know Some New Writing Seminars Faculty

By Craig Morgan Teicher

Ten amazing writers have recently joined the Writing Seminars faculty, and we’re thrilled to introduce them. We asked them to tell us about  the last thing they wrote, among other things. Read their answers, as well as some brilliant first sentences from their books and essays.

stack of 2023 books in library at Bennington The Books of 2023

The latest additions to Bennington’s rich literary history have hit bookstore shelves. Their authors join Bennington notables, including Donna Tartt '86, Kiran Desai '93, Michael Pollan '76, ​Ann Goldstein '71, Anaïs Duplan '14, Anne Waldman '66, Cynthia Sweeney MFA '13, Jamie Quatro MFA '09, Amy Gerstler '01, Morgan Jerkins MFA '16, and Charles Bock '97.

Jason Sebastian Russo Jason Sebastian Russo Selected as Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars

Jason Sebastian Russo, an MFA student in fiction and poetry, has been selected to be the twelfth Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars.

Hugh Ryan “Writing is the Last Thing I Do”: 5 Questions for Hugh Ryan
By Craig Morgan Teicher

Hugh Ryan graduated from the Bennington Writing Seminars in 2009 and went on to publish two acclaimed books of nonfiction, When Brooklyn Was Queer (2019) and The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, which won the Stonewall Book Award/Israel Fishman Award for Nonfiction and the Warren Johansson Award. He has taught nonfiction at the Writing Seminars since 2022, and just sold his next book, Becoming History, a memoir in essays. He talked with me about turning research into writing and falling back in love with the essay.

Image of Etan Kerr-Finell Etan Kerr-Finell Selected as Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars

Etan Kerr-Finell, a fourth term MFA student in poetry, has been selected to be the eleventh Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars.

Image of Sarah Zoric Sarah Zoric Selected as Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars

Sarah Zoric, an MFA student in fiction, has been selected to be the tenth Residential Teaching Fellow at Bennington Writing Seminars.

open books 2022: A Year in Books

In 2022, undergraduate and Bennington Writing Seminars alumni and faculty published over 50 books. Their writing spanned a wide range of genres from nonfiction essays, memoirs, and biographies, to novels, poetry, young adult literature, and short stories.

image of bookshelf Bennington Books Gift Guide for 2022 (and Beyond!)

Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for a loved one or for yourself this holiday season (you deserve a ‘lil treat), we’ve rounded up a handy list of new and classic books written by the Bennington community to delight even the pickiest of readers. 

Eula Biss Bennington Writing Seminars Faculty Member Eula Biss Named a 2023 New America National Fellow

Bennington Writing Seminars faculty member Eula Biss has been selected as a 2023 New America National Fellow.