MFAW News

Most Anticipated Most Anticipated

This Will Be My Undoing, a collection of essays by Morgan Jerkins MFA '16, was included in the The Millions most anticipated books of 2017 list.

Pen America "Honest and Vulnerable"

Morgan Jerkins MFA '16 was interviewed as part of the Pen Ten interview series on Pen America last month. She spoke about "the responsibility of the writer" which she sees as "to be honest and vulnerable. Jerkins is the author of a forthcoming collection of essays, This Will Be My Undoing. She is currently a contributing editor for Catapult. Her take on the Colin Kaepernick controversy, "What Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem Protest Reveals About American" was published in Rolling Stone in August. 

NPR.org Great Reads

In its Guide to 2016’s Great Reads, NPR recommended Nitro Mountain by Lee Clay Johnson ’07, The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney MFAW ’13, Kookooland by Gloria Norris ’76, and The Queen of the Night by former MFAW faculty Alexander Chee.

Bennington PEN nominations PEN Nominations

Earlier this week, Mashable announced their long lists for several categories of the 2017 PEN Literary awards, which include a number of Bennington graduates.

Buzzfeed "How They Killed My Grandmother"

Last month, Buzzfeed published a memoir-style essay by Chandra Ganguly MFAW '18 called "How They Killed My Grandmother." 

Rolling Stone National Anthem Protest

Morgan Jerkins MFAW ’16 recently published an essay in Rolling Stone on “What Colin Kaepernick’s National Anthem Protest Tells Us About America.” In it, she argues that “People aren’t merely upset because he is disrespecting the flag; they are upset because [his] anger illuminates just how divided this nation is and has always been.” 

Radio Tower Broadcasting Selected Shorts: Megan Mayhew Bergman MFA '10

NPR's Selected Shorts aired a reading of Megan Mayhew Bergman's story "Hell Diving Women" from her collection Almost Famous Women. Anika Noni Rose (Dream Girls, Raisin in the Sun) read it.

Trump Letter img An Open Letter to Donald Trump

MFA(W) visiting faculty member Mark Slouka pens a letter to Donald Trump and thousands of writers sign on, by Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke '07

New York Times Logo Anastas Reviews "Falling" in the New York Times

Faculty member in literature Benjamin Anastas reviews Elisha Cooper's memoir Falling: A Daughter, a Father, and a Journey Back, an account of the author's daughter's struggle with cancer, for The New York Times.

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney From Bennington to Bestseller

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney MFAW '13 talks to the New York Times about the decision to pursue a degree in writing at age 50 and selling her first novel—started while she was a student at Bennington—for a seven figure advance.