Creative Writing Alumni Publications
Upon graduation, Creative Writing MFA students will have completed a fully formed manuscript of publishable quality, written under the guidance of the department’s award winning, diverse faculty.
Meet some of our students along with an introduction to some of their published work:
Deirdre Swinden (MFA ’22) dwells in the realms of dark fiction. Her debut novel, Somnium, was released by Crystal Lake Publishing on May 31, 2024. Her short stories have been published by Grim & Gilded and Griffel literary magazines, and she’s a past winner of the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference Popular Short Story contest. She currently lives in North Carolina with her dog.
Sarah Edmonds (she/they) is a queer author and filmmaker from southeastern Pennsylvania. Her creative work has spanned across several genres, including her novella Late Nights at Full Moon Records from Thirty West Publishing House. Her academic publications focus on disparities in health care access for individuals with various comorbid conditions.
Nick Perilli is a writer and librarian living in Philadelphia. His debut novel Cul-de-sac (Montag Press) is available now, as is his chapbook Child Lucia and Other Library Fabula (Ethel Press). Short work of his is out there on the internet, findable through his cheap website nickperilli.com. He’s on all the living, the dying and the defunct social media platforms as @nicoloperilli.
Nika Murphy is a Ukrainian-born writer of speculative fiction whose stories appear in Clarkesworld, Luna Station Quarterly, and Apex. Her work has also been featured in tor.com’s monthly short fiction spotlight. She earned her MFA from Arcadia in 2023, and subsidizes her typewriter collection with a day job in the pharmaceutical industry. Nika resides in Florida with her family. You can find her online at nikamurphy.com.
L. Andrew Huffman (MFA ’23) is a twice Pushcart-nominated fiction writer currently living in Dauphin County, PA. Their work has been published in Identity Theory, Stanchion Zine, and elsewhere. Their writing focuses on interior and exterior anxieties, existing as a trans and/or disabled person, and/or whatever they want. When not writing, they can be found adjunct teaching in Harrisburg, walking through the woods with their fiancé and their dog, or driving across the country.
Rebekah Coxwell (MFA ‘19) had her first novel The Falling come out in 2021. Her favorite criticism about her work is that she likes to do a lot at once in her writing. She lives with her two favorite humans Sam and Melody and quite a few plants. Currently, she teaches at a non-profit in Norfolk VA called the Muse Writers Center, and when she can she has the fun habit of reading 3 or 4 books at a time. One of her current obsessions is James Baldwin and his prescient essays.
Nick Perilli (MFA ‘16) is living and writing in Philadelphia. His debut speculative fiction novel, Cul-de-sac, was published by MONTAG Press, and his chapbook, Child Lucia & Other Library Fabula, was released by Ethel Press. Short work of his appears in online journals like “Milk Candy Review,” Breadcrumbs Magazine. A full list of publications (and more!) is available on his website, nickperilli.com.
Nick Mehalick (MFA ‘16) is a son of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and currently lives and teaches in Philadelphia. His poetry can be found in “The Cerurove,” and “Philosophical Idiot,” among others, and his fiction in “Untethered Magazine.” He is the host of the podcast Book.Record.Beer. and drummer for various Philadelphia-based bands. Nick also has a poetry/hybrid chapbook published by Ethel Zine & Press and a poem featured in Bone and Ink Press’s “This Is Not a Punk Anthology, It’s a New Wave Anthology.”
Kailey Tedesco (MFA ’16) is the author of She Used to be on a Milk Carton (April Gloaming Publishing) and These Ghosts of Mine, Siamese (Dancing Girl Press). She is the editor-in-chief of Rag Queen Periodical and a staff writer for Luna Luna Magazine. Currently, she is teaching literature courses, including a course on the archetype of the witch at Moravian College. She also performs with the Poetry Brothel. Her recent work has been published in Electric Literature, Phoebe Journal, Sugar House Review, American Chordata, and more. She received her MFA in creative writing from Arcadia University in 2016. For more information, please follow her on social media (@kaileytedesco) or visit kaileyted
Nick Gregorio (MFA ’15) lives, writes, and teaches just outside of Philadelphia. His fiction has appeared in Crack the Spine, Hypertrophic Literary, 805 Literary and Arts Journal, and many more. His story “Embracing Skeletons” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2015 by Crack the Spine. He earned his MFA from Arcadia University in 2015, and his debut novel, Good Grief, was released in late 2017 by Maudlin House. For more, please visit nickgregorio.com.
Daniel DiFranco (MFA ’14) lives in Philadelphia. He teaches high school English and music. He plays in a band. His novel Panic Years will be published in Spring 2018 by Tailwinds Press. His short work has appeared in Smokelong Quarterly, LitroNY, Philadelphia Stories, The Molotov Cocktail, and other fine publications. He is 1/3 of the podcast book.record.beer, a podcast of writer-musicians who talk art and cut a track. Accomplishments: Longlisted in Wigleaf’s Top 50 2016. A finalist in Black Lawrence Press’s chapbook competition. In Smokelong Quarterly’s Top 5 Most Read Stories 2015.
Novel website: https://www.panicyears.com
Twitter: @danieldifranco
For more, visit danieldifranco.com
Christopher D. DiCicco (MFA ’14) is the author of So My Mother, She Lives in the Clouds (Hypertrophic Press) and teaches creative writing as Department Chairperson of English for Neshaminy High School. He is an award-winning teacher who continues to publish fiction and poetry. His work has been nominated for Pushcart, Best of the Net, and Best Indie Lit New England, and has appeared in such places as Superstition Review, Psychopomp, and Gigantic Sequins. For more, please visit cddicicco.com and follow him on Twitter @chrisdicicco.
Francis Daulerio (MFA ’14) is an English teacher at Downingtown West High School. He finds inspiration in family, friends, nature, and the unpredictability of daily life. Francis currently lives in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania with his loving wife, Leah. After graduating from Arcadia’s MFA program, Francis Daulerio published If & When We Wake, a collection of poetry and art with Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison. Now in its second edition, If & When We Wake explores the processes of healing and recovery following loss, and has been called “beautiful thoughts from a quiet head” by Atlantic Records. See a full list of Francis’s publications at his website. Find Francis on Twitter: @FDWrites.
Michelle Reale (MFA ’16) is an Assistant Professor at Arcadia University. She is the author of five collections of poetry and conducts ethnography on African immigrants in Sicily. She blogs about her experiences there. She has had several publications. Her collection Birds of Sicily: Poems will be released in a few months by Aldrich Press. She has published two other collections: Kestrel (Dancing Girl Press) and The Legacy of the Sidelong Glance: Elegies (Aldrich Press). Find Michelle on Twitter @Sempresicilia.
Matthew Kabik (MFA ’13) lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and uses the people and places around the region as a backdrop for his stories. He lives with a patient wife and too many typewriters. Matthew is one of the founding editors and current editor-in-chief of Third Point Press, and works as a copywriter for a business to business ad agency. He’s taken a year off (so far) from writing to explore what it’s like to not panic at a blank page. Read Matthew’s Story “Loneliness Can Be A Forest” at Sundog Lit. See a full list of Matthew’s publications on his website. Find Matthew on Twitter: @mlkabik.
Mary Rogers writes, reads, and lives in her native suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Blinders Literary Journal and The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review, and her short story, “L’Assunzione” appeared in Beecher’s 5 (University of Kansas). She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Arcadia University and a B.A. in Journalism from Temple University. During the summer, she was appointed as a trustee for her township library board. In her free time, she volunteers as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband and cat. Read Mary’s story “What We Know About Roots” at The Doctor TJ Eckleberg. Find Mary on Twitter: @marywriteswords.
Michael Salgado (MFA ’16) grew up in Allentown, PA and the Lehigh Valley region. He is a poet and Training Specialist with Eurofins Lancaster Labs. Mike is also a poetry and art editor for Marathon Literary Review. You can find more of Mike’s work in The EEEL by tNY Press, Third Point Press, Lehigh Valley Vanguard, and G3: Genes, Genomes, Genomics. Mike currently resides in Lancaster, PA where he is active in the growing literary community. His work has been published in the Montgomery County Community College’s Art and Literature Magazine and in their Writer’s Club monthly newsletters. Michael currently resides in Lansdale, PA. Read Michael’s Poem, “Kanban,” at Lehigh Valley Vanguard. Find Michael on Twitter: @Salgado1Michael.
Maddie Anthes (MFA ’15) Between January 2015-March 2016, Madeline had stories published in Inwood Indiana, matchbook, Third Point Press, WhiskeyPaper, Black Denim Lit, The Molotov Cocktail, and Hypertrophic Literary. (Links to these stories and a full list of Maddie’s publication can be found on her website). In February 2016, she also became the acquisitions editor at Hypertrophic Literary. She teaches writing at Rider University and The College of New Jersey, and is revising her novel manuscript.
Tianna Grosch (MFA ’17) has finished her first year of the MFA in Fiction program while working full-time at Dufour Editions, Inc., a publisher of short story collections and literary fiction, and the U.S. distributor for dozens of British and Irish publishers. Many of Tianna’s articles were published at the beginning of this year in The Odyssey, an online literary magazine, where she interned as a writer for a few months.
Abi Putnam (MFA ’17) won honorable mention in Literary Magazine Glimmer Train’s 2015 Emerging Writer’s contest for her short story, “Committed”. She is looking forward to sending out more of her sort stories for publication in the next few years.
Justin Hunter (MFA ’17) has had two stories published thus far in 2016: “Army Men” (Down in the Dirt Magazine), and “The Girl in the Tarp” (AWS Publishing). He continues to work on his novel in the MFA program.
Charlie Allison (MFA ’17) managed to complete the rough draft of his first novel in January. He is currently working on revisions and submitting his short stories to various magazines while working part-time as a graduate assistant at Arcadia University. His short story “In Mixcoatl’s Net” has been published at AWS in July and ‘Krish’s New Pet’ will be published by 9 Tales from Elsewhere in August.
Britny Brooks lives in Philadelphia, and received her BA in English and Creative Writing at Penn State University. She usually writes fantasy, speculative, and science fiction stories that focus on female characters and perspectives. When she isn’t writing, Britny works at the Philly rock gym and talks about her dog, video games, writing, and coffee. Read Britny’s story “Indian Drills” at From the Fallout Shelter.
Lauren Kelly relocated to the Washington D.C. area from New Jersey in 2006. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia and works in the legal department of a trade association.
Shauna-Maria Andolina earned her undergraduate degree at Penn State University. Besides coaching, she concentrates on writing new poetry to add to her variety of work. Read Shauna-Maria’s poem “Learning to Experiment” at Lehigh Valley Vanguard.
Elise Brand is an English teacher from Lansdale, Pennsylvania; she lives there with her husband, a history professor. She earned her MLA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001, and is also a fellow of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project. Elise has been recently nominated by the Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program as their current “Featured Teacher,” acknowledged for her work in bringing published poets into the classroom to work with students. Her most recently published poems, “Caring for our Mothers” and “Shopping” can be found in Transcendent Visions 2016, edited by David Kime, which is celebrating 24 years of existence this year. Brand is also the Chair of Program on the board of the Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program. Her work has recently appeared in The Broadkill Review, The North Penn Reporter. Read Elise’s poem “A Spoken Poem by Tonicus Balonicus” in Mouse Tales Press.
Kimberly Ely is a writer and editor for a charter school in Chester County. She is also an adjunct professor for Eastern University. She resides in Downingtown, Pa., with her husband. Read Kimberly’s story “By The Rivery” at Olentangy Review. See a full list of Kimberly’s publications on her website. Find Kimberly on Twitter: @Kimberly_Emilia.
Corinne Kelly crafts slightly twisted tales that reflect her off-kilter personality. Her greatest and most terrifying feat of all is her day job—she teaches high school English and Social Studies in her home city of Philadelphia. Read Corinne’s short story “Life Inside a Cannon Ball.” Follow Corinne on Facebook and Instagram.
Liz Kerr is a Registered Nurse on the Heart Transplant team at Temple University Hospital. Her stories have appeared in Philly Fiction 2, the anthology Rust Belt Rising, and in 2013 she won the City Paper fiction writing contest.
Rosemarie Koch is a 1991 graduate of Arcadia University with a BA in English and Spanish. Rose spent her junior year at Lancaster University in England, taking a short train journey regularly to Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage. While visiting this Lake District literary haunt, she noted the wisdom of a private exit from the house as a means of gathering poetic inspiration. Currently, Rose works in The College of Global Studies at Arcadia University. Her writing has appeared in Rabbit Hill Studio, Stirring, Snakeskin, and in other publications.
Jeanette Perosa has had stories published in The Thorn Literary Journal, Perspectives Literary Journal, Adanna Literary Journal, Delta Woman Magazine, Eunoia Review, Winter Legends and has a short story upcoming in an anthology entitled The Way of the Woof: A Collection of Dog Stories. While not chasing her four children or teaching at Montgomery County Community College, she is writing fiction or traveling with her husband.
Kate Sprandio is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received her BA in English from Chestnut Hill College. She has always loved making people laugh and attempts to do so in her writing. Her stories mostly focus on the foibles of young women, and she finds inspiration in her own life experiences and in those of her friends. When she’s not writing about awkward situations, you can find her creating real life ones, or hanging out with her poodle Nelly. Read Kate’s story, “A Text Message.” See a full list of Kate’s publications at her website. Find Kate on Twitter: @KateSprandio.
Zachary Woodard lives outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He typically writes fantasy, horror and weird tales, and has a fascination with tabletop games and game design. He often rants about writing, games, and cartoons on Twitter. Read Zachary’s story “The Shrike” in Plasma Frequency Magazine. Find Zachary on Twitter: @zwgarth.
