Let’s start with some basics. Where are you from? when did you graduate? what’s your cohort name? What have you been up to since graduation?

I’m from Chicago and grad

uated in Summer of 2021 with the Inside Jokes cohort. Since graduating, I’ve signed with my incredible agent, Sara Crowe, and am currently out on sub with a YA Contemporary novel. Right now I’m working on a new novel that I’m really excited about!

 

How did you fill your time when you weren’t working on packets?

I’m a Teen Services Librarian and I continued working full time through the program. It was busy, but manageable. I also started playing cello again after over a decade away from it, and I absolutely love having a hobby that is not word-related and that I’m not looking to monetize in any way. I’m lucky enough to live right by Lake Michigan, so I also spend a lot of time sitting by the water and imagining my life as an indie movie.

How did you hear about the Hamline MFAC program?

I was listening to Nina LaCour’s podcast Keeping A Notebook and she mentioned teaching at a low-residency MFA program focused completely on writing for children and young adults. I had no idea that such a thing existed! I had absolutely not planned on getting an MFA, but as soon as I saw the faculty list I knew I wanted to go more than anything.

What was your writing experience prior to entering the program?

Stories have always played a big role in my life — I was an avid reader and a theater kid — but I didn’t start writing my own fiction until I turned 30. I wasn’t an English major and didn’t take a single creative writing class in college. I did blog and write creative non-fiction, but it didn’t really occur to me that I was allowed to try to write novels. When I finally started, I read a lot of craft books and took some online workshops, but when I finished my first novel I knew it was a messy pile of words and I had no idea what to do next. Enter Hamline!

Tell us a favorite residency memory.

My first residency there was a huge rainstorm one evening and so, instead of being in the usual classroom, the faculty reading got moved to the common room in the dorms. We all crowded in, sitting on the floor and the few couches and chairs, and it created this incredible, cozy, intimate feeling as we listened to the faculty read their work. Anne Ursu read from her novel in progress, and at one point she paused and laughed and said, “and this is where I just have in brackets [trees and sh!t]. Not only was it such a wonderful example of trust and vulnerability, it became a catchphrase among us all that I still use to remind myself that not everything has to come out perfectly in the first draft.

Can you share a little about your creative thesis?

My creative thesis was a fully revised YA contemporary novel about a girl struggling to reconcile her queer identity with her religious upbringing. I was so glad to have my advisor’s help through the revision because it’s such a different process than drafting.

What did you write your extended critical essay about?

My critical essay analyzed books with protagonists who were both religious (at varying levels of devoutness) and queer. So, definitely variations on a theme, here. Writing the critical essay helped me work out some things about the novel that became my creative thesis.

What changes have you noticed in your writing since MFAC?

I have a lot more confidence in my writing and in my writing process, and I’m more willing to try things and see what happens. I’m also more conscious about making choices for specific reasons in my novels rather than falling back on defaults. Knowing more about craft than I did going into the program means I have a much bigger toolbox at my disposal.

Any thoughts for those considering the program?

Going to MFAC is the single best thing I have ever done for myself. It literally changed my life. I grew so much as a writer and the MFAC community is so incredible and supportive. Writing can be a very lonely pursuit and I have no idea what I would do without the amazing friends I’ve made. The faculty are incredible and care so much about helping you become the best writer you can be. And even beyond graduation, my advisors have always been there when I needed advice. I know many places talk about being a family, but MFAC really is!

Anything else you’d like us to know?

Like many things, you’ll get out of MFAC what you put into it. If you’re willing to try things and work hard, I don’t think there is a better program anywhere for writers of kid lit.