CV

EDUCATION

Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing (Poetry), 2001
University of Alabama

Master of Arts, English, 1996
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

Bachelor of Arts, English, 1993
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Notables list (“Manna,” Bellevue Literary Review), Best American Nonrequired Reading (2011).
  • Winner, Black River Poetry Chapbook Competition, 2008.
  • Winner, Dream Horse Press Poetry Chapbook Competition, 2008.
  • Individual Artist Grant (Fiction), Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, 2007.
  • Finalist, Tupelo Press Snowbound Series Chapbook Award in Poetry, 2004.
  • Finalist, Tupelo Press Dorset Prize in Poetry, 2003.
  • Fellow in Literature (Nonfiction), Alabama State Council on the Arts, 2002 – 2003.
  • Teaching/Writing Fellow, Program in Creative Writing, University of Alabama, Fall 1999.

[Click here for list of Publications.]

TEACHING

Instructor, 2002 to the present
Creative Writing Department, Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA)

  • Lead group critiques and lecture on individual authors, texts, and principles of craft.
  • Helped revise departmental curriculum to include more variety in genre and subject matter.
  • Maintain course-specific writing pedagogy blog (www.tjbcw.wordpress.com).
  • Advanced creative writing courses taught:
    • Genre Workshops: Fiction; Poetry; Creative Nonfiction
    • Special Topics Courses: Writing for Film; Writing in the Digital Age; Writing America
    • Creative Writing Practicum: The Writing Life
    • Senior Independent Study: Creative Writing Thesis
    • Literature Surveys: Creative Nonfiction; Contemporary Poetry
  • Academic core and elective courses taught:
    • Introduction to Creative Writing for Non-majors (Arts Elective)
    • Introductory Genre Workshop: Fiction (Arts Elective)
    • 21st Century Challenges (Interdisciplinary, Team-taught Elective)
    • 8th Grade English: World Literature
    • 7th Grade English: Composition, Close Reading, and Critical Thinking Skills
  • Selected committees and service work:
    • Workshop Leader, Young Writers’ Creative Writing Summer Camp, 2003 – 2011
    • Member, National Honor Society Selection Committee, 2009 – 2010
    • Member, Hiring Committee (Director of Curriculum & Instruction), 2005
    • Member, Hiring Committee (College Advisor), 2005
    • Member, Pilot Committee to Implement Teacher Teams, 2004 – 2005
    • Member, Scholarship Committee, 2003 – 2004, 2009 – 2010
    • Chair, Strategic Planning Committee on Student Support, 2003

Graduate Instructor, 1997 – 2000
Department of English, University of Alabama

  • Courses taught:
    • EH 101: Composition (Expository Writing)
    • EH 102: Composition (Writing About Literature)
    • EH 200: Introduction to Creative Writing
    • EH 207: Introduction to World Literature
    • EH 303: Intermediate Poetry Workshop

Graduate Instructor, 1994 – 1996
Department of English, Virginia Tech

  • Courses taught:
    • EH 1105: Composition (Expository Writing)
    • EH 1106: Composition (Modes of Inquiry)
    • Writing Center Tutor

EDITING

Founding Editor, 2004 – 2010
Red Mountain Review (published by the Alabama School of Fine Arts)

  • Managed acquisition, production, budget, and staff for national literary journal and annual chapbook series.
  • Wrote two successful grant proposals to the state arts council for start-up and operating costs.
  • Coordinated national poetry chapbook competition and organized a public reading and reception in conjunction with each chapbook release.

Editor, 2002
Associate Editor, 2001
Editorial Assistant, 1999 – 2001
Alabama Heritage (published by the University of Alabama)

  • Managed acquisition, production, and staff for quarterly Popular History magazine.
  • Researched, wrote and ghostwrote feature articles, sidebars, columns and departments.
  • Responsible for annual budget of $250,000.

Editor, 2000 – 2001
Managing Editor, 1999 – 2000
Assistant Fiction Editor, 1999 – 2000
Assistant Poetry Editor, 1997 – 1999
Black Warrior Review  (published by the University of Alabama)

  • Managed acquisition, production, and staff for biannual literary magazine.
  • Responsible for annual budget of $15,000.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Director, 2006 – 2010
Gorham’s Bluff Institute (Pisgah, AL)

  • Scheduled, promoted, and helped produce arts and education programs in rural northeast Alabama.
  • Selected programs included the Alabama Ballet Summer Residency in Gorham’s Bluff, the Gorham’s Bluff Sunday Performance Series, the Gorham’s Bluff Lecture Series, the Gorham’s Bluff Visual Arts Residencies, the Jackson County Math Tournament, and the Jackson County Scholars Bowl.
  • Wrote grant proposals and other fundraising communications, garnering awards from a range of public and private grant makers, including the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation, and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.
  • Negotiated contracts and event logistics with artists in various specialties, including music, dance, visual art, creative writing, and theater arts.
  • Wrote, revised, and updated web content, e-newsletters, press releases, organizational history, and other promotional materials.

Freelance Writer/Editor, 2005 to the present

  • Write feature articles, profiles, departments, reviews and other materials for trade magazines, newsweeklies, websites, and other publications.
  • Create and polish existing business communications, including e-newsletters, corporate histories, brochure copy, sales letters, and resumes.
  • Review and critique original poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction manuscripts.
  • Co-author and ghostwrite articles, biographies, and memoirs.
  • Current and former clients include:
    • The Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center [Bowling Green, KY]
    • RamakRealty [Atlanta, GA]
    • Corbin & Shahidi Realtors [Atlanta, GA]
    • New Neighborhood Builders [Atlanta, GA/Gorham's Bluff, AL]
    • The Town of Gorham’s Bluff, Alabama
    • The McGriff Alliance (financial services) [Birmingham, AL]
    • Sam “The Great Kaiser” Tenenbaum (memoir) [Birmingham, AL]
    • Keith Thomson (novel manuscript critique) [Birmingham, AL]
    • Portico magazine (feature article) [Birmingham, AL]
    • Alabama Alumni Magazine (profile) [Tuscaloosa, AL]

SELECTED READINGS

  • AWP 2013, Devil’s Lake Press/Black Lawrence Press Off-site Reading, Boston, MA, March 7, 2013.
  • The Montevallo Literary Festival, Montevallo, AL, April 15, 2011.
  • The Slash Pine Writers Festival, Tuscaloosa, AL, April 1, 2011.
  • The Slash Pine Press 20/59 Poetry Collision, Birmingham, AL, September 12, 2009.
  • Greencup Books Inaugural Bookfair, Birmingham, AL, November 12, 2008.
  • THE2NDHAND @Art Walk 2007, Birmingham, AL, September 7, 2007.
  • Alabama Writers’ Symposium, Monroeville, AL, May 4, 2007.
  • Alabama School of Fine Arts Faculty Reading, Birmingham, AL, March 11, 2005.
  • Alabama School of Fine Arts Faculty Reading, Birmingham, AL, February 19, 2004.
  • Alabama School of Fine Arts Faculty Reading, Birmingham, AL, February 28, 2003.
  • Writers’ Harvest, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, October 10, 2001.

LECTURES, WORKSHOPS, & PANELS

Workshop Leader, Creative Writing Pedagogy, Montevallo Literary Festival, University of Montevallo, Montevallo, AL, April 15, 2011.

Guest Speaker, Writing Our Stories: a project of the Alabama Department of Youth Services and the Alabama Writers’ Forum, Adele Goodwyn McNeel School, Birmingham, AL, October 28, 2010.

Guest Lecturer, The Landscape of Contemporary Literary Publishing, English 223: Creative Writing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, October 13, 2009.

Workshop Leader, Hands on Art Workshops (Creative Writing), Birmingham Youth Leadership Forum, Birmingham, AL, December 4, 2008.

Facilitator, Literary Magazine Workshop, Alabama Scholastic Press Association Convention, Tuscaloosa, AL, February 16, 2007.

Workshop Leader, Writing Memoir and Creative Nonfiction, Gorham’s Bluff Institute, Pisgah, AL, June 24-25, 2006.

Facilitator, Literary Magazine Workshop, Alabama Scholastic Press Association, Fall Regional Tour, September 14 and Oct. 21-22, 2004.

Facilitator, Literary Magazine Workshop, Alabama Scholastic Press Association, Fall Regional Tour, September 15-18, 2003.

Facilitator, Literary Magazine Workshop, Alabama Scholastic Press Association, Summer Camp Program, Tuscaloosa, AL, July 18-19, 2003.

Presenter, “Letting the Inmates Run the Asylum: Editorial Autonomy in Student Publications,” Alabama Scholastic Press Association Summer Camp, Tuscaloosa, AL, July 18, 2003.

Panel member, “Life After the MFA,” University of Alabama Program in Creative Writing, Tuscaloosa, AL, January 29, 2002.

Presenter, “Poetry in the Composition Classroom,” GTA Orientation Program, Virginia Tech Department of English, Blacksburg, VA, August 23, 1995.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

  • Peer Reviewer, Applications Review Committee, Literature Fellowships for FY 2011, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Spring 2010.
  • Final Judge, Jack Murphy Memorial Award, National Federation of State Poetry Societies, 2009.
  • Final Judge, Alabama Young Writers’ Literary Awards, Alabama School of Fine Arts, 2009 – 2011.
  • Final Judge, Literary Magazine Contest, Alabama Scholastic Press Association, 2007.
  • Final Judge, Literary Magazine Contest, Alabama Scholastic Press Association, 2004.
  • Peer Reviewer, Applications Review Committee, Literary Organization Grants for FY 2003, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Spring 2002.
  • Member, Hiring Committee (Assistant Director of Student Media), University of Alabama, Spring 2002.
  • Member (ex-officio), Media Planning Board, University of Alabama, 1999 – 2001.