Has an academic advisor made a difference in your progress toward your educational goals? If an academic advisor has provided you with outstanding guidance, please nominate her/him/them for the Gerald Paetsch Academic Advising Award! Please click here for additional information. The Gerald Paetsch Academic Advising Award recognizes DePaul academic advisors who demonstrate excellence in advising undergraduate and/or graduate students. Any faculty, staff or administrator involved in the delivery of academic advising services is eligible for this award. Nominations will be accepted until March 25, 2026! Submit your nomination here.
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Last month, ahead of the Blue Demon Challenge, alumna Anna Sortino (MAWP ’19) visited DePaul for a Q&A with graduates in the MFA and MAWP program. The visit was recorded for the Blue Demon Challenge, where Anna discussed her time at DePaul, what led her to writing in the YA genre, any advice she has for current students in the program, and so much more. Check out the full video below, and if you missed the interview we did with Anna last month as part of her visit, you can read it here.
Last month, ahead of the Blue Demon Challenge, Depaul’s Big Shoulders Books hosted a livestream to discuss how students are editing a group of oral narratives from people in Calumet City and near the Calumet River, on Chicago’s South Side. This year, the Blue Demon Challenge raised more than $6.3 million in support of students. Check out the full video below to learn more about Big Shoulders Books and the book they are currently working on, as current graduate students walk through the narratives that stood out for them.
Thank you SO much to everyone who came out last night to support our first grad reading series at Uncommon Ground! It was so special to get together, share our work and support each other. We hope to host a monthly series, so stay tuned for more information on upcoming readings, and how to get involved.
Nominate an LAS faculty member who has made a significant impact on your learning at DePaul. Use the link below to submit a letter to the LAS Awards Committee explaining why your nominee excels as a teacher and how they have positively influenced your experience. Nominations can be submitted individually or collaboratively with fellow students. All letters will remain confidential. Submit your nominations here by Monday, February 16. If you have any questions, contact LAS_ETA@depaul.edu.
After Anna Sortino graduated from DePaul’s MAWP program in 2019, she applied for a publishing mentorship program called Pitch Wars (which is now defunct) and was picked by renowned YA author Aiden Thomas. At the time, the program was encouraging authors to write stories inspired by their own lives and identities, which ultimately pushed Sortino to write stories centered with disabled characters living their lives and falling in love. She has published two YA books—Give Me A Sign (2023 via Penguin Random House) and On The Bright Side (2024 via Penguin Random House)—with another set… Read Article →
Galena LitFest returns this January with a month-long celebration of literary arts. The fest concludes with an engaging evening of poetry and conversation with Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte on January 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. In collaboration with the Galena Public Library and the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation, the event will be held at the Mąą Pįį Preserve and Center’s historic Hess House at 1221 N Ferry Landing Rd in Galena, IL. This free, hybrid event allows participants to choose between attending in person or virtually via Zoom. Register here!
Libby Kalmbach Clark, an alumna of the MAWP program at DePaul University, published her essay Borders as Fiction in Witness, a magazine of the Black Mountain Institute. Libby is a nonfiction writer and a legal representative at the National Immigrant Justice Center. Her work has appeared in Electric Literature, Ascent, and the Prairie Schooner blog. She lives and works in Chicago. For more information, visit her website here.
Chris Tran, a graduate student in the MAWP program, had her poem “Look At Us” published in the Chicago Sun-Times this past weekend. The poem is a response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE officials and a tribute to her: Say her name, / Renee Nicole Good. / Remember her name, / Renee Nicole Good. / Look at us and insist / All of this is meant for good. You brand her a domestic terrorist, / But herein lies: / Beloved mother and wife / Daughter / Neighbor / Poet Justify your murder /… Read Article →
Join Rebecca Johns-Trissler’s Novels II class on Thursday, January 15th at 6 p.m. in room 301 ALH for an author visit by Anna Sortino (MAWP ’19). Anna is the author of three YA novels published by Penguin Teen: Give Me a Sign (2023), On the Bright Side (2024), and Stops Along the Way (forthcoming in May 2026), which have been honored by starred reviews from such places as Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and “Best Book of the Year” from more places. She is also working on an adult title next. Please note that this event… Read Article →
Join the DePaul Women’s Center for a weekly book club every Wednesday at 3 p.m. in SAC 150 or via Zoom. This quarter, the book club is reading Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. The Women’s Center has physical and digital copies of the book available. Stop by SAC 150, or email womenscenterdepaul@gmail.com for more information!
I hope everyone had a restful break, and has an easy transition back to classes for Winter Quarter! Here are a few announcements, reminders and submission deadlines to keep in mind as you get back into the swing of things. 1. REMINDER: The deadline to apply for graduate assistantships for the 2026–2027 academic year is January 15, 2026. If you’re interested, please send the following materials directly to Prof. and Director Michele Morano (mmorano@depaul.edu): 2. Check out this fantastic article in Oxford American written by Francesca T. Royster, professor of English at DePaul, about musician Willie… Read Article →