The English Department maintains a regular rotation of events, workshops and opportunities, and our students, faculty and staff are are frequently publishing, launching new projects, or otherwise making headway within the literary community and beyond. Our news bulletin and calendar will keep you up to date on upcoming events and highlight our community’s accomplishments.
Upcoming Events
- Truth, Memory and Accountability for Mass Atrocity: Comparative Perspectives
Across the globe, survivors, activists and nations search for productive ways of moving forward in the aftermaths of mass atrocities. Louis Bickford and Eduardo González have worked in many such areas. In conversation with Prof. Mikhal Dekel, they will talk about their lived experiences: challenges, successes, and the ideas and ideals that animate them.
All Posts
- Truth, Memory and Accountability for Mass Atrocity: Comparative PerspectivesAcross the globe, survivors, activists and nations search for productive ways of moving forward in the aftermaths of mass atrocities. Louis Bickford and Eduardo González have worked in many such areas. In conversation with Prof. Mikhal Dekel, they will talk about their lived experiences: challenges, successes, and the ideas and ideals that animate them.
- Chai and Chat: Rosanna Young Oh
A reading and conversation with poet and professor Rosanna Young Oh. - Emporialism: Department Store Fictions and the Politics of the Mediterranean
Professor Amr Kamal will speak about his new book, Emporialism: Department Store Fictions and the Politics of the Mediterranean. The book looks at the convergence between emporia (department stores) and spaces and imaginaries of empires, in the context of a modern Mediterranean divided between the British, French, and Ottoman empires. - Whitman on Walls!
The acclaimed Compagnia de’ Colombari, director Karin Coonrod conceived of Whitman on Walls: a hybrid project juxtaposing film and live performance in response to Walt Whitman’s radical “Song of Myself.” This ambitious project has travelled all over the country and world. Our launch features New York poets who have participated in previous events and are included in the anthology. - The MFA Reading Series Presents: Andrew Krivák
Tuesday, March 18th6:30PM-7:30PMRifkind Center, NAC 6/316 Free and open to the public Novelist, poet, and memoirist Andrew Krivák will read from his recent work and be in conversation with Professor Salar Abdoh. Krivák will discuss openings in his novels, and how the way a writer begins can — and should — shape the entire story. … - An Evening of Readings
February 23 7-9pm Fiction Bar 308 Hooper St. Brooklyn, NY 11211 Featuring: Nina Capelli Tim Coover Kelly Dasta Mave Goren Samantha Hernandez Sarah Bess Jaffe Micaela Macagnone Gabriel Noel F.M. Papaz Presented by The Writer’s Foundry & The City College of New York - Spring 2025 Calendar of Events – MFA in Creative Writing
The Langston Hughes Festival THURS 2/13 – FRI 2/14 THESIS WORKSHOP – For SP25 Thesis Students MON 2/24 5:00pm-6:00pm – ON ZOOM THESIS WORKSHOP – General Information WED 3/5 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Rifkind Center, NAC 6/316 MFA Reading Series featuring Andrew Krivák TUES 3/18 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Rifkind Center, NAC 6/316 Reading by Emily Raboteau …Read more “Spring 2025 Calendar of Events – MFA in Creative Writing”
- Terrence Malick and the Examined Life | Martin Woessner
Martin Woessner will be in conversation about his new book Terrence Malick and the Examined Life with Nick Pappas, Professor of Philosophy, City College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. - Video now available of Joyce Carol Oates talk
A trailer and full length interview of the November 14th talk, Joyce Carol Oates, in Conversation with Mark J. Mirsky is now available on our YouTube Channel: Trailer Interview To see other English Department videos, visit our YouTube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@EnglishCityCollegeNY - JAMES BALDWIN CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Archived livestream of the James Baldwin event Interview Trailer Poster - Joyce Carol Oates in Conversation with Mark J. Mirsky
Thursday, November 14th 6:00-7:30 pm Shepard Hall 95 Event Videos now available here Joyce Carol Oates is a recipient of the National Medal of the Humanities, the National Book Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Book Award, and the Jerusalem Prize. She is the author of Butcher (Knopf, May 2024) as well as the national …Read more “Joyce Carol Oates in Conversation with Mark J. Mirsky”
- CCNY Graduate Open House
Info Session on Zoom – register for the link. October 18 – 4:30pm – 6pm - Chai & Chat Reading Series with Kima Jones
MFA in Creative Writing at the City College of New York presentsthe Chai and Chat Reading Series MFA Director Michelle Valladares In Conversation with Kima JonesAuthor, Professor, and Literary Agent Wednesday, November 6th6:30PM-7:30PMRifkind Center, NAC 6/316 Join us as we discuss the stages of literary publishing and book advocacy from sending out the query letter … - Professor Lyn Di Iorio ‘s “Maritza and Carmen”
Professor Lyn Di Iorio has a new novelette, Maritza and Carmen, published in the fall issue of The Georgia Review. thegeorgiareview.com/shop/issues/fall-2024 - New book out by Professor Keith Gandal
Professor Keith Gandal has published a new memoir: Firsthand: How I Solved a Literary Mystery and Learned to Play Kickass Tennis while Coming to Grips with the Disorder of Things. Published by Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2024. You can get 30% off the $25 cost for the paperback and kindle versions by going directly … - MFA in Creative Writing Events, Fall 2024
Harlem In The Woods Retreat Stephen & Betsy Corman Harriman Outdoor Center Fri-Sun 10/4-10/6 Thesis Workshop 1 – General Information 4:00pm-5:00pm In The Rifkind Center, NAC 6/316 Wed 10/16 Thesis Workshop 2 – For Fa24 Thesis Students 4:00pm-5:00pm – On Zoom Wed 10/23 Chai and Chat With Kima Jones 6:30pm-7:30pm In The Rifkind Center, NAC … - Soraya Palmer Named a 2024 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow
We are thrilled to announce that Prof. Soraya Palmer, who teaches fiction in the MFA Program at CCNY, has just received the NYSCA/NYFA Award for Fiction - MFA 2024 Photographs
Some photos of the Creative Writing MFA program that students and faculty have shared through the semester - Graduate Student Conference Program – May 17, 2024
Conference program and bulletin: workshops, events and keynotes - Graduate Department: Call for Papers:
FOREIGN BODIES The 2024 Annual CCNY English Graduate ConferenceConference Date: May 17, 2024Submission Deadline: May 1, 2024 Download Poster PDF In Orientalism, Edward Said states, “Knowledge means rising above immediacy, beyond self, into the foreign and distant.” For Said, this ecstatic process then is not just about foreignness but about definitions concerning otherness, too. That … - Informational Zoom about MA in Literature
Master of Arts in English Literature at The City College of New York Are you interested in an advanced degree in English literature? CCNY’s MA in Literature offers a versatile education with excellent job prospects. Please join us for an informational about the MA in Literature on Zoom on May 3, at 5pm (Eastern), 2024. This is … - White Supremacy in Global Context
Wednesday, April 16th, 20245:00-6:30 pm In person and via ZoomRifkind Center, 6/316 NAC building In recent years the transnational dimensions of far-right, racially motivated extremism have become unmistakable. The texts and manifestos of far-right networks circulate widely on the Internet, radicalizing new groups and spawning racially motivated acts of terrorism by actors who, despite being … - Essay by Emily Raboteau in Orion Magazine
Gutbucket, by Emily Raboteau At the end of the world, rituals offer a lifeline I AM A MOTHER raising Black children in New York City, which is unceded Munsee Lenape territory. Often, I am afraid for my children’s lives. Where my family lives, the storms are growing worse, and the water is rising, and these are … - MFA Fall Application Deadline Extended until March 1
The Deadline for Fall Applications to our Creative Writing MFA program has been extended until March 1 2024. Learn more Apply online - Launch for Emily Raboteau’s new book, ‘Lessons for Survival’
Professor Emily Raboteau’s launch for her new book, Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “The Apocalypse” will be on Thursday, March 14, 7PM at The Center for Fiction. - Interview with Professor Mark Mirsky in Collidescope
MFA Professor Mark Mirsky, author, founder and editor of Fiction magazine and the former director of the Creative Writing Program, has a two-part interview in Collidescope this fall.Here are part one and part two. - Chai and Chat with David Groff
A reading and conversation to celebrate his new book, Live in Suspense. Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024New Date—Wednesday, April 3rd, 20245:00-6:30 pmRifkind Center, 6/316 NAC building David Groff’s third book of poems Live in Suspense, was published in 2023 from Trio House Press. He has previously published Clay, winner of the Louise Bogan Award and Theory … - 45th Annual Langston Hughes Festival Honors Colson Whitehead
Roundtable Discussion, Film Screening and Award Ceremony February 1, 2024 at Aaron Davis Hall The Symposium 12:30 pm – 1:45pm Roundtable Discussion featuring The PaperFilm Screening of The Five Demands following the symposium The Ceremony: 6:00 pm – 8:00P pm Musical Performance by Ariel Reign, Memphis Music Ambassador RSVP https://www.eventbrite.com/e/45th-annual-langston-hughes-festival-honors-colson-whitehead-tickets-798761456017 Contact Info: Black Studies Program 160 Convent Avenue, NAC 4/149New York, …Read more “45th Annual Langston Hughes Festival Honors Colson Whitehead”
- Conversation with Brian Tart, President and Publisher, Viking Penguin
Tuesday, February 6th, 20245:00-6:30 pmRifkind Center, 6/316 NAC building Brian Tart will discuss the publishing industry with emerging writers. Free and open to the publicSponsored by The David Dortort Fund for Creative Writing Brian Tart was named president and publisher of Viking in January 2015, and Penguin Books in 2020. He started his career as …Read more “Conversation with Brian Tart, President and Publisher, Viking Penguin”
- Spring 2024 MFA Events: Save the Date
A Conversation with Brian Tart,President and Publisher, Viking Penguin Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 5:00-6:30 pmRifkind Center, 6/316NAC building A discussion about the publishing industry for emerging writers Chai & Chat with David Groff, Poet, Professor, Editor Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 5:00-6:30 pmRifkind Center, 6/316NAC building A reading to celebrate his new book, Live in Suspense. … - Book Talk: Robert Higney, Institutional Character
Friday, December 1st from 4-5 pm Robert Higney will present a talk on his recent book Institutional Character: Collectivity, Individuality, and the Modernist Novel (University of Virginia Press, 2022), hosted by the CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences. The event will be held on Zoom. Register here:https://gc-cuny-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwsf-qupzkoGtEde7QfbKU7XuwlVd1lwsSE#/registration - Craft as Brand: Authoring Your Career
CCNY’s MFA Program in Creative Writing Presentsa Publishing Workshop with Yahdon Israel Senior Editor, Simon & Schuster and Guest Professor Craft as Brand: Authoring Your Career This workshop will help the emerging writer craft their career as a writer. Tuesday November 28th from 7:00 – 8:00 pm Rifkind Room NAC 6/316 Yahdon Israel is an educator, entrepreneur, editor, writer … - Hachette Book Group hosts the 25th Anniversary of the Publishing Certificate Program
On September 27th, 2023, CCNY’s Publishing Certificate Program celebrated its 25th Anniversary amongst industry luminaries at the Hachette Book Group’s headquarters in New York City. CCNY President Vincent Boudreau joined PCP co-founder and novelist Walter Mosley to mark this achievement and underscore the important role the PCP has played in increasing diversity in the publishing …Read more “Hachette Book Group hosts the 25th Anniversary of the Publishing Certificate Program “
- Press for Salar Abdoh’s novel “A Nearby Country Called Love”
One Man’s Complicated Quest for Connection in Contemporary Tehran by Lysley Tenorio in the New York Times Book ReviewNov. 4, 2023 . . . explores the complexities of relationships, sexuality and cultural norms in modern Iran. Read review 10 noteworthy books for November and December By Becky Meloan in the Washington PostNov. 1, 2023 Abdoh’s brutally poignant novel explores …Read more “Press for Salar Abdoh’s novel “A Nearby Country Called Love””
- A Conversation with Carlos Aguasaco, Chai & Chat Reading Series
The CCNY MFA in Creative Writing presentsChai & Chat Reading Series FA23 A Conversation with Carlos Aguasaco Poet, Professor and Director of the Americas Poetry Festival Moderated by Prof. Michelle Valladares Tuesday, November 14th 5 – 7 pm Rifkind Center, NAC 6/316 Sponsored by the Estate of the Kenneth Kowald Fund for Advancing American Literature …Read more “A Conversation with Carlos Aguasaco, Chai & Chat Reading Series”
- In My Eyes, You Are Beautiful: A Reading & Conversation with David Unger
CCNY’s MFA in Creative Writing Reading Series Fall 2023 presents: David Unger Novelist, Translator & Professor A Reading and Conversation to Celebrate the English Translation of his Book, In My Eyes, You Are Beautiful Thurs. Nov 9 2023s:oo-6:oo pmRifkind Center NAC 6/316 David Unger received Guatemala’s Miguel Angel Asturias National Literature Prize for lifetime achievement …Read more “In My Eyes, You Are Beautiful: A Reading & Conversation with David Unger”
- New Book Review by Emily Raboteau in in The Nation
The Good LifeWhat can we learn from the history of utopianism? Professor Emily Raboteau reviews Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life, by Kristen R. Ghodsee https://www.thenation.com/article/society/kristen-ghodsee-utopia/ In the desert of Saudi Arabia, between Jordan and the Red Sea, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is building a …Read more “New Book Review by Emily Raboteau in in The Nation”
- New story by Salar Abdoh in “Fiction”
Borges’s Search For Averroes by Salar Abdoh AT THE END OF A STORY he wrote about the greatest medieval commentator of Aristotle, Borges noted: The instant I stop believing in him, Averroes disappears. As Borges observed, Averroes, who knew everything, could not understand one thing, and that was theater. And so it happened that when … - Reading and Conversation with Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
CCNY’s MFA in Creative WritingReading Series Fall 2023 A Reading and Conversation with Rahna Reiko Rizzuto — Guest Professor, Novelist and Memoirist Monday, October 16, 20235:00 – 7:00pmRifkind Center, NA 6/316 The MFA in Creative Writing at City College invites you to a reading and conversation with Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, a guest professor, novelist and …Read more “Reading and Conversation with Rahna Reiko Rizzuto”
- Salar Abdoh’s article published in The Atlantic
In their article How to Be a Man in Iran, published in The Atlantic this month, CCNY Professor Salar Abdoh and Tehran-based journalist Vali Khalili describe how the return of morality police to city streets is a testing ground for women’s rights and everyone’s courage. - MFA Alum, poet Kay Bell is appointed the 2023 Bronx Poet Laureate
Kay Bell, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of English and academic advisor in the Division of Humanities and the Arts at The City College of New York, is the 2023-2025 Bronx Poet Laureate. Read more… - Celebrating the life of James deJongh
September 23, 2023, 11:00 AM Aaron Davis Hall 115 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10027 - Salar Abdoh’s new novel selected for Buzz Books’ Great Reads Fall/Winter 2023The MFA Program in Creative Writing has some wonderful news. Professor Salar Abdoh’s new novel, A Nearby Country Called Love, has been selected by Buzz Books for its Great Reads Fall/Winter 2023. Buzz Books posts one chapter of the author’s book on google books
- In-between transgressions: CCNY English graduate conference
Wednesday May 17 12 – 6 pm Rifkind Center, Room NAC 6-316 - Interview with agent Anjali Singh from Ayesha Pande Literary
THURSDAY APRIL 27 5:00-6:00PM RIFKIND CENTER NAC 6/316 The CCNY MFA in Creative Writing presents From Writer to Author Interview with agent Anjali Singh from Ayesha Pande Literary - The Diaries of Franz Kafka
May 8th, 5-7 pm Rifkind Center, NAC 6/316 Ross Benjamin on his new translation of THE DIARIES OF FRANZ KAFKA in conversation with Vaclav Paris - Compagnia de’ Colombari’s Whitman on Walls
Tues. Apr. 25, 6:00 – 7:30 PM Archives as Muse: A Harlem Storytelling Project created by CCNY’s MFA Program in Creative Writing Multimedia Event directed and conceived by Karin Coonrad. - Michelle Valladares and Aybike Ahmedi: CUNY MFAs on the Rise
In December 2022, Michelle Valladares, director of the MFA and Aybike Ahmedi, a current MFA student, were interviewed on the CUNY TV program Urban U - Professor William Gibbons interviewed on BBC Sunday Feature
CCNY Professor William Gibbons was interviewed by the BBC for their Sunday Feature program. Click the link above to learn more. - Chloe Cooper Jones: Reading and Q/A with the author of ‘Easy Beauty’
Presented by The CCNY MFA in Creative Writing and The CCNY Department of Philosophy Thursday, March 30, 2023 4:00 – 5:15 PM - Why Mentorship Matters: a Roundtable
Featuring the editors of ‘Feminists Reclaim Mentorship’ and other panelists Nancy K. Miller, Tahneer Oksman, Melissa Coss Aquino, Michelle Yasmine Valladares, Sharifa Hampton, and Angela Veronica Wong - Faculty Stories: “War, Peace & Poetics” Anthology, Edited by Professor Laura Hinton, Out Now.
The issue features work by over thirty poets, visual, performance and multimedia artists, and features Cris Cheek’s “No War” image series. - Student Stories: Miguel Johnson Explores the Pitfalls of an American Education for “The Independent”
American schools didn’t prepare Johnson for a higher education, but navigating that system opened his eyes to its injustices as he transcended them. - Faculty Stories: Salar Abdoh’s Dispatch from Behind the Front Lines in Ukraine
“There’s a war far closer to your home, among people who speak your language. Why do you need to chase battle in Ukraine?” - Alumni Stories: Nicole Treska’s “Love Letter to Her Family”
A mobster father and a winding road leading from Hawaii to New York are just some of the stories MFA alum Nicole Treska explores in her interview for the “Indoor Voices” podcast. - Student Stories: Michael Montali’s “Fantastic Cat” Performs on CBS Saturday Morning
Singer-songwriter and CCNY MFA in Fiction Candidate Michael Montali’s and his band performed a song off their debut album for CBS Saturday Morning. - Exploring the City College Archives
The Archives at City College are rich in historical documents, from 15th century hand-written manuscripts to foundational magazines of the N.A.A.C.P
- Archived Events (1)
- Events (36)
- Faculty Stories (13)
- Graduates (9)
- MA Lit (4)
- News (30)
- The Department of English (19)
- Undergraduates (7)
You can view the CCNY Academic Calendar here.