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Ashland Faculty and Alumni Listed on 2015 Best American Essays Notable List


Three faculty members and three alumni of the Ashland MFA program were listed among the 2015 Best American Essays’ Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2014. 
  • Joe Mackall, "Reflections of a Moderately Disturbed Grandfather" published in River Teeth, Spring 2014.
  • E.J. Levy, "Bread," published in Normal School, Spring 2014
  • Jill Christman, "The Avocado," published in Fourth Genre, Spring 2014
  • Jan Shoemaker (2014), "Tenebrae," published in Colorado Review, Summer 2014
  • Sarah Wells (2015), "Human Resources Training," published in The Pinch, Fall 2014
  • Jon Kerstetter (2011), "Learning to Breathe," published in Normal School, Fall 2014

Six essays published in RiverTeeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative were included on this year’s list of Notable Essays, including "Heart Sounds" by 2015 MFA Summer Residency Visiting Writer, Lee Martin.

The Best American Series is published annually to showcase the year’s best short fiction and nonfiction.  Selections come from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites and are selected by a series editor and a guest editor.  The nonfiction series editor is Robert Atwan and this year’s guest editor was New Yorker magazine staff writer and award-winning essayist Ariel Levy. 


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