Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts [NEOMFA]

Faculty Caryl Pagel will be reading in the “Antiphony in Cleveland” event on Saturday, November 7 at Visible Voice Books. 6:00 pm start at 4601 Lorain Avenue in Cleveland. Also reading are David James Miller and Zach Savich. Info at www.visiblevoicebooks.com/calendar-of-....

The next issue of the NEOMFA Post newsletter is coming soon! Sign up now to receive future editions at neomfa.org/newsletter. Also read our September issue with featured alumni Joee Goheen, news on fall program events, recent pubs and readings, and more!

Many NEOMFA faces in the Poets for Science Gathering at KSU 11/12-14! poetsforscience.org/gathering-20... El Bentivegna, Julia Cilano, Elizabeth Culotta, Jessica Jones, Scott Kenimond, Ashton Leigh, Molly McLaughlin, Valentine Shell & Julianne Metzger Taylor + Carrie George & Karen Schubert!­

Alum David Hansen has a new play Oct 29-31 at convergence-continuum in Cleveland! “The Right Room” is the true story of one family, represented by four couples across the 1930s, '50s, & '90s. This love story explores identity, belonging, romance, loss, and commitment. www.convergence-continuum.org

This Thu 10/22! Faculty Catherine Wing and Anthony Tognazzini will be reading with their KSU colleague Alice Cone at 8:00 pm at Last Exit Books in Kent. (124 East Main Street #1, 44240.) Join this triple-threat of KSU-based faculty as they celebrate their 2026 OAC Individual Excellence Awards!

Student Julia Cilano will be the guest reader in the Poetry Night event at Last Exit Books & Coffeehouse on Friday, October 16 at 8:00 pm, at 124 East Main Street in Kent.

Many NEOMFA faces in the Poets for Science Gathering at KSU 11/12-14! poetsforscience.org/gathering-20... El Bentivegna, Julia Cilano, Elizabeth Culotta, Jessica Jones, Scott Kenimond, Ashton Leigh, Molly McLaughlin, Valentine Shell, & Julianne Metzger Taylor, + Carrie George and Karen Schubert!

NEOMFA alum Sony Ton-Aime will be reading at Kent State University this Wed, Oct 14 at 7pm! Presented by the Wick Poetry Center at Murphy Auditorium in KSU’s Rockwell Hall. Free and open to the public! Book signing and reception to follow. www.kent.edu/wick/reading....

Faculty Anthony Tognazzini and Catherine Wing will read with KSU colleague Alice Cone on 10/22 at 8pm at Last Exit Books. (124 E Main St, Kent 44240.) Celebrate their 2026 OAC awards! oac.ohio.gov/home/news-an... (Click to also see awards for UA's David Giffels & CSU's Caryl Pagel +Hilary Plum!)

Recent grad Mansa Lamont Bey will be the featured poet at the Alter Ego Poetry & Soul open mic night on Saturday, October 17 at Miss O’s Cafe. The event starts at 7:00 pm at 12672 Rockside Road in Garfield Heights.

MFA candidate Eric Mansfield has 2 plays coming up in Akron! SHELTER runs Nov 5-15 with Wild Thread Theatre in the Wild Oscar's space @ Akron Civic Theatre. www.wildthreadtheatre.org. LOVE IN RESERVE runs Nov 6-15 with Makeshift Theater at Coach House Theater. www.makeshiftakron.org. Congrats, Eric!

Applications are now open! Students focus on one of 4 genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or playwriting. And enter through one of 3 gateway universities: The U of Akron, Cleveland State U, or Kent State U. Multiple application cycles: 11/15, 1/15, and 4/15. More info at neomfa.org/apply!

Alum Zach Peckham has a new chapbook, Full Denim Gimp Suit, out now with Illicit Zines / b l u s h! “Fragments and procedures. Masculine ineptitude. Generative failure." All available now at www.blush-lit.com/book/full-de...! For an excerpt, check out poetrynightly.com/2026/08/19/f....

Student W. Reid Kennedy will appear in the 2x2 event this Friday, October 2! This free program of theater performances and literary readings will start at 7:00 pm at The Electric Company at 15 Broad Street in Akron. www.instagram.com/2x2show/?g=5

Alum Meghan Louise Wagner is teaching a “Fiction Revision” workshop with Literary Cleveland beginning October 1! Held remotely via Zoom. Eight sessions on Thursdays at 6:30pm, running through November 19. www.litcleveland.org/classes-work...

Congrats to new student Evie Reed, whose creative nonfiction essay “Frog In My Throat” is scheduled for publication in The McNeese Review in March 2027. You can find it soon at thereview.mcneese.edu!

Congrats to alum Lisa Langford, the 2026 Dominic Orlando Playwriting Award Recipient! The award comes with a $12,000 prize, and Lisa’s winning play Netta & Ru will premiere at Dobama Theatre in April 2027. www.dobama.org/netta. Also will be two readings of Netta & Ru in Oct at ashlandnewplays.org.

Save the Date! On Monday, October 26, catch author Nathalie Quintane with faculty Hilary Plum! 6:30 pm at Let's Ride Skateboards, 1810 Coventry in Cleveland Heights. This free event is presented by Mac's Backs Books in collaboration with CWRU, NEOMFA, & Winter Editions. macsbacks.com/event/2026-1...

Our friends at the Wick Poetry Center will be bringing back KSU and NEOMFA alum Sony Ton-Aime for a reading on Wed Oct 14 at 7pm! Presented at Murphy Auditorium in Rockwell Hall at Kent State University. Free and open to the public. Book signing and reception to follow! www.kent.edu/wick/reading...

Student Julianne Metzger Taylor will be the featured reader in the CrayfishMag #3 launch event at 6:00 pm on Friday 9/25 at Bell Tower Brewing in Kent. Seating is limited, so RSVP through the link below asap! www.eventbrite.com/e/crayfishma...

Alum Mitchell Monahan will be reading this Friday, September 18 at Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse at 124 East Main Street in Kent! Check it out starting at 8:00 pm! www.instagram.com/lastexitbook...

Join us at the annual Literary Cleveland Inkubator this week! inkubator.litcleveland.org. Check out the NEOMFA table in the bookfair at Cleveland Public Library on Fri Sept 11 and Sat Sept 12! #CleInk26 Catch NEOMFA alum Virginia Konchan in a session with Aubrey Hirsch on Sat 9/12 at 11:00 am!

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator conference is this week! inkubator.litcleveland.org. Check out the NEOMFA table in the bookfair at Cleveland Public Library on Fri 9/11 and Sat 9/12! #CleInk26 Catch NEOMFA alum Matthew Breit and faculty member Hilary Plum in a session on Sat 9/12 at 9:00 am.

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator is this week! inkubator.litcleveland.org. Check out the NEOMFA table in the bookfair on Fri 9/11 and Sat 9/12! #CleInk26 Catch student Julianne Taylor with faculty Mary Biddinger on Fri at 3:30pm! “Many Paths, One Craft: Navigating a Career With or Without an MFA.”

Continuing our countdown to the Literary Cleveland Inkubator conference next week! inkubator.litcleveland.org. Check out the NEOMFA table in the bookfair on Fri 9/11 and Sat 9/12! #CleInk26 Catch alum Jon Conley in a session hosted on Friday 9/11 at 3:30pm. www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-inkub...

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator is coming up soon! inkubator.litcleveland.org. Check out the NEOMFA table in the bookfair on Fri 9/11 & Sat 9/12! Among the NEOMFA faces are students Willow Campbell & Benvolio Nichols, whose Trans-ing the Narrative’ is Fri at 11. www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-inkub...

Student Scott Kenimond has two poems published in the September issue of Does It Have Pockets: “Virginia Woolf Goes to Ikea” and “Cold Section of Myself.” Read both now at www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/scott...! Congrats to Scott on these new works!

Alum Lisa Langford’s play “Con” will have two staged readings as part of Seat of the Pants' Salon Series, both directed by Natalie Sander Kern. Both on Sat Sept 12: 1:30 p.m. in Canton, venue TBD, and 7:30 p.m. in Cleveland, at Pilgrim Church. Tix $10. seatofthepants.org/programs

Congrats to alum Steven Caumo, whose new novel Dryad was released by JournalStone! Info at journalstone.com/bookstore/dr.... Dryad arrives on the heels of Steven’s recent novella Thrill Killers. Find that one too via Grindhouse Press at grindhousepress.com/steven-caumo/!

Congrats to alum Sony Ton-Aime, named by Pittsburgh Magazine and PUMP as one of the Pittsburgh 40 Under 40 Class of 2026! www.pittsburghmagazine.com/40-under-40-... Sony is the author of the recent poetry collection, Konbit., available now at press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...!

Student Ashton River Leigh, alum Carrie George, core faculty Hilary Plum, and recent guest faculty Xan Forest Phillips are among the readers in the 2x2 / FMZ event on Saturday, August 29! 7:00 pm at Riff’s, 2418 Professor Ave in Cleveland!

Alum Zach Peckham has co-launched a new journal, Delicatessen! www.delicatessen.site “A journal of book reviews and literary criticism, specializing in texts from small, independent, non-profit, and university-affiliated publishers.” Welcome to the Deli at www.delicatessen.site/weekly-speci...!

Student Julianne Metzger Taylor will be the guest reader for the Poetry Night event on August 21 at Last Exit Books & Coffeehouse in Kent. The program starts at 8:00 pm at 24 E Main St #1, Kent, OH 44240. Open mic to follow!!!

Faculty Caryl Pagel and Hilary Plum will share their work with Sujata Lakhe in the Open Air Poetry Reading on Thu August 20 at 6pm. Presented by Mac's Backs, the event will be in the PEACE park outside the Coventry Library (2843 Washington Blvd, Cleveland Heights, OH). macsbacks.com/event/2026-0...

Congrats to alum Dominic Dulin, whose poetry chapbook Type Man Type was published by Community Mausoleum! This new work is on sale now at www.communitymausoleum.org/books/p/type.... More on Dominic Dulin at dominicdulin.com. Excerpt from Type Man Type at www.communitymausoleum.org/coma-journal....

The Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts (NEOMFA) is the nation’s only consortial MFA creative writing program. 3 gateway universities: U. of Akron, Cleveland State U, & Kent State U. 4 genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & playwriting. 3 application cycles: 11/15, 1/15, & 4/15. neomfa.org/apply!

Alum Kristen Tetzmann will appear in the Misophist Magazine reading at Mac's Backs on August 8! Other readers include Tom Scherer, Audrey Menner, and Justin Alan Cox. Event starts at 5:00 pm at 1820 Coventry Rd in Cleveland Heights. macsbacks.com/event/2026-0...

Congrats to alum Roy Edward Jackson, whose debut novel was published by Lethe Press! Reel Around the Fountain is “a queer coming-of-age story set in a working-class cereal-factory town, where thirteen-year-old JP sets out to uncover the truth behind the family mythology.” www.lethepressbooks.com.

This Wednesday, July 29 at Mac's Backs! Alum Matthew Breit reads with Adam Novak, author of City of Wheels, starting at 7:00pm. 1820 Coventry Rd in Cleveland Heights. More info: macsbacks.com/events

Alum Carrie George will be leading a workshop entitled “Creating New Poetry” at Literary Cleveland from Aug 10 - Sep 14. 6 meetings, Mondays at 6:30 pm, all via Zoom. “This class is designed to help you create new poetry, drawing from prompts and model poems.” www.litcleveland.org/classes-work...

Schedule for Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator 2026 conference now posted at inkubator.litcleveland.org! So many NEOMFA faces: students Willow Campbell, Benvolio Nichols, & Julianne Taylor; alums Ali Black, Matthew Breit, Jon Conley, & Virginia Konchan; and faculty Mary Biddinger & Hilary Plum!

Alums Matthew Dettmer and Michelle Duke will read their poetry along with Adam Axler on Saturday, July 25th at Mac’s Backs Books! Start time is 5:00 pm at 1820 Coventry in Cleveland Heights. More info at macsbacks.com/event/2026-0...

Catch alums Matt Breit and Michael Buebe as they read poetry this Friday, July 17! 8pm at Last Exit Books & Coffeehouse, at 124 E. Main Street in Kent. www.instagram.com/lastexitbook...

Congrats to alum Anastasios Mihalopoulos, just announced as a Finalist for The Hudson Prize offered by Black Lawrence Press! Anastasios was nominated for his poetry manuscript, "Still, Sometimes, Shipwreck," with a winner to be announced soon. Find more at: blacklawrencepress.com/the-2026-hud...

Students W. Reid Kennedy, Abigail Clark, & Jennifer Foxhoven and alum Lindsey Maple are among the creatives behind Lunar Sun Theatrics’ “Categorical Nonsense Vol. 1.” This program of new theater runs for 2 shows only, 2pm & 8pm on Sat July 11 at the Rialto in Akron! www.therialtotheatre.com/tickets

NEOMFA alum JC Cifranic and faculty Mike Geither are among the cast and crew of “It’s All a Mess! An Evening of **Smutty** Monologues with convergence-continuum.” Catch this special show Fri 7/10 and Sat 7/11 at 9pm at the Borderlight Festival in Cleveland. www.borderlightcle.org/2026-show/it...

Next Friday, July 10! NEOMFA student Julia Cilano and recent guest faculty Xan Forest Phillips read poetry with Amie Zimmerman and Alyssa Perry at Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry in Cleveland Heights! macsbacks.com/event/2026-0....

Alum Jon Conley (CSU, 2022) published the story “Body Mass” in the Spring 2026 issue of The Colby Review. colbyreview.org/2026/06/22/f... Also look for poetry by Delilah McCrea (CSU, 2021) and fiction by Alexandra Salata (KSU, 2024) in the print version. Thanks to editor Zach Peckham(CSU, 2021)!

Catch NEOMFA alum Sony Ton-Aime tomorrow, Thu 6/25, in Literary Cleveland's Plum City Reading event! Sony will read w/Danny Caine & Sonia Feldman at 7pm at Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere). Afterparty at Literary Cleveland (13002 Larchmere). Pay What You Can! www.litcleveland.org/events-progr...

So many NEOMFA writers in Issue 3 of CrayfishMag, available now at www.crayfishmag.com! Prose from alums Matthew Breit & Lindsey Maple, & poetry from students Corey Miller & Julianne Metzger Taylor, alum Lindsay Collier, & faculty Caryl Pagel. (Along w/poetry from Scott Kenimond, linked previously!)