I received delightful news today in my school inbox. Brian Blanchfield, director of the University of Idaho’s Creative Writing MFA program, selected an essay I wrote for AWP’s Intro Journals Project.

This essay began as an anonymous post on Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study Substack – I’m Mike, the last teacher account. I worked on it this semester in Sean Hill’s creative research course, getting great feedback from my amazing, supportive colleagues. There’s no way it would have been selected if it weren’t for the revisions that grew out of their advice.

Now I just have to wait 4 – 5 months to find out if I won.

Update: I didn’t win, but Brian Blanchfield accepted a position at the University of Montana, which feels like a win. I’d rather get to hang out with Brian than see this essay in print, and I can keep trying. Hopefully I’ll have an update down the road.