Howling Bird Press Literary Prize draws 60-plus manuscripts from across nation
(MINNEAPOLIS) 鈥� California poet Marci Vogel was selected as recipient of the inaugural national literary prize from Augsburg College鈥檚 Howling Bird Press, the publishing arm of the College鈥檚 Master of Fine Arts program. Vogel鈥檚 book-length collection of poetry 鈥� selected through blind reviews from a field of more than 60 manuscripts from across the nation 鈥� explores American life, art, history and culture through a range of eclectic voices, forms, images and styles.
鈥淲e are pleased that so many accomplished poets entrusted their manuscripts to us. It means that Howling Bird Press, one of the few graduate student-run publishing houses in the country, is recognized as a significant literary home for writers鈥� work,鈥� said Cass Dalglish, director of Augsburg鈥檚 MFA program.
Dalglish described Vogel鈥檚 work as careful, confident and intriguing.
鈥淓verything counts in Marci Vogel鈥檚 poems 鈥� image, metaphor, silence, punctuation,鈥� Dalglish said. 鈥淢arci鈥檚 clear, poetic voice will resonate at the core of students鈥� work this year as we design, layout and publish her book.鈥�
Vogel, a native of Los Angeles, will have her book 鈥淎t the Border of Wilshire & Nobody鈥� published next summer and will receive $1,000. The collection will be edited, designed and marketed by students in the MFA鈥檚 Career Concentration in Publishing.
Vogel is a Provost鈥檚 Fellow in the Ph.D. program in creative writing and literature at the University of Southern California where she teaches in the honors writing program. She is a long-time writer of prose who began writing poetry in her forties. Vogel鈥檚 work has been published in many journals and her work has earned prestigious national nominations including for the Rona Jaffe Writers鈥� Award, the 鈥淏est New Poets鈥� anthology, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Intro Journals Project and the Pushcart Prize. Vogel’s translation from French into English of Andr茅e Chedid鈥檚 1956 poetry sequence, 鈥淚n the Noon of Contradictions,” was selected for the 2014 Willis Barnstone Translation Prize.
Augsburg College鈥檚 MFA program, sponsor of the national literary award, is a two-year, low-residency program that offers tracks in creative nonfiction, fiction, playwriting, poetry and screenwriting. Concentrations are available in publishing, teaching and translation. Learn more about the program at . Augsburg College is set in a vibrant Minneapolis neighborhood in the heart of the Twin Cities and offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly 4,000 students of diverse backgrounds. The trademark of an Augsburg education is its emphasis on direct, personal experience. Guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.
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Lindsay Starck has been named a Minnesota Book Award finalist for her second novel, 鈥淢onsters We Have Made.鈥� Starck is an associate professor of English and director of Augsburg鈥檚 MFA program. Published by Vintage Books/Penguin Random House in March 2024, 鈥淢onsters We Have Made鈥� is a poignant and evocative novel that explores the bounds of familial love, the high stakes of parenthood, and the tenuous divide between fiction and reality.
The ‘ 26th聽Winter Book features poetry and prose by Heid E. Erdrich聽that explores the complex conversations between artists and viewers. Erdrich is a poet, writer, filmmaker, and mentor for students in Augsburg College’s program.
Augsburg College celebrated its new Master of Fine Arts in creative writing with a reading by Stephan Clark from his newly published book Vladimir’s Mustache and Other Stories. Clark is an assistant professor of English and a member of the MFA faculty.