On Wednesday, June 26th, 2024, Word for Word, Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) online literary series, proudly welcomed recent graduates from the BA, MA and online MFA creative writing programs.
Six readers were selected by capstone and thesis instructors for their exceptional storytelling skills and high literary achievement: Kori Elise Chamberlin and Katherine Hancock from the BA program, Geoff Campbell and Abigailrose Helwig from the MA program and Miranda Denler and S.J. Fazekas from the Online MFA program.
Geoff Campbell is an award-winning instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he teaches journalism classes. He wrote a chapter on attribution that appears in “Writing for Media Audiences: A Handbook for Multi-platform News, Advertising and Public Relations,” which was published by Kendall Hunt. In addition, he wrote seven non-fiction books and has extensive professional writing experience that includes work for weekly newsletters, daily newspapers, magazines and a wire service. He served as writer for “Before the Calm: How My Mistakes Unearthed the Real Me,” published in 2017 by Writers of the Round Table Press.
Campbell worked in Washington for nearly 10 years, covering Congress, the executive branch, the U.S. Supreme Court and municipal finance. Campbell also wrote for the internal strategic publications of a global eye care company and served as senior writer for a public relations firm, where he specialized in articles, blog entries and literature pieces.
Campbell earned the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teaching Award for Faculty Outside the Tenure Stream in fall 2023. He also received the Outstanding Adjunct Teacher Award from the UT Arlington College of Liberal Arts in both 2011 and 2013. He is currently working on a book manuscript that explores his mother’s experience of unjust incarceration during World War II for the crime of ancestry. In 2023, he earned a Master of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing with a concentration in nonfiction from Southern New Hampshire University. He also holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri.
Kori Elise Chamberlin received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing & English with highest honors this past May. She describes herself as a romantic old soul who enjoys collecting records and writing love letters. Chamberlin has developed her unique craft by writing delicate pieces that read like lyrics of a love song. Her primary mission within compositions has always been to find beauty in the mundane. She has an eclectic writing portfolio and has been published seven times in the Manatee.
In addition to writing, Chamberlin has a deep passion for creating and editing various types of media. She was featured three times in the Humanities Film Festival with successful, high-quality entries. Her competence in visual storytelling is illustrated in several artistic films she has written and directed. She has also developed engaging short-form video content for international brands. Moving forward, Chamberlin plans to travel and experience the world while establishing herself in a creative career.
Storytelling of all kinds has always been Miranda Denler’s passion. Having recently moved to Chicago, she’s interested in exploring the dark, magical corners of the city. Denler strives in her own work to help readers see the magic in the world around them and within themselves. Denler spends her days caring for others as a chaplain in the medical field, but loves time at home to bake, read and catch up on documentaries.
S.J. Fazekas is the author of “Gaius Trebonius,” a soon-to-be-self-published Roman historical fiction novel. His previous publications include several short fantasy stories that appeared in now-defunct webzines and three Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest.
Katherine Hancock graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from SNHU. She currently lives in South Carolina where she’s working to complete her MLIS at the University of South Carolina. Hancock enjoys writing fiction, feeding her dogs cucumbers and daydreaming.
Abigailrose Helwig was born and raised in the haunted lands of Wisconsin, spending most of her childhood romping through ghoulish woods, daydreaming stories at the breakfast table, or burying herself in a “Harry Potter” book.
Helwig received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in sociology, then quickly realized she had no idea what she was doing. It was her dream to be a writer (and at this point she had developed a modest crush on Stephen King), but she needed a way to support herself and her dream. She returned to school and received an associate degree in cardiovascular technology from the Milwaukee Area Technical College. With it, she secured a good job–not minding the blood one bit–but knew it was now or never.
With the support of her husband, Helwig pursued a master’s in English and creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University and celebrated with her fellow classmates at the spring commencement ceremony this May. Today, Abigailrose spends most mornings sipping tea and writing little nightmares, pretending student loans do not exist.
After reading excerpts from their capstone and thesis projects, the graduates answered questions from the audience and from moderators Jacob Powers and Paul Witcover. The following is an edited transcript of that Q&A.
W4W: What authors or books have inspired and influenced you as a writer? Abigailrose, you mentioned Stephen King in your bio. Is there a particular book that resonates with you?
Abigailrose Helwig: Yeah, and I have it right next to me. It’s this one [holds up “On Writing”]. It changed me as a writer, honestly. The first novel I read of his was “It.” It was quite disturbing and very good. I’ve read many others after that. But honestly, the memoir that he wrote, it’s just—it’s perfect. It’s great. It’s super helpful. It is an excellent book for anyone who is exploring writing.
W4W: Miranda, the same question. What books or writers have inspired you in your writing?
Miranda Denler: With urban fantasy, I really started to feel my place in it when I started reading Sarah J. Maas’s most recent series. And I think that’s just kind of grown into this feeling of there’s a space between young and full adult that I think continues to need exploring. And I’m really enjoying exploring that as someone who’s kind of coming out the other side of it.
W4W: Is that the New Adult space?
Miranda: Yeah.
W4W: It’s interesting that you mentioned Sarah J. Maas’s most recent work. Because listening to you read, it seemed as though you were someone who was in command of their voice and their instrument. It seems like you didn’t need Sarah J. Maas to influence you. You already had that. But maybe she showed you where your place was in the genre.
Miranda: Yeah, I think you’re probably right in that way.
W4W: Let’s jump over to Geoff. What writers have inspired you? You teach journalism—is there a specific nonfiction writer or journalist who has really inspired you to explore your writing?
Geoff Campbell: I would say Joan Didion and Susan Orlean. I just love the way that they are so attentive, and they stack details that create these rich environments and really pull you in. And I kind of liked Didion’s early new journalism work. I got hooked on “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” and never left.
W4W: Kori, how about you? Who has inspired you?
Kori Elise Chamberlin: Well, my favorite book of all time is “Call Me By Your Name,” by André Aciman. And the movie, just life changing to me. I’ve been so inspired, trying to describe everything to be as beautiful as possible. If you haven’t read the book, I couldn’t recommend it enough. There are some problematic things about it, but I’m basing it off the purest form of writing.
W4W: Let’s put the question to S.J. What books or authors have influenced your work?
S.J. Fazekas: Well, I first read Caesar and Herodotus in junior high, and that’s what awakened my interest in classical history. And as far as writing, probably Jack Vance, George MacDonald Fraser, Jack McDevitt. These are fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction writers. Bernard Cornwell, also. In fact, I dissected one of his books, “The Last Kingdom,” in preparation for writing what I read tonight.
W4W: I’m happy to hear you mention Jack Vance, one of my favorite writers. Katherine, what about you?
Katherine Hancock: I don’t really have one person. I read broadly. I love Flannery O’Connor, Alice Munro, Dostoyevsky– kind of all the obvious people who are just great. And then I also really like to read mysteries and short stories, really anything I can get my hands on. Even music that tells a good story or Sam Sifton, who writes about food in the New York Times—just anyone who can paint a story, I love. I don’t have one thing that sparked it for me. I just really love stories.
W4W: You’re kind of a magpie. Read broadly, watch broadly, listen broadly, just take it all in. It can do some very magical things with your writing.
I want to pull a couple of brief questions from the chat. We’re going to do a quick round robin here. What’s the most difficult part that you have with writing? When you start to write, where does the challenge reside? Abigailrose, I’ll start with you.
Abigailrose: Actually writing is the hardest part. Sitting down and making yourself do it. You have to get into a routine.
W4W: Katherine, what about you?
Katherine: I won’t do anything unless I have a deadline or any form of pressure. I seriously won’t. But once I get into it and I know that I’m supposed to produce something or I said I would do it, then I’ll get down to business. But if not, it’s hard for me to do that when I can be reading. You know?
W4W: Geoff, what about you?
Geoff: I think the hardest thing is maintaining a consistent voice when, as human beings, we’re constantly changing and we’re stimulated by new writers that we discovered, and that might have an impact on our writing. But you want your finished extended narrative to sound like it was written by the same person. So for me, I think that’s one of the things. What I’m finding now is if I’m working through a second draft and I can’t work on it for a week, I have to go back and read what I just wrote previously just to make sure that I’m maintaining that same tone.
W4W: Kori, what about you?
Kori: The hardest part for me is that I really struggle to not write about my own life. I can’t stop it. And if I don’t have anything currently going on, I guess I don’t know what to write about. I feel like the hardest for me is to create a more fictional world that is completely absent of my own life. I never get enough.
W4W: It seems that there’s a lot of fiction out there that’s nonfiction. Once you start reading into the author’s bio, you’re like, “Wait a minute. This isn’t made up. This happened to you.” So it seems OK. Miranda, what about you?
Miranda: I think my hardest part is remembering to stick with the characterization. I get caught up in the action and the dialogue. So most of my rewrites are going back and being like, I forgot to say what she’s wearing, which is kind of a big deal when your main character is a fashionista. Right? So that’s kind of my biggest struggle, at least with this novel, was making sure that I was consistent with it throughout the whole thing.
W4W: This was something that one of our previous guests, copyeditor Deanna Hoak, talked about in our Roles of Editing panel as well—to go through everything and make sure that the writer is being consistent. Because as much as we try to be consistent, we often need the help of the copyeditor to make sure everything’s accurate. And then to finish this one out, I’ll ask S.J.
S.J.: For me, it’s the research part, and maybe not for the reasons you may think. I’m such a history geek, I find myself reading more and more books about the topic. And, oh, I’ve got to read this one too. And, oh, here in this bibliography, here’s another great book to read. And at some point, I’ve got to say, “All right, stop. Put it down and start writing.” You know? “You’ve got enough. Move on.”
W4W: These are all great points of advice to follow: make sure you’re balancing the reading and writing, setting deadlines, getting yourself in the chair to write in the first place, keeping that voice and characterization consistent and be a little forgiving when you’re writing about yourself, as well.
So, what are you all doing next? S.J.?
S.J.: Thanks, all. Great pleasure to be with you all this evening. So thanks again for the opportunity. Right now, I’m working with an editor to finalize my book and I’m going to look at self-publishing. But Professor Witcover, you’ve given me some inspiration. I will try a few more agent pitches and see if we can get a traditional publishing deal out of it. And I’m also researching the second book.
W4W: What’s next for Miranda?
Miranda: Well, I am currently nine months pregnant, so the first thing I’m doing is having a baby. And then, after that, I also plan to self-publish the series. And I would like to complete the series before I begin self-publishing. This is the first in the series, so I have a little way to go before I’m ready to put it out there. But that’s what’s coming next for me.
W4W: Very exciting. Congratulations! Kori?
Kori: Well, I did just graduate, so it’s a little bit stressful trying to find a job and doing something that I love, whether it be writing or videography. But as far as my writing goes, I don’t necessarily have plans to publish. If the opportunity approaches, I will. But I just like writing for myself, writing for people I love. And if I find a way to share my work or if people just want to read it, I’d be more than happy to let them read. But that’s post-grad life.
W4W: I think you can tell, if you go through the chat, that your writing had quite a positive reception. And I feel like you should explore pursuing it on some level as a career. I hope you will. Fate will lead you in that direction. Geoff, what about you?
Geoff: I want to finish my second draft. And after that, I’ll distribute it to trusted readers, including my wife, and then get their feedback, and then meanwhile start looking for agents, because I would like to try the traditional route if I can. But most immediately, next month I’m going to Japan for the first time. So I’ll be able to visit the cities where my grandparents were from.
W4W: Will that play a part in your book?
Geoff: It might, depending on what I encounter, I think. Yeah. Maybe an afterword or something.
W4W: Very cool. Katherine, what are your plans?
Katherine: I am in graduate school right now. So I’m going to do that and try to get done as quickly as possible, because I really don’t like school. I mean, I love learning, of course. But, you know, I’ll be happy to not be doing that anymore. And then, I don’t know. I’ve thought about an MFA, but I’ll probably just keep peddling around. We’ll see.
W4W: Well, since I happen to oversee one, I certainly would invite you to apply if that is something you want to do.
Katherine: I have thought about it. I have.
W4W: I wish you the best of luck. Abigailrose, what about you?
Abigailrose: Well, I would love to get published, but I just got a pile of rejection letters from sending out all my little horror short stories here and there. So I’m just going to keep writing, and sending them out, and getting rejected. And then I just began research for the book I want to start. It should be started around fall/winter of this year. I got really hooked on the goddess Juno, which I think S.J. should know about because that’s a Roman goddess. And I love her story, and I think she’s this crazy trickster goddess, and I just want to write something crazy and creepy about her.
W4W: Well, you know, Stephen King amassed his share of rejections as well. He kept them on a nail on his wall until the weight of the rejections collapsed the nail. So you’re following in his footsteps there as well.
Abigailrose: He’s an inspiration for all of us in that way.
W4W: I really wish we could go on longer because it’s just wonderful hearing from all of you. Your stories offered so many different perspectives and had beautiful imagery throughout. And thank you so much for sharing them with us tonight. It was truly our pleasure to have you here. And congratulations to all of you, and best of luck on your future endeavors, as well.
This is our last Word for Word reading for the academic year. So we want to thank everyone for their continued support in making this series a success. This year we were proud to host Morgan Talty, whose new book, “Fire Exit,” is out now, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, editors Ellen Datlow, Deanna Hoak and Joe Monti, two of our poetry faculty, Carla Sameth and Stephanie Wytovich, the former president of SNHU, Paul LeBlanc, the Penmen Review Fall Fiction finalists and, of course, our exceptional graduates from our BA, MA, and Online MFA Creative Writing programs tonight.
Each of our readers and guests have offered deeply engaging works and conversations on creative writing and publishing, and we’re very thankful for the opportunity. For other Word for Word events, please be sure to visit our YouTube playlist channel.
Best of luck to our graduates Kori, Miranda, Geoff, Katherine, S.J. and Abigailrose in their future endeavors. Thank you all so much, and we look forward to seeing everyone when Word for Word returns in the fall.
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