ROWAN WRITING ARTS
  • Home
    • Rowan University - Home
    • College of Communication & Creative Arts at Rowan University - Home
    • RU Deptartment of Writing Arts - Home
    • News & Announcements
    • Student Groups
  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Programs: Advising Sheets >
      • Degree in 3
      • 4+1 (B.A.+M.A.) Program
      • Graduate Programs
    • WA Learning Community >
      • Publishers
    • Portfolio Seminar Overview >
      • PS Analysis Statement Assignment
      • Checklist
      • Core Values
      • Questions Concerning Core Values
      • PS AS Peer Group Instructions
      • Portfolio Contents and Uploading
      • PS AS Rubric
      • FAQs: Students
      • FAQs: Instructors
  • Writing Arts Major
    • Required Courses >
      • Introduction to Writing Arts >
        • History & Materiality of Writing
        • Issues in Writing
        • Technologies & the Future of Writing
      • Methods Choice >
        • How Writers Read
        • Communication Theory
      • Creative Choice >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Writing Children's Stories
      • The Writer's Mind
      • Writing, Research & Technology
      • Senior Seminar: Evaluating Writing
      • Portfolio Seminar
      • Free Electives
      • Literacy Studies >
        • Writing With Technologies
        • Situating Writing
    • Elements of Language >
      • Rhetorics of Style
      • Linguistics
      • Semantics
      • American English Grammar
      • Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics
    • Concentrations >
      • Creative Writing >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Creative Writing II
        • Writing Children's Stories
        • Writing and Craft for Elementary Students
        • Writing Fiction
        • Writing Poetry
        • Writing Creative Nonfiction
        • Fundamentals of Playwriting
        • Film Scenario Writing
        • Tutoring Writing
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • Practicum / Internship
      • New Media Writing & Publishing >
        • Introduction to New Media
        • Writing for the Workplace
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • Fiction to Film
        • Participatory Media
        • Photojournalism
        • Publication Layout & Design
        • Online Journalism I
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Media Law
        • Applied Media Aesthetics
        • Practicum / Internship
      • Technical & Professional Writing >
        • Introduction to Technical Writing
        • Writing for Nonprofits
        • Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
        • Medical Writing and Rhetoric
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Writing for the Workplace
        • Introduction to New Media
        • Rhetorical Theory
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • Practicum / Internship
  • Minors
    • Creative Writing Minor >
      • Creative Writing I
      • Writing Children's Stories
      • Creative Writing II
      • Writing Fiction
      • Fundamentals of Playwriting
      • Writing Poetry
      • Writing Creative Nonfiction
      • The Writer's Mind
      • How Writers Read
      • Rhetorics of Style
    • New Media Minor
  • Faculty
  • Writing Center
  • Alumni
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
  • Scholarships & Awards
    • The 2018 Rowan University Award For Poetry
    • The 2018 Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Fiction
    • The 2018 Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction
    • 2018 Emerging Writers Scholarship
    • The 2017 Write Rowan, Right Now Contest
    • 2016 Denise Gess Literary Awards at Rowan University >
      • Rowan University Award for Poetry
      • The 2016 Edward J. Czwartacki Award for Fiction
      • The Pat B. Tweedie Award for Creative Nonfiction
  • The Writer's Insider
    • Spring 2018 >
      • Publishing and Writing for the Public: A Reconstructed Concentration
      • What You Think You Know About Technical and Professional Writing is Wrong
      • The Toni Libro Medallion Award Winner: Myriah Stubee
      • An Interview with a Publisher
      • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner: Sara Skipp
      • The College of Communcation and Creative Arts 6th Annual Student Awards and Showcase Ceremony
      • Rowan Alum, Marissa Cohen, On Self Publishing and Advocacy
    • Fall 2017 >
      • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department
      • The Writer's Journey Blog by Earl Garcia
      • Rewriting The Department's Social Media Platforms
      • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Reinvents Mission
      • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen
      • For Futuristic Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing
    • Spring 2017 >
      • Technical Communication: An Overview
      • A More Inclusive Future for Technical Writers
      • Easing the Tension: Breaking Down Technical and Professional Writing
      • Growing the Technical and Professional Writing Concentration
    • Fall 2016
    • Spring 2016
    • Winter 2015
    • Fall 2015 >
      • 2014 and Prior >
        • Archive
  • Student Groups
    • Avant Literary Magazine
    • Rowan University Writing Arts Club
  • Department Portal
    • Committees
    • Department Structure
  • The Bulletin Board
Social Media:

The Writer's Insider


Vol 2. Issue 1                                                                                                                                                          Fall 2017

Downloadable PDf Version

writersinsider_fall17_4.pdf
File Size: 1181 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

In This Issue:
  • Rowan Writing Arts Spotlight on Jason Luther and Megan Atwood, two new professors with big ideas to continue moving the Department forward (see below).
  • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department- An overview of the classes that will appear in the upcoming semesters. 
  • The Writer's Journey Blog- A look into the creation and process of a weekly blog written by Earl Garcia about The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler.
  • Rewriting the Department's Social Media Platforms- A look at some of the changes and projects currently taking place over the various Social Media platforms.
  • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Constructs Collaboration and Success- A look into the Rowan Writing Arts Club, and its various projects.
  • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen- An account of the reading set up to launch the fifteenth issue of Glassworks Magazine, which was held at the Rowan University Art Gallery on October 26th, 2017.
  • For Future Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing- A piece by senior Amanda Spadel on what she learned from Writing Arts Alumni concerning careers.

Picture
Rowan Writing Arts Spotlight:
Jason Luther
by
Alex Geffard 


​Sometimes, just by looking at someone's picture, you can tell how they are as a person. Jason Luther, just as this image implies, is a fun and friendly guy (he likes his students to call him by his first name, as he doesn't think "Mr." or "Professor" fits his personality). He is also one of the new professors working in the Writing Arts Department. 

Hailing from Buffalo, New York, he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degrees at SUNY in Fredonia, his Master's Degree at the University of Nevada in Reno, and his Ph.D at Syracuse University, where he has spent the last twelve years teaching courses in writing pedagogy, historiography, and self-publishing. He is also the former director of the Syracuse University Writing Center. 

Luther first learned about Rowan from Dr. Rachel Shapiro, who was an alumnus of Syrachuse who kept in touch with him. In the summer of 2015, they co-presented at the Computers and Writing conference in Rochester, NY, where Luther also met former Rowan professor Bill Wolff. Luther told Wolff that he had heard great things about Rowan, to which the elder professor had only positive experiences to add about his time working there. So, last fall, when Luther was on the job market, he got an email from Interim Dean (at that time) Sanford Tweedie saying that someone had mentioned his name, and that he would be a good applicant. This took Luther by surprise, and he mentioned to Tweedie that he was intending to apply due to the school's good reputation, and that the job matched his specialization. 


Now at Rowan, Luther teaches Writing, Research, and Technology, as well as Introduction to Writing Arts. As a professor, he works with students to develop a historical and critical sense of composition, to see writing as a technological activity as well as the product of socio-technical systems.

Luther has also just finished co-editing a special issue of Community Literacy Journal on self-publishing and is working on an edited collection called DIY Composition.

When we interviewed him last month, one of our questions was if he had any ideas that could usher the Writing Arts Department forward. He mentioned that a  DIY Publishing class would be something useful:

"As writing is becoming more entrepreneurial...students are finding it increasingly difficult to find jobs...One thing that DIY Publishing can do is teach students how to be entrepreneurial, how to not wait around for someone to sponsor their writing, but to sponsor their own writing."

He believes that the more students are familiar with the structure and obstacles that come with getting their own work out into the world, the better they can be in the long run.

As someone who currently has him as a professor, I encourage prospective students to consider registering for one of his classes. He is, just as the image implies, a fun and friendly guy, who is continually looking to the future of writing.

If you'd like to speak with him, his email address is luther@rowan.edu.

    Information taken from: academics.rowan.edu/ccca/departments/writingArts/faculty.html


Picture
          Rowan Writing Arts Spotlight:
                                   Megan Atwood
                                                                                 by
                                                                 Alex Geffard


Megan Atwood loves cats. If you ever visit her office, you'll see cat decorations everywhere. It's as close as she can be to bringing an actual cat to her office. Thankfully, she also has countless novels lining the bookshelf in her work space, mirroring a rich background in literature which she is bringing forth in her new job. 
   
With a  Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Iowa and Master's Degree from Hamline University, Atwood has had over 35 books published, her most recent being a young adult horror novel called The Devils You Know (Soho Teen) and a middle grade book series called Once Upon a Winter (Simon & Schuster). She has seventeen years of experience in the publishing industry, having worked as an acquiring editor, developmental editor, managing editor, and literary agent. She is also an enthusiastic proponent of We Need Diverse Books in the children's literature community.

She was looking from tenure track jobs, which are extremely hard to find- especially in creative writing and that specialized in writing for children. She eventually saw the ad for Rowan, and immediately felt like it was meant for her. Rowan also mentioned publishing, and as someone with seventeen years of publishing under her belt, she was very excited to bring any experience she could for that, and possibly come up with courses for publishing (more on that later). 

Now at Rowan, she teaches Creative Writing I and Genre Writing, as well as special topic courses in publishing and writing for children.

Outside of teaching, her current contracted projects include two more books in her DEAR MOLLY, DEAR OLIVE series(which are available at Target), and the third book in Once Upon a Winter. Additionally, she is working on a young adult sci-fi novel.

Similarly to the interview mentioned in the Luther piece, we asked Atwood if she had any ideas that could move the Writing Arts Department forward. She said that she sees innovation in the future, and that she was amazed that Rowan is interested in writing for kids literature:
   
"I think we can do a lot with that. I see that the M.A., and I mean man, would I love to turn that into an M.F. A. or to have a program like that...I think that would be great."
   
Matching her enthusiasm, Atwood had a few more ideas up her sleeve:
 
"I think we can do a lot with publishing... I'd like to start a C.U. G. S. for publishing or for a Master's Degree, to talk about book editing and all the stuff that goes into the production of the book, and how it gets made."
   
She also mentioned an interest in different types of narrative and all the possibilities that can stem from them, including pod-casting:
     
"My dream would be to have a graduate level pod-casting course in fiction, and that was actually cross-departmental, so that we had, you know, voice actors coming in, we had writers doing the writing, we had our production people doing the production, and putting something together that's out in the world."

One of the things she loves about Rowan is that they're very interested in making sure that whatever is done is applicable and can be used in the real world:
     
"I can't think of anything better than putting out a pod-cast, or editing real manuscripts, or working with someone as an editor to really make it seem like, 'okay, I know how to do this now'".
     
While I haven't taken a class with here, from the interview in which I met her,  she seemed like a fun cat-loving woman who was enthusiastic about teaching. Other students that I know who have taken her say that she is an awesome professor with very engaging classes, and they all recommended prospective students to consider registering for one of her classes.
 
​I encourage you to check out Megan's tour dates and latest goings on at mc-atwood.com/.
 

And if you'd like to speak with her, her is email address is atwood@rowan.edu.

Information taken from: 
​academics.rowan.edu/ccca/departments/writingArts/faculty.html





Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
✕