Twelve graduate students in the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at California State University, Fresno will present work from their thesis manuscripts at the annual MFA Convocation Reading and Awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, April 27.

The event, which is open to the public, will be held in the Alice Peters Auditorium, inside the Peters Business Building, 5245 N. Backer Ave. A reception will follow in the University Business Center gallery. Admission is free.

The MFA Convocation Reading and Awards ceremony serves as the creative writing program’s informal graduation ceremony, said MFA program coordinator Connie Hales. The intimate event, co-hosted by the Department of English, highlights the creative work and scholarly achievements of the program’s MFA degree candidates, after their three or more years of advanced coursework.

“It’s both a celebration and a showcase spotlighting the work of the graduating class,” said Hales, a professor of English. “Families, friends and literature lovers gather to honor the students and their work, as they move into the professional world of literary writing.”

The following MFA degree candidates are scheduled to present their work: Jefferson Beavers (creative nonfiction), Rick Garza (fiction), Guiseppe Getto (poetry), Nigel Medhurst (fiction), Deanna Pierro (poetry), Logan Perkes (creative nonfiction), John Thomas Rabb (creative nonfiction), Jennifer Raimondo (fiction), Sylvia Savala (creative nonfiction), Emily Tallman (poetry), Brian Wall (creative nonfiction), and Kelly Van Horn (poetry).

In addition to the readings, the MFA program will announce its annual writing contest award winners. These include the Fresno Fiction Prize, the Fresno Creative Nonfiction Prize, the Ernesto Trejo Award in Poetry for a graduate student and the Larry Levis Award in Poetry for an undergraduate.

The MFA program at Fresno State is an intensive 54-unit curriculum that offers advanced training to talented students who wish to gain expertise in writing and teaching poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. The program combines studio and research approaches, providing the student with substantial critical workshop experience and a solid background in theory and literature.

For more information, see the MFA news blog at mfafresno.blogspot.com or call the English Department at 559.278.2553.

For more information contained in this release, please go to the following Web site(s):

MFA Program

MFA News Blog