After considering 87 applications, the panel has made its decisions. There were many strong applications and it was a tough choice, but the following writers were selected. We look forward to getting to know them at the Winter Getaway, but we asked them to tell us a bit about themselves ahead of time. See what they had to say below.
Toni Brown Memorial Scholarship
First Place – Nik Hill of Rowland Heights, CA
Nik Hill is a spiritually-obsessed poet living in Rowland Heights, CA. She is a Pen Emerging Voices finalist and a Key West Literary Scholar. Her collection, “Combative Polarities,” can be found on Amazon.
Second Place tie – Jung Hae Chae of South Orange, NJ
Jung Hae Chae is a New Jersey-based writer and mom. Her work in poetry and prose has appeared or is forthcoming in AGNI, Calyx Journal, Crab Orchard Review, Ploughshares,Third Coast, and elsewhere. Most recently, she won the 2019 Emerging Writers Award in the Nonfiction category from Ploughshares, as well as the 2018 Pushcart Prize; her creative nonfiction piece, “The Great Meal,” has been anthologized in the Pushcart Prize XLIII: Best of the Small Presses. Other honors include scholarships from Squaw Valley Writers Conference and Fine Arts Work Center, as well as a Bentley-Buckley fellowship from Idyllwild Arts Foundation. She has taught writing at Rutgers, Montclair State, and Fairleigh Dickinson Universities. When not writing or teaching, she likes to play Uno or Judge Judy with her favorite fourth grader, Audrey.
Second Place tie – Lynne Schmidt of Norway, ME
Lynne Schmidt is the author of chapbooks, Gravity (Nightingale and Sparrow Press), On Becoming a Role Model (Thirty West Publishing), and Dead Dog Poems (Bottlecap Press). Her work received the Maine Nonfiction Award, Editor’s Choice Award, Honorable Mention for the Charles Bukowski Poetry Award, a 2018 and 2019 PNWA finalist for memoir and poetry respectively, and a five time 2019 Best of the Net Nominee. When given the choice, Lynne prefers the company of her three dogs and one cat to humans.
U.S.1 Poets’ Cooperative Scholarship
Rebecca Rodriguez of Pleasantville, NJ
Rebecca Rodriguez graduated from Swarthmore College, subsequently spending decades at assorted jobs (Starbucks Manager, Restaurant Owner, and Interior Designer). She sold her home, and the majority of possessions, to journey with her husband, their two sons, and two cats aboard a vintage yawl. A life-threatening gale was impetus to return to her first love: poetry. In January 2018, she obtained an MFA in Writing from VCFA, where she worked with David Wojahn on her first-book manuscript. Her poems are published or forthcoming in Carve Magazine, Atlanta Review, Juked, Typehouse, Balancing Act 2, and elsewhere. She has received residencies from Norton Island, SAFTA, and Hewnoaks. A poetry reader for Hunger Mountain since 2016, and the new Poetry Editor for The Maine Review (slated for re-launch January 2020), she lives in Portland, land of her ancestors, and supports her word-addiction by waitressing. She can be found online at rebeccairene.com, and tweeting @cicadacomplex.
Robert Hayden Scholarship
Erin Jin Mei O’Malley of Philadelphia, PA
Erin Jin Mei O’Malley is a queer Asian American writer who lives in Philadelphia. Their work appears or is forthcoming in Redivider, wildness, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, and others. They have received a scholarship from the Lambda Literary Foundation and nominations for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.
“The Getaway was such an important experience for me. I feel a renewed sense of purpose in my writing. I was able to generate new material that I am proud of, and I even have a plan for how to put my memoir together. I felt completely at home at the Getaway (I even asked Peter if I could live there) and made friends I plan to keep in contact with throughout the year. I also had the opportunity to work with and meet knowledgeable, attentive, caring faculty. Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway. I am honored to have been chosen as a scholarship recipient.”
~ Debbie Bradford – 2016 Scholarship Recipient – Memoir Participant
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About the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway
Escape the distractions of your busy life. Advance your craft and energize your writing at the Winter Getaway. Enjoy challenging and supportive sessions, insightful feedback and an encouraging community. Learn more
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The Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway is presented by Murphy Writing of Stockton University.
