“This was a missed opportunity.”
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Life after the MFA
5 JunAs thesis submission deadline approached, people began asking me what I was planning on doing after graduation. Then they’d stop themselves, afraid they may have asked too painful of a question. But it’s not!
In one of my last posts, I left off telling you about grabbing a cup of tea after turning my theses in. What I didn’t tell you was that on my walk back to my office, while sipping that delicious tea, I made a phone call to biographer Paul Maher Jr. Paul’s books are some of the most well respected in his categories, and they’ve been translated and sold around the globe.
Inspired by Laura Vanderkam’s List of 100 Dreams, I created my own a while back. Become a scholar on the Beat Generation was on my list. I’ve been studying the writers generally categorized as Beat for more than a decade now. I did my MFA at The New School, where Jack Kerouac took writing classes, and where I connected with writers who had known Jack Kerouac.
Now, my dream of becoming a Beat scholar is being realized. Paul and I are working on a book that tells the true story of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The phone call to him on Monday was to discuss cover ideas.
I don’t have a big life-altering answer to the question of what I’m doing after the MFA. Paul and I have been working on this book for a while now, and since I won’t be simultaneously working on a thesis anymore I’ll simply be refocusing my creative energies into the book. It helps that I didn’t enter the program straight out of undergrad. I’d already been working in book publishing, a career many of my classmates are hoping to enter, and so graduation isn’t a big scary unknown for me. I’ll be continuing in my editorial role. For me, life after the MFA is about continuing to follow my passions while also seizing new opportunities.
I’m extremely excited to say that my post-MFA plan is to co-author a book on Jack Kerouac.
Picture of Me at My MFA Thesis Reading
16 May
That’s me at the podium! Thank you all for coming out to my reading at The New School last week!
MFAism: Hosting Summer Writing Workshop
22 Jun
Even though the MFA writing program is officially on summer break — whoo-hoo! — some of us from the creative-nonfiction writing workshop decided we were having so much fun (or something like that) that wanted to keep on meeting. Last Tuesday we had our first informal workshop. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and to chat about our writing.
As I’ve alluded, everyone in my classes always recommends I read David Sedaris when they find out I write about growing up Greek American. I do get a kick out of David Sedaris, but it’s his sister Amy Sedaris who captured my heart with her book I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. There’s just something about us Greek women — we love hosting and feeding people. I barely had anyone over during the semester so I was super-excited to volunteer hosting the writing workshop in my apartment.
Since my classmates have been giving me feedback all semester on the Greek American memoir I’m writing — and since I’m the Queen of Theme Parties — I of course prepared Greek meze for them. I served feta cheese (imported from Greece! I’m stimulating the Greek economy!), sliced tomatoes with sea salt, pita, red pepper & eggplant dip, dried apricots, and almonds. The other writers graciously brought delicious homemade (!) scones and sumptuous red wine. I pretty much gorged!
We had a great conversation about nonfiction vs. fiction writing and talked about the role of blogging in our writing. Then we spent some time critiquing each other’s works. I got helpful feedback on a short reflection I’d written about my experience at the 2011 Gabby Awards. I really enjoyed reading their new pieces too. Everyone has such interesting stories to tell!
Now I’ve got to get to work on the next chapter to submit!
In the meantime, if anyone has any tips on how to run a writing workshop, please post in the comments section.
The New School Creative Writing MFA Mentions Me in “Newsletter 18—Spring 2011”
11 Feb
The New School’s Creative Writing MFA program mentioned me in “Newsletter 18—Spring 2011.” Special thanks to the “office heroes” for mentioning me alongside David H. Lippman (MFA ’01), William Rockwell (MFA ’11), and Laura Jo Hess (MFA ’12).
The newsletter also mentioned that Yew Leong (MFA ’07) launched a new literary magazine called Asymptote. The first issue features such esteemed writers as Mary Gaitskill, Yoram Kaniuk, and Gleb Shulpyakov. Asymptote is currently accepting submissions (March 15 deadline) on the theme of an “encounter between languages.”
Writing Wednesday: Making the Most Out of My Writing MFA, Spring 2011 Semester
19 JanWinter break’s coming to a close, and I’m getting ready to enter my second semester of the MFA program. I really want to get the most I can out of this semester. Unfortunately, it seems like knowing how to get the most out of anything doesn’t usually happen until after the fact, when it’s too late, so I’ve compiled a list of tips from other writers.
- Lori A. May’s “10 Tips for Maximizing Your MFA Experience” for Writer’s Digest
- “Get the Most Out of Your MFA Program” for Write Habit
- Gabriel Packard’s “Get the Most Out of Your MFA Experience: Tips for Success” for Poets & Writers
While a lot of articles seem to suggest MFA students go into debt for the sake of writing, I’ve chosen to work full time in addition to doing the MFA full time. I’m the type of person that thrives under deadlines, and if I weren’t working that wouldn’t mean that I was spending eight hours a day writing. For me, it’s better to carve out special moments for writing. That could mean during my lunch hour or on a night I don’t have class. Often, it means most of Sunday. I think, though, the greater point here is to make a practice out of writing. Don’t keep putting it off. Schedule specific times to write and don’t let other events (or Burn Notice–btw, check out author Tod Golderg’s blog) get in the way.
The tip in these articles about submitting struck home for me. While I’ve always been pretty good at finding places to publish my work online, I haven’t always been as selective as I should. One of my goals for this upcoming semester is to submit to a literary magazine.
Finding a mentor is probably the most important goal of mine for this semester. Last semester’s workshops gave me valuable feedback that I’ve been able to work into my rewrite, but I could use some one-on-one time to really talk through some of the issues in my work. I need to talk with someone who understands the type of writing I do and has suggestions for ways to improve my writing and where I should be publishing.
Those are my top MFA-related goals for the semester. What are your writing goals for winter 2011?
Teaching
16 AugHave you ever felt like writing teachers wax poetic about craft but hardly ever offer practical writing and publishing advice?
Are you tired of the familiar workshop model where students get feedback on their work but aren’t given the tools necessary to take their work to the next level without direct supervision?
Stephanie understands how frustrating and expensive it is to study with published authors who seem to only ramble on about their own “process” without providing any tangible tips, and she’s here to reveal to you the insider secrets she learned from close to two decades as an editor in the book publishing business.
Stephanie earned her MFA from The New School, where she studied the teaching of writing. She has since gone on to appear on panels and teach writing workshops at the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Writing Conference (NYC), BinderCon (NYC), the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI), the Festival of Women Writers (Hobart, NY), Publishing in Color at Drew Theological School (Madison, NJ), and the Redeemer Writers Group (NYC).
Writing a Killer Book Proposal
To land a book deal you need more than a good manuscript. Get insider tips as we go step-by-step through the elements of a proposal. Discover how to market through social media and network with agents and editors. Even if you haven’t written a single page of your book, now is the time to build your readership. Open to any genre, this workshop will include writing exercises to help you develop your proposal.
The Heroine’s Journey
Joseph Campbell describes the hero’s journey as someone who ventures away from the common day to decisively win a victory that he can share with his fellow man. How can stories of heroines’ journeys further the cause of the Women’s March, #metoo, and Time’s Up? How might stories of female heroes be different from their male counterparts? How do issues of race, immigration, class, sexuality, and age impact the journey? In this writing workshop, we will look at examples of heroines across genres to explore how we can use this storytelling template to inspire and empower readers. In-class writing exercises will teach the craft of creating memorable heroines. We’ll also discuss ways you can be an everyday heroine.
Cut-ups, Jazz-Poetry, and Picture Poems: Writing under the Influence of the Beat Generation
Come prepared to write! In this hands-on Workshop, we’ll experiment with Beat Generation techniques to blaze our own writing paths—whatever your genre. We’ll explore Neal Cassady’s and Diane di Prima’s confessional writing; Jack Kerouac’s spontaneous prose and jazz-poetry style; William S. Burroughs’ cut-ups; and Gregory Corso’s picture poetry.
Wild Women on the Road
Bohemians, rockers, and nature lovers throughout history have blazed their own paths, inspiring generations of women to put the pedal to the metal—and the pen to paper. So why is women’s writing so often derided as “domestic,” and why do so many women’s travelogues read like chick lit? We’ll discuss ways to elevate the genre in terms of both substance and style as we take a fast-paced ride along with Manal Al-Sharif (Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening), Lynne Cox (Swimming to Antarctica), Waris Dirie (Desert Flower), Patti Smith (M Train), and other women who defied conformity. Geared towards those who want to advance plot while maintaining artistic style.
The Role of Place in Your Literary Life
You heard it in elementary school: setting is key to any story. In this workshop, we’ll be looking at the role of place in the literary life. We’ll discuss how where we write impacts our writing and how to experiment with it to impact your writing style. Then, we’ll take a look at several passages then do some writing exercises that explore setting. You’ll be given a resource of works (fiction, poetry, nonfiction), as well as optional take-home writing exercises that will encourage you not just to carefully consider the role of place in your writing but that will challenge you to see how writing in different locations affects your style and content
Let’s learn to craft powerful stories together.
I’m September’s Featured Reader at the Forest Hills Library
15 Aug
I will be the featured reader at the Open Mic and Reading Series at the Forest Hills Library in Queens (108-19 71 Avenue, Queens, NYC) on September 26, 2019, at 6:30pm.
Here’s a bit about the series:
Open Mic is for all performers of any genre to take the mic for four minutes. Spectators are also welcome. Featured readers are as follows: September: Stephanie Nikolopoulos, October: Lancelot Schaubert, November: Julia Knobloch
I am thrilled! I love, love, love libraries. I spent a big part of my childhood at the Closter Public Library, where every summer I joyously, vigorously participated in the library’s reading challenge. My family also spent a lots of Sundays at the Englewood Public Library. After I left New Jersey, I chose my first apartment in New York based partly on the fact that it was on the same block at one of the branches of the New York Public Library.
Libraries have exposed me to books I would’ve never discovered otherwise. They’ve afforded me opportunities to read more books than I could afford to buy. They’ve been a fundamental source of research for the books I’ve written and the ones I’m writing. They’ve also been a quiet place to write. A place of comfort. A place of inspiration.
I had the opportunity to attend the Open Mic and Reading Series at the Forest Hills branch of the Queens Public Library a few months ago when fellow New School MFA alum Gabriel Don was the guest reader. I’m so honored that meditative poet-librarian and talk show host Vijay R. Nathan has invited me to read.
Hope to see you there!
In the comments, let me know your favorite thing about libraries.
My Q&A with Novelist Ellen Meeropol
10 Jul
I’m so excited to have interviewed Ellen Meeropol, author of House Arrest, On Hurricane Island, and Kinship of Clover for the Hobart Festival of Women Writers. I’m fascinated by the questions her novels pose about where the government should draw the line between keeping our nation safe and terrorizing our own citizens as well as how far is too far when it comes to activism.
Here’s the promotional copy for On Hurricane Island:
As a major hurricane threatens the northeast, math professor Gandalf Cohen is abducted by federal agents and flown to a secret interrogation center off the coast of Maine. Austin Coombs, a young local resident, is a newly hired civilian guard assigned to the detention center. Henry Ames, a man of personal secrets, is the FBI special agent in charge of Gandalf’s case and doubts the professor’s terrorist involvement; Tobias, his second-in-command, disagrees, preferring violent interrogation. As the hurricane slams the shore, conflict detonates and each character must choose a side if they’re to survive the storm.
Told over the five days approaching the anniversary of 9/11, by varying voices on both extremes of the political divide, On Hurricane Island is both a fast-paced political thriller and a literary examination of the sociopolitical storm facing our society. How far should government go in the name of protecting our national security? What happens when governmental powers of surveillance and extra-legal interrogation are expanded? How free are we?
Ellen Meeropol has worked as a daycare teacher and women’s reproductive health counselor before becoming a nurse practitioner. It was in her twenty-four years working at a children’s hospital that she began authoring and co-authoring articles and book chapters focused on pediatric issues and latex allergy. The nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau honored her for excellence in nursing journalism, and she received the Ruth A. Smith Writing Award for excellence in writing in the profession of nursing. She went on to receive the Chair’s Excellence Award from the Spina Bifida Association of America for her advocacy around latex allergy and spina bifida. In 2000, Meeropol decided to pursue a life of letters in earnest and earned her MFA from the Stonecoast Program at the University of Southern Maine. She didn’t leave behind her advocacy though: her novel Kinship of Clover involves a character who has spina bifida.
You can read my conversation with Ellen Meeropol here.
For more Q&As with the Hobart Festival of Women Writers, visit the Festival blog.
Register for the wonderful weekend of writing and community in the Catskills, and sign up for workshops by Ellen, me, and others here.
How much power should the government have to keep our country safe–what if it means less privacy and less due process? What cause would you break the law for? Let me know in the comments below.
Yiasou!
Stephanie Nikolopoulos is a writer, editor, writing teacher, and speaker based in New York City.
She is the coauthor, with Paul Maher Jr., of "Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road.'"
You can email her at stephanie_701 {@} yahoo.com
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
