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We\u2019re always pleased to share updates from our family of contributor-alumni and event presenters. Think of this as your alma mater\u2019s Class Notes, only the alumni are our volunteers, contributors, and speakers.<\/p>\n
This update is long overdue and, because of that, this installment includes almost nine month’s worth of accomplishments that happened between our last update (in January 2026) and now.<\/p>\n
Most of these were submitted via our form, but we also try to keep an eye for exciting news you share on social and your own newsletters. But we can\u2019t catch everything, and we\u2019d really LOVE to grow this feature, so please submit your news here<\/a> for inclusion in a future update.<\/p>\n[To browse our past essays and other content by contributor name, visit this page<\/a>.]\n Steph Auteri, our essays editor, published a several pieces this year. Among them, the flash fiction “In Remembrance”<\/a> in Ellipsis Zine and the essay “Outsized Expectations”<\/a> for Issue 8 of Tendon Magazine from the Johns Hopkins Center for Medical Humanities and Social Medicine.<\/p>\n Deanne Benjamin’s debut collection, Blue Ionia and Other Poems<\/em><\/a>, was released by Finishing Line Press in August 2026. Her short fiction appeared in Willows Wept’s Issue 40.<\/p>\n Articles editor and environmental journalist Molly Bilinksi is a regular contributor to Spotlight PA covering a range of topics, including a new addition to some Pennsylvania state parks, “Camping with … air conditioning? Pa. launches glamping pilot to woo newcomers to outdoor fun.”<\/a> She also wrote “Why I Play: Game Changer,”<\/a> a student-athlete profile piece for the Moravian University alumni magazine.<\/p>\n Will Dowd’s short story collection, The Taste of Rain in Buenos Aires<\/a><\/em>, comes out in October 2026 with Etruscan Press. The first literary work created through dream-engineering technology, The Taste of Rain in Buenos Aires<\/em> chronicles 20 extraordinary dream narratives born from this first-of-its-kind experiment.<\/p>\n Wendy Fontaine, our flash editor, placed second in the 2026 Streetlight Essay\/Memoir Contest for “Lost Boots.”<\/a> She also placed second in the 2026 Q3 WOW! Women on Writing essay contest for “Ask Your Doctor if Empathy is Right for You.”<\/a> A companion interview ran along with the piece; read that here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Nina Gaby is pleased to have an essay in the Fall 2025 edition Fourth River Journal (Issue 0.16), as well as essays out this past spring in Bellevue Literary Review and in the anthology Where it Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Frontlines of Medicine<\/em>, edited by Donna Bulesco. Gaby also organized and presented at Where it Hurts, the Healing Power of Narrative Medicine, a reading\/lecture at Writers and Books in Rochester, New York, in March.<\/p>\n Melanie McGehee co-created a workshop series and anthology with Shannon Ivey. Write Home: Letters to a Younger Me<\/em><\/a> was published in May by The Athenaeum Press.<\/p>\n C.E. McKenna<\/a> published her short story, \u201cLong Nights of the Polar Bear,\u201d in On Fire and Under Water<\/em><\/a>, an anthology of climate change crime fiction, out now from Rock and a Hard Place Press.<\/p>\n Anthony Mohr’s essay “The Next Big Thing”<\/a> appeared in The Thieving Magpie’s issue No. 32, Winter 2025.<\/p>\n Rae Pagliarulo, our associate editor, published a craft essay in the Brevity Blog, Close, but No Acceptance (Or, What is the Universe Trying to Teach Me Right Now?)<\/a> in June 2026.<\/p>\n Remi Recchia’s<\/a> second full-length poetry collection, Addiction Apocalypse<\/em><\/a>, was released by Texas Review Press in early 2026.<\/p>\n Donna Talarico was invited to become the co-columnist for U.S. News & World Report’s<\/em> Higher Ground newsletter for higher ed leaders. She writes the Ahead of the Curve column bi-weekly<\/a> and has covered topics like silent retreats, the return of blue books, digital detoxes on campus, unique advising programs, and AI & the college search. She occasionally facilitates the newsletter’s Q&A section, The Big Idea. Donna also renewed her committee role as a writer\/editor for Link Journal<\/a>, the publication of Digital Collegium (formerly HighEdWeb) and will present a lightning talk<\/a> at the organization’s annual conference in October.<\/p>\n Casey Mulligan Walsh published the essay “Maybe It’s All Fairy Dust”<\/a> in the June 29, 2026, issue of Open Secrets Magazine. She also appeared on Lisa Keefauver’s podcast, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch<\/a>.<\/p>\n Robert Weinberger<\/a> won the international 2025 Paul Cave Prize for Literature for his novella, Come Back, Shane,<\/em> published by Tim Saunders Publications. Spanning seven decades, Come Back, Shane<\/em> follows one man’s journey as he reflects on the joys of the moviegoing experience.<\/p>\n Karen Winn published her second novel, The Society<\/em><\/a> (Dutton, 2026).<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a past\/current volunteer, contributor, or conference speaker and you have news to share, you can submit it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re catching up on “alumni updates” from winter ’til now. This edition shares book news, contest placements, and more form Hippocampus Magazine contributors. <\/p>\n
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