MFA Creative Writing
Faculty and Staff
Lori Jakiela
ljakiela@chatham.edu, lljakiela@gmail.com
Lecturer
Hometown : Trafford, PA
Academic Areas of Interest
Creative nonfiction, poetry, journalism, fiction, travel writing, screenwriting and experimental/cross-genre forms.
Personal Areas of Interest
All things Pittsburgh. Also spending time with family and friends, cooking, reading, traveling and playing the piano.
Biography
Lori Jakiela is the author of a memoir, Miss New York Has Everything (Hatchette 2006); a poetry collection, Spot the Terrorist! (Turning Point, 2012); and three poetry chapbooks. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Creative Nonfiction/Brevity, River Teeth, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette and elsewhere. Her second memoir, The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious, will be published in December 2012 by C&R Press. She is a speaker for the PA Humanities Council, a past recipient of the Golden Quill Award, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Education
- M.F.A. in Creative Writing, University of Pittsburgh (1992)
- B.A. in English/Journalism, Gannon University (1987)
Publications
- Miss New York Has Everything: A Memoir (Warner/Hatchette, 2006)
- Essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Tribune Review, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Creative Nonfiction, Tears in the Fence (U.K.) and elsewhere.
- Anthologized work includes essays in Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction (ed. by Lee Gutkind, W.W. Norton 2008), and The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction (edited by Dinty Moore, Longman Publishing 2006), as well as poems in Real Things: An Anthology of Popular Culture in America (eds. Ellwedge and Swarthwout, University of Indiana Press 1999), and A Ghost at Heart's Edge: Poems and Stories About Adoption (eds. Ito and Cervin, North Atlantic Books 1999),
- Poetry: Full-length collection, Spot the Terrorist! (Turning Point, 2012); Chapbooks: The Mill Hunk's Daughter Meets the Queen of Sky (Finishing Line, 2011); Red Eye (Pudding House, 2010); The Regulars: Poems (Liquid Paper Press, 2001)
- Poems have most recently appeared in Chiron Review, 5 AM, Nerve Cowboy, Slipstream, and elsewhere.
Awards
- Gulf Stream Creative Nonfiction Prize (2009)
- Outstanding Faculty Award, 2007 (University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg)
- Liquid Paper Press Chapbook Prize (2001)
- Multiple Pushcart Prize nominations in creative nonfiction and poetry
Organizations
- Associated Writing Programs
- Commonwealth Speaker, Pennsylvania Humanities Council
Achievements
- Full scholarships to Bread Loaf Writers Conference and The Bennington Summer Workshops
Presentations
- Regularly travel for readings and workshops throughout the tri-state area. For updates on readings and appearances, visit www.lorijakielawritesbooks.com.