MFA Creative Writing
Faculty and Staff

Robert Stevens MFA

rstevens@chatham.edu
Lecturer

Hometown : Wilkes-Barre, PA
Joined Chatham : 2009

Academic Areas of Interest

Language-driven short stories, Plot-driven novels, Magical Realism, classic Russian literature. Composition, Creative Nonfiction, ESL, and tutoring.

Personal Areas of Interest

Modern Architecture, Space-age Jazz, Indie Rock, Graphic Design

Biography

Robert Stevens was born in Seoul, South Korea. His father was in the U.S. Navy and his family traveled a lot, moving 11 times by the time he turned 18. He has taught composition and creative writing courses at the University of Pittsburgh and worked as a consultant at Pitt's Writing Center. He currently teaches fiction writing courses at Chatham University. In addition, he works as a volunteer tutor at The Neighborhood Academy, an inner-city high school. His work has won several awards, including a full tuition minority scholarship to the advanced fiction workshop at the New York State Summer Writers Institute. In 2008, he was awarded one of nine fiction writing fellowships through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. In April 2009, his story "Princeton" received an honorable mention in Glimmer Train's "Family Matters" contest, placing in the top 50 of over 1,000 entries.

Education

• MFA in Fiction Writing, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) 2008
• B.A. in Fiction Writing, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) 2004
• Film Studies Certificate, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) 2004

Publications

• Short story: “April First.” Chicago Quarterly Review, Spring 2013
• Short story: “Scenes from the Reverse Metamorphosis.” The Monarch Review, Spring 2012
• Short story: “Cottontails.” Colorado Review, Summer 2013
• Short story: “Cast Down Your Burdens.” Paper Darts, July 2012
• Short story: “Scenes from the Reverse Metamorphosis.” The Monarch Review, Spring 2012 (forthcoming)
• Short story: “Pockets.” The Los Angeles Review, issue 12, October 2012
• Two stories: "Wrens" and "Bleach." Sakura Review, vol. 4
• Short story: “Liberty and Union.” The Golden Triangle, issue No. 2
• Short story: "Whiskey." Bluestem Magazine, December 2011
• Short story: “Princeton.” Avery: An Anthology of New Fiction, issue 7
• Three stories: "The Thirty-eighth Parallel," "The Missing Lion," and "White Space," Papirmasse
• Short story: "Dear Katie." Southern Indiana Review, Spring 2011
• Short story: “The Magic Mirror.” The Written Wardrobe, issue 1, February 2011
• Poems: "Pittsburgh, September 2009: Chatter" and "Pittsburgh, September 2009: Drums," The Furnace Review. Fall 2010
• Poem: "Pittsburgh September 2009: Fortifications," J Journal: New Writing on Justice, vol. 3, no. 1
• Short story: “The Sacred Heart Auto Club.” Connecticut Review, Spring 2012
• Short story: “Solitude City.” The Kenyon Review, vol. 33, no. 2, Spring 2011
• Short story: “Clear Blue Michigan Sky.” Green Mountains Review, vol. 22, no. 2, Fall 2010
• Interview: “Bouncing Free Radicals: An Interview with Michael Byers.” Hot Metal Bridge, vol 5, Spring 2009
• Book review: Allison Amend’s Things That Pass for Love. Hot Metal Bridge vol 5, Spring 2009

Awards

• Finalist, 2012 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction contest
• One of five finalists selected by Sherman Alexie and Colin Channer for the 2012 Prairie Schooner Book Prize
• Full tuition minority scholarship to the Advanced Fiction Workshop at the New York State Summer Writers Institute, sponsored by Skidmore College (2008)
• Individual Artist Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2008)

Organizations

• AWP

Achievements

• Served as the fiction judge for the 2012 Annual Writers Cafe/Prosody Undergraduate Creative Writing Awards, University of Pittsburgh

Presentations

• "An Introduction to Realist Fiction." Community College of Allegheny County, South Campus, July 2011
• "Post-MFA Career Symposium featuring Sherrie Flick, Salvatore Pane, and Ladette Randolph." Chatham University, 2011
• "Vivid Technicolor-coded Character Map Extravaganza." Writer's Cafe, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
• “The Art of Physical Description." Writer's Cafe, University of Pittsburgh, 2009
• "Evaluating Diagnostic Essays," presented to the Committee for the Evaluation and Advancement of Teaching, University of Pittsburgh, 2006