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Alumni

We love to hear from former students!  Check out our alumni news stories below, or view our alumni profiles. Fill out the alumni update form to send us your news.

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Alumni News

Alignment Problem book cover
February 1, 2024
Brian Christian's (MFA 2008) most recent book of nonfiction, The Alignment Problem has been named as one of the "5 Best Books About Artificial Intelligence" by The New York Times. As the NYT reviewer writes: If you’re going to read one book on artificial intelligence, this is the one. Though it was published in 2020, which in terms of A.I. is practically prehistory, I still think it’s fairer and more illuminating than almost anything published since. Its chief value is its... Read more
Removal Acts book cover
October 27, 2023
The English department is pleased to announce that well-known author and UW Creative writing alumnus Erin Marie Lynch will be doing a poetry reading from her new book, Removal Acts. The reading is scheduled on November 6th at 7:00 PM in the UW Husky Union Building room 332. More information about the event can be found here. Erin Marie Lynch's work is... Read more
Book cover of We Had Our Reasons
October 8, 2023
Ricardo Ruiz's (BA, English Creative Writing 2021) first book of poetry, We Had Our Reasons: Poems by Ricardo Ruiz and other hard-working Mexicans from Eastern Washington (Pulley Press), has won the Washington State Book Award for poetry.  The Washington State Book Awards honor works of outstanding literary merit by Washington authors. We Had Our Reasons is a collection of poems created... Read more
First edition cover art. Painting of train tressle crossing a large lake, with mountains in the background.
June 5, 2023
Renowned author Marilynne Robinson has received the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award (ASLD). This award is the highest honor bestowed upon a University of Washington graduate and is presented annually by the UW and UW Alumni Association. It recognizes a legacy of achievement and service built over a lifetime.  Since Robinson earned her Ph.D. at the UW in 1977, she has become one of the world’s premier fiction writers. A Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Library of... Read more
Patrimony
May 26, 2023
As faithful readers of English Matters have no doubt noticed, our alumni updates can lean towards celebrating new publications.  But this time around we have reached a new benchmark: if we include speeches and plays, all of our alumni updates this spring celebrate new publications.  Every. Last. One. English Matters is thrilled to report on our talented graduates’ accomplishments!  And we can hardly wait for the next round of books, plays, and critical works to drop – please keep us in the loop... Read more
Image of Sarah Faulkner
October 20, 2022
Join the UW Alumni Book Club for a conversation about Frankenstein with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley scholar and English department lecturer Sarah Faulkner, ’19. While a student, Sarah spearheaded the UW Frankenreads celebration, and her studies focus on women writers of the 18th and 19th centuries.  Get together online with Sarah and your fellow readers to talk about the book! To learn more and register,... Read more
moraleja hackett
May 24, 2022
Alumni News and Notes Rachel Arteaga (PhD 2016), along with co-editor, Rosemary Erickson, recently published Public Scholarship in Literary Studies, (2021, Amherst College Press).  From the publisher: "Rachel Arteaga and Rosemary Johnsen bring together accomplished public scholars who make significant contributions to literary scholarship, teaching, and the public good. The volume begins with essays by... Read more
breakpoint
May 24, 2022
Recent Book Publications: MFA Graduates  The University of Washington’s Creative Writing program faculty is loaded with prolific luminaries in their categories, with constant new books, awards, films, fellowships, collaborations, and other achievements.  Beyond this faculty publishing prowess, though, lives another reason to be impressed: the Creative Writing program’s MFA admits and graduates outstanding writers with terrific career prospects.  As ... Read more
Cover image of We Had Our Reasons
May 5, 2022
Ricardo Ruiz (BA, English Creative Writing 2021) has just published his first book of poetry, We Had Our Reasons/Teniamos Nuestras Razones: Poems by Ricardo Ruiz and other hard-working Mexicans from Eastern Washington (Pulley Press). We Had Our Reasons offers a startling look into an American community of Mexican farmworkers. Centered around the town of Othello, located in eastern Washington state, this collection by University of Washington alumni Ricardo... Read more
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December 8, 2021
The UW commissioned poet Ally Ang to write and perform a poem titled "You deserve the World" for the University’s 2021 Recognition Gala. Ally Ang is a 2021 graduate of the English department Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing, with a focus on poetry. They are currently a development associate at Seattle’s Hugo House, a nonprofit writing center named for Richard Hugo, ’48, ’52, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry. ... Read more
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