Texas State Department of English

09/03/2026

Celebrating the inaugural editions of Bobcat Workbook: ENG 1310 and Bobcat Workbook: ENG 1320, both developed, written, and edited by faculty and published by Macmillan 💫

Pictured here: Dr. Nancy Wilson (Director of First-Year English) and other faculty gathered at Wake the Dead to talk about their early successes with the workbooks in FYE classrooms this semester💫

All students enrolled in FYE courses and the BookSmart program receive digital and hard copies of these workbooks as part of the Macmillan “Bobcat Bookshelf.” The English Department receives royalties, which are re-invested into professional development and innovation in the classroom 💫

Workbook credits: Kamron Mehrinfar researched and proposed departmental adoption of the Bobcat (Bedford) Bookshelf; Cory DeBoest served as the lead contributor and editor of both workbooks; and Mickey May and Nancy Wilson contributed content and served on the editorial team. The following faculty also contributed to these workbooks: Andrew Barton, Jason Coates, Joanna Collins, Anthony Edsall, Aunika Garza, Jayson Guest, Kale Hensley, Mark Hernandez, Kathryn Kane, Beck Proffer, Laura Sims, Connor Wilson, and Anne Winchell 💫

09/01/2026

✨ Happening tomorrow—join us! ✨

🌟Jonathan Escoffery 🌟
University Endowed Chair of Creative Writing (2026-2027)

"I recognized it then, like petrichor, or some misplaced scent from childhood, not the familiar weight of existence crushing my lungs, but the awakening urge, the exquisite, racking compulsion to survive."
—Jonathan Escoffery, from IF I SURVIVE YOU

EVENT DETAILS
Public Reading
Sept. 2, 2026 @ 3:30 PM
The Wittliff Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University

BIO
Jonathan Escoffery is the author of the linked story collection If I Survive You, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, an IndieNext Pick, and an International Bestseller. If I Survive You was nominated for more than a dozen prizes internationally, including the National Book Award, and was a finalist for the Booker Prize, the Dublin Literary Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize. Jonathan has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, the Stegner program at Stanford University, and in 2020, he won The Paris Review’s Plimpton Prize for Fiction. In 2023, he was named among the 36 Forces Shaping the Cultural Conversation by Harper’s Bazaar. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Observer, Oprah Daily, Electric Literature, Zyzzyva, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere.

If you require accommodations due to a disability in order to participate, please contact (512) 245-2163 at least 72 hours in advance of the event.

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Texas State MFA
TXST Liberal Arts
Texas State University Writing Center

08/31/2026

Have you seen our news? ⭐Celebrating the milestone achievements of the following faculty:

✒️Dr. Robert T. Tally Jr., University Distinguished Professor
🪶Dr. Daniel Lochman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Please join us in congratulating them for their admirable and extraordinary records of scholarship, teaching, and service 💫
TXST Liberal Arts Texas State University

08/30/2026

Congratulations to the faculty recognized for exceptional contributions to research, creative arts, teaching, and service ⭐ https://www.liberalarts.txst.edu/faculty/faculty-honors-and-awards.html

We are immensely proud of our faculty! They contribute so much to The College of Liberal Arts and we are so glad we get to honor them! Check out more at the link in our bio 🔗

08/29/2026

🏡Clark House Writer-In-Residence Announcement🏡

We have more exciting residency news: recent MFA fiction graduate Saint J. Kinnebrew will serve as the 2026-2027 Clark House Writer-In-Residence!

Saint J. Kinnebrew is a Chicana writer, artist, and educator born and raised in Austin, Texas. They have work published in Foglifter, and are a graduate of the Texas State University MFA Creative Writing program. They are currently working on their first novel.

As writer-in-residence, Saint will oversee the historic Clark House and continue to develop their own creative work.

Many congratulations, Saint!

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Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts
The Graduate College at Texas State University

08/26/2026

"Every book is a treasure and every time you open one up you will meet new friends and take wonderful journeys to magical places." -Dolly Parton, from the letter included in the final book that Imagination Library readers received 🦋

Inspired by her father, who could not read, Dolly Parton advocated for childhood literacy. Her Imagination Library has given away more than 300 million books 📚

Thank you, Dolly, RIP 🦋

🖼 credit: art by Andrea LaHue, reimagines Dolly as Iris, Greek messenger goddess of rainbows 🌈

08/25/2026

🪶Katherine Anne Porter Writer-In-Residence Announcement🪶

As we kick off the semester, we want to welcome recent MFA fiction graduate John Ambrosio as the 2026-2027 Katherine Anne Porter Writer-In-Residence!

John Ambrosio is a fiction writer from New Jersey whose writing has appeared in The Ocean State Review, Splitsider, and Confluence, among other publications. He graduated from Texas State University with an MFA in Creative Writing in 2026 and is currently working on a novel and a short story collection.

In addition to focusing on his own creative work, as writer-in-residence, John will also assist with supporting the annual KAP reading series and other events.

Congratulations, John!

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Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts
The Graduate College at Texas State University

08/23/2026

welcomed new faculty and graduate student assistants (IAs, TAs, & GAs) at a BBQ-filled reception at the beautiful Price Center in San Marcos 🌺 A wonderful beginning to Fall 2026!

08/19/2026

💫 2026 MFA Meet & Greet 💫

Are you as excited as we are about the upcoming semester? 🤩

To kick things off, we recently hosted students and faculty for our annual MFA Meet & Greet at the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center, one of our program's favorite gathering spots.

Keep an eye out for more program news and events as the Fall 2026 semester officially begins!

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Texas State Department of English
TXST Liberal Arts
The Graduate College at Texas State University
Charlotte Pence
Bianca Alyssa Pérez