English alumna Mal Alder (’13) sits down with Erin Cantrell (’25) to discuss her business, Alderwood Creative, and how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to own and found her own business. Erin Cantrell: What inspired you to start Alderwood Creative, and how did you take the first step? Mal Alder: […]
English alumna Sierra Swanson (’20) sits down with Erin Cantrell (’25) to discuss her work in publishing in NYC and how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to thrive. Erin Cantrell: How was the transition from an undergraduate student in Knoxville to someone working their way up in the publishing world? […]
English Alum Amien Essif discusses how English prepared him for a career in journalism through telling human stories. Erin Cantrell: What was your career path from an undergraduate student in Knoxville to becoming Special Correspondent with Deutsche Welle? Amien Essif: After I graduated from UTK, I spent the summer of 2012 writing a cover story […]
When recently appointed University of Tennessee Press Director Katie Hannah first switched to English Literature as a major during her sophomore year at the University of Mississippi, she had no idea her decision would lead her into the publishing industry. “I was majoring in Broadcast Journalism, and I was learning to write shorter, and shorter […]
“English is making you a better writer and making you a better person in the world that thinks critically about things.” English alum P. Claire Dodson (‘15) has published stories in, among others, The New York Times, InStyle, O The Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, and Fast Company, where she worked for several years before becoming an entertainment editor at Teen Vogue. Claire’s father, […]
Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith sat down with University of Tennessee English alumni Claire Dodson, Daniel Dassow, and Christopher Moyer for a roundtable discussion on how their English degrees helped them in their future careers in journalism. This online discussion took place on Thursday, April 4th from 5:00-5:30 PM EST on Zoom. Please see the video below. […]
“A freelancing career thus looks like a continuous process of strategic discomfort. You have to be willing to do things you’re not good at because being not good for a while is the only path to getting better.” Austin L. Church (MA ’08) is a writer, marketing consultant, and business coach. He started freelancing in […]
Rodney Thompson’s love of storytelling brought him to English and now game rooms everywhere. English alumnus Rodney Thompson (Creative Writing ’04) is a multi-award-winning video and tabletop game designer. In addition to being the creator of Spectaculars and Dusk City Outlaws—and co-creator of Lords of Waterdeep—he was one of the creative minds behind Dungeons and […]
Dickey says the ability to communicate well leads to success, and it’s a skill he says he got from his time spent as an English major at The University of Tennessee. R. A. Dickey gives his pitch on why English is the path to success, in any endeavor. As a student he played baseball for […]
Monica Brashears’ debut novel, House of Cotton, comes out this April. Monica Brashears (’19) double-majored in English (Creative Writing) and Africana Studies. Afterward, she enrolled in the creative writing program at Syracuse University, receiving her MFA in 2022. She grew up in Luttrell, TN, about 20 miles outside Knoxville. Her debut novel House of Cotton is set for publication […]