“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 […]