Constance Squires

Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing, University of Central Oklahoma

PhD Oklahoma State University (2005)
Creative Writing

"I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of my time at OSU and felt that the courses I took and the faculty I worked with prepared me well for my current life as a full-time writer and a full-time faculty member. The literature and theory courses I took deepened my understanding of the writing process and contextualized contemporary trends in literature in a way that has greatly helped me find my way. The MFA in creative writing is increasingly devalued and appears to be on its way out as preparation for a college teaching career, but as Azita Osanloo notes in the May/June 2007 issue of Poets and Writers, “For writers who wish to become both artists and scholars capable of teaching at the university level, the PhD program will indeed become the terminal degree.” As I sit on hiring committees now and read the applications of dozens of qualified but undistinctive writers with MFA’s, I am more and more grateful for the distinction the PhD at OSU helps provide me in a tough job market. "
~Constance Squires, May 2007

Recent Publications

“Running Out of Music”: The Atlantic Monthly, forthcoming Summer 2007 Fiction Issue.

"Grand Mal”: New Delta Review, forthcoming Summer 2007.

"Jade's Last Show": The Dublin Quarterly, Issue #10, May 2007.

"Writ in Water": Eclectica, vol. 9, isuue #4, November 2005. www.eclectica.com

"Contamination": The Chiron Review, issue #80, Autumn 2005.

"A Just and Loving Gaze: Iris Murdoch's theory of the Novel." Philiological Review 31.2 (2005): 59-84.

"The Color of Ghosts" The Briar Cliff Review, vol. 16, 2004

"The Cold War" Bayou, issue #42, 2004

"No Tourist," Gingko Tree Review issue #4, October 2004.

Speculations: An Anthology for Reading, Writing, and Research. Co-edited with Matthew Wynn Sivils and Jason Landrum. Kendall Hunt, 2003.

"Cover Artists" The Arkansas Review, vol. 33, Dec. 2002

Honors & Offices

• Matt Clark Fiction Prize, New Delta Review, 2007, "Grand Mal."
• James Jones First Novel Fellowship, Finalist 2006, Absorbing the Blow.
• storySouth's Million Writers Award Notable Stories of 2005, "Writ in Water."
• Atlantic Monthly Fiction Contest: Third Place, 2005 "Running out of Music."
• The Associated Writing Program’s Intro Journals Project, 2005 Nomination, “Contamination”
• Best New American Voices 2005 Nomination, “The Cold War”
• 2004 Pushcart Prize Nomination, The Briar Cliff Review, "The Cold War."
• Finalist, James Jones First Novel Fellowship 2004, for Contact High
• Annual Bob Shacochis Short Story Award, First Place, 2004, Gingko Tree Review, “No Tourist”
• 2004 Fiction Award, First Place, The Briar Cliff Review, “The Color of Ghosts”
• First Place OSU Fiction Award, 2004, “Writ in Water”
• Pushcart Prize Nomination, 2003, for “Cover Artists”
• O. Henry Prize Series Recommendation, 2003, for “Cover Artists”
• First Place OSU Fiction Award, 2003, “The Cold War”
• Honorable Mention, The Atlantic Monthly 2002 Fiction Contest for “No Tourist”
• First Place OSU Fiction Award, 2002, “Grace”
  

Recent Conference Presentations

"Red Dirt Readings." Fiction Panel. AWP Conference, Austin, 2006.

"It's Not Easy Being Blue: Blue Teachers in Red States." Panel, AWP Conference, Austin, 2006.

"Images of Oklahoma in Fiction and Film." Fiction Reading Panel, College English Association Conference, San Antonio, 2006.

"A Just and Loving Gaze: Iris Murdoch's Theory of the Novel." Arkansas Philological Association Convention, Fayetteville, 2004.

"No Tourist." Drury University, Springfield, MO, 2004.

“Writ in Water.” CWA Spring Reading Series 2004, Oklahoma State University, 2004.

“‘The Classics in Paraphrase’: The James Novel in Pound’s Hugh Selwyn Mauberley.” Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 2004

National Conference Chair. Creative Writing, ACA/APCA, San Antonio, April 2004.

"Contamination." reading at the ACA/PCA National Conference, San Antonio, April 2004.

National Conference Chair. Creative Writing, ACA/APCA, New Orleans, 2003.

“The Cold War.” reading at ACA/APCA National Conference, New Orleans, 2003.

“Cover Artists.”CWA Spring Reading Series 2002, Oklahoma State University, 2002.

English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu