Thisbe Nissen 3524 Baseline Rd., Battle Creek, MI 49017 (269) 721-3960 [email protected]
Education
Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Iowa City, IA, MFA, Fiction, 1997, Teaching-Writing Fellow. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, B.A., English/Creative Writing, 1994, Phi Beta Kappa.
Books
Osprey Island, a novel, Knopf, June 2004. (Paperback, Anchor, 2005.)
The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook, fiction, collage & recipes (w/ Erin Ergenbright), HarperCollins, 2002.
The Good People of New York, novel, Knopf, 2001. (Paperback, Anchor, 2002.) Chatto & Windus, London, 2001. (Paperback, Vintage, 2002.) Die Guten Menschen von New York, Dromer, Germany, 2002. (PB, Knaur, 2003.) De Goede Mensen van New York, Meulenhoff, Amsterdam, 2001. (PB, De Volkskrant, 2006.)
Out of the Girls’ Room and into the Night, stories, U. of Iowa Press, 1999. (Reprint, Anchor, 2000.)
Teaching - Colleges and Universities
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. Fall 2010- Teaching ENG 6110: Literary Forms-Fiction, The Short-Short Story, Fall 2011. ENG 6660: Graduate Writing Workshop-Fiction, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011. ENG 5660: Creative Writing Workshop-Fiction, Fall 2010, Spring 2011. Undergraduate Independent Study Advising, Spring 2011. Graduate Independent Research Advising, Spring 2011, Fall 2011. MFA Project Advising, Spring 2011. Doctoral Dissertation Committee, Fall 2010. Undergraduate Honors College Thesis Advising, Fall 2010. Service Policy Committee, Fall 2011- Strategic Planning & Assessment Committee (SPA), Fall 2010- Creative Writing Committee, Fall 2010-
The New School/Eugene Lang College, NY, NY, Writer-in-Residence. Undergraduate Advanced Fiction Writing: Fiction From Artifacts; Artifacts as Fiction, Spring ’10 Undergraduate Intermediate Fiction Writing: The Short-Short Story, Fall 2009.
Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR, Low-Residency MFA Fiction Faculty, hybrid-online teaching. Graduate Fiction Writing, Summer-Fall 2009, Graduate Nonfiction Writing, Winter-Spring 2010.
(College & University teaching, cont.) Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence. Undergraduate Directed Writing: Fiction, Fall 2007 & Spring 2009. Undergraduate Directed Writing: Short Fiction, Spring 2008 & Spring 2009. Undergraduate Honors Thesis Advisement, Fall 2007-Spring 2009. Undergraduate Independent Study Advising, Fall 2007-Spring 2009.
Columbia University, New York City, Visiting Assistant Professor. Graduate Thesis Advisor, Fall 2009 & Spring 2010. Graduate Fiction Workshop, Spring 2007. Graduate Thesis Reader, Spring 2007.
Iowa Writers’ Workshop, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, Visiting Assistant Professor. Graduate Fiction Workshop, Spring 2005. Graduate Thesis Advising, Spring 2005.
Kirkwood Community College, Iowa City, IA, Adjunct Instructor. Composition, spring 1998.
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, Graduate Student Instructor. Undergraduate Fiction Writing, Fall 1996 & Spring 1997. Rhetoric I and II, Fall 1995 & Spring 1996.
Teaching - Conferences and Summer Programs
The Catskill Studio for Writing, Saugerties, NY, Co-founder/Co-director, 2009. Solstice Summer Writers’ Conference, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA, Novel: 6/17-23/07. Writers in Paradise, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, 1/21-29/06, 1/20-28/07, 1/19-26/08. Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, Iowa City, IA, Fiction Faculty, summers 2000-2005. Centrum Writers’ Conference, Port Townsend, WA, Fiction Faculty, July 10-20, 2003. University of N. Carolina Wilmington, Visiting Faculty, Writers’ Week Symposium, 3/18-22/02. Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Teaching Assistant for David Bradley, Middlebury, VT, Aug. 2001. Iowa Elderhostel, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, Instructor: Memoir Writing, summer 1997.
Visiting Writer Colleges and Universities University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, Sept. 14, 2009. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, March 20, 2007. University of Iowa Writing & Learning Community, Iowa City, IA, October 9, 2005. Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA, January 19, 2005.
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, November 11, 2004. Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, November 9, 2004. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, November 5, 2003. (Visiting Writer, Colleges & Universities, cont.) Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, October 20-26, 2003. Winona State University, Winona, MN, October 19, 2002. Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, IA, May 2, 2002. Reed College, Portland, OR, November 2000. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, November 1999. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, October 1999. Schools St. Paul’s School, Concord, NH, Dec. 4, 2009. Willowind School, Iowa City, IA, May 5, 2005. The Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, NY, April 7, 2005. Norwalk High School, Norwalk, IA, October 30, 2002. High School of Health & Human Professions, NYC, November 2001. Washington High School, Cedar Rapids, IA, October 2001. Escanaba High School, Escanaba, MI, September 2000. FDR High School, Bensonhurst, NY, February 2000. Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA, November 1999. Thomas Jefferson High School, Federal Way, WA, November 1999. Libraries Portland Public Library, Portland, Maine, August 2001. Cedar Rapids Public Library, Cedar Rapids, IA, June 2001. Escanaba Public Library, Escanaba, MI, September 2000. Lectures Wesleyan Writers Conference, Craft Lecture: Fiction From Artifacts, June 2008. Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Craft Lecturer, Middlebury, VT, Aug. 2001. Iowa Summer Writing Festival, Elevenses Lecturer: “The Art of Dialogue,” Iowa City, July 2001. Panels Iowa City Book Festival, “Fiction: The Long and Short of It,” Iowa City, IA, July 16, 2011. LWC}NYC, “Grassroots Marketing,” The New School, NYC, 11/10/07, 11/21/08, 11/22/09. Writers Work & Small Press Bonanza, “Small Press Publishing,” UMass Amherst, May 1, 2009.
AWP, “From Stories to Novels: Crossing the Great Divide,” NYC, Feb. 1, 2008. AWP, “Off the Page: Writers Talk About the American Landscape,” NYC, Jan. 31, 2008.
(Panels, cont.) 3rd Annual Hudson Valley Literary Festival: All LIT Up, “The State of American Fiction in the Marketplace,” Hudson, NY, May 5, 2007. Jewish Literary Festival, Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes, DC JCC, Sept 12, 2006. MacDowell Downtown Series, “The Call To Art,” Peterborough, NH, Dec. 2, 2005. Yale University, The Trumbull Literary Panel, New Haven, CT, February 25, 2005. Wisconsin Book Festival, Writing & Publishing Panel, Madison, WI, Oct. 11.2002. Chicago Printer’s Row Book Fair, Bold New Voices: A NewCity Panel, June 1, 2002. Atlanta Jewish Book Festival, New Author Panel, November 13, 2001. Editorial and Publishing Experience LAND Creative Writing Contest, Fiction Judge, 2010. http://www.landconference.org/journals/2010- creative/index.html Tulane University, Judge, Student Fiction Contest, Spring 2010. Gulf Coast, Judge, Fiction Contest, 2010. Massachusetts Cultural Council, Artist Fellowship Panelist, Fiction/Creative Nonfiction judge, 2008. Columbia University, Writing Division, MFA Thesis Juror, Spring 2007. Vermont Studio Center Fellowship Juror, October 2006, February 2007. VERB Audioquarterly, Judge, Fiction Contest, Winter 2006. WordSmitten Quarterly Journal, Judge, “TenTen Fiction Contest,” 2004. Iowa Review, Fiction Editorial Staff, fall 2001-spring 2002. Seventeen Magazine, Judge, Annual Fiction Contest, 1999 & 2001. Small Press Distribution, Intern, Berkeley, CA, fall 1994. Cuyahoga, The Oberlin Literary Quarterly, Editorial Staff, 1993-1994. Story Publications Camera Obscura, vol. 2, winter 2010, “Deer at Rest.” www.obscurajournal.com/winter2010.php Triquarterly Online, July 2010, “Lull,” “What Hair Does,” “Iris Murdoch’s Taste For Kale,” “In Bed With My Parents,” & “The Last Marathon Brunch.” http://triquarterly.org/fiction/five-shorts NANO Fiction, issue 3.2, spring 2010, “Attributes of Baking Soda.” http://nanofiction.org/?p=555 Quick Fiction, issue 17, spring 2010, “Plots for Sale.” http://quickfiction.org/read/2139/plots-for-sale/ Glimmer Train, #69, winter 2009, “Home Is Where the Heart Gives Out and We Arouse the Grass.” Chattahoochee Review, summer 2008, “How Other People Make Love.” The Cincinnati Review, winter 2008, “Win’s Girl.” Glimmer Train, #65, winter 2008, “And the Night Goes Off Like a Gun in a Car.”
Five Chapters, Jan. ’07, “Don’t Sweat the Petty.” www.fivechapters.com/2009/dont-sweat-the-petty/ Story Quarterly, issue 42, fall 2006, “The Church of the Fellowship of Something.” (Story Publications, cont.) The Journal News, 7/1/04, StoryLine: Tag-Team Fiction, (with Kevin Brockmeier), “BABYLAND.” Virginia Quarterly Review, vol. 80, no. 3, summer 2004. “You Were My Favorite Scarecrow.” http:// www.vqronline.org/articles/2004/summer/nissen-you-were/ Wordsmitten, vol 1, no. 1, winter 2004. “Woman With Backwards Uterus.” http:// www.wordsmitten.com/author_thisbenissen.htm The Hartford Courant, Jan. 19, 2003. “Morey’s Dinghy.” Tin House, issue 11, spring 2002. “A Readable Feast: Excerpts from The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook.” Eyeshot, 2/02, “How It Was When I Lost My Fingernail;” http://www.eyeshot.net/thisbe2.html, & 1/ 02, “Some Notes on Etiquette,” http://www.eyeshot.net/thisbe1.html Pindeldyboz, vol. 1, no. 1, 2001. “Until the Day Breathes and the Shadows Flee.” Hamptons, June 2001. “The Rather Unlikely Courtship of Edwin Anderson and Roz Rosenzweig.” Seventeen, May 2001. “Wrestling Jailbait.” The Journal, Winter 1999. “After Twenty-Five Years, At The Palais Royale.” New Orleans Review, vol. 25, nos. 1 & 2, Fall 1999. “The Animal’s Best Interest.” The Atlantic Unbound, July 1999, “Fundamentals of Communication,” http://www.theatlantic.com/ past/docs/unbound/fiction/9907nissen.htm Fourteen Hills, Spring/Summer 1999. “A Bungalow, Koh Tao.” North American Review, May/August 1999. “A Brownstone, Park Slope.” Wisconsin Review, Spring 1999. “3 1/2 x 5.” Reed Magazine, vol. 51, Summer 1998. “Mailing Incorrectly.” Sycamore Review, Winter/Spring 1998. “Apple Pie.” Spelunker Flophouse, Vol. I, issue 3, Summer 1997. “Grog.” (Pushcart Prize nomination.) Hampton Shorts, Summer 1997. “The Estate.” STORY, Spring 1997. “At the No. 1 Phoenix Garden.” (1997 Short-Short Competition, 2nd place.) Seventeen, December 1996. “Accidental Love.”
Film Rights “819 Walnut” optioned to Escaped From L.A. Films, Portland, OR. (April 2009)
Stories in Anthologies Best American Mystery Stories 2008, George Pelecanos, guest ed., Houghton Mifflin, “Win’s Girl.” Sleepaway: Writing on Summer Camp, Eric Simonoff, ed., Riverhead Books, 2005, “Apple Pie.” The Dictionary of Failed Relationships, Meredith Broussard, ed., Three Rivers, 2003. “Etiquette.” The Student Body, John McNally, ed., U. of Wisconsin, 2001. “Fundamentals of Communication.” The Iowa Award: Best Stories 1991-2000, Frank Conroy, ed., University of Iowa Press. “Out of the
Girls’ Room and into the Night.”
Nonfiction Publications Magazines Preservation, Jan./Feb. 2010, feature article, “Round Barns of Iowa,” http:// www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2010/january-february/octagonal-barn.html Budget Travel, October 2009, “Saugerties, NY,” & “Mt. Vernon, IA,” The New Haven Review, summer 2009, “How To Cure Homesickness,” http:// www.newhavenreview.com/index.php/print-editions/ Preservation, September/October 2008, “A House, a Dream, and 38 Doorknobs,” www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/september-october/place-nissen-house.html Vogue, June 2004, “Rear Window.” Post Road, issue 8, summer 2004, “Some Things About Kevin Brockmeier,” http:// www.postroadmag.com/8/recommends/SomeThingsAboutKevinBrockmeier.phtml The Believer, (with Erin Ergenbright), March 2004, issue 11, “Motel: The Pull-R-Inn.” The Believer, Dec.’03/Jan.’04, issue 9, “Underway,” http://www.believermag.com/issues/ 200312/?read=underway Chrysler, vol. 2 issue 3, October 2003, “DNA to Drive.” Glamour, March 2002, “Suddenly Stacked.” Iowa Alumni Magazine, December, 2001, “A Good Move.”
Newspapers Iowa Press Citizen, June, 16, 2007, “Fictional Iowa City.” Hartford Courant, October 14, 2001, “Loneliness as a Writing Tool.” Hartford Courant, April 25, 2001, “Digging for the True Definition of a Gossip.”
Online The New York Times, Paper Cuts: A Blog About Books, Oct. 7, 2009, “Living With Music: A Playlist by Thisbe Nissen,” http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/living-with- music-a-playlist-by-thisbe-nissen/ Nextbook, Oct. 16, 2008, “Marked Man: an interview with Ami Silber,” http:// www.nextbook.com/arts-and-culture/books/999/marked-man/
Essay Anthologies Birth: 20 Women Writers Tell True Stories of Labor and Delivery, Anna Solomon & Eleanor Henderson, eds., details TK.
Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes, Laurel Snyder, ed., Soft Skull Press, April 2006, “Bury the Knife in Yonkers or Bibbity Bobbity Jew.”
Before the Mortgage, Christina Amini & Rachel Hutton, eds., Simon & Schuster, 2006, “I Was an Entry-Level Fiction Writer.”
Sex and Sensibility, Genevieve Field, ed., Atria, 2005. “One Way To Stay Warm in the Winter.” The Future Dictionary of America, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Safran Foer & Nicole Krauss, eds., Sept. 2004, McSweeney’s Books, “Dubyavirus.”
(Nonfiction publications, cont.) Teaching Anthologies Naming the World: And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer, Bret Johnston, ed., Random House, 2008, “Fiction Through Artifacts or How To Justify a Love of Accumulating Junk.”
Rules of Thumb, Michael Martone & Susan Neville, eds. F&W Publications, 2006, “Plucking Your Characters’ Eyebrows.”
Shaping the Story: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Short Fiction, Mark Baechtel, ed., Longman, 2003, “Workshopping Guidelines.”
Interview Anthologies Glimmer Train Interviews, Susan Burmeister-Brown & Linda Swanson-Davies, eds., Washington Square Press, forthcoming date TK.
Off the Page, Carole Burns, ed., Norton 2007.
The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers, Vendela Vida, ed., Believer Books/ McSweeney’s Publishing, Oct. 2005, “Interview with Siri Hustvedt.”
Fellowships, Scholarships & Residencies Wesleyan Writers Conference, Teaching Fellow, June 15-20, 2008. Yaddo Residency, Saratoga Springs, NY, March 2-April 12, 2006. MacDowell Colony Residency, Peterborough, NH, October 14-December 10, 2005. 19th Zale Writer-in-Residence, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, October 20-26, 2003. Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Fiction Fellow, Middlebury, VT, August 2001. The Vermont Studio Center, Fiction Fellow, Johnson, VT, October 2000. James Michener Fellow, The Copernicus Society of America, judge: Barry Hannah, 1998-99. Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Fiction Scholar, Middlebury, VT, August 1998. Teaching-Writing Fellow, Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Iowa City, IA, 1996-97.
Awards and Honors Chicago Tribune, Best Books of 2004, Osprey Island. Chicago Tribune Book Club Selection, summer 2002, The Good People of New York. Top Ten First Novels of 2001, Booklist magazine, The Good People of New York. Editors’ Choice List 2001, Amazon.com, The Good People of New York.
Best of 2001, Debut Authors, Bookreporter.com, The Good People of New York. Book Sense 76, May/June 2001, The Good People of New York. Book Sense 76 Top Ten, January/February 2000, Out Of The Girls’ Room And Into The Night. John Simmons Award for Short Fiction, ’99, U.I. Press, Out Of The Girls’ Room And Into The Night. Margaret Goodwin Meacham Award, Oberlin College Department of English, 1994. Book Festivals Iowa City Book Festival, Iowa City, IA, July 15-17, 2011. Capital Lit: Albany Lit Mag & Small Press Fair, 2010. Hudson Valley Literary Festival: All LIT Up, Hudson, NY, 2007-2009. Jewish Literary Festival, Washington DC, 2006. Wordstock: Portland Oregon’s Annual Literary Festival, 2006. Celebrating Iowa Authors: Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation Benefit Auction, 2005. Wisconsin Book Festival, Madison, WI, 2002. Printer’s Row Book Fair, Chicago, IL, 2002. Atlanta Jewish Book Festival, 2001. Book Expo America, Chicago, IL, 2001.
Print Features (selected) BookPage, July 2004, “A Combustive Mix,” by Alden Mudge. Land-Grant College Review, no. 1. “Looking for a Smart Bag: Interview With Thisbe Nissen.” Glimmer Train, no. 45, Winter 2003. “Interview with Thisbe Nissen,” by Linda Swanson-Davies. Iowa Alumni, Oct. ’02, “The Writing Life,” by Lin Larson, iowalum.com/magazine/oct02/youngwriters.html PAGES, Sept./Oct. 2002. “Author Voices.” Allegra, Sept. 9, 2002. “Somewhere in Iowa,” by Harald Braun. The Writer, January 2002. “How I Write.” Newsday, June 24, 2001. “Talking with Thisbe Nissen,” by Daphne Uviller. Vogue, May 2001. “Urban Legend,” by Chloe Bland. The Hartford Courant, May 2001. “Spring Books, Budding Fame,” by David Daley. OUT, November 2000. “Out Front Books,” by Jolyon Helterman. Literal Latté, v.6.6, “Mushroom Girl & The Impossible Nature of Communication,” Harold Braswell.
Online Features (selected) Washington Post, “Off the Page” 8/5/04, washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27922-2004Jul30.html Arriviste Press, “Q & A with Thisbe Nissen,” www.arrivistepress.com/tnisseninterview0603.shtml Identity Theory, (interviewer: Robert Birnbaum), www.identitytheory.com/people/birnbaum25.html
Beatrice, “Interview: Thisbe Nissen,” (Ron Hogan), www.beatrice.com/interviews/nissen. Authors on the Web, “Debut Roundtable,”authorsonetheweb.com/features/0102debut/012802debut.asp
Television The Today Show, WNBC-TV, June 7, 2002. The WB Morning Show, WB Network, June 12, 2002. Good Day Oregon, KPTW-TV, June 27, 2002. AM Northwest, KATU-TV, July 1, 2002. Radio “Wordsmitten: About the Books,” Florida Public Radio WFSU-FM (NPR), Jan. 4, 2009. “Talk of Iowa,” Iowa Public Radio, host: Gayane Torosyan, 7/26/05, “The Art of Journal Keeping.” “Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” WBEZ-Chicago (NPR), host: Peter Sagal, Aug. 10, 2002. “Whad’ya Know?” Wisconsin Public Radio (NPR), host: Michael Feldman, July 27, 2002. “Conversations with Jean Feraca,” Wisconsin Public Radio (NPR), host: Jean Feraca, July 5, 2002. “Between The Lines,” recorded for national radio distribution, host: Diana Jordan. “The Beat,” Seattle Public Radio KUOW (NPR), host: Marcie Sillman, 6/25/02 & 6/18/01. “Iowa Talks,” Iowa City Public Radio WSUI (NPR), host: Dennis Reese, June 13, 2002. “The Afternoon Magazine,” Chicago Radio WILL, June 11, 2002. “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” Wisconsin Public Radio (NPR), host: Steve Paulson, 6/13/01. “All Things Considered,” Minnesota Public Radio (NPR), June 12, 2001. “Eye on Books,” Metro Networks, host: Bill Thompson. “Live From Prairie Lights,” Iowa Public Radio WSUI (NPR), host: Julie Englander, Six appearances: 9/10/99; 9/00; 6/14/01; 6/13/02; 9/11/03; 9/1/04 and 5/4/06.
Review Coverage Osprey Island: Village Voice, New York Times Book Review, New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Elle, New York Post, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, Newsday, Library Journal, Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Baltimore City Paper, Tacoma News Tribune, Boulder Daily Camera, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Journal News, The Daily Iowan, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Portland Phoenix, Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, BookPage, Charleston Post and Courier
The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook: USA Today, Washington Post, PAGES, Time.com, Seattle Post- Intelligencer, BUST, Marie Claire, Bitch, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Bend Bulletin, Boston Phoenix, Wisconsin State Journal, Orlando Sentinel, Jackson City Patriot
The Good People of New York: New York Times Book Review, Time Out NY, New Yorker, Newsday,
Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Booklist, Book Magazine, London Guardian, Toronto National & Financial Post, Greenwich Times, Times Record, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Details, Nylon, Jane, Boston Phoenix, Strand, Michigan Daily, Ann Arbor News, Detroit Free Press, Philadelphia City Paper, ICON, Portland Mercury, National Post, Santa Fe New Mexican, Tampa Tribune & Times, Literal Latte, Baltimore Sun, Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
(Review coverage, cont.) Jewish Forward, Hartford Courant, Madison Capital Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sullivan County Democrat, Orlando Sentinel, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Portland Mercury
Out of the Girls’ Room and into the Night: San Francisco Chronicle, US Weekly, Baltimore Sun, Lambda Book Report, Glamour, OUT, Nylon, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Bitch, Austin Chronicle, Chicago Sun Times, Oklahoma Family Magazine, Third Coast, Oberlin Alumni Magazine, ICON, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Seattle Weekly, Eugene Weekly, New City Chicago, Oberlin Review, City Link, The Michigan Daily, Alibi-The Albuquerque Independent, Salon
Affiliations PEN AWP [clmp]