Success Stories
Proudly promoting the SUNY Oswego Creative Writing program alumni
Below is a list of some of those who have come before us and have continued their literary journeys beyond their years at SUNY Oswego. Each alum listed has worked hard, followed their dreams, and ultimately found great success(es) in the literary world.
Diana Abu-Jaber
Class of '81
Published four novels, most recently, Birds of Paradise, and one memoir, The Language of Baklava. Another memoir, Grace at the Table, is due out this year, as well as a young adult novel, Silverworld, coming next year.
Peter Kennedy
Class of '94
"My main writing mentor during my time at Oswego was Brad Korbesmeyer. He's one of the best teachers I've ever had, and I found his playwriting courses to be invaluable."
Weekly columnist and then associate editor of a local chain of upstate NY newspapers owned by the Rome Observer. Currently working with a few theater companies in New York City to develop his play Dig.
Credits include:
“Dig", a full length play (archaeologists in the American Southwest)
* 2014 Semi-Finalist for Manhattan Theatre Works' National NewBorn Festival
* 2014 Winter Reading Series selection for Obligatory Theatre Company, New York City, staged reading
* 2014 Lab Selection for Sanctuary: Playwrights’ Theatre in New York City
“Deep Water”, a short play (a divorcing couple preparing to move out of their haunted house)
* 2014 selection for Boston Theater Marathon, produced
* 2014 Winner for University of Houston’s National Ten-Minute Play Festival, produced
"Disconnections", a short play (three characters leaving voice mails for loved ones on 9/11)
* 2013 Finalist for City Theatre of Miami's National Short Playwriting Contest, staged reading
* 2013 Winner for Little Fish Theatre of Los Angeles' "Pick of the Vine" National Ten- Minute Play Festival, produced
* 2012 Winner for Salem (MA) Theatre Company's "Moments of Play" National Ten- Minute Play Festival, produced
* Finalist, Actors Theatre of Louisville's Heideman Award (National Ten-Minute Play Contest)
Paige Belisle
Class of '13
"After graduating from Oswego’s Creative Writing program in May of 2013, I packed my bags for the New England seacoast, excited and nervous to begin graduate school at the University of New Hampshire. While I felt confident in my decision to pursue an MFA in Fiction directly out of undergrad, I was a bit intimidated when I discovered I was the youngest student in my close-knit cohort of fellow writers. However, my nerves quickly dissipated when I realized how well prepared I was to workshop alongside my talented new peers. Giving and receiving constructive criticism is at the heart of my MFA program, and I found that I was able to apply all of the skills I had honed at Oswego to my classes in New Hampshire."
She has been putting her "writerly skills" to work as an editorial assistant for UNH’s Research office, helping professors and graduate students polish their scientific manuscripts, proposals, and personal statements. She also writes for the office’s publications, interviewing researchers and profiling the different kinds of projects being done around campus. She held an internship at a local school, assisting in a high school English teacher’s classroom, helping young, sometimes reluctant writers find their voices on the page.
Kevin Leonard
Class of '07
Has three poems published:
A Narrow Fellow - a print journal
"Eulogy"
"Because You Can't Pocket the Smell of Peanuts"
Your Impossible Voice - a digital journal
"When I Get Fat, My Dad's Gonna Throw a Party"
Currently working on new and old poems, and also a fantasy novel. His main writing goal is to publish a collection of poems.
Andrew Miano
Class of '95
"I am not sure I would use the word “successes” to describe myself, but I am lucky to be making a living as a film and television producer. When I graduated with my degree in theater with a minor in writing, I wasn’t quite sure where I’d end up, but thankfully a few fortuitous bounces landed me in the right places. I actually just finished producing a play for the first time in 20 years that we’ll be bringing to the FringeNYC festival in August that I am excited about. We are also shooting a film in Massachusetts in September. Shooting on location is always interesting and I have high hopes for this one. And we also just wrapped a small low budget film starring Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner that is also populated with more wonderful actors in supporting roles."
Credits include:
“Admission"
* Producer
“Last Call"
* Executive producer
“Being Flynn"
* Producer
"Little Fockers"
* Executive Producer
“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant"
* Producer
“A Single Man"
* Producer
"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"
* Producer
“The Golden Compass"
* Executive Producer
“Alter Ego"
* Executive producer
"American Dreamz"
* Producer
“Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas"
* Producer
“In Good Company"
* Executive producer
"See This Movie"
* Co-Producer
Tim Dugan
Class of '92
Went on to work at Circle Repertory Company in its Lab department devoted to developing new plays. Received his Masters of Arts in Teaching at Union College and taught Theatre Arts at the John Sayles School of Fine Arts in Schenectady, New York for 15 years and also Acting at Union College.
Co-Artistic Director of the Blue Roses Theatre Company where he launched the 10x10-Original Short Play Festival and would collaborate with Brad Korbesmeyer as a guest artist who would work with ten student playwrights each year.
He became a professional actor joining Actors' Equity Association in 2006 working in New York, Vermont, and San Francisco eventually becoming the Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education for Saratoga Shakespeare Company in 2011.
Currently finishing his second year of a specially designed MFA in Acting program for mid-career professionals at Temple University and is acting in Philadelphia. He works with Philadelphia Young Playwrights, an arts organization dedicated to providing classroom teachers and young students an opportunity to work with professional theater artists. Appeared, in June 2014, as Father Flynn in Doubt at Oldcastle Theatre Company and then in the title role of Macbeth at Saratoga Shakespeare Company in July.
Jon Chopan
Class of '05
Completed his MFA in creative writing at The Ohio State University in 2008 and published his first book, Pulled from the River, in 2012. In 2013 he became an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Eckerd College. Currently working on a novel about the war in Iraq.
Diana Gerstacker
Class of '13
Editor in the Manhattan office of The Active Times: currently in charge of both the travel and water sports sections of the website—in the winter she's also the Snow Sports Editor. In addition to managing those sections and a team of contributing writers, she writes daily. Her writing is featured on their site and has made it to the webpages of Sports Illustrated, USA Today and the front page of Yahoo!, among others.
Ryan Sprague
Class of '06
Professional playwright in New York City for six years now, having developed a handful of stage plays ranging from ten minute plays to full length plays. Each had various readings, staged readings, workshops, and full productions in the city and throughout the East Coast.
Credits include:
“Reverie Lane", feature film (based on a play of his, Reach, that premiered in Syracuse, NY, in 2012)
* Currently in post-preduction
* Set to be released digitally
* Making the festival circut in mid 2015
“In a Forest”, a short science fiction script
* Placed second in the 2014 Nashville Film Festival
* Set to be shot in NYC in 2015
"Some Just Do It Naturally", a one act play
* Premiered at SUNY Oswego in 2006
* Recently published by Black Box Theatre Publishing
* Can be purchased here
"East in Red", a horror-thriller play
* Played to a sold out crowd on opening night
* Received very positive reviews
Bridget Woznica
Class of '12
"I moved to New York City a few months after graduating, without a job lined up or any real plan. The first job I took was as a photojournalism intern at the Gotham Gazette where I reported on NYC policy and politics."
Photojournalism intern at the Gotham Gazette for about 6 months before she felt the need to move on and try for something a little more creative. Became an editorial intern at PureWow which taught her how to write a little more on the softer side. While at Gotham she wrote on topics such as how many kids are left out of the foster care system and living on the streets or in the subways, at PureWow, "I got to write about (and test!) wine ice cream up in hip Williamsburg."
Currently a full-time at a small digital advertising agency, BoomBox, Inc., where she proofs and edits print and email ads for clients like American Express and Delta.
"When I'm not doing the 9-5 thing, I spend a lot of my time on some creative side projects, the biggest of which is a collaboration with two fellow co-authors of an anthology of coming out stories. We'll see if anything comes of that, we have our fingers crossed though. I also have a blog that I try to push myself to update at least once a week that helps me keep writing."