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ANNA

DAVIS

ABEL

WRITER & EDITOR

Bio
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BIOGRAPHY

Anna Davis Abel is a 2016 graduate of the University of Alabama's undergraduate creative writing program and 2020 graduate of West Virginia University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing. She currently teaches as full time teaching faculty at the University of Alabama in the Creative Writing Department.

 

She writes primarily women's narratives but has a special place in her heart for Southern fiction.  Anna is working on a memoir focused on coming of age, gender, and sexuality in Alabama. When not writing or teaching, Anna can be found staging photos of her pugs and baking elaborate pinterest recipes.

Education

EDUCATION

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

creative nonfiction writing

West Virginia University, 2020

GPA: 4.0

BACHELOR OF ARTS

english: sociology & creative writing

University of Alabama, 2016

GPA: 4.03

CERTIFICATIONS

university

teaching

Conference Room

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Certification awarded after fifteen hours of pedagogy, teaching practicum, diversity training, and technology enrichment 

2020

safe

zone

ally

photo-1529957018945-07aed3538ad5.jpg

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Safe Zone is a voluntary training program .  to prepare faculty for the needs and concerns of LGBTQ individuals in academia and communities.

2017

WOMEN'S &

GENDER

STUDIES

Image by Kira auf der Heide

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Certification awarded after fifteen hours of course work in feminist theory, inclusionary pedagogy, gendered academia, and individual research.

2020

Television

Screen

writing

Image by Sven Scheuermeier

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Completion of 6 week summer course on the mechanics, style, and traditions of television screen writing. 

2020

RESEARCH &

PRESENTATIONS

PAPER: A Bright New Future for the Biracial Buddy Picture: Examining Netflix’s Bright in the Evolution of Film

Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association

PCA/ACA 2019 Conference

Washington, DC

PAPER: Foundations and Improvisations in Writing Center Work: What We Can Learn From Workplace Ethnographies

Co-Author: Dr. Nathalie Singh-Corcoran

International Writing Center Association 2019 Conference

Columbus, OH

PRESENTATION: Promoting Creative Writing to a Young, Creative Mind

Alabama School Library Association 

ASLA Summer 2015 Conference

Mountain Brook, AL

 HONORS THESIS: Seeing Is Believing: An Exploration of  Blindness

in Richard Wright’s Native Son, Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit, and

Ann Petry’s The Narrows

Advisor: Dr. Trudier Harris

University of Alabama 2016

Tuscaloosa, AL

 PRESENTATIONIt’s A Man’s World, Or At Least in Yoknapatawpha County: Exploring the Effects of Hegemonic Masculinity in Faulkner’s Short Stories

2015 Honors Symposium 

University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL

PROFESSIONAL

MEMBERSHIPS

The Association of Writers and Poets, Member 2018-present

American Pop Culture Association, Presenting Member 2019

American Culture Association, Presenting Member 2019

International Writing Center Association, Presenting Member 2018-2019

College Composition and Communication ConferenceMember, 2019

Every Town USA, WVU Students Demand Action founding president 2019-2020

Image by Florian Klauer
Holding a Book

AWARDS&

GRANTS

2022 & 2024 Indiana Prison Writer's Workshop- Alabama Coordinator

Montgomery, Alabama

Anna Davis-Abel was awarded the inaugural position leading an on-site prison writing workshop in the Montgomery Women's Facility for medium security incarcerated women of Alabama. The position and its funding were awarded through the Indiana Prison Writer's Workshop through grants from Eli Lilly and The Indianapolis Foundation.

 

2019 -2020 Eberly College Social Justice Research Fellow

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

This competitive fellowship is awarded to ten graduate students from any Arts and Sciences discipline at WVU. Fellows are selected based on recommendations from faculty, publications and presentations, research goals, and applicability of their research in creating positive social justice change in their communities.

 

2020 West Virginia Arts Council National Travel Grant 

Small, state-wide grant provided to artists and educators in West Virginia whose projects are deemed beneficial to the artistic health of Appalachian culture. Self-drafted proposal and award.

2019 AWP Intro Award

Association of Poets and Writers, Portland, OR

The Association of Writers and Poets chooses the best pieces nominated by over 300 MFA programs annually for feature in The Writer's Chronicle. Chapter One of It Feels Like This won the first "honorable mention" designation in Nonfiction. It was the only excerpt featured.

 

2018 Rebecca Mason Perry AwarD

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Awarded once yearly to one first-year MFA student for excellence in teaching and writing.

2019 Excellence in Graduate Teaching

Office of Teaching and Learning Commons, WVU

Each year, a handful of graduate teaching associates are nominated based on their performance to mentor incoming graduate students who will be teaching for the first time. 

COMMUNITY

INVOLVEMENT

Empty Classroom Desks

Montgomery Women's Facility 
Fall 2022

Leading creative writing workshop course for incarcerated women at Montgomery, Alabama's medium security women's prison. Course content included poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The course was sponsored by the Indiana Prison Writer's Workshop.

Pure Products Reading Series
Spring 2023 - present

In this University sponsored reading series, Anna acts as the emcee and community facilitator organizing reading events that bring the public, students, and faculty together in a creative environment. 

every town for gun safety

2019-2020

  • Founded the West Virginia University chapter of “Students Demand Action” to fight WV HB 2519.

  • In only ten days, gained 200 signatures of WVU students and faculty on an open letter Anna drafted

  •  organize a 30-station phone bank for contacting senators, and a 6-bus transportation route for visiting the state legislature.

  • Ultimately successful in defeating HB 2519

  • subsequent duties involved: monthly community gatherings, planning outreach events, and partnering with community organizations for legislative agendas.

MORGANTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARy 
2018-2020

Leading creative writing workshops for local k12 children on topics of their choice twice per semester. Previous workshops have been on “Fan Fiction” writing, world building, and characterization.

Appalachian prison book project

2017-2020

100+ hours of volunteering sorting donations and answering book requests for imprisoned individuals in prisons throughout Appalachia.

1,000 hours youth mentorship

Big Brothers Big Sisters of West AL, 2015-2016

  • Twice weekly volunteer work with a young girl from rural Alabama.

  • When the partnership began in 2014, the “little” was 10 years old and could not write her own name.

  • At the mentorship's close,  the little made the A-B Honor Roll for the first time. 

Certifications
Research & Presentations
Professional Memberships
Awards & Grants
Community Involvement
CV

TEACHING

ENGL 101 - English Composition I

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2021

ENGL 102 - English Composition II

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2023

ENGL 103 - Honors English Composition 

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2023

ENGL 111/200 - Introduction to Creative Writing

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Summer 2022, Summer 2023

ENGL 214/305 - Creative Nonfiction Workshop

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2019, Spring 2022Spring 2023

ENGL 209 - Early American Literature

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Spring 2024, Summer 2024

ENGL 210 - American Literature after 1865

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2024

ENGL 301 - Fiction Workshop 

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2022

ENGL 304 - American Resistance Literature

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Planned Online Hybrid Course 

Spring 2019

ENGL 307 - Special Topics in CW: Writing for Audio

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2022, Spring 2023

ENGL 408 - Special Topics in Adv. CW: Writing Dystopias

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Fall 2023

WGST 224 - Feminist Writers by Wave

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Independent Study Course Planning

June 2019

Outlook - Francis Marion High School

University Of Alabama                      

Creative writing and American poetry

Spring 2016

Creative Writing - Montgomery Women's Facility

Montgomery, AL

Sponsored by Indiana Prison Writer's Workshop

Fall 2022

Creative Writing - St. Clair Co. Correctional Facility

Springville, AL

Sponsored by Indiana Prison Writer's Workshop

Spring & Summer 2024

Teaching

EMPLOYMENT

Full Time Faculty - English

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

August 2021 - present

Full-Time teaching appointment in the English department covering a variety of courses including first year writing instruction, multi-level creative writing, and literature courses.

Upper School English Teacher

Tuscaloosa Academy, Tuscaloosa, AL

August 2020 - July 2021

Teaching upper-level English courses in literature, composition and rhetoric, and creative writing at a private college preparatory school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Writing Center Coordinator

Eberly College Writing Studio, Morgantown, WV

August 2018 - May 2020

Coordinating twenty writing center tutors , scheduling across-campus visits, organizing public outreach, tutoring graduate and undergraduate students, and overseeing administrative duties such as ordering supplies, answering emails and phone calls, and participating in twice-monthly faculty meetings

English Department Graduate Instructor

West Virginia University Department of English, Morgantown, WV

August 2017 - May 2020

Teaching various sections of English composition, professional writing and editing, and creative writing; holding office hours; and attending continuing education classes.

Assistant NonFiction Editor

Cheat River Review Literary Magazine, Morgantown, WV

August 2018 - May 2020

Read and selected submissions in creative nonfiction for our twice-yearly literary magazine. Also assisted in editing works for publication so that they met our style, subject, and readability standards.

Chief of Staff 

New York Minute Magazine, New York, NY

September 2018 - March 2019

Six month graduate internship leading the Editorial, Writing, Talent Management, Social Media, Web Design, PR, and Business Development teams for New York Minute Magazine. Duties involved editing articles, overseeing content management, optimizing SEO, managing paid sponsorships, writing occasional op-ed pieces, and chairing weekly virtual staff meetings between eighteen interns across the United States.

PreHealth Professional Writing Assistant

West Virginia University Honors College, Morgantown, WV

Summers 2018 & 2019

Participated in undergraduate pre-health student interviews, compiled comprehensive recommendation letters on behalf of the Honors College, and participated in departmental status meetings.

Medical Coordinator

Alabama Medical And Surgical Foot Center, Birmingham, AL

June 2016 - July 2017

Duties included checking in patients and answering phones, running and verifying insurance benefits as well as collecting copays, coordinating surgical scheduling with the local hospital, verifying procedure codes and required paperwork, and recording patient vitals, medical history, and present medical complaints.

Social Media Content Writer

Three Birds Marketing Inc., Chapel Hill, NC 

June 2016 - December 2016

Six-month contract position requiring 900 monthly, social media posts across Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ for thirteen vehicle manufacturers including Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Toyota.

Employment
Literary Publications

PUBLISHING

"Death (n.)"

Creative Nonfiction Essay

The Sonder Review

New York, New York

Spring 2016

"The Mattering Of Molehills"

Lyric Essay

Write Launch Literary Mag

September 2018

"Temporarily Amish"

Creative Nonfiction Essay

Gravel Literary Magazine

October 2018

"Feminist Finds: Review of Gather The Daughters"

Book Review

New York Minute Magazine

October 2018

"Jeopardy"

Fiction - Short Story

Crack the Spine Literary Magazine

Print Anthology XVIII

Winter 2019

"A Life Spent Weighting"

Creative Nonfiction Essay

Emrys Literary Journal, Volume 36

2019 Printing

"Holy Fuck"

Flash Fiction

The PacificREVIEW

Hallucination Issue

2019 Annual Edition

"Chapter One: The Yellowhammer"

Memoir Excerpt

The Writer's Chronicle 

May/Summer 2019

2019 AWP Intro Award Honorable Mention

"Made of Matchsticks and Metal"

Creative Nonfiction Essay

Hippocampus Magazine

Sept/October 2020

         + 2019 Memoir Finalist for Creative Nonfiction 

"HomeSounds"

Nonfiction Narrative Essay

SantaClara Review

March 2021

"Theory of Motherhood"

Nonfiction Narrative Essay

Booth from Butler University

July  2021

"Southern Sweet Tea"

Nonfiction Flash Essay

Dead Mule School of Southern Literature

May 2024

MEDIA

VIDEOS

MSNBC Interview With Josh Lederman

April 2020

PODCASTS

COVID tests are free, except... when they're notArm And A Leg
00:00 / 21:13

NPR Guest - Arm And a Leg Podcast

NPR - All Things Considered

April/May 2020

ARTICLES

Media
Contact

CONTACT

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