ANNA
DAVIS
ABEL
WRITER & EDITOR
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
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
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
Certification awarded after fifteen hours of pedagogy, teaching practicum, diversity training, and technology enrichment
2020
safe
zone
ally
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
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
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
PRESENTATION: It’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 Conference, Member, 2019
Every Town USA, WVU Students Demand Action founding president 2019-2020
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
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.
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 2022, Spring 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
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.
PUBLISHING
Creative Nonfiction Essay
The Sonder Review
New York, New York
Spring 2016
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
Winter 2019
"A Life Spent Weighting"
Creative Nonfiction Essay
Emrys Literary Journal, Volume 36
2019 Printing
"Holy Fuck"
Flash Fiction
The PacificREVIEW
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
Nonfiction Narrative Essay
SantaClara Review
March 2021
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