Honor Society® member
Laura Biagi
Editor-in-Chief at Southeast Review, Florida State University I will run the entirety of the literary magazine, managing a team of masthead editors, overseeing production, promotion, hiring, and more.
- University of Houston
- Creative Writing - Fiction
- Class of 2025
- Tallahassee, Florida
Member since May 2020
About
This past summer, I began my PhD in Creative Writing at Florida State University. I chose to pursue a PhD because fiction is my language. It is how I explore the world and hope to speak to something true and resonant about it. I have organized my life around growing as a writer, from my undergrad creative writing major at Northwestern University, to my work as a Literary Agent in New York City, to my recently completed Master of Fine Arts at the University of Houston. Now, in my PhD, I cannot wait to see the ways in which my writing will continue evolving within a community of other committed writers and scholars. I have been chosen to ascend early into the Editor-in-Chief position with FSU's literary magazine Southeast Review, and I'm so excited to meet this and other leadership opportunities as I continue writing and publishing my work.
Education
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Florida State University
Creative Writing - Fiction (PhD)
2020 – 2025
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University of Houston
Creative Writing - Fiction (MFA)
2017 – 2020
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Northwestern University
English - Creative Writing, Anthropology
2005 – 2009
Honors and awards
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Sassaman Graduate Creative Writing Award
Awarded for best creative work completed during the academic year for a course
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Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award
Awarded for graduate studies academic excellence
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Dr. Miriam S. Bailey Scholarship
Merit scholarship awarded to fund doctoral studies at Florida State University
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University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award
Awarded by the Provost for best graduate student teaching across the whole university
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Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellowship
Merit fellowship awarded to fund graduate study at the University of Houston
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Kentucky Emerging Artist Award
Awarded for excellence in fiction by the Kentucky Arts Council
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Society for Humanistic Anthropology Fiction Award
Awarded for best ethnographic fiction short story, which was then presented at the American Anthropological Association Meeting
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Undergraduate Research Grant
Awarded by Northwestern University to fund an eight-week creative writing/anthropology research project in Guatemala
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University Guild Scholarship
Awarded for academic and extracurricular merit at Northwestern University
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Dr. Kent L. Gardner Scholarship Award
Awarded by Order of Omega in recognition of scholastic achievement, campus organization participation, leadership, and citizenship
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Edwin L. Shuman Award for Fiction
Awarded for best short story by Northwestern University
Goals and interests
- Career goal
I plan to become a creative writing professor, in addition to becoming a published novelist and short story writer.
- Graduate school interests
I am delighted by the unique perspectives each faculty member at FSU can offer as I work toward finishing my novel, starting a new one, revising and publishing my short work, and writing new short stories. I also have a deep-seated passion for teaching and look forward to growing these skills within FSU’s rigorous pedagogy training program as I prepare for a future in academia as a creative writing professor.
Currently, I am working on a literary novel with speculative elements titled Love-Drugged. Love-Drugged follows two sisters in their mid-20s who challenge each other to prove or disprove love’s existence. One sister (Alex) doesn’t believe in love; the other (Gwen) believes nothing is worthier. Meanwhile, a drug that causes people to fall in love has been wreaking havoc with an epidemic of overdose deaths. Alex is an investigative journalist tracking down the drug, while Gwen, a recently engaged medieval scholar, is secretly trying to find their father who disappeared when they were kids. By the end, their journeys converge in their Appalachian Kentucky hometown as their views on love and themselves tangle and crisscross.
The novel weaves in and draws upon the stories of romantic love we’ve told ourselves throughout our literary history. It interrogates love and its uneasy intersection with feminism and individualism, exploring how love has evolved over time and how it functions as a mythic force in our society, at once authentic and fabricated, redemptive and oppressive. Ultimately, the novel is about the vulnerability of relationships—both romantic and familial—and the vulnerability of living life true to your innermost self.
- Outside the classroom
I enjoy watching movies (and always see the Oscar's Best Picture contenders), playing tennis (I was seeded #1 on my high school varsity team), and traveling (I've visited 14 countries and counting). I've newly discovered running and cooking and am always working to recreate something great I had at a restaurant or at a dinner with friends. I'm also a nature enthusiast and love wandering through forested areas. Of course, I spend as much time as I possibly can devouring books, too.
Experience
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Editor-in-Chief
Southeast Review, Florida State University I will run the entirety of the literary magazine, managing a team of masthead editors, overseeing production, promotion, hiring, and more.
May 2021 – May 2022
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Graduate Teaching Assistant
College Composition Program, Florida State University I teach essay writing to college students, focusing on building their research skills, rhetorical analysis, and ability to compose in multiple genres and modes.
Jun 2020 – May 2025
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Consultant
Reading-Writing Center & Digital Studio, Florida State University I act as a consultant for undergraduate and graduate students advising them on how best to organize and style their writing and ideas in essays, lab reports, and creative projects. Additionally, I consult with students regarding how to create multimodal digital compositions, from websites, videos, and podcasts to Powerpoints, Prezis, and posters.
Jun 2020 – Aug 2021
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Writer-in-Residence
Writers in the Schools I taught fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to Houston third graders throughout the school year, encouraging their creativity and teaching them how to capture their thoughts and ideas in writing. I also co-taught creative writing at a summer camp for rising third and fourth graders with the same focus.
Jun 2019 – May 2020
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Creative Writing Instructor
Boldface Conference and Strikethrough Workshop for Emerging Writers at University of Houston I taught fiction workshops to emerging writers at this week-long conference, one workshop focused on genre fiction and the other focused on fairy tale-inspired short stories.
May 2019 – May 2020
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Fiction Editor
Gulf Coast I co-managed a team of assistant editors and readers and liaised with Gulf Coast leadership regarding publication decisions for the magazine. I also solicited and edited published authors' short stories for publication (including those of Yoko Ogawa and Rachel Heng), as well as selected and edited general submission short stories (including those of Joy Baglio, Maria Lioutaia, Debbie Urbanski, Jianan Qian, and Gbolahan Adeola).
Aug 2018 – Jun 2020
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Creative Writing Instructor
Inprint I taught creative writing classes to adults in the Houston community, including six- to ten-week novel-writing workshops and shorter, intensive workshops on the publication process, how to write query letters, and how to obtain literary agents.
Jun 2018 – Aug 2020
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Graduate Teaching Fellow
University of Houston I taught creative writing, literature, and composition classes to college students. In creative writing courses, students learned fiction craft techniques focused around worldbuilding as they wrote short stories. In literature courses, students learned how to analyze literary, historical, and sociocultural themes within literary texts and how to write about their findings within critical analysis essays. In composition courses, students learned how to read, write, and think via argumentative reasoning, critical analysis, visual analysis, and synthesis.
Aug 2017 – May 2020
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Assistant Fiction Editor
Gulf Coast I worked with the Fiction Editors to read submissions and help select short stories for publication.
Aug 2017 – Aug 2018
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Literary Agent
Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. I acquired, edited, and sold authors' manuscripts and liaised as author’s representative for writers of adult literary fiction, adult nonfiction, and kids’ books. Books that I sold included the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess trilogy by Laura Sebastian, Galaxies by Astronomy Magazine Editor-in-Chief David Eicher, the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner Small World by Ishta Mercurio, and There I Go Again by celebrity actor William Daniels. I also sold and managed the subsidiary rights for the agency's titles for the United Kingdom, Australia, audio, permissions, and select international countries.
Jan 2012 – Jul 2017
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Literary Agency Assistant
Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. I coordinated with authors, editors, agents, and subsidiary rights associates to deliver authors' manuscripts and to communicate updates about publication schedules. I also edited and evaluated prospective client manuscripts and queries and wrote and copyedited the agency's website and blog content.
Mar 2010 – Jan 2012
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Intern
Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. I edited and evaluated prospective client manuscripts and queries and wrote social media guidelines for agency authors, plus researched and designed blog tours for them.
Sep 2009 – Mar 2010
Volunteering
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Associate Fiction Editor - I assist the Fiction Editor in evaluating submitted short stories for publication. I also help copyedit and proofread the literary magazine before its final publication.
Southeast Review
Sep 2020 – May 2021
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Event Coordinator - I am part of the ten-person elected organization committee that represents the whole of the graduate student body within the English Department. We discuss concerns that the graduate students have and find resolutions to them. I also specifically create and coordinate social events for the English graduate student body as well as the three different concentrations, with at least one event per month.
Graduate English Student Organization, Florida State University
Aug 2020 – Aug 2021
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Moderator for Q&As - I wrote questions for and led the discussion with visiting authors to Houston's Brazos Bookstore.
Brazos Bookstore
Feb 2019 – Apr 2019
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Co-Teacher - I co-taught eighth graders in Harlem public schools about the publishing process and my experiences as a literary agent.
Room to Write
Sep 2012 – May 2013
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Critiquer/Reader Volunteer - I read the short stories of New York City pubic school first, second, and third graders and provided personalized, encouraging feedback.
Story Pirates' Story Love Program
Mar 2011 – Oct 2013
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World Book Night and Housing Works Bookstore Event Coordinator - I planned and coordinated two major volunteering opportunities for this organization of young publishing professionals in New York City. At World Book Night, we handed out free books to people in the New York community, and at the Housing Works Bookstore, we helped staff the annual book fair, with funds going to charity.
Young to Publishing Group
Apr 2010 – Jun 2016
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Community Service Chair - I planned and coordinated three major fundraising events for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with my co-chair. Our efforts raised over $6000 and funded a little girl's complete dream vacation. Our work also won my chapter Order of Omega’s Outstanding Philanthropic Efforts/Initiatives Award.
Chi Omega
Sep 2008 – Jun 2009
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Vice President - I served on the Executive Board and made decisions with my fellow board-members regarding plans for the chapter. I also specifically worked with members who were struggling academically to help them remain in good standing.
Chi Omega
Sep 2007 – Jun 2008
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Site Leader and Volunteer - I went on four different volunteering service trips throughout the US, and one in Guatemala, assisting organizations that aided the homeless, the environment, community development, and rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. I also served as a co-Site Leader for one of the trips, organizing and coordinating the trip and managing a group of ten other Northwestern undergraduate volunteers.
Alternative Student Breaks
Mar 2006 – Mar 2009
Languages
- Spanish Intermediate
Additional information
Organizations
