Jessica Nelson

Jessica Hendry Nelson, MFA

Assistant Professor

(804) 828-8329

Hibbs Hall, 900 Park Ave., room 324 F

Creative Writing

Education

  • MFA (Creative Writing) Sara Lawrence College
  • BA (English) University of New Hampshire

Research Interests

  • Literary Nonfiction
  • Lyric Essay
  • Literary Journalism
  • Motherhood
  • Addiction Studies/Literature of Addiction
  • Grief Studies
  • Creative Writing
  • Pedagogy Podcasting

Select Publications

  • “Love and Other Pandemics.” The Sun Magazine, Fall 2024.
  • “An Impossible Mercy.” Northwest Review. Winter 2023.
  • “In the Valley.” North American Review. Fall 2021.
  • “Sunday: A Travelogue.” Prairie Schooner, Winter 2017.

Books

  • Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief (memoir/essays). Athens: U of Georgia Press. 2023.
  • Advanced Creative Nonfiction: A Writer’s Guide & Anthology (textbook). London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.
  • If Only You People Could Follow Directions (memoir/essays).​ Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press, 2014.

Courses

  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Form & Theory of Creative Nonfiction
  • Forms of Joy in Creative Nonfiction
  • Women
  • Literary Publishing (Faculty Editor, Blackbird)

Awards

  • AWP Sue William Silverman Award in Creative Nonfiction (Book Prize), Winner, (Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief)
  • PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay (Book Prize), Longlist, (Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief)
  • Indies Introduce Debut Author selection (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)
  • Indies Next List by the American Booksellers Association (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)
  • Kirkus Review, ‘Best Books of the Year’ (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)
  • Kirkus Review, Starred Review, (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)
  • Library Journal, Starred Review, (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)
  • Indies Next List for Reading Groups (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)
  • Vermont Book Award finalist (If Only You People Could Follow Directions)