Professor Tekulve and MFA Alumni Collaborate on Anthology
Redhawk Publications released Appalachian Grit Lit Anthology, featuring a powerful story, “Ostriches” by award-winning Spartanburg author, and Converse University Associate Professor of English Susan Tekulve, and edited by Converse MFA graduate Rhonda Browning White ’13.
From the press release:
“Tekulve’s debut poetry collection, Bodies of Light (2024) was published by Serving House Books. Her most recent poems appear in The Cumberland River Review (Dec. 2025), Silver Birch Press (Dec. 2025) and MacQueen’s Quinterly (Dec. 2025 and Jan 2026). Tekulve is a professor of English at Converse University and teaches Creative Writing students in the Converse University MFA Program.
“…Appalachian Grit Lit Anthology brings together thirteen stories by acclaimed Appalachian writers, including Converse MFA graduates Matthew McEver ’14, Cheryl Russell ’13, Andrew K. Clark ’21, and White.
Edited by award-winning author Rhonda Browning White of Hickory, NC, the Appalachian Grit Lit Anthology brings together thirteen stories by acclaimed Appalachian writers, including Converse MFA graduates Matthew McEver ’14, Cheryl Russell ’13, Andrew K. Clark ’21, and White. Additional contributors include bestselling authors Ron Rash and Robert Morgan, filmmaker William Bitner, and award-winning authors Steven Dunn, David C. Dickson, Tim Peeler, Andrew K. Clark, Marie Manilla, and Tekulve.
The collection offers a diverse portrayal of Appalachian life, exploring themes of resilience, identity, and place. White describes the “grit” of these stories as a reflection of “strength in the face of failure, rebuilding after ruin, giving grace, and facing fears.” This vision runs throughout the anthology. As the author Marlin Barton observes, White skillfully challenges stereotypes about Appalachia, ultimately offering a mirror that allows readers—regardless of where they live—to see themselves in these stories.
Tekulve is the winner of the 2012 South Carolina First Novel Prize for In the Garden of Stone, and author of the essay collection Second Shift (2018), the short-story collection Savage Pilgrims (2008), and winner of the 2004 Winnow Press Chapbook Award in Short Fiction for My Mother’s War Stories. She resides in Spartanburg, SC.”
Appalachian Grit Lit Anthology is available through major booksellers, and online at https://tinyurl.com/AppalachianGritLit.
Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing
The MFA in Creative Writing at Converse University is a two-year co-educational low residency program designed for serious, independent writers seeking advanced instruction in poetry, fiction, young adult fiction, and creative nonfiction through a non-traditional course of graduate study. Converse University is home to the only low-residency MFA in SC.