Carnegie Mellon English Department

05/27/2026

We've enjoyed hosting scholars from a variety of disciplines at this week's (In)hospitable Space conference! For those who could not attend, videos of the presentations will be posted on the conference site.

In conjunction with the conference, the Pittsburgh Review of Books has been posting pieces pertaining to space exploration all week, including this one by Professor and conference co-organizer James Wynn.

The following essay is being published in conjunction with the "(In)hospitable Space Conference" which explores the human dimensions of space exploration and

05/26/2026

Are you a graduate of one of our programs? We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to! Use the form below to share any recent professional successes for possible inclusion in an upcoming Alumni Newsletter.

05/21/2026

"Onto trails completely undiscovered" — our department gathered on Saturday, May 9, for the 2026 Commencement of both undergraduate and graduate students. Read more about this year's graduating class:

2026 Graduates Celebrated in Diploma Ceremony

05/18/2026

On Tuesday, May 19, Professor James Wynn will present his recent work on space and habitability in the “Worlds Apart: Living in & Exploring Space” session of the Pint of Science speaker series.

He will be joined by Ian T. W. Flynn, Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh, who will present “Venus Volcanism in the Spotlight: What Upcoming Missions Aim to Discover.”

What will it take for humans to live off of Earth? What can our neighboring planets teach us about extreme environments? This event explores the realities of long-duration space habitation and the gap between sci-fi and real-life NASA missions. We will also look at Venus, where upcoming missions aim to reveal whether its massive volcanoes are still active.

05/12/2026

From publishing houses to financial firms, the 2026 Humanities Career Trek gave students in Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences a firsthand look at how their skills translate beyond the classroom.

For the second year, undergraduate students studying the humanities spent a weekend exploring different careers for humanities graduates.

05/04/2026

Harrison Marks, a senior in Film & Visual Media, has been accepted into the Fifth Year Scholar program. As a result, he will be staying at Carnegie Mellon for a fifth year to work on his community-impact project, the Mellon Life Podcast.

For more information on the Fifth-Year Scholar Program: https://www.cmu.edu/student-affairs/get-involved/fifth-year/index.html

05/01/2026

There are two chances to hear from our faculty over the next two nights at White Whale Bookstore!

Join David Shumway, Friday, May 1, and Ed Simon, Saturday, May 2, as they celebrate the launch of new books!

04/28/2026

The Film & Visual Media Awards were presented on April 21. Congratulations to the winners!

SCREENPLAY
First Place: Rebecca Kira, Love of the Common Man
Second Place: Rachel Laurence, Moose Tracks
Third Place: Hannah Wyatt, Trigger Happy
Honorable Mention: Felix Gabriel Urena, The Audition

SHORT FILM
First Place: Owen Noble, Big Rock Candy Mountain
Second Place: Yujin Lee, Shrove Tuesday
Third Place: Madeline Scotti, I Think Love is Something that Happens to Other People
Honorable Mention: Rebecca Kira, Anyway

04/28/2026

The Adamson Awards for excellence in creative writing were presented on April 23. Congratulations to the winners!

Poetry

First Place: Cindy Gao, “Ars Poetica”
Second Place: Summer Heyburn, “Death God Quits to Focus on Self”
Third Place: Giulia Balestrieri, “the lights are still on”
Academy of American Poets Award: Alvin Liu, “da zi bao”
CMU Press Award: Jacob Ellis, “To Weigh Love in Sand”

Fiction

First Place: Aatikah Muhammad, “The Boogeyman”
Second Place: Dharma Trang, “Lemon Highball Dirty Air”
Third Place: Alvin Liu, “Railroad Stories”
Honorable Mention: Lucas Lin, “The Years of Yearning”
Honorable Mention: Stephen Makin, “Better Days, Excursions, & Holiday Travels”

Creative Nonfiction

First Place: Riona Duncan, “A Love Letter to Indie”
Second Place: Hailey Price, “From: Michigan, With Love”
Third Place: Sienna Lehner, “Beautiful Singing”

The Barbara & Allan Topol Award: Mo Fahad
The Edythe & Leon Nagin Award: Creative Writing Honors Thesis: Samantha Mahler
The Bart & Kathleen Astor Endowed Creative Writing Award: Maggie Hua
The Donna Grear Memorial Award: Kat Bell

04/22/2026

Congratulations to our department members who were recently awarded Faculty Research Grants: Suguru Ishizaki, David Kaufer, Atesede Makonnen, Nupoor Ranade, and Camille Rankine! Learn more about their projects at the link below: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/humanities-center/mission-and-initiatives/faculty-research-grant-pages/2026-research-grant-awardee-profiles.html

04/22/2026

Rachael Mulvihill, Ph.D. candidate in Literary and Cultural Studies, recently received the Dietrich College Graduate Student Teaching Award. Read more about Rachael and her work:

Dietrich College has selected a trio of humanities students — Rachael Mulvihill, Hannah Fechtner and Kari Thomas — as the college's 2026 graduate teaching award and teaching assistant award winners.