易胜博官网

鈥淪o be a writer.鈥�

These were the words spoken to Rose Whitmore when she was caught between an unfulfilling job and her desire to write full-time, ultimately leading to her enrollment in 易胜博官网鈥檚 . A 2013 graduate, Whitmore is now making a name for herself as a writer.

Not only has she earned a series of writing honors鈥攊ncluding a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, a Bread Loaf Writer鈥檚 Conference scholarship, and the听Peden Prize from the Missouri Review鈥攂ut she also has a novel on the horizon.

Whitmore鈥檚 novel is set during Enver Hoxha's communist regime听in post-World War II Albania. The novel seeks to document a collective trauma under Hoxha that continues to permeate contemporary Albanian culture.

鈥淢y novel is very much about totalitarianism and brutality,鈥� Whitmore says, 鈥渂ut it is also about the very small ways people find freedom, which is always, in my mind, an incredible feat.鈥�

Whitmore鈥檚 writing career began at 易胜博官网, where she studied fiction with and . Not only did the program give her an education in writing, but it also gave her a writing community and entry into the broader world of writing. After the program ended, Whitmore continued to explore drafts, tools, and ideas from her time there.

鈥淭om Payne once said to a group of us: 鈥榊ou must become the writer that is capable of writing the story you must write.鈥� I remember nodding thoughtfully at this statement but having no idea what he was talking about,鈥� Whitmore says. 鈥淚 think I do now though, in that you鈥檙e always rising to the level of a subconscious curiosity. [鈥�] Writers are always circling and growing into the things we need to say.鈥�

Whitmore is currently working on her novel while serving as a Jones Lecturer听at Stanford University. Looking back, she says, 鈥淭here is absolutely no way I would be where I am today without my experience at 易胜博官网.鈥�