Passion and Practicality: A Liberal Arts Podcast

Join us as Wireside Chat welcomes Online MFA instructor Amber Logan! Amber is a university professor, freelance editor, and author of speculative fiction living in Kansas with her husband and two children. In addition to degrees in Psychology, Liberal Arts, and International Relations, Amber holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England. Her debut novel, The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn (CamCat 2022), is an adult retelling of the children's classic The Secret Garden. Tune in as we talk about retellings, how a creative writing PhD differs from an MFA, and more!

Wireside Chat is proud to welcome Online MFA instructor Nicole Melleby! Nicole is an award-winning author with an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. If you have wondered how publishers draw the line between MG and YA fiction, here is your chance to learn from an expert! As a writer whose books feature LGBTQ+ characters, Nicole has also been on the front lines of book bans and challenges. We talk with her about her writer's journey, upcoming projects, and how writers can fight back against censorship.

Word for Word honors five recent graduates of SNHU's online BA, MA, and MFA creative writing programs. Recommended by instructors and selected by Associate Deans Jacob Powers and Paul Witcover for their high literary achievement, these five outstanding writers read from their work, representing all the graduates of their respective programs.

Word for Word welcomes two of the top literary agents in the business, Joshua Bilmes and Lucienne Diver, for a discussion of the role agents play in the publishing world and what the career of a literary agent requires in an age of seismic changes to the literary landscape.

Word for Word proudly welcomes award-winning author Tananarive Due! A leading voice in Black speculative fiction, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award and a British Fantasy Award. Join us as she reads from and discusses her latest novel, The Reformatory, a searing work of history, resilience, and the supernatural.

Wireside Chat proudly welcomes instructor Tracy Crow Weidemaier! Author. Literary Agent. Editor. Publisher. Veteran. Tracy wears many hats! Listen in as we talk about career multitasking, her work with the MilSpeak Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting creative writing in the military community, and her fiction, nonfiction and work-for-hire projects!

In this History Speaker Series event, public historian Karen Sieber discusses her career as a public historian and historical consultant, focusing on her recent research on Moses Dickson and the Underground Railroad in Minnesota. Karen received her master's degree in public history from Loyola University Chicago. She is best known as the creator of Visualizing the Red Summer, which is part of the AP African American Studies curriculum nationwide. Her work has been featured by the Library of Congress, National Archives, American Historical Association, Smithsonian and others. She also appears as an expert on Black history in documentaries like the CBS, Smithsonian, and BET collaboration, Tulsa 1921: An American Tragedy. Last year she led the scholarly team for the NEH award winning series, “Examining Military History from the Margins.” In 2025 she will be developing a series of documentary shorts funded by PBS related to America’s 250th anniversary. She will also be leading preservation, exhibit design, and outreach efforts for a project in St. Paul, Minnesota, related to Pullman Porter history. She also teaches public history courses in Southern New Hampshire's graduate History program.

Word for Word is proud to welcome award-winning author Jeffrey Ford! Ford’s fiction has garnered World Fantasy, Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Nebula awards. Join us as Jeff reads a new story, "Plunged in the Years," discusses his writing apprenticeship with John Gardner, and shares his wisdom about workshopping, the writer's subconscious, and more!

In this special edition of Wireside Chat, Associate Deans Paul Witcover and Jacob Powers answer questions about SNHU's online MFA and MA creative writing programs. If you are a creative writer looking to take your passion for words to the graduate level, this is a great place to start!

In this History Speaker Series event, José Ernesto Peláez discusses his research and his experience transitioning from the online Master of Arts degree program in History at Southern New Hampshire University to an in-person doctoral program in History at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Additional topics for discussion include the decision to pursue a doctoral degree, applying to programs, expectations of students in doctoral programs, and strategies for researching and writing history.

The five winners of the 10th Annual Penmen Review Fall Fiction Contest read their winning stories and discuss their writing journeys. Welcome N. Ryan Tucker, Jesse Teller, Amy Midgett, Jenel Alan, and Megan Okonsky!

In this History Speaker Series event, Dr. David Valladares discusses his career and his new book, England’s Response to Hitler in the 1930s: Empire, Appeasement, and the Cliveden Set, which discusses political and strategic efforts by British aristocrats to support Nazi Germany’s rearmament efforts and the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia. More information about the book can be found on the publisher's website. Dr. Valladares received his doctoral degree in history from Florida State University and teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University.

In which Wireside Chat hosts Melissa Hart and Paul Witcover welcome instructor and author Frank Sennett, who talks about the pacing and structure of thrillers, his surprising favorite novel, how to develop your unique voice as a writer, and much more!

Ethics in Action is an event series hosted each year by the Liberal Arts team that focuses on student discussion, ethical reflection, and collaboration around current issues. The Fall 2024 Ethics in Action event was a student conference that took place on December 11, 2024, and focused on leadership in the 21st century. In this panel, a group of community leaders and employers from different industries speaks to what leadership looks like in the 21st century.

Ethics in Action is an event series hosted each year by the Liberal Arts team that focuses on student discussion, ethical reflection, and collaboration around current issues. The Fall 2024 Ethics in Action event was a student conference that took place on December 11, 2024, and focused on leadership in the 21st century. The keynote for Ethics in Action featured Dr. Christopher Preston, Professor of Philosophy from the University of Montana. The title of his address is “Ethicist Gone Feral: Where Philosophy Counts in a Changing World.

Ethics in Action is an event series hosted each year by the Liberal Arts team that focuses on student discussion, ethical reflection, and collaboration around current issues. The Fall 2024 Ethics in Action event was a student conference that took place on December 11, 2024, and focused on leadership in the 21st century. In Conference Session 2, Edil Sandoval will present on “The Ethical, Political, and Cultural Implications of Repatriating Indigenous Art: Leadership and Responsibility in Restitution. Following that, Jonathan Murphy will present “Transformative Leadership: Ethical Mentorship for the Formerly Incarcerated.” This panel is moderated by Rob Denning, the Associate Dean for the online undergraduate and graduate history programs at Southern New Hampshire University.

Ethics in Action is an event series hosted each year by the SNHU Liberal Arts team that focuses on student discussion, ethical reflection, and collaboration around current issues. The Fall 2024 Ethics in Action event was a student conference that took place on December 11, 2024, and focused on leadership in the 21st century. In Conference Session 1, Anne Collier will present “The Ethics of VIP Status.” Following that, Chloe Price will present “Leading Humanity Back into Balance with Nature through the Implementation of the Indigenous Worldview and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.” This panel is moderated by Paul Witcover, the Associate Dean for the online Master of Fine Arts program at Southern New Hampshire University.

In which Wireside Chat is joined by Online MFA instructor Jan Elizabeth Watson, author of the contemporary fiction novels "Asta in the Wings" and "What Has Become of You"! We discuss the appeal of pseudonyms, ambition as a creative goad, red flags writers should know before querying agents and editors, and more!

In this History Speaker Series event, Dr. Margaret MacDonald discusses her professional and academic career, her advocacy work as a public historian, and her research on Carolyn Beatrice Parker, the first Black woman known to receive an advanced degree in physics and worked on the Dayton Project, part of the Manhattan Project, during World War II.

Join us as Word for Word celebrates SNHU's creative writing instructors in a special event spotlighting Young Adult fiction! Award-winning writers and SNHU instructors Melissa Marr and Adrienne Kisner read from their works-in-progress, discuss their writing journeys, and share insights into today's YA fiction market!