Department of English
Alumni Forum
Alums from the Nonfiction Writing Program offer insights on careers in nonfiction writing, editing, publishing, and teaching.
Alumni Forum
Alums from the Nonfiction Writing Program offer insights on careers in nonfiction writing, editing, publishing, and teaching.
Fall 2025
Time: October 22, 6 PM
Location: Friedman Hall 102
Panelists
Mark Cecil '99
Mark Cecil is an author, journalist, and host of The Thoughtful Bro podcast, for which he conducts interviews with an eclectic roster of Academy Award-winning and bestselling storytellers. Formerly a journalist for Reuters, he has also written for LitHub, The Millions, Writer’s Digest, and WBUR's Cognoscenti, among other publications. His work has been featured on NPR, The Creative Independent, The Washington Post, and more. He is Head of Strategy for A Mighty Blaze, and he has taught writing at Grub Street and UCLA. His debut novel BUNYAN AND HENRY, OR, THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY is out now from Pantheon Books.
Faith Griffiths '24
Faith Griffiths is an Editorial Assistant at Penguin Random House, supporting the Editorial Director of Nonfiction at Doubleday. She works on a range of nonfiction titles, including books by bestselling and prize-winning authors such as Anne Applebaum, Robert Kolker, John Grisham, Elaine Pagels, Michael Luo, and H. W. Brands. Previously, she was the Digital Communications and Editorial Intern at Orion Magazine, where she managed the social media accounts. She has also worked as the Communications and Outreach Associate for The Ocean Project, an ocean conservation nonprofit. Her writing has been published online in Orion and in print in Narrative and Grief: Autoethnographies of Loss from Lexington Books.
Erica Schwiegerhausen '13
Erica Schwiegershausen is a senior writer at New York Magazine’s the Cut, where she covers health. Previously, she was the Cut’s senior news editor. She has an MFA in memoir from Hunter College, where she also taught creative writing.
Fall 2024
Time: October 16, 6 PM
Location: Pembroke Hall 305 (172 Meeting Street)
Panelists
Grace Abe '15
Grace Abe is a designer, illustrator, and currently Art Director at Wide Eye, where she builds brands for non-profits, political campaigns, and purpose-driven organizations. Prior clients include The Tegan and Sara Foundation, March for Our Lives, Everytown for Gun Safety, WBUR, and Grist.org, among others. Her design work has been highlighted in Fast Company and The Webbys, while her illustrations have most recently won an Edward R. Murrow Award. She lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts.
Maggie Bigelow '20
Maggie Bigelow is a freelance writer and educator in New York City. Her writing has appeared in Slate Magazine, Electric Literature, Golf Digest Magazine, and The Hechinger Report. She is currently working on her first book, a historical narrative nonfiction book following two American families and the enduring grip of grief in the aftermath of World War II. She recently received her MFA in creative nonfiction writing at Columbia University and teaches a writing seminar in Bushwick.
Cashen Conroy '19
Cashen Conroy is a Literary Agent Assistant in the Books department of William Morris Endeavor (WME), where she currently supports two agents and is beginning to seek out her own clients. Previously, she worked in WME's Podcast department, fact-checked Bad Sex by Nona Willis Aronowitz, and served as a fact-checker and research assistant for Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2022. At WME, she works across all genres, but is particularly drawn to narrative nonfiction, memoir, and literary fiction.
Cashen Conroy '19
Cashen Conroy is a Literary Agent Assistant in the Books department of William Morris Endeavor (WME), where she currently supports two agents and is beginning to seek out her own clients. Previously, she worked in WME's Podcast department, fact-checked Bad Sex by Nona Willis Aronowitz, and served as a fact-checker and research assistant for Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2022. At WME, she works across all genres, but is particularly drawn to narrative nonfiction, memoir, and literary fiction.
Past Forums
The producers of Now Here This lead a conversation with Ana González (class of ‘15), Anna Martin (class of ‘16), and Liza Yaeger (class of ‘16) about making and pitching compelling stories as well as navigating the first steps out of school and into the professional world.
Essayist and n+1 publicity coordinator, Elisabeth Borst ’17.5; Studio Theatre grants coordinator and writer, Sarah Cooke ’17; award-winning writer and producer, Jessica Weisberg ’06; and award-winning writer and teacher, Cutter Wood ’06, read from their work and talk about writing beyond Brown.
Poet and essayist, April Freely '04; "Wirecutter" staff writer, Sabrina Imbler '16; freelance writer and MFA student, Erica Schwiegershausen '13; and writer and environmental activist, Daniel Sherrell '13.5 read from their work and talk about writing beyond Brown.
This event featured teacher Sara Mann '10; science writer Jean Hazel Mendoza '12; media writer Doreen St. Felix '14; and writer and editor Dayna Tortorici ’11, who read from their work and spoke about post-graduation careers for writers.
This event featured: Mimi Dwyer ’13, researcher at Reuters and a freelance journalist living in Brooklyn; Andrew Marantz ’06.5, editor and writer at The New Yorker; Dayna Tortorici ’11, managing editor and co-editor-in-chief of n+1; and Natalie Villacorta ’13, health and science writer on weekdays and a personal essayist.
This event featured writers and editors Sandra Allen '09, Andrew Marantz '06.5, Nathan Schneider '06, and Erica Schwiegershausen '13, who read from their work and offered their perspectives on attaining careers in nonfiction writing.