Thursday, July 21, 2016

Best-selling author Jason Mott is returning to his alma mater as the new writer-in-residence in the Department of Creative Writing, the university announced today.

Mott is the author whose first book, The Returned, was published in 13 languages and became a New York Times bestseller and a TV series, “Resurrection,” on ABC.

“Jason Mott is not just a rising literary superstar, but also a proven and versatile teacher of both poetry and fiction,” said David Gessner, chair of the Department of Creative Writing. “It seems a small miracle that we have not yet lost him to New York or L.A. and that he is willing to give back to UNCW.”

Mott will begin his three-year residency this fall. The writer-in-residence teaches a month-long class each year, gives a lecture and works with individual undergraduate and graduate students.

“Returning to UNCW is a dream come true for me. My years in the creative writing program are some of the most memorable times of my life,” said Mott. “The department became a home. The faculty became friends, and then family. It was a place where I not only honed my craft but, perhaps more importantly, grew as a person. The people there helped me in ways I cannot begin to describe or repay. So my simple hope is that, by joining the faculty, I might somehow ‘pay it forward’ to others.”

Mott’s poetry and fiction have appeared in various literary journals. He was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize award and Entertainment Weekly listed him as one of its 10 “New Hollywood: Next Wave” people to watch. Mott also wrote The Wonder of All Things and two poetry collections, We Call This Thing Between Us Love and “…hide behind me…”  He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in fiction and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry, both from UNCW.

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The University of North Carolina Wilmington, the state's coastal university, is dedicated to learning through the integration of teaching and mentoring with research and service. Guided by our strategic plan, the university is committed to nurturing a campus culture that reflects its values of diversity and globalization, ethics and integrity, and excellence and innovation. A public institution with more than 15,000 students, the university is focused on supporting and enhancing the student-centered learning experience that has been a hallmark since its founding in 1947. UNCW offers an array of programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels, and doctoral programs in marine biology, educational leadership, psychology and nursing practice.

-Venita Jenkins

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