Rebecca Bernard

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Creative Writing (Fiction) Expected May 2021

University of North Texas

MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) May 2012

Vanderbilt University, Thesis Director: Tony Earley

BFA in Film Production, Founder’s Day Award May 2006

New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

PUBLICATIONS

SHORT STORY
“Harold, Protector of the Children,” Southwest Review, forthcoming.
“First Date,” Witness, forthcoming.
“Our Daughters Whose Blood,” Sou’wester, Spring 2018.
“How to be Another Person in Five Days,” Smokelong Quarterly, June 2017.
“This is Us Being Alive,” Meridian, January 2017.
“People We All Know,” Entropy, November 2016.
“The Maw of My Heart,” Bat City Review, Issue 12, 2016.
“Openings,” Epiphany, December 2014.
“How to Ensnare a Musk Ox in the Wild,” McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, March 2011.

NONFICTION
“How We Operate,” The Journal, December 2014. Nominated for a Pushcart prize.

POETRY
“Saturday Night in the Suburbs,” Makeout Creek, Issue 6, January 2014.
“Memory Boxes,” “Untitled,” “Moving Day,” “Museum,” Grey Sparrow Review, April 2011
“Easel,” Word Riot, December 2010.
“Exposed Brick,” 322 Review, Issue 5, Summer 2010.

PHOTOGRAPHY
“Polaroids,” Breakwater Review, Issue 5, Fall 2011.

ESSAYS
& INTERVIEWS
“Conversation with Jean McGarry,” Nashville Review, Summer 2011.
“Conversation with Lydia Peele,” Nashville Review, Spring 2011.
“Deleted Scenes,” The Writers’ Block, February 2011.
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GRANTS, HONORS
& AWARDS

A Public Space Fellowships, Longlist, 2018.

Sherman-Basanti Inspiration Award, University of North Texas, Semifinalist, Spring 2017.

Mary Patchell Scholarship, University of North Texas. Fall 2016.

Madeline P. Plonsker Emerging Writers Residency Prize through &Now Books, The Maw of My
Heart, Semi-finalist. July 2016.

Phoebe Fiction Contest, Judged by Joshua Ferris, Semi-finalist. May 2016.

Linda Bruckheimer Manuscript Contest, Sarabande Press. Finalist. September 2014.

Curb Creative Writing Fellowship, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at
Vanderbilt University, 2012-2013

AWP Summer Literary Seminar Finalist. Partial tuition stipend received. April 2012.

INVITED TALKS

“Interview, Writing, and the Community.” Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. 24 October
2016.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Composition Instructor Aug. 2016-present

University of North Texas
 Taught multiple sections of ENG 1310, introduction to college writing I.
 Taught multiple sections of ENG 1320, introduction to college writing II.

Composition Instructor Aug. 2015-May 2016

Kentucky State Reformatory
 Taught ENG 101 through the JCTC prison program.
 Taught ENG 102 Argument and ENG 208 Creative Writing in Spring 2016.

Composition Instructor Aug. 2014-Aug. 2016

Ivy Tech Community College, Department of English
 Taught multiple sections of ENG 111- Composition & Rhetoric.
 Taught ENG-075, ENG-073, ENG- 095 Integrated Reading & Writing, co-requisite
courses taught alongside ENG 111.
 Taught online courses including, ENG 111, ENG 112- Argument and Persuasion, ENG
202- Creative Writing, and ENG 221- Technical Writing.
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 Maintained a 4-4 course load.

 Developed thematic courses focused on literature and media literacy/social media.

Composition Instructor Aug. 2014-May 2016

Jefferson Community & Technical College, Department of English
 Taught sections of both ENG-101 Composition and ENG-102 Argument.
 Taught sections of ENG-092 Writing Lab in addendum to ENG 101.
 Maintained a 2-2 course load with additional biweekly lab time.

Literature Instructor Aug. 2012-Dec. 2013

Vanderbilt University, Department of English,
 Taught multiple sections of ENGL104W- Prose Fiction, Forms and Techniques.
 Course focused on the depiction of reality within text and film.
 Organized new curriculum for course, selecting and devising essay prompts, choosing the
texts, and establishing and implementing evaluation criteria.

Community Writing Instructor May 2012

Patterson Community Center, Murfreesboro, TN
 Organized courses on creative writing for community elders.
 Taught multiple sections of creative writing focusing on both short story and poetry.

Writing Consultant Aug. 2010-May 2012

Vanderbilt University Writing Studio
 Graduate Writing Consultant.
 Led in-class workshops on expository writing.
 Tutored undergraduate and graduate students, one on one, in expository writing.
 Liaison to 1st year MFA candidates.

Creative Writing Instructor Aug. 2011-Dec. 2011

Vanderbilt University, Department of English-Creative Writing
 Graduate Teaching Assistantship in Fiction Workshop
 Taught one section of ENGL 122, Beginning Fiction Workshop.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

Project Consultant Aug. 2014-present

Voices From Our America
 Culled quotes and produced necessary text and other materials for the production of a
quote book for Wisdom of the Elders Exhibit held in Nashville, TN September 2014.
 Processed and wrote mini-biographies for elder participants in the Wisdom of the Elders
program.
 Assisted in presentations and exhibitions presenting the work of Voices and Wisdom.
 Conducted interviews and developed interview guides for individuals for the Preservers,
Pathbreakers & Pioneers Project.
 Produced a proposal for the acquisition of funds for the August Johnson Book Project.
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 Processed multiple interviews providing detailed notes and analysis of primary source
materials.

Freelance Writer, Telepathic Inc. June 2015-September 2015

 Wrote short stories in text message format for the app Hooked.

Program Coordinator Aug. 2012-Aug. 2013

Vanderbilt University Curb Center, Curb Scholars Program
 Organized arts policy programming and initiatives for body of undergraduate scholars.
 Drafted articles and copy for programs and projects.
 Responsible for organizational planning for weekly Scholars sessions.
 Executed a successful Kickstarter campaign.
 Composed weekly blog updates for Curb Creative Campus Idea Blog

Video Consultant Aug. 2012-Dec. 2012

Vanderbilt University, Office of Honors Scholarships
 Filmed/edited promotional videos related to scholarship conferences and informational
sessions held by OHS.

Research Assistant Dec. 2010-Dec. 2012

Voices From Our America, Vanderbilt University,
 Facilitated and designed community centered programs for teens and youth.
 Drafted a collaborative biography for an elderly member of the community that was
published in June 2011.
 Co-drafted a treatise on the obligations of ethical biography writing.
 Drafted numerous grants seeking funding for the organization.
 Edited and organized transcribed Panamanian interviews for online storage.
 Co-taught and planned a summer youth program on interview techniques and the history
of the 1950s utilizing backwards design.
 Conducted multiple interviews with elders in the community of Murfreesboro.

Creative Consultant March 2012-May 2012

Curb Center at Vanderbilt University
 Edited numerous interviews for the purpose of making a website focused on creativity
and revision.
 Edited an eight-minute video on the subject of the creative process on campus.

Writer in Residence Aug. 2010- May 2012

The Commons at Vanderbilt University
 Organized writing/reading activities for undergraduates.
 Led multiple sessions of the Dean’s Book Club.

EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE
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Fiction Contest Co-Coordinator June 2017-December 2017

American Literary Review

Fiction Reader October 2016-Present

American Literary Review

Head Fiction/Music Editor May 2011- May 2012

Nashville Review
 Reviewed and solicit fiction and music for possible publication.
 Coordinated contracts and correspondence with chosen authors and musicians.

Fiction/Non-Fiction Editor Sept. 2010-May 2011

Nashville Review
 Processed manuscripts submitted for publication.

READINGS
American Literary Review, Graduate Student Reading, Tom’s Daiquiris, February 20, 2018.
Pegasus Reading Series, Deep Vellum Books, Dallas, TX, December 1, 2017.
American Literary Review Graduate Student Reading, Tom’s Daiquiris, September 30, 2017.
American Literary Review Graduate Student Reading, Tom’s Daiquiris, September 24, 2016.
Vanderbilt University, May 10, 2012
Graduate Student Reading Series, Sarratt Student Center, February 17, 2012.
Vanderbilt University, December 5, 2011
Vanderbilt University, March 31, 2011.
Vanderbilt University, December 7, 2010.
Fall for the Arts, The Commons at Vanderbilt University, October 7, 2010

CONFERENCES
Sewanee Writer’s Conference, Summer 2011.