Lisa W. Schamess

OBJECTIVES:

Assistant or Associate Professor, Literature, Composition, or Creative Writing
Teaching opportunities in nontraditional, nonacademic settings


ACADEMIC PREPARATION:

M.F.A. in Creative Writing, Department of Literature, College of Arts and Sciences, American University, Washington, D.C., Spring 2005

Concentrations: Creative Writing, Contemporary Fiction, American and French Literature of the Nineteenth Century, American and European Modernist Literature

Thesis: A Soloist, a novella

Advisors: Richard McCann, Denise Ornstein, E.J. Levy

Jenny McKean Moore Community Workshops, Autumn 1992 and Spring 1998
Instructors: Carole Maso (1992) and Anne Caston (1998)

Provincetown Summer Workshop, Summer 1996
Instructor: Richard McCann

B.F.A. cum laude in Theatre with a specialization in creative writing, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, 1985.

Concentrations: Stanislavskian and Actor’s Studio Method Acting, Shakespearean Styles,
Improvisation, Commedia dell’Arte

Taos Summer Writing Workshop, 1984
Instructor: C.W. Smith


TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

Montgomery College, Rockville Campus, Summer 2005 – present
Composition 101 and 101/A: Techniques in Reading and Writing

Washington Write-a-Story Day
One-day intensive workshop with nonprofessional writers to create stories inspired by
Washington, D.C. streetscapes and communities

Pact, Inc.
Curriculum Design and Workshop Facilitation, WriteShop Pilot Project, June 2004

Emerson Preparatory Institute
English Literature and Creative Writing Instructor, 2003 – present
College Preparatory English, 2005


RESEARCH AND WRITING EXPERIENCE:

Freelance Writer and Editor, 1995 – present

Concentrations: Community and urban design, architecture, planning, transportation, health and human services, and sustainable economic development. Skills: Curriculum design, teaching, and facilitation of writing and creativity workshops in a variety of settings, including nonprofit organizations, NGOs, college preparatory institutions, and early childhood development programs.

American University, Designer, Graduate Program in Creative Writing Web Site, 2002-2003

Surface Transportation Policy Project, Communications Coordinator, 1990–1994

National Trust for Historic Preservation, Program Assistant, 1987–1990


LANGUAGES:

Spanish (nearly fluent) and French (some).


FELLOWSHIPS AND RESIDENCIES:

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, 2004, 1996, 1995

D.C. Commission on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, Literature, 2004

American University Merit Fellowship, 2002-2005

National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Administration Fellowship, 1990


PUBLICATIONS:

Borrowed Light, a novel, Southern Methodist University Press, 2002

“What the Body Is Saying,” anthologized in Grace and Gravity, Paycock Press, 2004

“The Essential Thing, Forgotten,” Glimmer Train Magazine, Spring 2000

“Credit Limit,” Antietam Review, 1996

Columnist, Beliefnet (www.beliefnet.com)
"Widow’s Walk: The Journey through Mourning," (2000-2002)
Essays on 9/11 and the Terri Schiavo case, 2002-2004
Reflections on Jewish family celebrations, including Sabbath and Chanukah, 2005

Contributing Author, At Road’s End: Transportation and Land Use Choices for Communities. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1995, with Daniel Carlson and Cy Ulberg, co-authors

Contributing Writer, Planning Magazine, 1995-1999
Contributed articles on transportation, land use planning, parking policies, and retail
development in cities and small towns


UNPUBLISHED WRITING IN PREPARATION:

A Soloist, a novella, 2005

1000 Rooms Indestructible, a novel, in progress


AWARDS, GRANTS, AND HONORS:

2002
Texas Institute of Letters, Steven Turner Award for Best First Fiction, 2002
Texas Institute of Letters, Finalist for the Jesse Jones Award for Best Fiction, 2002
Paterson Fiction Prize, Finalist

1995
Jenny McKean Moore Fellowship to Virginia Center for the Creative Arts


PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

Associated Writing Programs, American Association of University Women, Modern Language Association, National Council of Teachers of English, The Writers Center


COMMUNITY SERVICE:

Phoebe Hearst Elementary School PTA, President 2004-2005, 2005-2006

The Washington Home and Hospice, reading and companion to resident Paul Walter, M.D.


REFERENCES:

Rodney Redmond, Montgomery College
Julie Wakeman-Linn, Montgomery College
Roberta Rubenstein, American University
Richard McCann, American University
E.J. Levy, American University
Myra Sklarew, American University
Denise Ornstein, American University
Margot Walsh, Emerson Preparatory Institute