Neil Connelly

Office: Horton 302
Phone: 717.477.1551
Email: noconnelly@ship.edu

Education:

B.A., Advertising, Penn State
M.A., English, McNeese State University
M.F.A, Creative Writing, McNeese State University

Teaching Interests:

I'm interested in words, how they capture, shape, and create meaning, especially in the realm of fiction.

Undergraduate Classes Taught:

ENG 114: Academic Writing
ENG 228: Introduction to Creative Writing
ENG 308: Fiction Writing
ENG 428: Advanced Fiction

Bio in a Nutshell: Upon graduating from Penn State with a degree in Advertising, I got fired from my first job after six weeks. I cut lawns, worked in a comic book shop, at a mall bookstore, and finally with a typesetter. Later I talked my way into a creative writing graduate school, where I learned a great deal, mostly what I didn't understand about writing. I also found I really enjoyed teaching, which I've done now for about twenty years. Just before making a new home at Ship, I directed the MFA program at McNeese State University.

Current Projects:

I'm fiddling with a novel based on my time on the local school board during Covid, some flash nonfiction, and a work of creative writing pedagogy.

Online Publications:

Fiction

"The Dad in Question"

"Failure to Thrive"

"What Walter Knows"

“Instructions on Setting up the Xmas Lights”

"You're Not Listening"

"Willie Goes By William Since Then"

"Upon Returning from a Leadership Convention in Hawaii, the Superintendent Addresses the School Board"

Nonfiction