WELCOME TO CAFÉ MFA
Café MFA is a literary blog written by graduate students in American University's Creative Writing MFA program. These posts range in content including Second-Year Spotlights, coverage of local writing events, book reviews, writing tips, student work, and more. Cafe MFA also hosts open mic nights and other community events for MFA students on campus. Thanks for stopping by!
- Angela Alvarez, EIC 2026-2027
Second Year Spotlight: Tara Hollander
Tara Hollander is a published poet who graduated last week after completing her thesis titled The Environmentalist's Will. Tara’s poetry blends science and art as well as sexuality and religion, with an overall root focus in nature. Her work is bold and unafraid to be itself, a perfection reflection of the amazing poet.
Second Year Spotlight: Hannah Cornell
Our Editor-in-Chief, Hannah Cornell, graduated this past weekend. She writes both poetry and fiction, having dabbled in both long- and short-form.
Here, Hannah and I talk about the journey her thesis took. Her thesis, Tremors, is a blend of poetry and short prose focused on family and self-discovery with a beautiful reverence towards nature.
Second Year Spotlight: Cara Tallo
Cara Tallo is a second-year student who dabbles across genres, particularly enjoying non-fiction and memoir.
We interviewed her to learn more about her thesis, a narrative non-fiction project about eating disorders and bigger bodies in the age of Ozempic.
Second Year Spotlight: Emma Sidoli
Emma Sidoli is a second-year student who writes in fiction, primarily the speculative kind. We interviewed her to learn more about her thesis project, a short story and flash fiction collection aimed at examining womanhood.
Barrelhouse Conference
Angela Alvarez, upcoming EIC of Café MFA writes about how the Barrelhouse Conference, hosted by American University, impacted writers in the MFA program!
Second-Year Spotlight: Walker Peters
Walker Peters is a second-year student and diehard fantasy nerd. We interviewed him to learn more about his thesis project.
MEET CAFÉ MFA
Editor-in-Chief
Angela Alvarez
Angela Alvarez is a second year graduate student pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at American University. She has a BA from Wake Forest University where she studied English and secondary education. Before the 2026 fall semester, she spent two years teaching high school English in North Carolina and one year as PR chair for Café MFA, American University's literary blog. Currently, she works as an adjunct professor at American University, as an assistant instructional designer through American University's Office of Digital Learning & Strategy, and as editor-in-chief of Café MFA. She has a deep passion for both pedagogy and creative writing. Her writing tends to focus on speculative fiction centering on elements of girlhood/womanhood and family dynamics. She is excited to continue growing during her second year in the MFA program and in her role as editor-in-chief of Café MFA.
Associate Editor
Pierre Ramon Thomas
Pierre Ramon Thomas is an emerging Black queer writer whose themes orbit around family, gender & masculinity, sexuality, queer love & erotica, nature—just to name a few. He is rounding out his final year at American University pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing. A video poem of Thomas’ was featured among twenty-nine other local poets in the 2026 DC Pride Poems this past June. He has pieces published or forthcoming in twurl, Vassar Review, Mid-Atlantic Review, WWPH Writes, and elsewhere. He is a native of the Washington metropolitan area and could be seen around the northern Virginia area trying new food, drinking white mochas, or enjoying national or state parks.
PR Chair
Haley Fullerton
Haley Fullerton is a fiction writer from New Rochelle, New York. She has a BA from Davidson College, where she was a double major in English and Hispanic Studies. She spent the first few years post-grad teaching abroad in Madrid, Spain, and now works full-time at an executive brand marketing company based in New York City. She is new to the DC area, having moved here from Brooklyn with her fiancé in the summer of 2026. Her fiction work focuses on coming-of-age stories with female narrators, exploring themes like love, religion, class, mental health, motherhood, and gender roles. Outside of writing, she enjoys traveling, swimming, running half marathons, reading, cooking, and crafting. Haley is currently in her first year of American University's MFA in Creative Writing program, as well as her first year as PR Chair of Café MFA.