The University of Arizona’s creative writing program wanted to do something unique to help its recent graduates attract the attention of literary agents and editors, so MFA student Jennifer Rice Epstein came up with the “Look Book,” an anthology of fiction, nonfiction and poetry from 26 writers who’d completed the two-year program. Rice Epstein, who also orchestrated the book’s production, says she sent copies to more than 80 agents earlier this month, and some of the writers have already gotten their first contact.
The program’s director, Aurelie Sheehan, describes the Look Book as “a preview of where literary work is headed in the years to come,” and says that though it might not immediately bring its contributors publishing contracts, she hopes that it will start more conversations, perhaps even inspire agents to inquire about longer projects. Although the Look Book’s contents are not available online, we assume interested parties can obtain copies (as long as they last!) by contacting the creative writing program directly—although we think it would be nice if folks who weren’t agents or editors held back, to give the aspiring authors better odds of making connections; with any luck, you’ll get a chance to read these writers soon enough. (In fact, you can find other work by some of the contributors online: Cream City Review published “Head Just Above Water,” a short story by Andrew Mortazavi, and Rebecca Epstein‘s autobiographical essay “The Fun Ride” appeared in The Sycamore Review).