Adrienne Rozells
image and photo credit: Emma Halpern
Originally from San Diego, California, Adrienne Rozells received her BA in Creative Writing from Oberlin College. She is currently pursuing her MFA at Western Connecticut State University. She has published poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction in both print and online publications. Her work has been nominated for the Best Microfiction Anthology, the O. Henry Award, and the Best of the Net Prize. Adrienne's debut poetry book, caryatid heart, is available to order through Alien Buddha Press!
Adrienne currently teaches undergraduate creative writing at WCSU. She worked as a teaching assistant for introductory fiction at Oberlin, where she also taught four semesters of Cryptozoology through the Experimental College. She has served as a Writer in Residence at Langston Middle School, and worked as a youth writing instructor for Lake Eerie Ink. She is co-EIC at Catchwater Magazine, and EIC of Poor Yorick Journal. She previously read for Wild Roof Journal and Triquarterly.
Publications
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction
ReBot9 in Radon Journal
Rocky in GASTROPODA
Job History in The Cloudscent Journal
I Sing of Girls Loved by Gods in en*gendered
Paige out of Time in Roi Fainéant Press
Pandemic Boyfriend in Journal of Erato
Collectors in Cool Rock Repository
Breathing Exercise, Home Sounds Like, and Growing in The Birdseed
Memories of Penang in Wilder Voice Magazine
Poetry
Spider Season and The Ghost in with confetti
The Whaley House in The Hallowzine
starshine and jellyfish in Sledgehammer Lit
Seafoam Memory in the tide rises, the tide falls
what i'm thinking in Kissing Dynamite Poetry
To the Platypus in Cool Rock Repository
Three Pieces in Voidspace Zine's Blackout issue
Growth Zine in Black Stone/White Stone Press
Halloween House in Brave Voices Magazine
tomato plant in Boats Against the Current
Phaedrus Said... in Swim Press
Lessons Learned On A Day At The Beach in Amphora Magazine
Reasons I Cannot be Polished as Easily
as a Rock in a Tumbler in Selcouth Station
things Will has texted me in Palest Blue
EMDR in Healthline Zine
In Print
The Rocket Equation in Labyrinth Anthologies
Issue 1: Celestial Bodies
San Diego, CA to Cleveland, OH in Paddler Press
Issue 4: Light (also available to download)
caryatid heart from Alien Buddha Press
Other Projects
Poor Yorick Journal
Adrienne works as Editor in Chief at Poor Yorick Journal, a lit mag created by students of Western Connecticut State University's MFA program.
Catchwater Magazine
Adrienne works as Editor in Chief at Catchwater Magazine alongside Miranda Purcell and web manager Emma Halpern. She is a founder of the journal. Alongside editing, she is in charge of Catchwater's social media, and has hosted their virtual readings.
Podcast Appearances
Adrienne was featured in two episodes of the Wild Roof Journal podcast:
Adrienne appeared in the final episode of
All Roads Lead From Oberlin, which you can listen to here.
Cryptozoology
Adrienne taught Cryptozoology alongside co-instructor William Axelrod, through Oberlin's Experimental College. The Experimental College has existed for more than 50 years, as an accredited division of the College that offers courses taken by over a thousand unique students each year. Adrienne and Will taught for four semesters, in person and over Zoom during COVID-19, serving more than 50 students. They are happy to have passed the course on to Crypto alumni upon graduation.
They have been featured in several articles about the "craziest courses" one can take in college. They also presented as part of the inaugural Oberlin Exco Fair. Here is an article about it, featuring a quote from Adrienne.
They are currently working to produce a podcast on the subject.
Spirit Skies (The Hummingbird Project)
The Hummingbird Project was conceived with the idea of getting kids interested in nature conservation, as well as offering an opportunity for readers to travel the world through reading. Each installation of the graphic novel series explores a different region through the eyes of a hummingbird.
Spirit Skies is an international collaboration, which began in San Diego at Canyon Crest Academy. As a founding member and President of CCA's Envision Conservatory for the Humanities, Adrienne spent three years as the project lead. She wrote and edited the original script for Volume One, managed the writing and art teams, conceptualized the concept as well as characters, and helped to create the interactive website.
She was also able to present the work at Comic-Con International two years in a row. She moderated the Spirit Skies panel at San Diego Comic Fest. She also presented at the San Diego Arts Empower Conference.