Hello, everyone. On behalf of the Fresno State Creative Writing Alumni Chapter, I wanted to take a moment to send one last update on this year's installment of The Fresno 15 Creative Writing Marathon.

For the first time in three tries, we were able to hit our goal for the campaign! The alumni committee is overwhelmed with gratitude for your support of Fresno writers. In the end, we will finish with 65 donors and $5,200. Wow!

Many thanks to our supporters who made gifts to the marathon on its final two days: Megan Bohigian, Cindy Bradley, Sarah Colby, Will Freeney, Guiseppe Getto, Eddie P. Gomez, Soreath Hok, Melinda Medeiros, Ramsey Tammy, and three anonymous donors. Extra thanks to Honora Chapman, who made a generous second gift.

Sometime in 2022, we will send you all a letter in the mail, updating you on our progress to build the Larry Levis scholarship endowment. Until then, we'd like to introduce you to the first Larry Levis scholar, the poet Delaney R. Whitebird Olmo. She shares a few of her recently published poems in the attached video. We hope you enjoy hearing her work. (Link is below.)

Thank you, truly.

-Jefferson.

Hello, friends. We now have just a little more than one day left for this installment of The Fresno 15 Creative Writing Marathon. Thank you for making a gift to support this project!

Brian Turner has one poem left to publish today, and both Joseph Rios and Monique Quintana have completed their marathons. Please read their exclusive new works at FresnoWriters.com and share their incredible poetry and prose in your networks.

Shouts out to our supporters who made gifts to the campaign from Oct. 23-29. Many thanks to: Becky Brown, Steven Church, Leticia Del Toro-Gasquy, Jennifer Litt, Alisa Manjarrez, Joses Magno, Elizabeth Martin, Courtney Potts, Brenda Venezia, and four anonymous donors.

The Fresno State Creative Writing Alumni Chapter is now asking YOU to tell others about this project today and Sunday. We are at 65% of our $5,000 goal as of this morning, and our alumni committee would be super grateful if you can help us reach our fundraising goal for the Larry Levis memorial scholarship. We will send you one final email update to wrap up the project in a week or so.

Thank you so much! And long live Fresno Writers!

-Jefferson.

Hello, everyone. We are now less than 10 days away from the end of The Fresno 15 Creative Writing Marathon. Thanks for supporting us this far, and thanks in advance for helping us spread the word as we enter our campaign's final push.

Our third author, Brian Turner, is at the halfway mark of his marathon. Joseph Rios still has a few poems left. And Monique Quintana has completed her marathon. All of their incredible new pieces can be read at FresnoWriters.com and shared in your networks.

I'd like to shout-out our supporters who made gifts to the campaign from Oct. 16-22. Many thanks to: Aramis Calderon, Celeste K., Honora Chapman, Steve Dzerigian & Sally Stallings, Samar Hammam, Kristin Kelly, Devoya Mayo, Erin Murphy, Carleigh Takemoto, and five anonymous donors. A very special shout-out goes to Corrinne and John Hales, who made a second gift!

Please tell your friends about our work! All proceeds go directly to the new Larry Levis Memorial Scholarship at Fresno State, benefiting MFA creative writing students. We are grateful for your support.

-Jefferson.

Hello, everyone. We are at the half-way mark of The Fresno 15 Creative Writing Marathon! Thank you for directly supporting Fresno writers by supporting this project.

Today, I'm honored to welcome our third and final author for this year's campaign, Brian Turner. A Madera native and Fresno State alumnus now based in Florida, Brian is a poet, memoirist, educator, and U.S. Army veteran. A world traveler, Brian also knows what work is, and his books excavate the wars around us as well as within.

For the next 15 days, we will publish 15 exclusive new poems from Brian on our project website, FresnoWriters.com. Our second author, Joseph Rios, is at the halfway point of hismarathon, and his poems will continue to publish through Oct. 23. Our first author, Monique Quintana, completes her 15-day writing marathon today.

I'd like to shout-out our supporters who made gifts to the campaign from Oct. 9-16. Many thanks to: Marisol Baca, Esmeralda Gamez, Lee Herrick, Matt Quintana, and one anonymous donor.

Please enjoy the incredible works by these writers in the coming days, and please tell your friends about our project! This upcoming week, more than ever, we need YOU to tell people about The Fresno 15, and encourage folks in your networks to support our work. We appreciate you.

-Jefferson.

Hello, friends. We are now just past the 1st week mark of The Fresno 15 Creative Marathon! Thanks so much for supporting Fresno writers and Fresno State Master of Fine Arts graduate students.

I'm honored to welcome our second author for this year's campaign, Joseph Rios. A Clovis native and alumnus of UC Berkeley, Joseph is an artisan and repairman by day and a poet by night. His incredible debut collection, Shadowboxing, is a master class in persona and is an exemplar of early 21st century Fresno poetry.

For the next 15 days, we will publish 15 exclusive new poems from Joseph on our project website, FresnoWriters.com. Our first author, Monique Quintana, is at the halfway point of her marathon, and her flash fiction pieces will continue to publish through Oct. 16.

I'd like to shout-out our supporters who made gifts to the campaign from Oct. 1-8. Many thanks to: Linnea Alexander, Diniz Borges, Ethan Chatagnier, Corrinne Hales, Priscilla Gago, Courtney Hughes, Peter Robertson, Bruno Quintana, Brynn Saito, Cindy Wathen-Kennedy, and two anonymous donors.

Please enjoy Joe's and Monique's works in the coming days, and please tell your friends about our project! It's especially meaningful to us when YOU, our campaign supporters, share this project in your networks. It shows people you believe in the project and that you support the future generation of Fresno writers. We are grateful for you!

-Jefferson.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to round 3 of The Fresno 15 Creative Writing Marathon! On behalf of my colleagues on the Fresno State Creative Writing alumni committee, thank you for celebrating Fresno writers with us, and thank you for joining us in building the new Larry Levis memorial scholarship.

I'm super excited to welcome our first author for this year's campaign, Monique Quintana. A two-time Fresno State alumna, Monique has published widely and has two dynamite books: the Fresno-inspired novella Cenote City, and the powerful chapbook My Favorite Sancho and Other Fairy Tales.

For the next 15 days, we will publish 15 exclusive new flash fiction pieces from Monique on our project website, FresnoWriters.com. If you haven't read her work before, you are in for a real treat-- pure and serious magic in every word.

I'd like to shout-out our supporters who made early gifts during the soft-launch phase of this year's campaign. Many thanks to: Ronald Dzerigian, Marisa Mata, Angela Chaidez Vincent, and one anonymous donor.

Please enjoy Monique's works in the coming days, and please tell your friends about our project! We are grateful for your support.

-Jefferson.