Curriculum Vitae

Melissa R. Sipin
Production Editor
Arcadia Publishing

EDUCATION

Mills College, Oakland, CA, (expected) 2014

M.F.A. in Prose Writing (emphasis in fiction)
Awarded first full-tuition graduate assistantship
in community engagement and narrative writing

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2010

B.A. in English Literature (concentration in creative writing)
Senior Directed Research: The Salt in the Snails (collection of short stories)
USC Dean’s List, 2008-2010

El Camino College, Torrance, CA, 2007

Transfer studies (concentration in journalism)
ECC Dean’s List, 2006-2007

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2009-2010

Spring 2010 ENGL 404 – The Writer in the Community:
Taught 4th–5th graders prose writing and planned 8 unique lesson plans

Spring 2010 Panel Moderator – Undergraduate Writers’ Conference:
Moderated panel on critical-thinking discussion of writing, theory, and craft

TAYO Literary Magazine, Los Angeles, CA, 2009-Present

Spring 2010 SCPASA Summit – Filipino Literature Workshop
Fall 2010 TAYO Lecture – On Philippine Mythology
Spring 2011 SCPASA Summit – Pinay Poetics Workshop

Score! Educational Centers, Redondo Beach, CA 2006-2007

Fall 2006 Private Tutor – Tutoring students from 1st to 12th grades
Spring 2007 Private Tutor – Tutoring students from 1st to 12th grades

PUBLISHING

Fiction and Poetry in Literary Magazines

“Walang Hiya, Brother,” Kweli Journal, January 2012 (forthcoming)
“Poetas y Diwatas: Five Poems,” The Bakery Journal, December 2012
“On Writing: A Poetic Statement,” The Bakery Journal, December 2012
“Sarsarita Time,” Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology, Volume 7, 2012
“we come from places we have never traveled,” Tidal Basin Review, Fall 2011
“This is my manifesto, homecoming rain,” Kartika Review, Fall 2011
“Love Is,” Lantern Review, Summer 2011
Three Poems in Maganda Magazine, Fall 2010–Winter 2012

Author Interviews, Critical Essays, and Other Prose

“Why Publication? Why TAYO?” Philippine American Writers & Artists, Inc. Fall 2011

“Poeta en San Francisco: Q&A with Barbara Jane Reyes, Winner of James Laughlin Award,”
TAYO Literary Magazine, Third Issue Fall 2011

“The Ilustrado: Q&A with Miguel Syjuco, Winner of the Man Asian Literary Award,”
TAYO Literary Magazine, Second Issue Fall 2010

“USC’s Culture Shows: How Much ‘Culture’ Do They Show?”
The Seesaw, Student-run, Independent Newspaper April 2009

EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE

Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC

Production Editor – March 2011-present

TAYO Literary Magazine, Los Angeles, CA

Cofounder/Creative Director – January 2009-present

Personal Media Assistant for Rabbi Naomi Levy, NY Bestseller, Los Angeles, CA

Publicist Intern – June 2010-December 2010

GOOD Magazine, Los Angeles, CA

Editorial and Marketing Intern – January 2009-May 2009

The Seesaw, Student-run Independent Newspaper, Los Angeles, CA

Staff Writer (Opinion/Editorial section) – January 2009-June 2009

The Union, Student Newspaper, El Camino College, Torrance, CA

Arts Assistant Editor – January 2007-December 2007
Magazine Arts Editor– June 2007-December 2007
Staff Writer – August 2006-December 2006

AWARDS AND HONORS

Nominated, Pushcart Prize by Kartika Review (2012)
Recipient, Las Dos Brujas Writers’ Workshop Scholarship (2012)
Winner, Miguel G. Flores Prize, Philippine American Writers & Artists, Inc. (2011)
Second Place, Undergraduate Virginia Middleton Creative Writing Prize, USC PhD in Literature
and Creative Writing School, Dept of English (2010)
Honorable Mention in Creative Writing, third of 200 submissions, USC Undergraduate Writers’
Conference (2010)
Recipient, USC Cardinal & Gold Award in Community Leadership (2010)
Recipient/Scholar, Trojan Guild of Los Angeles, (2008-2010)
Recipient, El Camino College Foundation Scholar Award, El Camino College (2007)
Recipient, Daily Breeze Journalism Scholarship, El Camino College (2007)
Recipient, Manhattan Beach Rotary Scholarship, El Camino College (2007)
Recipient, Councilman Santarina Scholarship, El Camino College (2006)
Recipient, Advanced Studies Academy’s Merit Scholarship (2004)

PUBLIC READINGS

YALLFest Fiction Reading, Charleston, CA, November 2011
Eliseo Art Silva’s “Manifest Destiny” Art Exhibit, Arthur Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, October 2011
VONA/Voices Conference Student Reading, Berkeley, CA, June 2011
Western Kundiman Poets Reading, Casa Princessa Café, Los Angeles, CA November 2010
TAYO Beach Readings, Los Angeles, California, 2009-Present

PLANNED AUTHOR READINGS/WORKSHOPS

Philippine Mythology Lecture and Workshop by Barbara Jane Reyes, Doheny Library, Intellectual Commons, Los Angeles, CA, October 2010
Filipino Fiction Lecture and Workshop by Michelle Cruz Skinner, Tribal Café, Echo Park, CA, June 2010
LGBT Lecture and Workshop by Noel Alumit, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, September 2009

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

VONA/Voices Residency, University of Miami, January 2012

M. Evelina Galang’s Residency, “Words are Mightier” Conference

VONA/Voices Conference, University of California, Berkeley, June 2011

ZZ Packer’s Fiction Workshop

Writing 498, UCLA Extension School, Writer’s Program, Winter 2011

Naomi Benaron’s “Writing the Fine Line of Trauma,” Workshop

Writing 461, UCLA Extension School, Writer’s Program, Spring 2011

David Borofka’s Fiction Workshop

NVM Gonzalez Workshop, University of California, Santa Barbara, June 2009

Peter Bacho’s Fiction Workshop

The Writer in the Community (English 404), University of Southern California, Spring 2010

Aimee Bender’s Fiction/Community Writing Workshop

English 405, University of Southern California, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010

Percival Everett’s Fiction Workshop
Dana Johnson’s Fiction Workshop

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2009-2010

Sigma Tau Delta, International English Honors Society:
General Member, August 2009-December 2010

USC Troy Philippines: Co–Public Relations Director, August 2009- May 2010
Skit Director for Pilipino Culture Night, January 2009-May 2009
General Member, January 2008- December 2009

- Developed and directed the entertainment program of annual charity event, raising awareness and funds for the Typhoon Ondoy victims in October 2009. Entertained 400 guests, collected 40 boxes of donations, and raised $16,000 for the Ondoy victims
- Spearheaded the Troy Phi high school outreach program

Academic Culture Assembly: Administrative Director, January 2009- May 2009
Intern, January 2008-May 2008

- Designed and facilitated marketing materials for events, covering lecture series on: The Onion, Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocopuffs, and the annual Beyond Books banquet, a lecture/dinner event that enabled students to network with professors and scholars in their respective field of interests