Woodfin Scholarships Awarded for new MFA Students

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Here at the new Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at the College of Charleston, we’re delighted to announce the first recipients of the Woodfin Scholarship, Nick Plasmati and Laura Cannon. The two $5000 scholarships will be awarded annually to the best creative writing portfolios submitted by students accepted into the MFA program.

The Woodfin Scholarships are made possible through the extraordinary generosity, vision and good will of an alum of the College of Charleston, and are designed to attract the very best writers from across the country to come study writing in our new graduate program in creative writing. Each year, the Woodfin Scholarships will be awarded to the incoming writers whose creative portfolios show the highest merit. These awards, which will go to offset tuition costs, will be available for renewal for the second year of study as well.

“This is an extraordinary moment in the new life of the MFA,” said program director Bret Lott, “and this incredibly generous gift from our alum is a hallmark in the development of our ability to reward the writers who come to study with us here at the College.”

“It’s an incredible honor to receive the inaugural Woodfin Scholarship award,” said Nick Plasmati of the good news, “and it is with the sincerest gratitude that I thank all of those involved in making this scholarship possible, not only for supporting individual writers but also for promoting the arts and helping to foster a creative atmosphere in Charleston.” Plasmati, who lives in Foxboro, Massachusetts, is a 2010 graduate of William & Mary, and will soon be moving here to the Lowcountry to begin classes in the MFA, where he will be in the program’s Arts Management track.

Laura Cannon, a 2009 graduate of our very own College of Charleston, is the second recipient. “To say I’m honored to accept the Woodfin Scholarship to aid in my MFA studies is an understatement,” she said. Cannon lives in North Charleston, and is electing to take the program’s Studio track. “I am deeply thankful to all of those who have made this experience possible, and eagerly anticipate what possibilities lie before our class. Thank you, again and again!”

We look forward to next year’s applicants to the program and the Woodfin Scholarships, and urge anyone interested in the MFA program to contact program director Bret Lott at lottb@cofc.edu.