Meet the Externs

Carve is expanding rapidly and we’ve recruited some externs to help us out. Our externs will be assisting in everything from graphic design to blogging, and we’re so excited to have them join the Carve family. Now it’s time for you to get to know more about them and what they’ll be doing to help Carve grow. 

Marketing Manager: Michael Smith

Michael is a true cosmopolite, having studied or worked in England, France, South Korea and China. These days he works in B2C & B2B sales in Hartford, CT. He holds a BA in psychology from the University of Connecticut and an MA in international business with a focus in marketing from Hult International Business School.

As Marketing Manager, he’ll be helping build Carve’s literary brand, with a focus on helping the magazine gain greater recognition and build stronger ties with our fans, followers, and Premium Edition subscribers.

Education Programs: T.M. De Voss

T.M. De Vos is the author of The Dimestore World, a poetry collection from Patasola Press, and co-editor-in-chief of Gloom Cupboard. She is the recipient of a Summer Literary Seminars fellowship for the 2012 session in Vilnius, Lithuania, and a Cullman Center fellowship at the New York Public Library and was a semifinalist for both the 2012 Sozopol Fiction Seminars and the Paumanok Poetry Award. She is huge in Transnistria. 

As Education Programs Coordinator, T.M. will be instrumental in developing lesson plans for our Carve in the Classroom series and helping spread the word about the new program.

Blogger/Social Media: Ryan James

 Ryan James is a recent graduate of Ohio University’s College of Arts and Sciences, where he studied English and literary history. His work has appeared in Sphere Magazine, the university’s undergraduate journal of fiction and poetry. Franz Kafka, Haruki Murakami, and James Salter are amongst his favorite authors. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a loud rock band, and enjoys walks with his Brittany Spaniel, Jack.

As a Guest Blogger, he’ll become a regular fixture over the next few months right here on the blog, writing about literature, publishing, poetry, and more.

Blogger/Social Media: Jocelyn Sears

Jocelyn Sears is a northern California native currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is pursuing her MFA in poetry at the University of Virginia, where she teaches writing to undergraduates and edits Meridian.

As a Guest Blogger, she’ll become a regular fixture over the next few months right here on the blog, writing about literature, publishing, poetry, and more.

Jr. Graphic Designer: Christina Trester

Christina Trester is a senior Magazine Design student at the University of Missouri. She will graduate in May and move back to Dallas. She has had a passion for literary work her whole life.

As our Jr. Graphic Designer, she’s going to help keep Carve looking pretty! She’ll be designing various graphics for promotions, including contests, and she’ll help us design new features for our Premium Edition.

Jr. Anthology Editor: Suzanne Barnecut

Suzanne is a freelance writer living in San Francisco with her husband and daughter. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from California College of the Arts and is at work on a collection of short stories and a novel.

As our Jr. Anthology Editor, Suzanne is working with us on our top-secret project to launch in 2014. Shhhh!

We’re happy to have everyone on board and look forward to working with them to help Carve grow! We’re still in the process of hiring a Podcast Coordinator and Event Planner, so check out our Careers page if you’re interested in joining our team.

Carve Reader Kristi DeFord Becomes Submissions Coordinator

Things have been ramping up at Carve for awhile now, but especially in the past six months. Our contest saw a near-record breaking number of submissions, while our monthly non-contest submissions count continues to grow.

To help us manage the increased flow of submissions, we’ve promoted our Reader, Kristi DeFord, to Submissions Coordinator. She takes over the task of assigning stories in Submittable and communicating with our Readers from Kristin, our Managing Editor. With this shift in responsibilities, Kristin will have more time to read and edit stories and assist with expanding operations in anticipation of our Print Edition.

Kristi has been a volunteer Reader for Carve since 2011. She has a real passion and zeal for literature and the short story form, having read countless novels and being primarily self-taught through reading. (Her father was a musician and moved the family often, so after attending 14 schools in 10 years she dropped out and opted to earn her GED.)

In 2011 Kristi enrolled in a couple of college classes where she met Kristin who was her teacher. After being a volunteer reader for a semester, we invited Kristi to read year-round. She has been one of our most prolific and thorough readers since. She has a true soft spot for new writers, which fits perfectly with our mission of discovering and promoting new writers.

We asked Kristi to tell us a little about her favorite novels and short stories, and she delved into her love for J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and one particular Carve story that’s stuck with her:

Truthfully, I don’t really have a favorite novel. I have read literally thousands of books, and I have fallen in love with most of them for entirely different reasons. I cut my teeth on Stephen King’s work when I was 9 and then read John Toland’s Adolf Hitler. I then moved on to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, both of whom are absolutely brilliant and, in my opinion, the most interesting and brilliant men who ever lived.

Tolkien not only wrote the beloved Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but he was also a linguist. He created more than a dozen languages to provide depth to the races within his work. He worked on the Elvish languages—yes, plural—for more than 50 years until he died. Seriously, who does that? Truly, he was a fascinating man.

C.S. Lewis was one of the most profound critical thinkers of the 20th century. My favorite book he ever wrote was Mere Christianity. He was genius. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were very close friends. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for some of their tea times.

I have two short stories that I love. One is “Leaf by Niggle” by Tolkien. It is a beautifully written piece, an allegory about heaven and hell, purgatory and paradise, and how we use the time given to us. It’s lovely in its simplicity but complex in meaning.

The other short story that has stuck with me is “And They Pillaged the Dead” by David Cameron (summer 2011). It was among the first pieces I read for Carve, and although I had nothing to do with writing or editing it, I felt like I helped it along to its final destination. The voice is perfect, the characters are beautifully developed, and it has a wonderful plot twist that took me completely by surprise.

Carve simply wouldn’t be possible without the enthusiastic support and passion of people like Kristi. We feel lucky and honored to have her working on our team as we continue to grow and expand. Thank you, Kristi!