Monday, August 25, 2003

WILMINGTON, N.C. — In May 2001, Brian DeVido turned in his novel, Every Time I Talk to Liston, as a requirement for his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Today, Bloomsbury is planning to publish it in spring 2004.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” DeVido said of the publishing process so far. Since finding out in late July that Bloomsbury had accepted his manuscript, he has filled out pages of marketing information, had professional photographs taken and written his book jacket blurb.

According to DeVido, a Herndon, VA. native, his novel is about an aging fighter on the decline, Scrap Iron, who helps a talented contender, TNT, on his rise to the top, with the spirit of Sonny Liston guiding—and dogging—their every step.

DeVido said, “Being in the M.F.A. program was a big help for my writing. Prior to Wilmington, I worked in Austin, Texas for several years, and I found that I couldn't get focused on my writing. UNCW gave me the opportunity to simply focus on writing, and also to be around people who took writing seriously. I think at UNCW you get a well-rounded education in all types of writing and publishing, and you can't beat the location.”

DeVido works in business development for a small tax consulting firm in Silver Spring, MD.

"We are extremely happy for Brian and for our department. Brian's book now means that four UNCW M.F.A. students have placed or published books with major national publishers since 2000. For such a young program to have such success in publishing so quickly is practically unheard of," said Mark Cox, chair of UNCW’s Creative Writing Department.

Brad Land sold his memoir Goat to Random House last year with its release expected for spring 2004. In 1998, Nancy Jones sold her thesis to Crown Publishers, which released the work under the title Molly in 2000. Algonquin Books published Dana Sachs’ thesis The House on Dream Street: An American Woman in Hanoi in 2000.