News & Updates

USF Assistant Professor Ajibola Tolase (center left) and USF alumna Aracelis Gonz谩lez Asendorf (center right) both received gold medals from the Florida Book Awards.

USF poets bring home gold, silver and bronze book awards

Ajibola Tolase, an assistant professor in the Department of English, won a gold medal from the Florida Book for his poetry collection 鈥2000 Blacks.鈥 He joins colleagues Heather Sellers, who received a bronze medal in the poetry category in 2022 for her collection, 鈥淔ield Notes from the Flood Zone,鈥 and Julia Koets, who received a silver award in the poetry category in 2021 for her collection, 鈥淧ine.鈥

April 22, 2025Events, Honors and Awards

This year's inaugural book festival was a success, offering the public an opportunity to engage with award-winning authors who explore the unique, complex, and often strange history, environment and culture of Florida. The Florida Studies Book Festival was held at USF St. Petersburg on April 5 in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.

April 1, 2025Events

former USF professor brings posthumous Zora Neale Hurston novel to light

A legacy restored: former USF professor brings posthumous Zora Neale Hurston novel to light

Convinced of its literary and anthropological value, Hurston continued to revise the unpublished manuscript until her death in 1960. When a handyman tasked with clearing out her home set fire to her trunk, the manuscript was almost lost forever.

March 26, 2025Department News

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About Department News

Department of English students, alumni, and faculty can submit news of accomplishments and events for our News section. We welcome announcements of publications, works presented, jobs procured, awards garnered, scholarships awarded, graduate school placements, and upcoming events.

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