Faculty Bios

We proudly offer the bios of our accomplished teachers.

Nina Boutsikaris is the author of the memoir I’m Trying to Tell You I’m Sorry: An Intimacy Triptych (Black Lawrence Press), a Small Press Distribution Bestseller. Her essays have appeared in Fourth Genre, Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies, Third Coast, Hobart, and the Los Angeles Review, among others; anthologized in The Best of Brevity: Twenty Groundbreaking Years of Flash Fiction (Rose Metal Press); and named Notable Essays by the Best American Essays series. She has taught at the University of Arizona and the New School, and is the archivist at John Ashbery's Flow Chart Foundation. She holds a BA from Ithaca College and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Arizona.

Melissa Petro is the author of the narrative nonfiction book Shame on You: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification (Penguin Random House). She is also a regular contributor to Business Insider and has published nonfiction in Allure, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, the Guardian, InStyle, the Kitchn, Marie Claire, Narratively, New York Magazine, Pacific Standard magazine, Real Simple, Salon, the Washington Post, and The Writer. She is the editor of two anthologies: Pros(e): Writings by Individuals with Experiences in the Sex Industries and Corner Stories: Writings by the Washington Heights CORNER Project Community, and one of her essays was included in the anthology Women Talk Money: Breaking the Taboo (Simon & Schuster).  She has been a finalist for the PEN/Fusion Emerging Writers Prize. She holds a BA from Antioch and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The New School.

Cullen Thomas is the author of the memoir Brother One Cell (Viking). His nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Salon, The Rumpus, The Sonora Review, World Hum, Current Biography, and Penthouse. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and the National Geographic channel and has taught at NYU. He holds a BA from Binghamton University.

Marissa Walsh is the author of the picture book One Scoop or Two? And Other Ice Cream Questions (Union Square Books, forthcoming), the YA novel A Field Guide to High School (Delacorte Press), the memoir Girl with Glasses (Simon and Schuster), and the nonfiction book Tipsy in Madras (Penguin). She edited the anthologies Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything (Delacorte Press) and Does this Book Make Me Look Fat? (Clarion Books). She has worked as a literary agent with Fine Print Literary Management and as an editor at Random House. She holds a BA from Smith College.