Dear Colleagues,

René Steinke’s novel Holy Skirts (Morrow 2005) has been named one of five finalists for this year’s National Book Award in Fiction. René joins an illustrious group of finalists contending for this preeminent award, including E.L. Doctorow, Mary Gaitskill, Christopher Sorrentino and William T. Vollmann. Judges chose from a record 1,195 entries featuring the nation’s top writers.

An associate professor of English, René joined FDU in 2000 and teaches in both our MFA and BA creative writing programs. She also is editor-in-chief of our prestigious journal, The Literary Review. Under her leadership, in 2004 the journal enjoyed the rare distinction of earning two National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants in one year.

Following her acclaimed debut, The Fires, Holy Skirts is her second novel. The story is set in Greenwich Village in the early 20th century and is based on the life of the flamboyant Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.

This is a wonderful honor for René and another indication of the exceptional quality of our faculty. I know you will join me in congratulating her and wishing her continued success. 

Michael Adams