Seth Clabough

Seth Clabough is a published poet, scholar, and fiction writer.  He completed a PhD in English at Aberystwyth University in 2011 and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Higgins Academic Center, Director of the Communication Center, and Associate Professor of English at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, after holding similar positions at Longwood University and Sweet Briar College.  He's also worked as a course designer and instructor for Duke University TIP in their online Short Fiction Workshops.

 Clabough is the author of the novel All Things Await (Savant Books, 2016), which was nominated for the 2017 Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction, and his work appears in places like Aesthetica Magazine, Blackbird, Barely South Review, Litro Magazine, New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice & Theory of Creative Writing, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Women’s Studies and numerous other publications. His writing has been selected for Ploughshares’ national "Best Short Story of the Week" column and been editor nominated for Best of the Net, the Luminaire Award for Best Prose, storySouth’s Million Writer Award, and the Queen's Ferry Press Award.

Clabough credits much of his early success to AU’s supportive environment and dedicated faculty. “I had published a bit in the creative and scholarly sphere before joining the program and had a fairly developed vision for what I wanted to do, so what I really needed was encouragement and thoughtful, expert suggestions to help guide me along the way” Clabough says.  “Prof. Jem Poster was absolutely indispensable as my dissertation director and the other faculty were incredibly helpful, too. Rather than imposing their own aesthetic on the project, they helped me develop and sharpen my own.”

During his time at AU, Clabough published several short stories, was the recipient of the LBA Prize for Fiction, and secured representation with Inkwell Management in New York for his debut novel, but he says the Department of English and Creative Writing helped him develop in other ways, too.  “I gained invaluable experiences teaching Creative Writing courses, serving as the student representative on the Postgraduate Affairs Committee, and completing my project with the aid of a departmental Travel and Research Grant in the very same remote Costa Rican surfing village where the second half of the novel takes place.  These experiences really set me up for success in a highly competitive job market.”

Clabough believes AU’s location is also a major draw.  “I truly can’t imagine a more inspiring university setting than AU enjoys,” he says.  “The National Library, the picturesque town, the rugged coast—really the whole landscape lends itself to contemplation, deep thinking, and meaningful intellectual work.”