Experience

Gotham Writers Workshop

• United States
• Writing and Editing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Fiction Writing Instructor

  • Jun 2002 - Present

  Have taught over 50 creative writing classes in a ten year period, ranging from beginning fiction writing to a master class designed for advanced students. In those years, I've mostly taught Fiction 2, which is an intermediate level course. Have taught over 50 creative writing classes in a ten year period, ranging from beginning fiction writing to a master class designed for advanced students. In those years, I've mostly taught Fiction 2, which is an intermediate level course.



Michael Backus

• Writer

  • Aug 1988 - Present

  Am a working fiction and creative non-fiction writer and occasional poet. Publication history:• Hoosier Hysteria, a creative non-fiction piece published in Prime Number magazine, January 2014• Double, a novel published by Xynobooks in November, 2011• Remote Viewing, a poem published in the Fall, 2009 issue of Hanging Loose literary magazine• Act of Love, a short story accepted for publication by Verb audio literary magazine• “Life is Full of Brain Dead Fools and Emotional Cripples and Then You Die (Stunt Casting and Narrative Gimmickry in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts”),” a critical analysis of the Robert Altman film in Fall, 2006 High Hat magazine• Finding a Stronger Ending (December 2005) & The Trick of Reading The Right Thing While Writing (March 2008), articles in The Writer magazine.• Santa Fe Cab, a short story published in the Spring, 2002 issue of Exquisite Corpse• My Bad, a short story published in One Story magazine, July, 2002• Meat, a short story published in The Portland Review, Winter, 1998• Dirt Bath, a short story published in The Sycamore Review, Fall, 1997• Crossing Country & Lightning Storm, two short stories published in Storyhead magazine, 1995.



Marymount Manhattan College

• United States
• Higher Education
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Adjunct Professor of Humanities

  • Aug 2003 - Jun 2014

  I've taught a variety of classes at Marymount, chiefly creative writing at all levels from beginning creative writing to the 400 level advanced workshop class. I've also taught a 300 level film studies course that I designed myself, Narrative Fiction (a hybrid writing and literature class), and several sections of freshman critical writing, both the beginning class (essay writing, no research) and the second semester class (research papers). Classes taught include:• CRW 201 Intro to Creative Writing• WRIT 101 & 102, Freshman Essay Writing• ENG 442 Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop• ENG 332 Fiction Writing Workshop• COMM 308 The Dream Life, a film history course

• Administrator

  • Jun 2002 - Jun 2014

  --Manage the divisional budget, including making sure dwindling funds last to the end of the fiscal year, --Coordinate scheduling of classes, no easy feat for a school like Marymount where classroom space is extremely limited. I’ve done it the hard way (letting professors put in whatever class they want, then engaging in often delicate personal negotiations to move the time slots around) and the slightly less hard way (creating Excel spread sheets that give each department head a specific number of time slots).--Create complex Excel spread sheets for a variety of uses, including scheduling, budget tracking, tracking of attendance and grades, high school counselor lists, alumni databases, etc.--Schedule and create divisional events--Advise students on what classes to take.--I’m also an excellent communicator, having almost 20 years of college teaching experience and am a working writer with one published novel and a book-length memoir currently being shopped around. I have extensive editing experience and am often in my current position called upon to copy edit both correspondence and critical writing. I know how to talk to people one on one and in large groups, having taught intimate creative writing classes and film screening courses with over 100 students.--What I take the most pride in is that I never pass the buck by telling a student or a professor that I don’t know an answer to their question. Like any college, Marymount is a sometimes byzantine bureaucracy and I learned early on who to contact if I didn’t know the answer myself. I’ve seen enough students frustrated to the point of tears because they can’t figure out how to get something pushed through the bureaucracy and I vowed never to tell anyone “I don’t know” and leave it like that and in the 12 years I’ve worked here, I never have. I take responsibility to get a job done and if a mistake is made, I’ll own up to it and fix it.



Seligman Data Corp

• Financial Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Assistant to the Project Manager

  • Oct 1998 - Jul 2001

  Supported all facets of the project (an online software application designed for Seligman's mutual funds clients), including managing the information flow and coordinating the software application testing. Supported all facets of the project (an online software application designed for Seligman's mutual funds clients), including managing the information flow and coordinating the software application testing.



Original Research (later Faneuil Research)

• Assistant Office Manager

  • Aug 1989 - Mar 1995

  Served as the assistant office manager to a 500 employee office and acted as the defacto office manager through three pregnancy leaves by the office manager. Was involved in all aspects of running the office, from dealing with the budget, painting and light construction/plumbing, contracting outside vendors, running financial errands. Basically, I did whatever needed doing in the office. Served as the assistant office manager to a 500 employee office and acted as the defacto office manager through three pregnancy leaves by the office manager. Was involved in all aspects of running the office, from dealing with the budget, painting and light construction/plumbing, contracting outside vendors, running financial errands. Basically, I did whatever needed doing in the office.