A Reading with the Graduates of the University of Baltimore MFA

Celebrating the 2026 graduates of the MFA Program at The University of Baltimore, with a reading from their published books of stories and poems!

We're really excited about the 7 Baltimore writers, and 1 Baltimore publisher, represented at this event. With artful craft, they are tackling essential themes including parenthood, intergenerational relationships, mental health, diaspora, structural inequities, grief, and points of origin. Many of them explore Baltimore and the DMV specifically.

Come on out to find your new favorite writer to follow locally!

Books will be available for purchase at the event.

Alexander Cosentino-Tich is a trans and queer writer based in Central Maryland. His creative nonfiction and poetry explore the intersections of gender identity, grief, and queer joy. Alex holds a B.A. in English and American Literature from New York University, an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore.

Albert Phillips Jr. writes from the streets, corners, and cafés of Baltimore City and its surrounding areas. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Morgan State University, a Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore. His writing has been featured in Black Enterprise, The Afro, Baltimore Fishbowl, and other online and print publications. The Adventures of a Northeast Baltimore Boy is his third book.

Toni Hornes Sullivan is a poet and visual artist from Baltimore. Her poems have been published in Ginosko Literary Magazine, Grub Street and 100 Subtexts. Some of her writing interests include the ‘self’, spirituality, lineage and memory; her work often explores surrealism and non-human perspectives. Another love of hers is Ekphrasic Poetry. She also creates art, employing paper mache collage techniques on canvas board. You can find her vending art (and now books) in Baltimore and beyond.

Representing the company and both authors is John Butler Jr., a Liberian-American born and raised in the DMV. With a deep passion for the arts, he publishes adult fiction for Black, queer, and underrepresented audiences. As founder of Totem Jou Publishing, he took home Most Promising Business and Crowd Favorite at UBalt's 14th Annual Rise to the Challenge 2026 pitch competition, netting over $15,000 for the company. This fall, he begins studying Graphic Design at MICA.

Zahra Gordon is a Caribbean poet and writer. Her work has been published in journals such as Intersect, Mantis, and the anthology Thicker Than Water (Peekash Press, 2018). In 2015, Gordon was longlisted for the Hollick Arvon Prize for Caribbean Writers. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore.

John holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, an MS in Information Systems and a BA in German Studies. You may find him stealing time for writing and reading against life’s sundry deadlines, while attempting to balance family and work. He previously served as an editor of End of 83; Art Lead and Fiction Editor for Welter, Spring 2023; and Managing Editor of A Century of Voices Over the Years (Honeycomb Press). He’s published stories and poems at The Words Faire, Half and One, Depth Insights and Everyday Writer.

Alicia Potee is a graduate of St. John’s College in Annapolis and current MFA candidate at the University of Baltimore. Her poems have appeared in wildscape. literary journal, Sky Island Journal, Radar Poetry, ballast, Gone Lawn, trampset, BRUISER, Chestnut Review, Comstock Review, Hawaii-Pacific Review, Little Patuxent Review, and Baltimore Review, among other places. She lives in Towson, MD with her tiny zoo of children and pets.

Jeffrey Sams is a lifelong, native resident of Baltimore City. He’s an associate pastor at Church of the Redeemed of the Lord. He is the father of 3 sons and resides in Baltimore with his wife, Annette, of 37 years. He is a published author.