Patrick Hicks

Patrick Hicks is Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at Augustana University, teaching creative writing, Irish literature, and honors courses including Great Britain and the Great War and Eleutheria: Freedom and Literature.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Irish Literature, 2000, University of Sussex (England)
• M.A. in Irish Writing, 1995, Queen's University of Belfast (Northern Ireland)
• M.A. in Literature, 1994, DePaul University
• B.A. in English, 1992, St. John's University

His research centers on creative writing with dual emphases in Irish literary traditions and Holocaust narratives. Hicks explores intersections of historical trauma with technological progress, particularly through fiction examining World War II contexts alongside space exploration. His work consistently engages freedom studies and literary representations of human resilience during systemic oppression.

Recent publications demonstrate sustained focus on Holocaust fiction blended with unconventional historical perspectives, notably in 2020's Apollo Program novel. His oeuvre spans poetry collections, short stories, and novels addressing Irish identity, Jewish historical trauma, and American literary traditions.

Awards and Honors:

• Pushcart Prize nomination (7 times)
• Glimmer Train Fiction Award
• Notable mention in Best American Stories
• Finalist for the Steinberg Essay Prize
• Selected for National Reading Group Month (20 books chosen)
• Emmy finalist (2017)
• Bush Artist Foundation grant
• Loft Literary Center grant
• South Dakota Arts Council grant
• Frederick C. Kohlmeyer Teaching Award (2018)

Hicks has secured significant grants including National Endowment for the Humanities funding for A Harvest of Words and multiple state/foundation artist grants. His teaching excellence was formally recognized with Augustana's 2018 Kohlmeyer Award, while his Pushcart nominations and Glimmer Train win underscore literary community validation.

He hosts the weekly radio program Poetry from Studio 47 broadcast across South Dakota and North Dakota public radio networks.