Tom Hopkins

Tom Hopkins serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Sciences at Oberlin College, teaching courses including The Art of the Monologue, Lyric Essay, and False Documents for Spring and Fall 2025 semesters.

His educational background includes:

• MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from New York University (2005)
• AB in English, cum laude, from Harvard University (1993)

Hopkins specializes in experimental narrative forms with core interests in short fiction, formal innovation, and literary hoaxes. His work explores the boundaries of autobiography through social media experiments like The Year of Living Autobiographically, chapbook publications, and false documents. He actively engages with small press culture and the gift economy in publishing.

His publication history from 2009-2015 demonstrates consistent output in prestigious literary journals, characterized by thematic diversity spanning cultural identity, nature writing, urban life, and psychological complexity through experimental structures.

Professional recognition includes:

• Finalist for the Calvino Prize
• Finalist for the Barry Hannah Prize in Fiction
• Finalist for Southeast Review’s World’s Best Short-Short Story Contest
• Runner-up in the 2012 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction
• Residency at the Albee Foundation
• Residency at the Ucross Foundation

Hopkins maintains extensive teaching experience across diverse educational settings, having mentored high school students at Sarah Lawrence College, graduate students at Columbia University, working adults at Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and undergraduates at NYU, Smith College, and Yale University. His pedagogical approach emphasizes formal experimentation and contemporary narrative techniques.

While not affiliated with formal research labs, Hopkins collaborates with literary communities through performances, small press engagements, and cross-disciplinary artistic projects including music and theater.