The Department of English would like to welcome Tess Cumpstone as the new Creative Writing Program Assistant. In her new position, Cumpstone supports the students, faculty and staff in the MFA in Creative Writing program. This includes advising graduate students, coordinating events, processing awards and helping out in the Medical Humanities MA Program. 

While Cumpstone is new to the department, this is not her first time at Ohio State. After graduating with a degree in Women’s Studies from Colgate University, she came to Ohio State to complete her MA in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Even though she’s new to the department, Cumpstone isn’t new to Denney Hall: she took some classes here during her graduate program and worked closely with Associate Professor Margaret Price on her MA thesis. 

In her free time, Cumpstone likes to run, write fiction, and unsurprisingly, read. When asked what her favorite book was, Cumpstone answered, “wow, what a difficult question. I don't know if I could pick just one. Some of my more recent obsessions have been In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, the Monstress graphic novels by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, and short stories by Helen Oyeyemi and Karen Russell. Sorry for cheating!” She also enjoys baking and is “determined to learn how to make the perfect vegan pie crust.” 

One of Cumpstone’s favorite parts about her job is getting to interact with new people. “I look forward to meeting all of you,” she says, “but please be patient, I’m historically horrible with names.” If you stop by Cumpstone’s office, be sure to welcome her to the English department and ask about her time as a stand-in and extra in the first Marvel Avengers movie!