Sam Zafris has been awarded the inaugural R.L. Stine Scholarship. Generously provided by author R.L. Stine, an Ohio State English alumnus (BA, 1965) and award-winning author of children’s horror stories, this $11,000 tuition scholarship supports English majors who have demonstrated a serious interest in Creative Writing.

An honors English major, Zafris (BA, 2016) has taken upper- and graduate-level creative writing workshops with Ohio State English Professors Andrew Hudgins (poetry), Kathy Fagan-Grandinetti (poetry), Angus Fletcher (screenwriting), and Lee Martin (fiction). Currently, Zafris is working on a creative writing thesis under Professor Hudgins's direction and completing an upper-level seminar on literary translation with Visiting English Professor Lina Ferreira. This past summer, Zafris conducted thesis-related research in Paris and several other European cities with the help of an International Research Grant from the Ohio State College of Arts & Sciences.

Beyond the classroom, Zafris serves as a Social Media Intern with the Department of English and as a Marketing Intern with the Longview Barbershop. He also has worked as a Resident Advisor with The Kenyon Review's Young Writers Program. 

The R.L. Stine Scholarship will be offered annually from 2016 - 2020. For more information about this scholarship, including application requirements, visit http://go.osu.edu/9XD. 

Rotor Image: English Professor and Department Chair Debra Moddelmog with Sam Zafris in her office in 421 Denney
News Story Image: Sam Zafris