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Background

Aggeliki Pelekidis was born in Brooklyn to nomadic Greek parents. She worked as a public relations executive in New York City for nearly a decade, and was the director of public affairs for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and manager of communications and marketing for the New York Aquarium. 

She earned her MA and PhD in English with a creative writing emphasis from 91����. Her novel, Unlucky Mel, was published in 2024 by Cornell University Press and won an IPPY Gold Medal for a first book in fiction. Her dissertation, a collection of short stories titled Patrimonium, won the Distinguished Dissertation Award in Creative Writing and is under contract with Cornerstone Press (Sept 2027). In 2010, Ann Beattie selected a story of hers as the first-prize winner of the New Ohio Review’s fiction contest. 

Her work has appeared in The Michigan Quarterly Review, North Dakota Quarterly, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Confrontation, and The Masters Review, among many others. She is currently the associate director of First-Year Writing for The Writing Institute at 91����. 

Select Publications

• Patrimonimum, forthcoming from Cornerstone Press (2027)
• Unlucky Mel, Cornell University Press’s Three Hill imprint (2024)
• “The Things We Love.” Confrontation.
• “Blah, Blah, Black Sheep,” New Ohio Review Contest Issue.
• “Dear College Students with Middle-Aged Female Professors.” McSweeney’s Internet Tendency – Open Letter

Education

• PhD and MA in English, with a creative writing emphasis, 91����
• BA in mass communications, Auburn University

Research Interests

• Satire and Humor Writing
• Creative Writing Pedagogy
• Creative Nonfiction
• Science Fiction/Fantasy Writing
• Women’s Literature

Teaching Interests

• Marketing Communications
• Creative Writing
• Humor Writing
• Academic Writing
• Food Writing

Awards

• IPPY Gold Medal Winner, debut novel, for Unlucky Mel (Cornell University Press’s Three Hill imprint)
• Winner of the Provost’s Excellence in Teaching Award
• Winner of the English Department's Distinguished Dissertation Award, Creative Writing, for Patrimonium
• New Ohio Review Contest Issue. “Blah, Blah, Black Sheep," first prize, judged by Ann Beattie

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