Alumni Profile: Christine Stroud, MFACW ’13
Christine Stroud is the editor in chief of Autumn House Press. (Photo via Christine Stroud).
Christine Stroud wanted to immerse herself in the world of publishing.
Even after completing her undergraduate studies, she still found the business end of writing to be confounding and opaque. How does a book go from a humble manuscript to store shelves?
Chatham University not only answered that question by showing her the “nitty gritty” of the publishing world, but it also opened up her path to becoming editor in chief of Autumn House Press, the nonprofit literary publisher based in Pittsburgh.
“I just didn’t know much of the ins-and-outs of literary journals and the publishing process,” said Stroud, who obtained an MFA in creative writing in 2013. “Gaining a lot of that experience was important to me.”
It was Chatham’s requirement to take a reading class that stood out to her, as she was exposed to new types of contemporary writing she wouldn’t have seen on her own, and her publishing classes taught her how to approach journal submissions.
“It led me to writing that was out of my comfort zone.”
It helped her grow as a writer, explore the boundaries of what she could do, and expand her literary horizons.
“I can’t speak enough to how the program at Chatham that I went to – an MFA in writing with a publishing concentration – how unique that was,” she added. “I really wasn’t finding other opportunities like that, as far as graduate schools. Students were coming to writing from all different backgrounds and all different interests.”
An internship at Autumn House, which started through connections at Chatham, grew into a full-time position as an associate editor after she graduated.
“It led me into that indie press world and what that could look like,” she said of Chatham. “It led me to writing that was out of my comfort zone.”
Ten years later after graduating, she’s the top editor at Autumn House, whose authors have been nominated for awards like the 2021 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize.
Overseeing an independent publishing house means doing a few different jobs, Stroud said, including editorial work, reading manuscripts, acquisition, marketing, and fundraising. She finds the dynamic workday to be a plus.
She said Chatham taught her that a career in writing and publishing could exist out of New York and allow her to live in a city like Pittsburgh, which offers a relatively affordable urban center with access to nature not far away.
“I was always reading, but Chatham filled in the gaps, and that’s been essential for me as a publisher,” she said. “It’s important to know what’s going on and what the trends are. The publishing classes gave me the foundations of what I’d learn for my internship at Autumn House; it was the beginning of my career, basically.”
Mick Stinelli is a Writer and Digital Content Specialist at Chatham University. His writing has previously appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 90.5 WESA, and he has a BA in Broadcast Production and Media Management from Point Park University. Mick, a native of western Pennsylvania, spends his free time watching movies and playing music.