Sarah Mullens

Sarah Mullens joined SMU's English Department as the Hughes Fellow in Creative Writing in August 2026. Her creative work focuses on literary representations of Appalachia, American South, layered narrative structure, archival research, and the use of mathematics as a literary metaphor. Before joining SMU English, Mullens received her MFA from Colorado State University, where she was a Hammond- Schwartz Fellow, Leslee Beeker Memorial Fellow, and associate editor of the Colorado Review. Her writing has received support from Bread Loaf Writers Conference and Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Oxford American, Literary Hub, and NBCTHINK. 

Area of Expertise:

• Creative Writing 

Areas of Interest:

• Creative Nonfiction 
• Appalachian Literature 
• Southern Literature 

Awards

• Mayday Creative Nonfiction Prize from New American Press, 2025