Vince Omni
Courses taught
CWR 100: College Writing
ENGL 135: Introduction to Creative Writing
ENGL 214: James Baldwin
ENGL 216: African American Literature I
ENGL 217: African American Literature II
ENGL 327: New, Black, and Lit (21st Century)
Specialization
African American Literary and Cultural Studies
Creative Writing: Fiction
Interests
Contemporary Caribbean Short Fiction
Screenwriting
Works of James Baldwin
Works of Toni Morrison
Education
PhD, English with Creative Dissertation (In Progress), Florida State University
MFA, Creative Writing, University of Kansas
BA, English, Saint Olaf College
Books
1989. Author. CRAFT Literary, 2026
Recovering Untold Stories: An Enduring Legacy of the Brown v. Board of Education Decision.
Co-Editor. University of Kansas Press, 2018.
Publications
“Mine Own.” Author. Virgin Islands Noir. Akashic Books, 2026.
“The Diaspora Café.” Author. Best Debut Short Stories 2025. Catapult, 2025.
“The Diaspora Café.” Author. Michigan Quarterly Review 63.3, 2024.
Invited Talks
Under the Oak Reading Series, Hummingbird Wine Bar, Tallahassee, Florida. July 20, 2025.
Michigan Quarterly Review. Summer Launch (Virtual). August 1, 2024.
Longleaf Writers Conference. Seaside, Florida. May 16, 2024
Fellows Research Sharing Luncheon. Florida State University, January 29, 2024.
Kimbilio Retreat. Southern Methodist University, July 2023.
Jerome Stern Reading Series, Summer Edition, Florida State University, July 2021
Jerome Stern Reading Series, FSU & FAMU Edition, Florida State University, March 2021
Awards and Honors
CRAFT Novelette Print Prize, Winner, 2025
PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, Winner, 2025
ScreenCraft Cinematic Prose Short Story Competition, Quarterfinalist, 2025
Jesmyn Ward Fiction Prize, Michigan Quarterly Review, Winner, 2024
Chautauqua Janus Prize, Chautauqua, Finalist, 2024
Story Foundation Prize, Story, Finalist, 2024
Margaret Walker Memorial Prize in Fiction, Winner, 2019
Fellowships
Kimbilio Fellow, Kimbilio for Black Fiction, 2023–Present
Hurston/Wright Fellowship, Hurston/Wright Foundation, 2022
McKnight Doctoral Fellow, Florida Education Fund, 2020–Present
Grants
Co-Investigator, Florida State Open Publishing Grant, Florida State University, $5,000