English Department Researcher of the Year: Amber Caron

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Amber Caron, the 2025-26 English Department Researcher of the Year!

Amber’s creative achievements over the past few years are unmatched. Her debut short-story collection, Call Up the Waters, was published by Milkweed Editions, a premier independent press, in 2023; this level of national prestige for a debut literary publication is an extraordinary accomplishment. Beyond acclaim for her book, which received the 2024 Phillip H. McMath Post Publication Book Award, almost every story has received prize recognition, including the PEN/Dau Short Story Prize, the Southwest Review McGinnis-Ritchie Award, and multiple finalist and semifinalist honors in competitive national contests. One story even received an O. Henry Prize, which is the oldest, most competitive national award for short fiction; past recipients include Flannery O’Conner, William Faulkner, and a number of prestigious writers.

“That Amber won this award today — when the pool of writers and publications is substantially larger than it was for those earlier laureates — marks her as a writer operating on the highest tier of contemporary literary fiction,” says English Department Head Brian McCuskey. “Her work is not merely excellent; it is canon-shaping.”

In addition to publications in a variety of nationally-recognized venues, Amber has earned literary arts grants from the Elizabeth George Foundation and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. She was also the Willa Cather Fellow at the 2024 Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and has been invited to give workshops and readings around the country, carrying inspiration and influence to emerging and established writers alike.

Beyond her creative achievements, Amber pays it forward, having served as the Assistant Fiction Editor at AGNI, one of the most respected literary magazines in the field, for the past six years. Her service also extends to reviewing submissions for Broadview Press and Haymarket Books, as well as co-organizing the visiting writing series at USU. Her work, as an individual and as a contributor to USU’s English Department, has brought the university into national literary conversations.

“In every dimension of the Researcher of the Year criteria: significance of creative achievement, national competitive recognition, juried and invited scholarly work, and disciplinary impact. Amber exemplifies excellence,” Brian remarks. “Having faculty of her caliber shaping our students and our institutional reputation is not only a gift; it is a watershed moment for USU’s presence within contemporary American letters.”