Serving Regional Writers
“I grew up writing about my rural roots, and I noticed that not a lot of people had experiences like I had,” she said. “My stories were out of the norm for a lot of people.”
Marco’s desire to amplify voices from the Upper Midwest guided her decision to earn her master’s (2014) and doctoral (2018) degrees at USD, studying literary studies with an emphasis on creative writing. After earning her Ph.D., she joined the Department of English as a faculty member and took over leadership on projects that served regional writers.
“I’m very interested in fostering writing communities in this part of the country,” she said. “It’s my passion, I bleed creative writing.”
In addition to teaching classes in creative writing, business writing, composition and literature, Marco administers two projects that help writers from the Upper Midwest region of the U.S. publish their work, earn recognition and prizes, and interact with other writers and students through various projects and publications.
To recognize emerging writers for their work, Marco serves as the South Dakota regional writing coordinator for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She manages South Dakota’s part of the national scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7-12. The prestigious program is more than 100 years old and counts Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates as past award winners.
The coordinator job requires soliciting submissions from middle school, high school and home-schooled students from across the state and assembling volunteer readers—largely English department faculty and graduate students—to judge submissions in categories that include poetry, short stories, journalism and personal essays.
Marco then sends out award letters to students, some of whom move on to the national level where they can earn further awards and scholarships. In early March, South Dakotan winners and their families are invited to a regional ceremony at USD held in conjunction with awardees from the art division’s recognition program, which is coordinated by the Department of Art faculty.
The ceremony also allows the students to hear from someone who has made writing a profession.
“We have a featured writer who is regional,” Marco said. “They talk about what writing has meant to them and how it has shaped their lives.”
One young writer who benefited from this program is currently a student at USD. Dominick Heier, a sophomore from Tea who is majoring in graphic design, earned honors in the humor and critical essay categories at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 2024.
“It was definitely surreal to win the awards,” Heier said. “I’m glad that I was able to share some of my passions with the committee and other authors and artists that share similar interests as me.”
“It means so much to these young people to see that we live in a society where creativity is appreciated,” Marco said. “This competition demonstrates that people want to celebrate this work. People want to read these poems. They want to get lost in these short stories.”
In addition to her work with the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Marco also brings regional writers to the USD campus in her position as faculty advisor to the Vermillion Literary Project. The student literary and creative writing organization hosts monthly readings from established writers, giving writers an audience for their work while providing students with a chance to get exposure to new perspectives and inspiration for their own creative work.
“Another thing the Vermillion Literary Project does to support regional writers is publish the Red Coyote,” Marco said.
The Red Coyote literary journal publishes a print journal containing original short stories, essays and poems from writers in the Upper Midwest and beyond.
Reflecting on the importance of this work, Marco observed that South Dakota is sometimes ignored and overlooked in conversations outside of the region. Marco’s work emphasizes the relevance and value of voices in this part of the country.
“We have complex experiences and proud and beautiful voices that deserve to be heard,” she said. “For every Red Coyote that gets sent out, we are challenging the stereotype that we aren’t interesting. We are worth taking seriously. We are inventive and we are multifaceted.”
Marco said she finds the writing outreach work complements her teaching duties in serving students and regional writers.
“I’m very passionate about the work that I do for the English department, for the community and for USD,” she said. “Everyone from the dean to the chair to my colleagues are wonderful people to work with, and we genuinely care. It’s important work, and we’re making a difference.”
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