Gina Ochsner
Associate Professor of English | Writer-in-Residence
Education
- M.F.A. University of Oregon
- M.A. Iowa State
About Professor Ochsner
Professor Ochsner teaches writing and literature courses as Corban’s Writer-in-Residence. Ochsner’s published works include The Necessary Grace to Fall (2002), which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction; People I Wanted To Be (2005), which earned an Oregon Book Award; and two novels: The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight (2011) and The Hidden Letters of Velta B. (2016).
See more of Gina Ochsner’s work at https://ginaochsner.com/
Recently Taught Courses
Faith and the Literary Imagination
Join the great and ongoing conversation of literature. Explore the themes, techniques, and timeless questions of poetry, fiction, and drama as you discover how storytelling reflects the human condition and spiritual truth.
Flash Fiction
Learn the art of saying more with less. Read, critique, and craft powerful short-form stories across a range of styles in this workshop-based creative writing course.
Short Story
Bring your fiction to life. In this workshop-style course, you’ll write and refine short stories, practice key techniques like dialogue and plot, and learn how to submit your work for publication with professionalism and confidence.
Novel Writing
Learn what it takes to write a novel—from concept to chapter. You’ll develop characters, map plot arcs, refine your writing voice, and explore how your faith shapes storytelling. By the end, you’ll have a detailed outline and the first two chapters of your own novel.
I started at Corban in 2008 as an adjunct teaching short story writing. I was immediately impressed by the level of scholarship exhibited by both students and faculty. I had never before encountered a group of students and faculty who demonstrated such a high level of intellectual curiosity as well as genuine warmth for one another.
Gina Ochsner
Publications
“Cheerful,” Fractured Lit, Tommy Dean ed., 2024
“Sedna, Mistress of the Underworld Speaks” in The Power of the Feminine Vol. I, Christal Anne Rice Cooper and Dona Biffar, eds. Threshpress Midwest, 2024
“Old as Clouds, Wise as Wind” and “Shine” in Radiant Birth: Advent Reading for a Bright Season , Leslie Leyland Fields and Pual Willis, eds. IVP Press, 2023.
“Skin” Catamaran Fall 2023
“Soon the Light” selected for Best American Short Stories anthology 2022 and featured in Ploughshares
“Shadowlans” in North American Review, summer 2022e
“Snow Queen” (selected for the Kurt Vonnegut Prize) North American Review 2021
“Whistle My Love, and i Will Come” finalist for the Shirley Jackson Prize (2020) Fairy Tale Review Spring 2019
Fellow Faculty
Naomi Yanike
Director of Media Arts | Associate Professor of Media Arts
nyanike@corban.edu(503) 375-7190
