Zoe Briscoe is a writer and advocate from Bethesda, Maryland. In the field of creative writing, she has worked as a professor, creative, and editor. She received her MFA in fiction from New York University in 2024 and has published her writing in literary magazines such as North American Review, under the gum tree, and Glass Mountain. While at NYU she was a Goldwater Fellow, in which she taught poetry to residents of Coler Hospital, as well as a writing tutor for primarily international students. She was also an Adjunct Faculty member during the spring of 2024, designing and teaching her own introductory creative writing course to undergraduates. In her professional career she has also worked at a variety of publishing houses, and most recently worked at the Online Digital Safety team at PEN America—a literary nonprofit that aims to protect writers and journalists from violence.
What drew you to the arts?
My mother! She used to be an architect before I was born, and as I grew up she would always be working on art projects (paintings, sculptures, etc.) all around our house. I first got into the arts to bond with her, and then my interests started to take on a life of their own, from painting to ballet to writing.
What drew you to Arts Administration?
I don’t think I ever would’ve gotten as immersed into the arts had it not been for the programs, exhibitions, and events that I attended as a kid. Going to community art classes or performing in the Nutcracker made for some of my fondest memories in childhood, and as I’ve grown older, I’ve watched some of these spaces grow smaller and less accessible. As such, I’ve felt increasingly passionate about arts administration as a way of expanding and maintaining a diverse artistic community, and I want to contribute in a practical way to help that community thrive!
What is your focus within Arts Administration?
I’m very interested in the areas of arts administration that have to do with planning events, exhibitions, immersive experiences, etc. Conducting market research to figure out what kind of events would resonate with existing audiences and bring in new ones sounds like a dream come true.
How do you incorporate EDIA into your work life?
In my past experiences as an educator and editor, EDIA has always been a necessary and ever-present topic when it comes to writing. I’ve had international students frequently be penalized by professors for their writing conventions in stories and essays, as though they’re “wrong” and not simply a different (and equally valid) mode of writing. From writing to arts administration, I always aim to acknowledge and validate differing perspectives, and as a woman of color myself, try to foster dialogues with experiences of my own.
What do you do in your spare time?
I am a huge fan of Sudoku and the NYT puzzles, and of course, I also read and write quite a lot!
