Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

YpsiWrites Announces Angelica Esquivel as Inaugural Writer in Residence for 2025

YPSILANTI, MI (May 29, 2025) — YpsiWrites is proud to announce Angelica Esquivel as its first-ever Writer in Residence for the 2025–26 programming year. The announcement was made at A Great Day in Ypsi which also unveiled this year’s writing theme: "Telling Our Stories."

Esquivel’s 2025 programming will center around the theme "Writing Together.” As part of her residency, Esquivel will lead a series of writing workshops aimed at bringing together local voices to share their unique stories. Her culminating project will be a community anthology and an art exhibit featuring local artists. She will also receive a $1,000 stipend and funding for a personal creative project. 

Esquive holds a master’s degree in creative writing, teaches composition at Washtenaw Community College, and serves as an editor at Paraselene Magazine. Her creative work spans poetry, fiction, and visual art, including her poetry collection Crying My Best and a fragmented novel exploring Midwestern Latinidad, ancestral trauma, and spiritual syncretism.

The Writer in Residence program marks an exciting new chapter in YpsiWrites’ mission to welcome, empower, and support all writers in the community. YpsiWrites launched the program as a natural evolution of its Writers of Ypsilanti series.

 “Each year, we lift the voices of eight to twelve Writers of Ypsilanti,” said Dr. Ann Blakeslee, co-founder of YpsiWrites and director of EMU’s Office of Campus and Community Writing. “This new residency is a way of honoring one of these writers in a special way—providing them with the resources and opportunities to lead, inspire, and collaborate more deeply with the Ypsi community.”

Kristine Gatchel, Programs and Partnerships Director for YpsiWrites, emphasized the importance of this milestone. “We’ve wanted the opportunity to further uplift a writer in our community and spotlight the work they are doing,” said Gatchel. “We are so excited for Angelica to set the tone for future Writers in Residence.”

For more information on YpsiWrites and upcoming events or workshops, visit ypsiwrites.com.