Two University of Mississippi students have been selected as scholars for the Seaside Writers Conference, coming up this summer in Seaside, Florida.

The two students who will serve as scholars, Maggie Woodward and Gothataone Moeng, are pursuing their Master of Fine Arts. Woodward is the 2016 UM Scholar in Poetry, and Moeng is the 2016 UM Scholar in Fiction. Both students are standouts in their fields, having their work appear in multiple publications.

“We have many talented writers in our MFA program and the Seaside Conference is a wonderful opportunity for students to study with professional writers, to hone their skills and to get a better understanding of what is required to become a successful writer,” said Ivo Camps, chair of the UM Department of English.

The Seaside Writers Conference is a weeklong gathering of writers from across the country. The conference includes workshops, seminars and outreach programs, as well as social events.

Woodward is the senior editor of the Yalobusha Review and also curates Oxford’s Trobac Ric Reading Series. Her work has appeared in publications such as Axolotl Magazine, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, te wu-wei fashion mag, Inferior Planets, Devil’s Lake and The Atlas Review.

Moeng, originally from Serowe, Botswana, was a finalist for the 2015 Driftless Prize in fiction. Her short stories have appeared in several collections, including “Summoning the Rains,” “The Bed Book of Stories” and “Lemon Tea and Other Stories from Botswana.”

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been selected for the conference,” Moeng said. “I am looking forward to working with Rebecca Makkai and the opportunity to interact with professional editors and agents.”