On November 18, 2011, Joanna Nordine, defended her thesis titled The Doors of Possibility: Stories From Days After Tomorrow, a selection from short story collection Las puertas de los posible: cuentos de pasado mañana by José María Merino.
The Thesis Committee, formed by Rosalina Rivera, M.A., M. Charlotte Ward, Ph.D., and thesis advisor David Auerbach, Ph.D., awarded her thesis the grade sobresaliente.