Writing

My short story collection, The Kennerly Stories, has been selected as a semi-finalist for the 2024 Hudson Prize. The Hudson Prize, conducted by Black Lawrence Press, is awarded in two categories, prose and poetry. The ListRead more

I’m grateful to River and South Review – particularly Alexandra Thomas, the managing editor, and H. T. Reynolds and Tasha Saint-Louis, the poetry editors – for publishing my poem, “How to Tell Your Teenage Daughter.” River and South Review is an online journal run by the students of the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA. They publish poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by new, emerging, and seasoned writers. River and South Review is a member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). Read the latest issue…Read more

Many thanks to The Bookends Review for publishing my poem, “Cinders.” Written from the perspective of a character named Joy, “Cinders” is from my work in progress. All the best to everyone who, like Joy, resists patriarchy. The Bookends Review, an independent creative arts journal, publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, essays, book reviews, and visual/musical works from around the world. Jordan Blum founded the journal in 2012 and is the editor-in-chief and the fiction editor. Anannya Uberoi and Katrenia Busch are the poetry editors. Read “Cinders”Read more

My short story collection, Kennerly, Arkansas, has been longlisted for the 2023 Santa Fe Writers Project Award. Santa Fe Writers Project, an independent press founded in 1998 by Andrew Gifford, runs an annual internationally-recognized awards program. The ListRead more

My short story collection, Kennerly, Arkansas, is a semifinalist for the 2021-2022 Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award. The competition is sponsored by Hidden River Arts, a literary, visual, and performing arts organization based in Philadelphia.  Read more

Many thanks to Alex Greenhill for this wonderful introduction to my story, “Halloween Gift,” and to Melissa Scholes Young, American University faculty advisor and editor of Grace and Gravity’s “From the Attic” series, for giving new life to this story. Read the introduction and "Halloween Gift."Read more

My short story--"Nodders"--received an honorable mention in the 2022 Mary Mackey Short Story Prize judged by Gary Turchin. The Mary Mackey Short Story Prize is one of the categories in the annual Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition.  "Some say the world is a vale of tears, I say it is a place of soul-making."  John Keats    Read more

In late September, I experienced a "breakthrough" case of COVID-19. I've included a link to an essay I wrote about my experience. "Breakthrough"Read more

I'm honored that my review of Melissa Scholes Young's novel, The Hive, has been published in Literary Mama. Read the review. Read the November/December 2021 issue of Literary Mama.  Read more

A big thank you to Bethany Wallace for this podcast on the value of encouragement. The Value of Encouragement  Read more