Category Archives: Uncategorized

My new story about Mr. Ed, “Of Course, Of Course,” is now available to read online as part of the March 2015 issue of Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine.

My story “Fred W. Loring and His Mule, ‘Evil Merodach,’ 48 Hours Before Death,” which chronicles the short but illustrious life of obscure 19th century Bostonian poet Frederick Wadsworth Loring (depicted below), has been selected as the winner of the 2014 Midwest Short Fiction Prize, held annually by The Laurel Review.

The man and mule of the hour.

The prize includes publication in the upcoming issue of The Laurel Review (early 2015), an invited reading at Northwest Missouri State University sometime this spring, and a $500 honorarium.

I think Loring (and Evil Merodach) would be proud.

I’m pleased to announce that along with the incredible Monica Hand, I’ll be reading at Columbia, Missouri’s own Yellow Dog Bookshop at 7:30 p.m. on October 14, 2014 as part of THE NEXT WEATHER reading series.

If you’re reading this, you already know about me, so here’s what you need to know about Monica:

Monica A. Hand is a poet and book artist currently living in Columbia, MO, where she is pursuing her doctorate in poetry at the University of Missouri. Her poems have appeared in Black Renaissance Noir, Drunken Boat, African-American Poetry for the 21st Century, Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem’s First Decade, and elsewhere. She earned a combined MFA from The Drew University MFA Program in Poetry and Translation and is a founding member of Poets for Ayiti. Her book of poems about/to Nina Simone, Me and Nina, was published by Alice James Books in 2012.

Hope to see you there.

I just received the wonderful news that “Stock Footage,” my short story about Missouri cowgirl Lucille Mulhall, was a finalist for The Chariton Review Short Fiction Prize, judged by David Marshall Chan.

As a finalist, “Stock Footage” will appear in the spring 2014 issue of The Chariton Review, along with the other honorees.

Thank you to the kind people at The Chariton Review, and to Miss Mulhall, of course…!

Lucille Mulhall shows us how it’s done.

I just received word that the good people at The Indiana Review have nominated “Two On A Horse”  (read an excerpt here!) for a Pushcart Prize. This is the second time I’ve been nominated, and the second year in a row. Fingers crossed!

“Granddad Swam,” also known as “the story about the homemade swimming pool,” earned an honorable mention in Glimmer Train Stories‘ August 2013 Short Story Award for New Writers contest. This means, they tell me, that it was among the top 5% of more than a thousand entries: close, but no cigar.

That’s okay, though, because Oyez Review is going to publish “Granddad Swam” in their Spring 2014 issue, anyway.

I was recently asked a slew of sharp questions about “Two On A Horse” by Belle Kim at The Indiana Review, which published the story this past spring. The article is two pages long, with the actual interview on the second page.

The first page just makes me blush.

Click here to read some good questions, and some answers…

“The Mammoth Horse Waits” is in the cream city review‘s special “Labor Issue,” out in print now, and available by e-mailing info@creamcityreview.org

The first section of “Two On A Horse” is online at the Indiana Review, with the rest of it out in their next print issue, hitting the mail on Monday.

Buy some copies, won’t you?

I’ll be reading in Room 215 of Tate Hall at the University of Missouri on April 22nd at 7 p.m. The reading is part of a special series honoring creative writing students who are graduating this spring, this summer, or during the early fall, which is when I plan to defend.

But wait, there’s more!

Stephanie Kartalopoulos will bring the poetry, Sarah Neuroth will bring some prose, and I’ll bring a new story that’s never been read before. The English Department will bring snacks and wine, you bring your best “I’m listening to a reading” face, and we’ll put on a show in the barn.

Hope to see you there…

I’ll be reading some new stories about the Coney Island Steeplechase and the Midwest Utilitor at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29th at Columbia, Missouri’s own Orr Street Studios.

There will be poetry, too, from Elizabeth Hatmaker, whose work has appeared in ACM, Epoch, Language and Learning Across the Disciplines, Social Epistemology, Bird Dog, L’Bourgeoizine, MiPOesias, Mandorla, Mirage #4/Period(ical), Mississippi Review and in the anthology Life as We Show It: Writing on Film (City Lights 2009).  She teaches creative writing and cultural studies at Illinois State University.

All I know is, the last time I read at Orr Street Studios, I got a “woooooo!” from someone in the audience. So it’s a pretty chill place to hear a reading.

Hope to see you there.