Fall writing courses at GrubStreet
September 5, 2014 § 1 Comment
Hey everyone, I’m pleased to announce a new series of day-long workshops on the writing craft that I’ll be conducting at Grub Street in Boston. If you’re not familiar with this organization and you live anywhere in a 100 mile radius, you really ought to check it out. My experiences with Grub Street have been overwhelmingly positive. It’s a magnet for blazingly creative people following all kinds of interesting paths in writing, and their classes are top-notch in terms of providing inspiration and the ongoing work every writer must do in honing the craft.
Click on the titles to read full descriptions and logistical info. I’d love to see you in Boston!
September 26, 2014: Opening the Historical Novel
October 31, 2014 (Halloween!): Harnessing the Dark Side: Suspense, Resonance, and the Archetypal Shadow in Fiction
November 1, 2014: Reaching for the Sublime: Image Systems in Fiction
December 5, 2014: Cracking your Sentences Wide Open
“Tower Eight” wins Grand Prize in Outrider Press anthology
May 22, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Tower Eight” is one of my favorite short stories, first published in Gulf Coast way back in 2005. So I was very pleased to hear that an extended excerpt of that story will be appearing in Outrider Press’s forthcoming anthology, The Mountain. Even happier to learn that “Tower Eight” has been selected as the anthology’s Grand Prize winner, which comes with a nice cash award.
Since 1996, Outrider has produced the renowned “Black and White” anthology series, so named because of their unique signature covers, each different but all designed solely in black and white. For now, you can pre-order the anthology by emailing outriderpress@sbcglobal.net. I’ll post a notice when the book comes out about other buying options.
New interview up at The Grub Daily
May 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
This has actually been up for awhile but i just found it (it was done in the lead-up to Grub Street’s exhilarating Muse and the Marketplace conference). Some thoughts on good books, strange places, favorite bookstores, and more. Read the full interview here.
Short fiction collection a finalist for the New Rivers Press Many Voices Project
April 24, 2014 § Leave a comment
I actually got a call about this a few days ago, but I didn’t want to post it here until it was “official,” i.e., until the public announcement had been made. Anyway, now that is is official, I am honored to report that my short fiction collection, provisionally titled Crime and Fly Fishing, has been selected as one of ten finalists for this year’s Many Voices Project prize! New Rivers Press is a wonderful Minnesota-based organization whose mission, in part is to “publish and promote enduring contemporary literature.” The Many Voices Project (MVP) is an annual competition the press has run since 1981 for “new and emerging” writers, meaning writers that have not published more than two books of creative writing. MVP is the oldest competition of its kind and has a prestigious reputation, and I couldn’t be more excited to be among the finalists. Please keep your fingers crossed!
Story Wins Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards
December 19, 2013 § Leave a comment
Just found out a story of mine won the 2013 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards! Crime category, if you can believe it. Very pleased, and I didn’t even have to commit a crime. Though I did write about one . . .
The story is titled “The Afternoon Client.” It will appear in January at Sixfold, and again in May/June at Writers Digest on-line. I’ll post the links once they’re up.
Dublin bound, and Inishbofin!
July 4, 2013 § Leave a comment
Very much looking forward to joining a group of talented young writers in Dublin, Ireland, from July 5 – 12. I’ll be giving a talk on the Jungian Shadow in fiction (see this post for a preview), and we’ll all be heading off to the small island of Inishbofin near Galway. There we’ll have a chance to share our work, create some new work, explore the stark Irish landscapes with journals in hand, and no doubt participate in many lively discussions about life, love, and the writing craft. Sláinte mhaith!
Lightship Short Fiction anthology out
December 1, 2012 § 1 Comment
British publishing house Alma Books has just released the anthology showcasing the winners of the 2012 Lightship International Literary Prize.
My short story “The Money Pill,” set in Santiago, Cuba, and featuring a hapless protagonist with whom I have very little in common (truly!), appears in the anthology, which I encourage you to purchase by clicking here . . .
Shortlisted for the Lightship International Short Story Prize
September 10, 2012 § 2 Comments
Very pleased to announce that my as-yet unpublished story, “The Money Pill,” has been shortlisted for Lightship Publishing’s International Short Story Prize 2012! Please keep your fingers crossed.
Regardless of whether the story wins, it will appear in a new anthology published in the UK by Alma Books, and I’ve been invited to read at an awards ceremony in Kingston-upon-Hull this November.




