I’m thrilled to have my debut novel, Atalanta, coming out with TriQuarterly Press (an imprint of Northwestern University Press) in the winter of 2025. Unfolding during the moody Pacific Northwest winter of 1951, Atalanta follows Bernadette Baston, scholar of child development and language acquisition, as she travels to a remote island penitentiary to consult on a curious case: Two guards have discovered an adolescent girl living—and surviving—alone in the cold woods. The guards—indeed, all of her captors—describe the girl as animal-like. She came out of nowhere, they say, suddenly, growling and wild-eyed. But why? And who is the girl? Has she run away or been left to her fate? And how long has she been on the island? There are few answers—but many people who know more than they are disclosing. According to the official reports, the girl doesn’t speak. Whom does her silence protect? The prison warden, court-appointed guardian, and police detective embroil Bernadette in resolving a secret that this island community has long held, and her investment in the girl’s case soon becomes less scholarly than personal. As a mother, a wife, and a woman bound by the mid-20th century expectations for women, Bernadette strategizes to retain the fragile control she has over her own freedom, identity, and future, which becomes inextricably tied to solving Atalanta’s case. More news on the novel soon!
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I have a new story— “Outer Stars”—forthcoming in this summer’s issue of the journal Prairie Schooner. Please check out your local bookseller for a copy or, better yet, subscribe to this fantastic journal: Prairie Schooner subscriptions.
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I also have new classes open in the summer 2023 Hugo House catalogue. Check out their summer offerings for my four-week, one-day, and two-month courses in fiction writing.
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This summer I’ll be teaching a virtual class through Hugo House titled “Writing Characters of Depth (When Change Is Not An Option)”. Here’s a link to Hugo’s catalog for more information: Hugo House Catalog.
I’m also looking forward to another year-long advanced workshop in fiction through Hugo House beginning in September, 2022 (also virtual!), so please check back for more information on registration soon.
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As I look ahead to 2022, I’m grateful for the opportunities and creative productivity of 2021. In July, I was lucky to attend the TinHouse workshops, which were generative and inspiring. I also spent most of the year working on a novel (titled Atalanta), which is now complete (!) and looking for a publisher. I also continued to write short stories and am well on the way to the full draft of my next collection, whose working title is Outer Stars. Finally, I taught workshops with both Antioch LA’s MFA Program and Seattle’s Hugo House, meeting several new writers and spending many happy hours talking fiction. Here’s a toast to a productive year of reading and writing, and a wish for more of the same ahead.
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I couldn't be happier about my story "Eclipse" appearing in the newest issue of McSweeney's. I'll be doing virtual readings from this story on McSweeney's Instagram feed on Friday 9/25/20 at 6 p.m. PST, and check back soon for details on readings in early December with my fellow Seattle fiction writers Kristen Millares Young, Anastacia-Renee, Jean Ferruzola, Peter Mountford, and Ramon Isao.
Follow the link below to purchase copies of McSweeney's Issue 61--a beauty of a collection.
https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/mcsweeney-s-issue-61?taxon_id=1
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It’s been a great summer! I have new fiction in Michigan Quarterly Review’s summer 2019 issue, CALYX Journal’s most recent issue as well (read the full story online here).
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I had the privilege of being in conversation with Hugo House Prose-Writer-in- Residence and debut novelist Kristen Millares Young for The Millions. Read our discussion of everything from politics to motherhood here.
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I’ll be reading with Gail Folkins and Shin Yu Pai on September 22, 2019 at 2 p.m. at the Black Dog Arts Cafe in Snoqualmie. Join us there!
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Book launch day is fast approaching! In the meantime, here’s a Q&A from the lovely folks at UGA Press.
Friends, it’s almost book launch time! Here are a few events coming up in the next couple of months:
October 11th, I’ll read with the This is the Place authors at Seattle’s Lit Crawl.
October 19th is the launch reading for What We Do With the Wreckage! Join me to celebrate my new collection at Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, starting at 6 p.m.
November 17th, from noon-1 p.m. I’ll be at my beloved hometown bookstore, the Edmonds Bookshop, with the new collection.
I’ll update this space with any additional events as they’re planned.
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I have a new article on perseverance and reinvention at mid-career out in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers. Find it here.
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"When I teach, I tell my students this: We write in community. What I mean by this is that writing is an act of connection, a communion. When I write, I’m holding out my hand to the world and its beauties, its heartbreaks and mysteries, its crowds of other imperfect and complex people. And, of course, I’m also forging a connection with my reader — who (I hope!) will see my words and think, Yes! It’s not just me! I’m not alone after all. We’re in this together. I may be alone when I actually put words onto the page, but the great majority of a writing life is about community, not solitude." Up at Hugo House's "Keep Writing" blog now: more of my thoughts on how the idea of writing as a purely solitary endeavor is a myth, and why we really need communities of writers.
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Save the date for the June 9th, 2018 Write Our Democracy/Hugo House "Teach-In," featuring mini-classes led by Seattle writers Anastacia-Renée, Kristen Millares Young, Wendy Call, and Seattle Escribe's Dalia Maxum. The "Teach-In" will be followed by readings from these stellar Seattle voices. And--as always--this Write Our Democracy event is free and open to all.
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Check out Kirsten's article on her residency at The Mineral School in the March/April 2018 issue of Poets & Writers!