Tag: acceptance

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New Nonfiction coming in New England Review and an interview

My latest bit of nonfiction will be appearing in the upcoming winter issue of New England Review. It is an excerpt from my memoir that involves GI Joes, my parents’ divorce, and my father’s failing health. More than anything, in my mind, it is a letter of appreciation to my brother, Rye.

I’ll let you know when it is out. For now, I am in the depths of the quest for representation of this memoir.

In other news, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chelsea Hicks (WahZhaZhe), author of a Calm and Normal Heart, for Boulevard Magazine. We discuss writing while Native, land acknowledgments, language, and The Killers of the Flower Moon, among other things. It should be arriving in the next issue, so be on the lookout for that. It’s a good conversation.

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“Nathan” in Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024

I am humbled and grateful to announce that “Nathan” has been selected by the amazing Bill McKibben to appear in the next volume of Best American Science and Nature Writing. Appearing in a Best American anthology has been a lifelong dream. The fact that it was this essay, about a person I miss every day who I wish more could have known, and it was selected by a writer whose work I routinely teach in my classes, makes it all the more sweet. The support of Carolyn Wells, Cheri and the rest of the editorial team was invaluable throughout the process. I also want to thank the series editor, Jaime Green, for her support.

To read my essay before it’s in the book, visit Longreads.com.

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New Essay coming in Ruminate’s next issue

I have an essay coming out in the newest issue of Ruminate Magazine. Pre-orders are live and go a long way to supporting this excellent journal. You can find it at Ruminate Issue 63/64 orders. It’s a double issue, so you’re going to get your fill of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry on the theme of Regeneration.

My essay, “In the Petrified Forest”, details a nothing fight my wife and I got into on a roadtrip through the Southwest. I do manage to dive millions of years into the past in the exploration of this totally insignificant and forgettably momentary disagreement.

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New Essay Forthcoming…

Some time ago– perhaps an embarrassing amount– I mentioned I was preparing to move my desk half-way across the country. Well, mission accomplished. The side-effects of this (new job, new environment, new pandemic, etc) didn’t exactly spur my writing efforts.

That said…

I am happy to announce that I have a new essay forthcoming in New Letters literary journal. While the publication date isn’t set in stone yet, the current hope is the September 2020 issue.

This piece consolidates a lot of my thinking since visiting Vietnam with my father. I am still at work on drafting these thoughts and more into a book-length project in collaboration with him. My hope is that it could become a supplement– sequel is the wrong word– to his upcoming memoir (coming in early 2021 if things stay as planned, so be on the lookout).

Hope you are all hanging in there. Be well. Do good.

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Iceland Writers Retreat

In what I wish was the beginning of a joke, I ate so hard during the Thanksgiving holiday I may have injured my esophagus. Probably a gift from my trip to Vietnam, where one of my anti-malarial pills got stuck in my throat as I went to bed. Suffice to say, I was in quite a bit of discomfort and in the market for some good news when, lo and behold, I was contacted by the Iceland Writers Retreat.

I’m happy to share that I’ve been selected to receive one of five Alumni Awards to attend this workshop. My fellow award winners look to be doing meaningful work, and I am very excited for this opportunity. As a side note, I was a finalist for this award last year, so I recommend that anyone interested in this experience to persevere and keep applying.

For more information, you can find IWR’s release here and see just a few of the amazing people I’ll have the pleasure of meeting this coming April.

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“No Machine” to appear in Electric Literature

I just got done signing the contract for a flash fiction piece that will be appearing in Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading this fall. Early indications suggest that it’ll appear in vol. 33 in October. One could bet their butt that I will announce it and link directly to the story once it’s out in the world.

The story draws heavily from my time working with captive apes and is another in a long line of attempts where I try to use fiction to capture elements of the personhood of nonhuman beings (apes here) that I couldn’t doing science. I demoed this story in February, opening for George Saunders for a reading here in Tulsa (mentioned in this post).

If anyone is interested in seeing what kinds of work EL’s Recommended Reading publishes, check out the fantastic, little post-apocalyptic flash piece, told in a single sentence, by my fellow TAFwriter, Simon Han, “How to Eat Well at the End of the World.”

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Acceptance Letter (Specifics TBA)

I’m happy to announce that another of my essays has been accepted for publication. Until I have all the details finalized, I can’t give you true specifics. I am proud of this one.

MaynardThe piece, like “Worry,” was very personal and very easy to write. I wrote it to process and in some ways escape the death of my dog (the handsome fella to the right). It just flowed out. After it was done, I was reminded of the sheer biological necessity of my writing. This catharsis was vital. I knew I’d done it right when, after the rush of writing and editing and submitting, I felt scooped out and empty. I’d been excavated. For several days, I lay on the couch and could do nothing. It hurt and was numb and felt good all at once.

I’m so thankful that I’ll be able to share it with you soon. Maynard touched my life very deeply, and I hope this piece manages to extend his reach even more.