Californium, R. Dean Johnson, Penguin Publishing – R. Dean Johnson was working at an ad agency when he decided to apply for a Master of Fine Arts degree and pursue his love of writing.
Ellen Birkett Morris
Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Beware the Tall Grass, winner of the Donald L. Jordan Award for Literary Excellence, judged by Lan Samantha Chang, published by CSU Press. She is also the author of Lost Girls: Short Stories, winner of the Pencraft Award and finalist for the Clara Johnson, IAN and Best Book awards. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Notre Dame Review, and South Carolina Review, among other journals. She is a winner of the Bevel Summers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of an Al Smith Fellowship for her fiction from the Kentucky Arts Council.
Morris is also the author of Abide and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in The Clackamas Literary Review, Juked, Gastronomica, and Inscape, among other journals, and in eight anthologies. Morris won top prize in the 2008 Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition and was a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 Rita Dove Poetry Prize. Her poem “Abide” was featured on NPR’s A Way with Words. Her essays have appeared in Newsweek, AARP’s The Ethel, Oh Reader magazine, and on National Public Radio.
Morris holds an MFA in creative writing from Queens University-Charlotte.
https://www.ellenbirkettmorris.com/
Scheibe Puts Characters in a Mess and Watches What Happens
A Fireproof Home for the Bride, Amy Scheibe, St Martins Press – The plot is elaborate, involving a rich family history, compelling subplots and competing motivations.
Looking for Meaning in THE MARBLE ARMY
The Marble Army, Gisele Firmino – In her novel, THE MARBLE ARMY, Gisele Firmino explores the impact of war and political oppression on the Fonte family of Brazil.
Late One Night Draws on Martin’s Rural Roots
Late One Night, Lee Martin, – In his latest book, Late One Night, Lee Martin explores the aftermath of a trailer fire, which kills a mother and three children, on a small community.
Found Stories Yield Compelling Fiction
After the Parade, Lori Ostlund – Lori Ostlund’s novel After the Parade started as many novels do, with an overheard story. She heard about a woman whose father died falling off a parade float.
Patience, Persistence Yield The Stargazer’s Sister
The Stargazer’s Sister, Carrie Brown–Eighteen years ago, Carrie Brown was in the car driving her kids to school when she heard an intriguing snippet on the radio about Caroline Herschel, the first female astronomer to discover a comet, and her brother William, a noted astronomer and composer.
Perabo on the Power of What If
Why They Run The Way They Do, Susan Perabo, Simon & Schuster – Susan Perabo didn’t spend her childhood reading like many other writers. She was outside playing ball. She was a college film major before she discovered the power of story by writing plays.
The Muralist Blends Art and History in a Compelling Tale
The Muralist, B.A. Shapiro – B.A. Shapiro is no stranger to blending genres. Her latest, The Muralist, which alternates between modern day and the Depression era is part historical novel, part romance and part mystery.
Author Applies Visual Skills to the Creation of Novel
All We Had, Annie Weatherwax–At first glance, Annie Weatherwax, author of All We Had, seems like an unlikely prospect to be a writer. As a successful sculptor, she sculpted superheroes and cartoon characters for Nickelodeon, DC Comics . . .
Swanson Weaves Compelling Tale of Alternate Lives
The Bookseller, Cynthia Swanson, Harper Collins–As Cynthia Swanson’s novel The Bookseller begins we are with Kitty Miller, a thirty-eight-year-old single bookseller, when she wakes up in a bed that is not her own and discovers an alternate life in which she is a married mother of three children.
