Panelist on Literary Community at Interabang Books!

It was such an amazing turnout at Interabang Books on Tuesday night for the panel on Building and Finding Literary Community. I was honored to be part of this amazing night. Thank you to The Writers' League of Texas for putting on this great event and inviting me to be on a panel featuring other Dallas-based authors Kathleen Kent, Tex Thompson, and Melissa Lenhardt.

If it weren't for the literary community I wouldn't be the writer I am today. I have my time at Brookhaven Junior College and an MFA from UC-Irvine to thank for the kind of writer I am today. For many writers, finding a community is an essential step that leads them to take their work and craft more seriously. It's time you found your writing community. If you're looking for an excellent creative writing workshop in Dallas, check out Writing Workshops Dallas. I hope you’ll take your next step with WWD and enroll in one of our many creative writing courses, available on the Classes page.

ALOUD Reading Series: Writing Our Future

Along with Eugenie Montague, my friend and classmate at UC-Irvine, I had the honor of reading at the ALOUD reading series at The Library Foundation of Los Angeles on April 17th. We read with students from CalArts, Otis College, UC Riverside, and USC. It was an amazing night in the beautiful Mark Taper Auditorium at the Central Library in downtown L.A, and it was an evening I won't soon forget.


There is a podcast from the reading, which you can listen to here. If you don't have time to listen to the whole program (which I recommend), but are curious about what I read, you can fast forward to the 16:00 minute mark. I read from the first six pages of the novel I'm working on.

I'd like to thank Louise Steinman for having us at the ALOUD series. And special thanks to Michelle Latiolais, Ron Carlson, my friends in the UC-Irvine MFA Program, and The Library Foundation of Los Angeles!

Okay, thanks for listening!

Fall is for Forthcoming Fiction

As I pound away on my comedic novel (think the Coen brother's movie Fargo meets Patrick deWitt's novel The Sisters Brothers), which will be my MFA thesis at UC-Irvine, I'm happy to report I have some new short fiction forthcoming in some pretty cool places in the next few months:

"And Finally the Tragedy" in Tin House this October.

"The Boxer and The Bear" anthologized in Surreal South '13 this October.

"Dale Deveraux Comes to QVC" in NOÖ Journal this October.

I'm eager to share these stories with you! I'll let you know when they're published. More soon (hopefully)!

Reading at Skylight Books in L.A. on 5/18

As part of the MFA Reading Series at UC-Irvine I'll be reading at Skylight Books in Los Angeles this Saturday (5/18) at 5pm. The reading will also feature the work of my friends, poets Josh Cornwell and Meagan Cooney, and fiction writer Justin Lee.

Skylight Books is a beautiful independent bookstore in the Los Feliz neighborhood that features readings from established literary luminaries and up-and-comers. It's one of the hubs of the L.A. lit scene, and I'm thrilled to be reading there with my peers. Thanks to Skylight Books for hosting the reading! More information here.