Nonfiction: Essays & Memoir

“RELEVÉ: TO RISE” — CREATIVE NONFICTION“My ballet teacher’s studio wall featured a black-and-white photograph of her dancing as the prima ballerina for Boston Ballet in the 1960s. Edra Toth was captured in one of her favorite positions, écarté, whic…

RELEVÉ: TO RISE | CREATIVE NONFICTION

“My ballet teacher’s studio wall featured a black-and-white photograph of her dancing as the prima ballerina for Boston Ballet in the 1960s. Edra Toth was captured in one of her favorite positions, écarté, which translates from French as ‘separated’ or ‘thrown apart’ because of the way the dancer’s body seems pulled in two different directions…The fluid lines of her arms and legs glowed white against the black backdrop, and perhaps it was the old camera’s quality, but it was as if she were dancing as a mist, rising up out of the darkness…”

REGENERATION | RUMINATE MAGAZINE

“Two weeks before I started   chemotherapy, I stood in a bathroom  blow drying my long hair, holding the  locks like a lover. Like a wounded lamb,  already bleeding…”

“ON GOING FAST” — LITRO MAGAZINE (EDITOR’S PICK) “It’s easier going fast. Even now, as I write this, I’m on 36 mg of Ritalin, drinking my second coffee of the day. Black with one shot of espresso. Usually I order a cold brew, but Starbucks was all out. When I pointed at the cashier and called him a sinner as a joke, he did not laugh…”

ON GOING FAST | LITRO MAG, EDITOR’S PICK

“It’s easier going fast. Even now, as I write this, I’m on 36 mg of Ritalin, drinking my second coffee of the day. Black with one shot of espresso. Usually I order a cold brew, but Starbucks was all out. When I pointed at the cashier and called him a sinner as a joke, he did not laugh…”

FANTASY | THE SUN
“Maybe I’ll just move down south,” my dad said. “Get a camper, take the dog.”

I raised my eyebrows. “How would that work? Who would take care of you?”

“I’m a grown man, Victoria. I don’t need anyone to take care of me…”

THE PHONE | THE SUN

My iPhone, with its thin black case and cracked screen, commanded my full attention as I swiped through other people’s lives…

“WHAT REMAINS” — RUMINATE MAGAZINE’S READERS’ NOTES“It was hard to breathe through my mask when I first saw it: rose-gold rays of the sunset stroking the floating bits of fractured cow-spine…”

WHAT REMAINS | RUMINATE MAGAZINE

“It was hard to breathe through my mask when I first saw it: rose-gold rays of the sunset stroking the floating bits of fractured cow-spine…”

“TO STOP AND CONSIDER WHAT IT MEANS” — THE WAKING “Someone once told me that when you bite your nails, it means something. It means something bad. That every time you stick your fingers in your mouth, you’re not just enjoying the chewiness of your f…

TO STOP AND CONSIDER WHAT IT MEANS | THE WAKING

“Someone once told me that when you bite your nails, it means something. It means something bad. That every time you stick your fingers in your mouth, you’re not just enjoying the chewiness of your flesh, the clean peel of the skin, the crisp cut of your nail that clicks down with your teeth. No—you’re anxious. They said it’s something worth thinking about…”

“BOTTLES” — THE RUMPUS“Shawn held the can of starter-fluid to the bottom of a glass jar and pushed the spout down, the spray pooling and foaming. I had never seen him so precise. Dedicated. He wore safety goggles from his mom’s woodshop—drills and wires hanging behind him on the wall of the one-car garage…” ART BY: DAVID DODD LEE

BOTTLES | THE RUMPUS

“Shawn held the can of starter-fluid to the bottom of a glass jar and pushed the spout down, the spray pooling and foaming. I had never seen him so precise. Dedicated. He wore safety goggles from his mom’s woodshop—drills and wires hanging behind him on the wall of the one-car garage…”

collage work by: DAVID DODD LEE

“THE GREATEST OF FEARS” — THE ATTICUS REVIEW“If you were to ask me what I fear most, I would tell you sharks. The smoothest beast of the sea with its gray back and white belly, jagged jawline and bloody teeth popping out of pink gums…”

THE GREATEST OF FEARS | ATTICUS REVIEW

“If you were to ask me what I fear most, I would tell you sharks. The smoothest beast of the sea with its gray back and white belly, jagged jawline and bloody teeth popping out of pink gums…”

“BONES” —WHITEFISH REVIEW “‘You have a long journey ahead of you, if you want to take it,’ Ruth said…In her sixties now, she’s still long, slender, beautiful. Her hair cascades in red down her back and shines amber in the sun. Her round eyes wrinkle…

BONES | WHITEFISH REVIEW

“‘You have a long journey ahead of you, if you want to take it,’ Ruth said…In her sixties now, she’s still long, slender, beautiful. Her hair cascades in red down her back and shines amber in the sun. Her round eyes wrinkle with hope…”

“I HAVE A QUESTION” — BENDING GENRES JOURNAL “Where were you when I prayed on the way to school? That day. Every day after that day. Were you making copies for our first fifth grade lesson that morning? Were you feeding the machine, your manicured nails tapping at the buttons? Double-sided. Black ink. Fifteen copies…”

I HAVE A QUESTION | BENDING GENRES

“Where were you when I prayed on the way to school? That day. Every day after that day. Were you making copies for our first fifth grade lesson that morning? Were you feeding the machine, your manicured nails tapping at the buttons? Double-sided. Black ink. Fifteen copies…”

  • "BONES" - WHITEFISH REVIEW | ISSUE #24 | Winter 2020

Awarded & Shortlisted Works

  • MEMOIR / ESSAYS

    • “What happened: a montage”

      • Third Place Finalist: The Masters Review 2022 Chapbook Open Contest

      • Semifinalist: CRAFT’s 2022 CRAFT Creative Nonfiction Award

      • Semifinalist: DIAGRAM’s 2024 Chapbook Contest

    • “Choosing to see”

      • Semifinalist: Ruminate - The Waking Flash Prose Prize - 2021

    • “BURNING BOOKS”

      • Finalist: River Teeth’s Beautiful Things - 2021

    • “CLAM SHACK”

      • Semifinalist: Cagibi’s 2020 Macaron prize

      • Semifinalist: Pacifica Literary Review’s 2019 Creative Nonfiction Contest

      • Semifinalist: Ruminate Magazine’s 2018 VanderMey Nonfiction Prize

      • Semifinalist: River Teeth Journal - 2018

    • “BOTTLES”

      • Semifinalist: Winning Writers 2021 Fiction & Essay Contest

      • Finalist: River Teeth Journal - 2018

      • Finalist: Creative Nonfiction’s 2018 ‘Intoxication’ Issue & Contest

    • “HAMMERED”

      • Semifinalist: River Teeth Journal - 2017

    • “SPEED”

      • Winner: The University of New Hampshire’s 2017 Nonfiction Prize Gift

  • FICTION / SHORT STORY

    • “LET ME SEE YOUR BONES”

      • Quarterfinalist: Ruminate Magazine’s 2021 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize

    • “HOME OF THE WOLVES”

      • Semifinalist: Ruminate Magazine’s 2020 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize