His most recent collection, “The World Doesn’t Require You,” was listed as one of 50 Notable Works of Fiction 2019 in The Washington Post. First he imagined a fictional town of Cross River, MD founded by rebel slaves. With his second book, he is exploring the lives there and their unrelentingly real struggles; hard, humane stories that are free of grandstanding yet full of grace that loom long in the mind after reading.
His work has been published in places such as The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, Crab Orchard Review, Best Small Fictions 2020 and The Rumpus, among others. His story, “Shape-ups at Delilah’s” was published in Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020. He was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland and earned an MFA from George Mason University where he won the Mary Roberts Rinehart award, a Completion Fellowship and an Alumni Exemplar Award. He has received fellowships from Bread Loaf Writing Conference, Kimbilio and the Colgate Writing Conference as well as a 2019 Maryland Individual Artist Award. Presently he teaches Creative Writing at the University of Maryland.
A zoom account is not required to join, but a microphone is. Most mobile devices have microphones installed. If you're using a desk top, most webcams also have microphones built in. You will need to register for this class in order to get the meeting link.
If you have questions about the program or need help with set up, please email Caroline at cpak@alexlibraryva.org.
