Author: Chelsea

Ordinary Girls, the debut memoir by Jaquira Díaz, will be published on October 29th by Algonquin Books. I spoke with Díaz for The Rumpus about monsters, the duality of the migrant experience in America, and what it’s like to reject or embrace the label of being an “ordinary girl.” You can read our talk here.

I’m incredibly happy that Cheap Pop published my micro Group this week. This is my second appearance in the journal; my first was “All Three Sixteen,” which you can read here. I love this journal and its editors so much. Please read everything they put out.

Next Saturday I’ll be reading at a StoryStudio event at the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square. If you live in Chicago, please come check it out. There is a Facebook event page here.

I was also contacted this week by Rob Paul, the man behind Read with Audrey, a service that pairs people together to read aloud to each other. Audrey will be featuring my story “A Thousand Butterflies” as part of their reading material, and I’m damn flattered.

My story “Bottle Rocket” will be published in the next issue of Last Exit, so please stay tuned for that. I’ve been a fan of editors Julia Dixon Evans and Ryan Bradford for quite some time now, so I’m thrilled to be associated with them and their magazine.

I just returned from Houston, where I was a panelist for Writefest. It’s a gorgeous city, and I met a ton of talented and friendly writers, editors, and industry folks.

While I was there, a reprint of my story “A Thousand Butterflies” went live over at Flash Fiction Online. You can read the piece here. Big thanks to editor Anna Yeatts and the rest of the staff for giving this piece a second home. I also found out last week that my flash “Hotbox,” published in New World Writing, made the longlist for Wigleaf‘s Top 50 (Very) Short Fictions of 2019. This is the first time one of my stories has made a best of list like this, so I was over the moon when I saw the news.

I feel incredibly grateful to the Writefest organizers, as well as the editors over at Wigleaf, New World Writing, and Flash Fiction Online. Writing can be a quiet, lonely endeavor, full of disappointment and rejection, but then I’m reminded of how much everyone works to lift each other up, and it’s pretty amazing.

Finally, I will be reading with a group of other writers at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square on June 22nd. Stay tuned for more information on that event.

Angie Kim’s debut novel Miracle Creek will be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux on April 16th, and tackles contemporary issues such as disability, immigration, and family with an empathetic and compelling touch. I interviewed Kim for The Rumpus, and now you can read our discussion here.

I’m stoked that my flash piece “Run” is up today in the new issue of gravel. An earlier version of this story received an honorable mention from Glimmer Train during one of their Very Short Fiction contests. You can read “Run” here.

I’m proud to say that a story originally published in my journal Lost Balloon will appear in the Best Microfiction anthology this year. Huge congrats to the talented Anita Goveas. Her winning story, “Let’s Sing All the Swear Words We Know” is a must-read.

I have been getting some good news lately after several months of rejection and quiet.

First, Flash Fiction Online recently accepted my story “A Thousand Butterflies” to appear as a reprint this year. This piece was originally published in last year’s print edition of Passages North, and I’m stoked that it will receive a second life online. I also have an interview with author Angie Kim coming up later this spring in The Rumpus. (Kim’s debut novel Miracle Creek is due to be published in April.) Finally, I’ve been asked to be a panelist at WriteFest in Houston early in the summer. Looking forward to visiting Houston for the first time, and to presenting to the writers there.

I still have a few stories on submission that I’m hoping will be published this year, but so far, 2019 is looking pretty good. I will update with links as things become more concrete.

I’ve known this for a little while now, but was waiting for the official announcement before posting… I was named a runner up in the Gertrude Press fiction chapbook contest for my manuscript GRAB THE SHARPEST BLADE!

I’ve decided to shelve this manuscript, which is sad because it made the finalist list in three different contests. After a full year of submissions, it didn’t make sense to continue sending it out. I’m hoping, however, that one day these stories will appear in a full-length collection instead.

I just returned from a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia. I had my own small cabin where I was able to think, read, and write, and it was absolutely invaluable. I also had the opportunity to meet and commune with some incredible writers and artists. I’m so grateful for the time and space. You can view photos from my time there on my Instagram account.