Short Stories

Strivers and Other Stories” was the recent winner of the Washington Writers’ Publishing House fiction prize.  The collection will be published by the press in November 2016.

Strivers-Cover-07012016Set primarily in the American South between the 1920s and the present day, STRIVERS AND OTHER STORIES explores a range of African-American and other voices reflecting characters striving towards their versions of the American dream.   In 15 stories, we meet teachers and doctors, train porters and factory workers, soldiers and musicians; mothers, fathers, children and spouses; mentors and mentees. With a mix of humor and heart, satire and sentiment, this collection captures their everyday struggles for better lives and their hopes for promising futures.

Among the stories included in the collection:


Strivers
A Pullman Porter’s daughter ready’s herself for a debutant ball, alienating the bond she has with her father.

Setting:  1950s, Augusta, GA
Length: About 4,700 words

2nd Place, Short Fiction
2003 Sandhills Writers Conference, Augusta University


The Benefactress
A principal of a  high school in the South makes an annual appeal to his school’s benefactress and faces compromising his ideals to keep the funds coming.

Setting:  1920s, New York City and Long Island
Length: About 3,140 words

Honorable Mention in Adult Fiction
18h Annual Larry Neal Writers’ Awards, Washington, DC
D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities


Assisted Living
As punishment, a teenaged girl is forced to take the task of visiting her principal’s elderly mother, who lives in an assisted living facility.  The girl forms a quiet bond with the woman and in the process, learns a bit about herself.

Setting: Modern day, a Southern city
Length: About 3,050 words

2nd Place in Adult Fiction
29th Annual Larry Neal Writers’ Awards, Washington, DC
D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities


Lester is Late
A cancer diagnosis and a delayed card game brings about thoughts of mortality and an appreciate of life.

Setting: 1980s, a Southern city
Length: About 2,960 words

1st Place in Adult Fiction
19th Annual Larry Neal Writers’ Awards, Washington, DC
D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities


Just Desserts
After robbing a drunk suitor she met at a bar, Sarah manages to find her way back home and decides that bad things happen to those who deserve it.

Setting: Modern day, rural Georgia and Atlanta
Length: About 3,491 words


Some Get Back
Two bakery workers get revenge against an ornery boss.

Setting: 1930s, a Southern city
Length: About 3,415 words


Collier Road
A father seeks a better neighborhood for his young daughters.

Setting: 1970s, a Southern city
Length: About 3,500 words