I was excited to get a positive response. The editor at a major publisher said yes to a story idea I’ve been pitching for at least a year. It had been rejected repeatedly for being too weird, too niche, too insider, but I didn’t care. It’s a good pitch, it’s got food and culture and …
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“You can do that? You can put yourself in the story?” “I don’t know any other way to write, not really. It’s what I do. But yeah, it’s your story, write it the way you want.” Through a series of happy accidents I ended up teaching at the Midwest Writer’s Workshop in Muncie, Indiana. I …
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He was a little guy, five years old maybe, and I know his name was Carson because all around, people were calling out “Go Carson!” as he was shaking his butt on the concrete pad that doubled for a dance floor. Carson was wearing a safety orange t-shirt and yellow sound protecting headphones, but he …
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To convert the cargo pod – the penthouse – into a bedroom, you push a button. The lid tilts open like a giant clamshell. In the San Leandro lot, I eyed the ladder and the tent suspiciously, then crab-legged my way up. It was surprisingly comfortable and well ventilated, but the entry and exit scared me. …
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When I was 17, I boarded an airplane for Tel Aviv. I have a vague memory of a group leader, a better memory of my fellow teenaged travelers, and an even better memory still of the night I watched the sky light up along the horizon from the balcony of an Israeli family’s apartment in …
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I’ve always had a soft spot for World Hum, they published my first travel story, after all. I submitted it not knowing I would not get paid — a mistake I’ve only made one time. A year later, maybe two, they sent me a check for that first story — and they’ve run a few …
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