Wow, I’ve just looked at Thomas Atkinson’s resume. Geez…. This may take a while!Okay, first of all, Thomas, who likes to be referred to as Thom, lives in southern Ohio with one wife and two sons.
Now, this is the time when I usually dig around and write a short bio. However, Thom was super cool and sent me a bunch of information on himself. So, rather than pick the bones out of it, I thought I’d just print it.
Over to you, Thom! (I’m sure he’d reply with a thank you.)
“About me: I’m an author and playwright of what has been described as “hillbilly gothic.”
I recently completed collection of short stories: The title story Standing Deadwood appeared in The North American Review, and River’s Edge appeared in The Indiana Review.
The opening story in the collection, Dancing Turtle, took Grand Prize in the inaugural Santa Barbara Writer Conference National Writing Contest and was judged by the author Ron McLarty (The Memory of Running, Traveler, Art in America, and The Dropper). His comments: “A girl damaged at birth, struggling to form words, invites us into an inner life that is both painful and glorious. At the Appalachian Festival she reveals herself with a phrase I will never forget…In this beautiful and evocative story the author reaches into the reader’s heart.”
And on 8th March I was able to announce this: The closing story in the collection, Grimace in the Burnt Black Hills, has just won a major award and has been accepted for publication in The Sun magazine.
My first novel, Strobe Life, is now available for Kindle on Amazon. And, I have also just completed my second novel, Tiki Man.
On the playwriting side of things, I’m the author of seven plays, including Cuttings, Copperheads, Clear Liquor & Coal Black Nights, The Circle of Mystery, Battling the Ghost of Max Schmeling, and D’s Tire Towne. My one-woman show ‘Cuttings’ has had several critically-acclaimed productions, and was a finalist for the 2010 NAAA Double X Play Reading Festival in London. My short play (based on a short story), Dancing Turtle, has just been included in the Culture * Park 10th Annual Short Play Marathon, and has been picked up for a full production at a one act festival this summer in Rhode Island.
I’ve won a bunch of honors and awards for both fiction and drama, including four Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship grants.”
Thanks Thom. I do just want to add that The Sun Magazine has 70,000 subscribers and a circulation of
I don’t know what their total circulation is, but they have 70,000 subscribers and a circulation of much, much more.
Thom has also won an array of honors and awards including Community of Voices Writing Contest, Theatre Conspiracy 9th Annual New Play Contest, Mercantile Library Short Story Competition, Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Grant in Fiction, Nominated for Society of Midland Authors Drama Award, and Post-Corbett Award Finalist in Literature.
Although there’s no award for answering these ten question, Thom broke his winning tradition and answered them anyway.
1. What is your favorite word? Vacuous
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