Kirk Wilson

Poet, Fiction Writer

Austin, TX
Texas US
Email: 
kirkwilsonbooks@gmail.com
Website: 
www.KirkWilsonBooks.com

Author's Bio

Kirk Wilson’s books include the story collection OUT OF SEASON, the poetry collection SONGBOX, the poetry chapbook THE EARLY WORD, and UNSOLVED, a nonfiction crime study published in six editions in the US and UK. Kirk’s fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are widely published in literary journals and anthologies, including Conjunctions, Idaho Review, New England Review, Story, and many others. His awards include an NEA Fellowship, the Elixir Press Fiction Award, the Trio House Press Trio Award, Editor’s Awards and other prizes in all three genres, and two Pushcart nominations. Kirk’s website is www.KirkWilsonBooks.com.

Writers Retreats: 
Juniper Summer Writing Institute

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Anthologies:
This Side of the Divide: Stories of the American West (Baobab Press, 2019)
,
The Wordstock 10 (Wordstock Press, 2011)
Book:
Out of Season (Elixir Press, 2023)
Journals:
Conjunctions
,
Idaho Review
,
Meridian
,
Midway Journal
,
New England Review
,
New Guard
,
Story
,
Valparaiso Fiction Review

Poetry

Anthology:
Best Poets of 2018 (Black Mountain Press, 2019)
Book:
SONGBOX (Trio House Press, 2021)
Chapbook:
The Early Word (Burning Deck Press, 1971)
Journals:
Confrontation
,
Eclipse
,
Folly Magazine
,
Mudfish
,
River Teeth
,
Soundings East
,
Southern Indiana Review
,
Crazyhorse
,
Woven Tale Press
Prizes won: 
  • Elixir Press Fiction Award, Elixir Press, 2021
  • Trio Award, Trio House Press, 2020 
  • National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing, 2018
  • Editor's Award in Creative Nonfiction, Florida Review, 2019
  • Finalist, Mudfish Poetry Prize, 2019
  • Finalist, Howling Bird Fiction Prize, 2019
  • Best Poets of 2018, Black Mountain Press
  • Finalist, St. Lawrence Book Award, Black Lawrence Press, 2018
  • Finalist, Elixir Press Award for Fiction, 2018
  • Finalist, Fabulist Fiction Prize, Omnidawn Publishing, 2018
  • Semifinalist, Katherine Anne Porter Prize, 2018
  • Finalist, Crazyhorse Nonfiction Prize, 2017
  • Finalist, Jessie Bryce Niles Chapbook Contest, 2017
  • New Millennium Award for Nonfiction, 2016
  • Pushcart Prize nomination for memoir/essay, 2013
  • Finalist, Wordstock Short Fiction Competition, 2011.
  • Finalist, Machigonne Award for Fiction, 2011
  • Byliners Award, Best Nonfiction Book, 1990
  • Georgia B. Lucas Poetry Award, 1967
  • Pushcart Prize nomination for poetry, 2020
  • Shortlisted for First Pages Prize, 2023

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Karen Russell, Joy Williams, Hannah Tinti, Kazuo Ishiguro, W.G. Sebald, John Berger, John Banville, Olga Tokarczuk
What I'm reading now: 
The Changeling by Joy Williams , The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare , American Pastoral by Philip Roth , Quichotte by Salman Rushdie

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
White
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Beeville, TX
Texas
Raised in: 
Austin, TX
Texas
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Aug 25, 2023