Lyzette Wanzer

Poet, Fiction Writer, Creative Nonfiction Writer

San Francisco, CA
California US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

 

Lyzette Wanzer is a San Francisco writer, editor, and writing workshop instructor. She received her MFA in Fiction from Mills College. A flash fiction connoisseur and essay aficionado, her work has appeared in Natural Bridge, The Los Angeles Review, Callaloo, Tampa Review, The MacGuffin, Ampersand Review, Journal of Advanced Development, Fourteen Hills, Journal of Experimental Fiction, Pleiades, Flashquake, Glossalia Flash Fiction, Potomac Review, International Journal on Literature and Theory, Fringe Magazine, and many others. She is a contributor to The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie), Civil Liberties United: Diverse Voices from the San Francisco Bay Area (Pease Press), and 642 Tiny Things to Write About (Chronicle Books). Her articles have appeared in Essay Daily, The Naked Truth, and the San Francisco University High School Journal. Lyzette is the current judge of the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition’s Intercultural Essay category.

 Lyzette has been invited to present her work and/or panels at conferences across the country, including the American and Popular Culture Association, Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), College English Association (CEA), Louisville Conference on Literature & Culture Since 1900, Litquake Festival, San Francisco Writers Conference, and others.

Lyzette is a member of the National Writers’ Union, where she serves on the Northern California Chapter's Steering Committee, The Authors Guild, and The Writers' Grotto nonprofit organization. She has also served on the Grotto's fellowship adjudication panel. Lyzette has been awarded writing residencies at Blue Mountain Center (NY), Kimmel Harding Center for the Arts (NE), Playa Summer Lake (OR), Horned Dorset Colony (NY), Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow (AR), Headlands Center for the Arts (CA), and The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada. She is the recipient of an Investing in Artists grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation, two Individual Artist Commission grants from San Francisco Arts Commission, and two Professional Development Grants from the Creative Capacity Fund. Her newest project is an essay anthology called Trauma, Tresses, & Truth: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narrative. She is also working on Professionalize Your Creative Writing Practice: Building A Career As A Literary Artist, a professional development workbook for creative writers.

    

Publications & Prizes

Creative Nonfiction

Anthologies:
642 Tiny Things to Write About (Chronicle Books, 2015)
,
The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, 2012)
Journals:
Ampersand Review
,
Boulevard
, , , ,
Maryland Literary Review
, ,

Fiction

Anthologies:
Aesthetica (Aesthetica Magazine Ltd., 2010)
,
Gender On Our Minds (Khoi Nguyen, 2008)
Journals:
Apalachee Review
, ,
Callaloo
, ,
flashquake
,
Glossolalia
,
Illumen
,
Iris
,
Journal of Experimental Fiction
, , , ,
Potomac Review
,
Specs Magazine
, ,
West Wind Review
,

Poetry

Journals:
Ascent Aspirations
,
Prizes won: 

 

GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

•  Individual Artist Commission, San Francisco Arts Commission    July 2019-June 2020

•  PEN America                         April 2019

•  Center for Cultural Innovation Quick Grant   March 2019  

•  The Authors’ League                     January 2019

•  Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity           July 2017-Sept 2017

•  Individual Artist Commission, San Francisco Arts Commission     July 2017-Sept 2018

•  Virginia Center for Creative Arts     April 2015

•  Horned Dorset Colony Foundation       July 2014

•  Individual Artist Commission, San Francisco Arts Commission    May 2013-June 2014

•  Investing in Artists Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation     September 2012

•  Creative Capacity Fund   March 2012, 2013

AWARDS

Kay Snow Elizabeth Lyon Award for Nonfiction August 2016

Portland, OR

 • National League of American Pen Women March 2009 – 2011, 2013, 2016-2018

San Francisco, CA

Finalist and Honorable Mention, Press 53 Open Awards           October 2011

Winston-Salem, NC    

Poets 11 Citywide Competition     May 2010

San Francisco, CA    

 

 

  •  Creative Capacity Fund                                                                                                                               March 2012, 2013

Personal Favorites

What I'm reading now: 
The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Child Cases: How America's Religious Exemption Laws Harm Children by Alan Rogers

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
African American
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Illness/Wellness
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
New York, NY
New York
Raised in: 
NY
New York
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Aug 12, 2020