Meredith Sue Willis

Fiction Writer

Orange, NJ
New Jersey US
Email: 
meredithsuewillis@gmail.com
Website: 
www.meredithsuewillis.com
Twitter/X: 
@MSueWillis

Author's Bio

Meredith Sue Willis is a writer and teacher and enthusiastic reader. Born and raised in West Virginia, she is a proud member of the Appalachian Renaissance with deep roots in West Virginia and the far western mountain counties of Virginia. She now lives in an inner ring suburb of New York City. (Biography here.)

Her books have been published by Charles Scribner's Sons, HarperCollins, Ohio University Press, Mercury House, West Virginia University Press, Monteymayor Press, Teachers & Writers Press, Hamilton Stone Editions, and others.

She teaches at New York University's School of Professional Studies and also does writer-in-the-school residencies and workshops for writers, as well as readings and visits to libraries, book groups, and universities.

Her husband Andrew B. Weinberger is a rheumatologist, and their son Joel Weinberger is a software engineer in Los Angeles, California. He lives with his wife Sarah Weinberger, who works at Kaiser Permanente, and their children Shira (6), Eli (3), and Lev (1). The latter three are involved in deep exploration of the universe.

MSW does small scale organic gardening in her back yard and is active in her local Ethical Culture Society and in the integration organization, South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race.

 

Education: 
Columbia University School of the Arts MFA

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Soledad in the Desert (Montemayor Press, 2020)
,
Saving Tyler Hake, (Mountain State Press, 2020)
,
Their Houses, WVU Press, 2018 (Novel). (West Virginia University Press, 2018)
,
Meli's Way (Montemayor Press, 2015)
,
Love Palace (Foreverland Press, 2014)
,
Out of the Mountains (Ohio University Press / Swallow Press, 2010)
,
Re-Visions (Hamilton Stone Editions, 2010)
,
Billie of Fish House Lane (Montemayor Press, 2006)
,
The City Built of Starships (Montemayor Press, 2005)
,
Dwights House and Other Stories (Hamilton Stone Editions, 2004)
,
The Secret Super Powers of Marco (Montemayor Press, 2003)
,
Oradell at Sea (West Virginia University Press, 2002)
,
Personal Fiction Writing (T&W, 2000)
,
Trespassers (Hamilton Stone Editions, 1997)
,
Marco's Monster (Harper Collins, 1996)
,
In the Mountains of America (Mercury House, 1994)
Prizes won: 

 October 17, 2020: MSW was honored for her twenty plus years of working for intentional integration by the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race. See details here, and scroll down to read her remarks.January 8, 2017: MSW received the Beloved Community Award of the South Orange Civic Organization.April 22, 2013: MSW received the Davis-Jackson award as an alumna of the Harrison County, WV, Schools. Read the article in the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram.April 2013: MSW received a Faculty Service Award from New York University for 30 years of adjunct teaching at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.Winter, 2010: Appalachian Heritage Denny C. Plattner Prize for nonfiction for “Seduced into Consciousness: The Art of Jayne Anne Phillips,” Appalachian Heritage (Volume 37, Number 1, Winter 2009), p. 22.Summer, 2007: Billie of Fish House Lane the Two Towns One Children’s Book selection for South Orange and Maplewood, New Jersey.October, 2006 Featured author, Appalachian Heritage: A Literary Magazine of the Southern Appalachians, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2006.September, 2006 Featured at Emory & Henry College, Emory, Virginia: Twenty Fifth Annual Iron Mountain Review Appalachian Literature festival.May 16, 2004: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, West Virginia University1999 - 2003: Distinguished Teaching Artist of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts2002 Appalachian Heritage Denny C. Plattner Prize for short story “Big Boss Is Back,” appearing in the Fall 2002 issue of Appalachian Heritage.2001 Chaffin Journal Fiction Prize for “The Two Lindas.”Spring, 1999: Writer-in-Residence, Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV.Summer, 1998: Second Place, Shenango River Books ( P.O. Box 631, Sharon, PA 16146) Novella Contest for The Mentor.November 1995:  Fourteenth Annual Appalachian Literary Festival of  Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA, “Meredith Sue Willis Literary Festival.”1994-95: New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship in Fiction.1990: West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival Non-Italian Woman of the Year.1989: New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship in Fiction.1984: NEA/PEN Syndicated Fiction Contest Winner for the short story, “Sigma Chi.”1983: NEA/PEN Syndicated Fiction Contest winner for the short story, “My Boy Elroy.”1980: Literary Award of the West Virginia Library Association1978: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing.1978: Bernard De Voto Fellowship in Fiction, Breadloaf Writers' Conference.1976: Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation Fellowship.1976: Writers Digest Short Story Contest Winner.1969: Mademoiselle College Fiction Contest Winner.  

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More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Appalachian
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Clarksburg, WV
West Virginia
Raised in: 
Shinnston, WV
West Virginia
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jan 24, 2024