Bio

Rebekah Anderson is at work on a novel set in rural Washington in the early 1930s, which she plans will be the first of a three part series. The project began as her Fiction MFA thesis for advisor E.L. Doctorow at New York University, where Anderson also taught courses on creative writing, humanities and composition. She will be submitting an excerpt for workshop at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in August 2012.

Anderson is currently curating the 15-event Lit Crawl Seattle, a collaboration with the Litquake Foundation, City Arts Fest and APRIL. The event will take place October 18, the first night of City Arts Fest, and will include local literary superstars such as David Shields and the Seattle7.

Anderson’s professional writing has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, websites and travel guides. She is a current contributor to CultureMob and curates articles on the process of publishing for new writers for DEBUT LIT’s website. Her short story, “Watching the Skies,” was published by Fourteen Hills, and she has written for two original theater productions, including the collaborative play, “Four Echoes,” an adaptation of fiction for the stage, produced by Shotgun Theater Lab in Berkeley. She has received awards and fellowships for her writing, including the Summer Literary Seminar in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Anderson is a founder of DEBUT LIT, a literary event organization that promotes first time book authors and of the popular “Flashers” reading series in New York City. She has made frequent reading appearances in New York, Seattle and San Francisco.

Anderson has more than a decade of professional experience working in communications, marketing and business development for corporations and publishers, including Time Inc. publications Fortune, Business 2.0 and Real Simple magazines, Lonely Planet Books and Sasquatch Books, as well as volunteer positions for Washington Square Review and Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review.

LITERARY EVENT/PUBLISHING PROJECTS
For appearances and readings see Events

• Lit Crawl Seattle, co-producer, 2012
• DEBUT LIT, Co-founder, 2007-present
• Flashers: Flash Fiction by New York Writers, Co-Producer, 2006-2007
• Ecstatic Monkey Literary Productions, Founder and National Director, 2002-2008
• Washington Square Review, Managing Editor, 2005-2006
• Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review, Managing Editor, 2001-2002

HONORS, AWARDS, PUBLICATIONS & PRODUCTIONS

• Bread Loaf Writers Conference, 2012
• Contributor, CultureMob, 2011-present
• Contributor, Examiner.com, 2011-present
• NYU Graduate Assistant Fellowship, New York University, 2005-2007
• NYU Departmental Fellowship, New York University, 2004-2005
• Fellowship, Summer Literary Seminar, St. Petersburg Russia, 2005
• “Watching the Skies,” Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review, 2005
• “Four Echoes,” Shotgun Theater Lab, Berkeley, 2004
• Runner Up, Clark Gross Novel Award, San Francisco State University, 2003
• SFSU Departmental Service Award, San Francisco State University, 2003
• Contributor, Really Good Books, 2003
• Contributor, Sasquatch Books, 1998
• Columnist, The Tacoma Reporter, 1997-1998
• “St. Agnes’ Eve,” New Playwrights Theater, Western Washington University, 1997

EDUCATION

• New York University, Fiction MFA, Graduate Creative Writing Program, E.L. Doctorow, thesis advisor
• San Francisco State University, MA, English, Creative Writing Concentration, Nona Caspers, thesis advisor
• Western Washington University, BA, English, Creative Writing Emphasis, Dramatic Writing Concentration, Theatre Arts minor, cum laude, Robin Hemley, undergraduate advisor

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Puget Sound Energy, Marketing and Public Relations, 2008-present
• Freelance marketing and PR, 2007-2008
• New York University, Instructor and Department Administration, 2005-2007
• Time Inc, Marketing and Sales Development, 1999-2005
• Lonely Planet Books, Sales Associate, 1998-1999
• Sasquatch Books, Sales Assistant, 1997-1998

 TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• New York University, 2005-2007: Intro to Creative Writing, Intro to Humanities, Composition Workshop
• San Francisco State University, 2001-2002: Producing a Literary Journal, Creative Writing Independent Study