Caitlin Spivey

About Me

I'm a twenty-year-old student of English Literature and Professional Writing, which sounds really impressive without actually evoking any sensation of practical skill--which is probably why I like it so much. I'm the prose editor of the campus literary magazine, which is very exciting, and I'm also the artistic director of a local non-profit arts studio that focuses on producing original plays, musicals and screenplays by local writers (so please, if you write anything of the sort and live near York, PA, feel extremely free to send me your manuscripts).

Why do you write?

Most of my writing these days is reactionary. If something happens to me, I'll write a story to try and make sense of it, or at least reflect on it. Lately, I write predominantly short short (creative non-)fiction with romantic themes. It could be misplaced self-importance, since most of my stories are based on my own experiences, but I write because I think small moments are beautiful and should be preserved in a few lines of prose.

Any favorite authors? Books?

It's always so hard to nail down my favorite authors! Tolkien and Austen tend to be my guarantees. If I need a good book and I can't think of anything else to read I absolutely know that I'll enjoy anything by them. Edgar Allan Poe and Flannery O'Connor are two of my favorite short story writers, and I have an incredible regard for Fyodor Dostoevsky and Gustave Flaubert. Some of my favorite books by people other than the authors listed above include The Awakening by Kate Chopin and the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.

Obviously my tastes are a little outdated, with the exception of Pullman, and I will happily take any recommendations of more contemporary works to read!