About Me
My blog: http://daybydaymasterpiece.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/writerdallas
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DallasWoodburn
Writing is my absolute passion and I feel incredibly blessed that I am able to pursue it as a career!
My short story collection WOMAN, RUNNING LATE, IN A DRESS was published in March 2018 by Yellow Flag Press as winner of their Cypress & Pine Short Fiction Award. Signed copies are available at bit.ly/womanrunninglate.
I have also self-published two collections of short stories for children and young adults, which are available through my website. My short stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and have appeared in Zyzzyva, Superstition Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Louisiana Literature, The Nashville Review, and Monkeybicycle, among others. One of my stories appeared in American Fiction 13: The Best Unpublished Short Stories by American Writers (New Rivers Press).
In addition to fiction, I also enjoy writing nonfiction and plays. My articles and essays have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Modern Loss, Your Impossible Voice, Passages North, Prime Number, Motherwords, Writer's Digest, and nearly two-dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books. My plays have been produced in Los Angeles and New York City.
I studied Creative Writing at the University of Southern California and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and in 2013 I graduated with my M.F.A. in fiction from Purdue University. While at Purdue, I served as Fiction Editor of Sycamore Review and taught undergraduate writing courses, which I really loved. I was a 2013-14 Steinbeck Fellow in Creative Writing at San Jose State University.
I am also the founder of a youth literacy foundation called Write On! that encourages kids and teens to discover confidence, joy, a means of self-expression and connection to others through reading and writing. Projects include fun writing workshops; short story, poetry, and essay contests; annual Summer & Winter Writing Camps; and a Holiday Book Drive that has collected and donated more than 12,000 new books to disadvantaged and at-risk youth. I am always looking for passionate people to join the cause. If you are interested or would like more information, check out my website at http://www.writeonbooks.org
Why do you write?
I cannot imagine not writing. I think I would go insane.
I find inspiration from music, paintings, friends, arguments. Dreams, long walks, the outdoors. A mug of tea. Chocolate.
Also, quotes. A few of my favorites:
"There is no perfect time to write. There's only now." - Barbara Kingsolver
"I nearly always write, just as I nearly always breathe." - John Steinbeck
"First, please yourself." - Elizabeth Berg
"Write with passion! Write with love!" - Ray Bradbury
Any favorite authors? Books?
Too many to list, but here is a sampling on my mind at the moment: Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Death of a Salesman, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Girl With a Pearl Earring, The Shipping News; short stories by Aimee Bender, Lorrie Moore, Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolfe, Charlotte Holmes.
Thank you so much for fave-ing The Silence of Harold. I do love that old dude. :-)
Thanks for the kind comments and fave on "Down Cellar." I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Dallas-
Thanks for commenting on "10 Unofficial Jobs..." Happy you reviewed and I'm sure I'll see you around Fictionaut!
I meant to say thank you, too, for your great comments on Miss. Wow, I’m so not brilliant today. I’m going to blame it on the lack of sleep! Take care.
*were* just brilliant :)
It’s so great to meet you here Dallas! Congrats on all you’ve achieved! I was just reading above about Write On! – what an amazing project! I will have to check it out, as well as more of your work, in the very near future. Great books up there too. I just read The Shipping News a few months ago and thought the style and voice was just brilliant.
Dallas, thanks for your super nice note on Girl. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Dallas, thanks so much for reading and commenting on my story!
Thank you for your lovely comment about "Villa Monterey Apartment", Dallas! I look forward to reading your work!
I'm pleased you enjoyed my poem, Dallas. :-)
Happy navigating on fictionaut!