One of the reasons I so enjoy research is that I enjoy writing in a broad, general sense; shaping ideas with words in order to transmit just the right intent is difficult, and breathtaking when the proper notes are hit.
Prior to undertaking graduate work, I was a full-time freelance writer, covering gaming & tech news and culture, and during my graduate career I have continued to work on Not Your Mama’s Gamer, a site and podcast dedicated to feminist views on games and game culture. Below you’ll find some highlights from that work as well.
Creative Writing (Selected Publications)
“When Henry Sayles Ate a Bullet,” Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment, September 2014
- Finalist, Flyway’s Sweet Corn Prize for Short Fiction
- Honorable Mention, Glimmer Train‘s Very Short Fiction Contest
“Pythagorean Identity” & “Counting Eggs and Hours,” The Pinch, February 2014 (“Pythagorean Identity” published online as story of the month), Fall 2014
“Like You’ve Never Seen Me Before,” Ninth Letter Online, Summer 2014
“A Short List of Things I Remember About That Weekend in Texarkana,” Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, April 2014
“Begin Again with Heat,” The Southeast Review 32.1 2013
- Finalist, World’s Best Short-Short Story Contest
“The Secret of Volleyball,” Passages North 2014
“Danny Came Home,” The Raleigh Review 2014
“Everything in This House Is Crooked,” Smokelong Quarterly, December 2013
“A Short List of Things You Wanted to Touch,” Word Riot, November 2013
“Siri on Lesbian Sex,” Baltimore Review, Summer 2013
- Third place, Baltimore Review’s Summer Contest
“Proof,” Per Contra, April 2012
“Sexy,” PANK 6, January 2012
Industry Work
Prior to returning to school for my graduate work, I wrote for a number of tech and gaming sites. Gaming has always been a passion for me, and that work is what inspired me to return to the university and continue my education. In my spare time, I love thinking through game design. I help design and moderate custom social deception games for an online community, and often design game experiences for my classes, some of which I hope to release soon for use by other teachers.
For the second edition of the Geist TTRPG book, I was contracted to create antagonist groups. Because Geist touches on so many personal themes, and themes that are personally important to me, such as social justice, I appreciated the chance to weave my research and my values into the rich world of the game.
Since 2012, I have written more than 150 pieces for Not Your Mama’s Gamer, including research that served as the seed for my dissertation. I’ve also created original video content on representation in gaming and as part of a critical Let’s Play series. (I also spearheaded multiple site redesigns, working to refine the flow of the site as NYMG’s focus changed over time.)
As part of the NYMG streaming team, I’ve also participated in our charity outreach work, creating graphics for campaigns and helping to livestream to raise thousands for the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Trevor Project, and more.