About

In addition to writing, I’m an Associate Professor of English, an artist and occasional actor. I live in CT with my wife and two children. Along with Graphic Design, I’ve taught all levels of English, from Creative and Developmental Writing to a 200-level literature course of my own creation, Studies in Young Adult Fiction. In 2012, I was recognized with a NISOD Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in May 2017, I received NVCC’s Presidential Medal of Honor at commencement.

A published poet, my work appears in Freshwater; Volume 5, of MARGIE: The American Journal of Poetry; Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review; Pirene’s Fountain, and Peregrine. My flash fiction was nominated for a Readers’ Choice Award on the website, 55 Word Stories. My poem, Her absence shows, won 3rd prize in CT Poetry Society’s Brodine/Brodinksy Contest, appearing in The Connecticut River Review. I’ve been a featured poet at The Wednesday Night Poetry Series in Bethel, CT and in poetry readings at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT; the Bradford Mansion at Avery Point, Groton; and Lemon ‘n’ Lyme Gallery, Old Lyme, CT. I was honored to appear as the feature at the first-ever 1249 Wine Bar Open Mic and at The Silas Bronson Library.

My debut young adult novel, THE NAMESAKE, won a 2011 Tassy Walden Award for New Voices. It was released January 18, 2013, by Merit Press, an imprint of F+W/Adams Media. My editor, the original Oprah’s Book Club Author, Jacquelyn Mitchard, called THE NAMESAKE “masterful.” I was most recently represented for fiction by Victoria Marini, then of Gelfman Schneider/ICM Literary Agency.

I’m always happy to meet readers and writers, so I can often be found at library, bookstore and school events, running workshops or talking about my own writing. Contact me if you’d like me to visit your venue!

My next novel, THE PRECIOUS DREADFUL, is due out from Simon Pulse on February 13, 2018. Stay tuned for updates!

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