Billie of Fish House Lane, Montemayor Press, 2006 (Novel for Children.)
The City Built of Starships, Montemayor Press, 2005 (Science fiction/young adult novel).
A Space Apart, Authors’ Guild Backinprint Editions, 2005 (Reprint edition, novel. First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1979).
Oradell
at Sea, West Virginia University Press, September, 2002. (Novel.)
Personal Fiction Writing:
A Guide to Writing from Real Life for Teachers, Students, and Writers
(Revised Second Edition)Teachers & Writers,
New York, 2000. (Writing Guide;
first edition Teachers & Writers, New York, 1984).
The Secret Super Powers of Marco, Montemayor Press 2001. (Novel for children, reprint. First edition HarperCollins, New York, 1994; second
edition, HarperTrophy, New York, 1995.)
Marco's Monster,
Montemayor Press 2001. (Novel
for children, reprint. First
edition HarperCollins, New York, 1996).
Trespassers, Hamilton
Stone Editions, P.O. Box 43, Maplewood, NJ 1997 (Novel).
Only Great Changes,
Hamilton Stone Editions, Maplewood, NJ 1997.
(Novel, reprint; first edition, Charles
Scribner's Sons,
New York, 1985).
Higher Ground, Hamilton
Stone Editions, Maplewood, NJ, 1996.
(Novel, reprint; first edition Charles
Scribner's Sons,
New York, 1981).
In the Mountains of America, Mercury House, San Francisco, 1994 (Short
story collection)
Deep Revision: A Guide
for Teachers, Students, and Other Writers, Teachers & Writers
Press, New York, 1993 (Writing guide).
Quilt Pieces (with Jane ilson Joyce), Gnomon Press, Frankfort,
Kentucky, 1991 (Chapbook of poems and a story).
Blazing Pencils: A Guide
to Writing Fiction and Essays, Teachers & Writers Press, New
York, 1990 (Writing guide for students).
SHORT FICTION, PERSONAL ESSAY, and MEMOIR
“What I Learned in First Grade,” After the Bell: Contemporary American Prose About School, edited by Maggie Anderson and David Hassler (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2007).
“My Family Business,” The Iron Mountain Review: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Issue, (Volume XXIII, Spring 2007, p.73).
“Trianglulation,” Saranac Review, (Department of English, SUNY Plattsburgh, 101 Broad St., Plattsburgh, NY 12901). Winter 2007.
On the Road with C.T. Savage,” Appalachian Heritage: A Literary Magazine of the Southern Appalachians, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2006, p. 16.
“How She Chose the Day,” Writers Conference at Penn 2006 (University of Pennsylvania 2006), p.411.
"The Story of Scheherezade and Dunzyad," The Pedestal Magazine, issue of April 21 - June 21, 2005 (online
magazine); http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com.
"The
Two Lindas,” The Chaffin Journal 2001, Department of English,
Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475-3102.
Winner Fiction Award for 2001.
"Like
a Darkness on Her Heart,” from Oradell at Sea, Vandalia: The Literary
Publication of West Virginia Wesleyan College (West
Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV 26201), Vol. 1, Spring 2001,
p.19.
"Elvissa
Did Not Become a Rabbi,” Kimera: Journal of Fine Writing (N.
1316 Hollis Street, Spokane, WA 99201), Volume 5, Fall 2000, p. 24.
"Elvissa
Did Not Become a Rabbi,” Kimera (online
version) (August, 2000).
"Operations,” Kestrel: A Journal of Literature and Art, (Fairmont State College,
1201 Locust Avenue, Fairmont, WV 26554), Issue 14, Fall 1999.
"A
Dream of West Fork,” The Iron Mountain Review: Meredith Sue Willis
Issue (Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College, Emory,
VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, p, 6
"Exposure,” The Iron Mountain Review: Meredith
Sue Willis Issue (Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College,
Emory, VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, p 7.
"Vera
and the Selection Committee,” The Iron Mountain Review: Meredith
Sue Willis Issue (Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College,
Emory, VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, pp 8-10.
From
Higher Ground, The Iron Mountain Review: Meredith Sue Willis Issue
(Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA
24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, pp 11-12.
From Dwight's House (A Visit to Wise County),” Pokeberry Days:
A West Virginia Literary Collection, George Lies, editor, 1995,
Goldenrod Foundation, Morgantown, WV, pp. 8-11.
"Adventures
of the Vulture,” Green Mountains Review, Vol. VII, No.1, Spring/Summer
1994.
Two
Chapters from Dwight's House, (Chapters 1 and 2),” Kestrel, Issue
2, Fall 1993 (1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont WV 26554).
"Miss
Topsy,” Other Voices #18, Spring 1993 (601 South Morgan Street,
Chicago, IL 60607-7120), pp. 18-25.
"Chess With George,” Short Fiction By Women #3, 1992 (Box 1276 Stuyvesant Station, NY, NY 10009) pp. 113-119.
"Terrorism,” Blue Light/Red Light, Volume 2, Number 4, 1992, pp.60-63.
"The
Little Harlots,” Antietam Review (Washington County Arts Council,
82 Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740), Spring, 1991, Volume XI.
"To
Speak Well of the Dead,” Now and Then, Volume 8, Number 1, Spring
1991, (Box 19180A, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
37614-0002).
"Dreams
of Deprivation,” Fireweed: A Feminist Quarterly, Issue 26, Winter/Spring
1988, Toronto, Canada.
"Evenings
With Porter,” Pikeville Review, Humanities Department, Pikeville
College, Pikeville, KY 41501, Spring, 1988.
"Family
Knots,” Kalliope: A Journal of Women's Art, Tenth Anniversary
Issue, Vol. 10, Nos. 1 & 2, Jacksonville, Florida.
"The
Lost Bird,” Findings...A Journal, Vol. 8, 1988, Kean College
of New Jersey, pp 35-39.
"The
Great Wolf,” Earth's Daughters, Women and Spirituality issue,
Fall 1985, 23-27.
"The
Birds That Stay,” West Branch 17, fall 1985.
"Sigma
Chi,” The Village Advocate, Vol. 5, Number 15, Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, October 21, 1984, pp. 9-11.
"First
Day,” Vox, Fall 1984, College of White Plains, Pace University,
pp. 27-33.
"My
Boy Elroy,” Star: The Weekly Magazine of the Kansas City Star,
Sunday, September 25, 1983.
"My
Boy Elroy,” Picture: Minneapolis Tribune, Sunday, September 11,
1983.
"Sermon
of the Younger Monica,” West Branch 11, November, l982, pp. 33-40.
Keith Maillard, “Gaining the Higher Ground: An Appreciation,” Appalachian Heritage: A Literary Magazine of the Southern Appalachians, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2006, p. 38.
Phyllis Wilson Moore, “Meredith Sue Willis: Writing Her Own Dispatch,” Appalachian Heritage: A Literary Magazine of the Southern Appalachians, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2006, p. 10. To read the article online, you need Adobe Acrobat. It is available to download free here.
Hardesty, David C., Jr., “Reflections on My Friend Sue,” Appalachian Heritage: A Literary Magazine of the Southern Appalachians, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2006, p. 29.
Nathan Leslie, “Meredith Sue Willis Interviewed by Nathan Leslie,” Main Street Rag, Volume 11, Number 1, Spring 2006.
Nathan Leslie, “Dwight’s House and Other Stories by Meredith Sue Willis,” Main Street Rag, Volume 9, Number 1, Spring 2005 (read online ).
Margaret Quamme, "Stories in the Dark: A Review of Dwight's House and Other
Stories by Meredith Sue Willis, American Book Review, April
2005 (read online).
Belinda
Anderson, “Meredith Sue Willis at Ease: An Interview with the author
of Oradell at Sea” Artworks (West Virginia Division of Culture
and History, The Cultural Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd.E, Charleston, WV
25305-0300), Winter 2002-2003, p. 5. Also on online.
Mary
Binegar, “Author Willis’ Roots in West Virginia,” (Monday, February3,
2003); also in The Shinnston Times: A Publication of the Times West
Virginian, Fairmont, West Virginia
(Saturday, January 4, 2003).
Patricia C. Turner, “Author Shares Her Craft With
Students,” The Sunday Star-Ledger, (Newark, New Jersey), Sunday,
December 2, 2001, p. 7, Section 10.
Norman Julian, “E-Publishing Spares Authors Book
Pulping,” The Dominion Post (Morgantown, West Virginia), Thursday,
November 2, 2000, p. 1-B.
Gina Herring, “Politics and Men: What's 'Really
Important' About Meredith Sue Willis and Blair Ellen Morgan,” Appalachian
Journal, (Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608), Volume
25, Number 4, Summer 1998, pp. 414-422.
Thomas E. Douglass, “A View from Higher Ground:
Meredith Sue Willis and the Appalachian Renaissance,” The Iron Mountain
Review: Meredith Sue Willis Issue (Department of English, Box 64,
Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996,
pp. 13-18.
Tal Stanley, “Making That New Place: Blair Morgan's Coming of Age and Meredith
Sue Willis's Social Vision,” The Iron Mountain Review: Meredith Sue
Willis Issue (Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College,
Emory, VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, pp. 19-25.
Jack
L. Wills, “The Story's the Thing: The Power of Narrative in In the Mountains
of America,” The Iron Mountain Review: Meredith Sue Willis Issue (Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College, Emory,
VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, pp 26-30.
Karen
Morgan, “Circling Out, Centering In: A Conversation,” The Iron Mountain
Review: Meredith Sue Willis Issue (Department of English, Box 64,
Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996,
31-37.
Thomas
E. Douglass, “Interview with Meredith Sue Willis,” Appalachian Journal (Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608), Volume 20, Number 2,
Spring 1993, pp. 284-293.
Nancy
Carol Joyner, “The Poetics of the House in Appalachian Fiction,” in The Poetics of Appalachian Space, ed. Parks Lanier, Jr., (Knoxville:
University of Tennessee Press, 1991).
Barbara
Melosh, “Historical Memory in Fiction: The Civil Rights Movement in
Three Novels,” Radical History # 40, January 1988 (445 W. 59th
St., Room 4312, New York, NY 10019), pp. 64-76.
Ken
Sullivan, “Gradual Changes: Meredith Sue Willis and the New Appalachian
Fiction,” Appalachian Journal 14, 1986, pp. 38-45.
Leslie
Hanscom, “Looking Back Upon A Summer in VISTA; Leslie Hanscom Talks
With Meredith Sue Willis,” Newsday, February 3, 1985, p. 18.
ANTHOLOGIES AND BOOK INTRODUCTIONS
“On Cutting,” Writers Conference at Penn 2006 (University of Pennsylvania 2006) p.407.
“My Boy Elroy,” Listen Here: Women Writing in Appalachia, Sandra L. Ballard and Patricia L. Hudson, editors, The University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, KY 40508, 2003.
“Family Knots,” Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia, Irene McKinney, editor, Vandalia Press at West Virginia University Press, Morgantown, WV 26506, 2002.
“An Introduction to Crum by Lee Maynard,” Crum, Vandalia Press at West Virginia University Press, Morgantown, WV 26506, 2001.
“An Inquiry into Who My Grandmother Really Was,” Bloodroot: Reflections on Place by Appalachian Women Writers, Joyce Dyer, editor, The University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, Kentucky, 1998.
“Frederick Douglass In Newark,” The Teachers & Writers Guide to Frederick Douglass, Wesley Brown, editor, Teachers & Writers Collaborative, New York, 1996.
“Mr. Death,” Old Faithful: 18 Writers Present Their Favorite Writing Assignments, Christopher Edgar and Ron Padgett, editors, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, New York, 1995.
“Writing Dialogue” and “Deep Revision,” Educating the Imagination: Essays and Ideas for Teachers and Writers, Chris Edgar and Ron Padgett, editors, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, New York, 1994.
“My Boy Elroy,” The Available Press, PEN Short Story Collection, Ballantine Books, fall 1985.
“Reading and What Students Write,” Claremont Reading Conference: Forty-Eighth Yearbook, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont CA, 1984.
“Some Thoughts on Dialogue Writing,” The Point (anthology), Think/Ink Books, 1983.
“Luis, A True Story,” Journal of a Living Experiment, Phillip Lopate, editor, Teachers & Writers Press, 1979.
“Some Ideas For Teaching Grammar” (and other short articles), The Whole Word Catalogue 2, Bill Zavatsky and Ron Padgett, editors, McGraw-Hill 1977.
“The Babysitter,” Mademoiselle Prize Stories, M.E. Evans Company, New York, 1975.
ESSAYS, ARTICLES, AND REVIEWS
Review of Blood Kin, Novel by Mark Powell, Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 23, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2007, p. 69.
“How To Get a Novel Started,” The Writer, Volume 120, Number 7, July 2007, p. 34.
“From A Space Apart to Oradell at Sea,” Appalachian Heritage: A Literary Magazine of the Southern Appalachians, Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2006, p. 33.
“The Clam Shell: Opening to Life and Resolute Passion,” Mary Lee Settle issue, Appalachian Heritage, Volume 34, Number 1, Winter 2006, p. 73.
"Examining the Truth About Women's Lives: The Fiction of Gretchen
Moran Laskas,Appalachian
Heritage, Volume 33, Number 1, Winter 2005, p.19.
"In
Their Own Country," (Review of CD set of interviews with West Virginia
writers), Appalachian Journal, Volume 32, Number 2, Winter
2005, p. 254.
“Keith
Maillard--Five Novels of Raysburg, West Virginia," (Essay-review), Appalachian Journal, Volume 31, Number 34, Spring/Summer 2004.\"Lee
Maynard's Screaming with the Cannibals,"(Review of novel), Appalachian
Heritage, Volume 31, Number 1, Winter 2004, p.64.
“For West Virginia Families, ‘Starting Points’ Is Just Around the Bend” in Rima Shore, What Kids Need: Today’s Best Ideas for Nurturing, Teaching, and Protecting Young Children (Boston: Beacon Press, 2002), p. 172.
“Brier
Country: Stories from Blue Valley by Elaine Fowler Palencia” (Review
of short story collection), Appalachian Journal, Volume 28, Number
1, Fall 2000.
“Between the Flowers: A Book with a View”(Review of novel by Harriette
Simpson Arnow), Southern Exposure: A Journal of Politics & Culture,
Vol. XXVIII, No. 1 & 2, Spring/Summer 2000.
“Shaping
Longer Works of Fiction,” Teachers and Writers, Vol. 32, No. 1, p.12,
September-October 2000.
“Cross Country Team Makes Community Proud,”
South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race Newsletter,
Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000, p. 5.
“Folk
Culture and My Family,” Traditions of West Virginia Folk Culture and
Educational Awareness (Fairmont State College, 1201 Locust Avenue, Fairmont,
WV 26554), Volume 5, 1999, pp 37 - 39.
“George
Eliot's Felix Holt the Radical,” The Ethical Culture Review of Books
(online review), http://www.ethicalreview.org/articles/felixholt.html (March, 1999).
“Why
Public Schools?,” South Orange/Maplewood Community Coaltion on Race
Newsletter, Vol. 2., No. 2,
Fall 1998. (This essay also appeared
in the Maplewood-South Orange News-Record and in the online journal
of the American Ethical Union, Ethics Matters).
“Marketing
Meat,” (Review of My Year
of Meats, novel Ruth L. Ozeki), In These Times, May 31, 1998.
" The
Ballads of Sharyn McCrumb,” (Essay on the Ballad Novels
of Sharyn McCrumb), Appalachian
Journal, Volume 25, Number 3, Spring 1998.
“Poets
and Big-Mouth Dames,” (Review of Rhonda the Rubber Woman by
Norma Peterson), In These Times, February 8, 1998.
“Three
First Novels,” (Essay on That Summer by Sarah Dessen, Life
Without Water by Nancy Peacock, and The Distances from the Heart
of Things by Ashley Warlick), North Carolina Literary Review,
Issue Number 6, 1997.
“Southern
Stories: Body Parts by Jere Hoar,” (Book review of short story
collection), In These Times, November 23, 1997.
“Witness
in the Nightmare Country: Jayne Anne Phillips” (Essay on Phillips’s
fiction), Appalachian Journal, Volume 24, Number
1, Fall 1996
“How
Far I've Come—And How Close I Still Am,” Iron Mountain Review,
(Department of English, Box 64, Emory & Henry College, Emory,
VA 24327), Volume XII, Spring 1996, pp 4-5
“The
Impact of Racism and What Can Be Done” (Op-ed piece), News-Record of Maplewood and South Orange, Thursday, July
18, 1996.
“Finding
the Answer in Local School System” (Op-ed piece), News-Record of Maplewood
and South Orange, Thursday, March 14, 1996.
“Come
Go Home With Me: Stories by Sheila Kay Adams” (Review),
Appalachian Journal, Volume 23, Number 2, Winter 1996
“Serpents
Will Destroy Sister Communities” (Op-ed piece),
News-Record of Maplewood and South Orange, Thursday, May 18,
1995.
“Barbara
Kingsolver: Moving On,” (Essay on Kingsolver's fiction), Appalachian
Journal, Volume 22, Number 1, Fall 1994.
“What
I Know About Scott County, Tennessee” (Essay),
Appalachian Heritage: A Magazine of Southern Appalachian Life
& Culture, Vol. 22, No. 2, Spring 1994.
“Stories
My Father Told,” Appalachian Heritage: A Magazine of Southern Appalachian
Life & Culture, Volume 19, No. 2, (Berea College, Berea, KY 40403).
“Writing
Out of the Region,” Appalachian Journal, Volume 18, Number 3, Spring
1991 (University Hall, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608).
“Blazing Pencils: Writing Fiction in Junior High
School,” Teachers & Writers, Vol. 22, No. 1., Fall 1990.
"Language
Enlivens a Tale of One Dead,” (review of A Virtuous Woman,
novel by Kaye Gibbons). The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21, 1989.
"Stories
With A Sense of Place,” (Review of three collections of short stories: A Gravestone Made of Wheat, by Will Weaver; The Watch,
by Rick Bass; and Love Life by Bobbie Ann Mason), Washington
Post Book World, March 26, 1989.
“Yes
to Family, No to Monogamy,” (Review of In Every Woman's Life...,
novel by Alix Kates Shulman). The New York Times Book Review,
May 31, 1987.
Ghost Dance,” (review of novel by Carole Maso). The New York Times Book Review, July 20, 1986.
“Like Grown-Ups, and Different,” (Review of The Child as Poet: Myth or Reality?, a book on education by Myra Cohn Livingston). The New York Times Book Review, March 10, 1985. Archived online at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E7D91039F933A25750C0A96394826
Editorial Board, 2006 Issue of North Carolina Literary Review, No. 15, East Carolina University Department of English, 2201 Bate Building, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353
2002
- 2004 Fiction Editor, Epiphany, (http://www.epiphanyzine.com, New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies Literary
Journal (online and hard copy).
SELECTED
PUBLIC READINGS AND LECTURES
MSW read from Oradell at Sea and led a discussion at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling, West Virginia on March 4, 2008.
MSW read "What I Learned in First Grade" at the Associated Writng Programs Conference on February 1, 2008, part of a collection on schooling and education called After the Bell: Contemporary American Prose about School , edited by Maggie Anderson and David Hassler.
July 31, 2007: Featured reader, Appalachian Writers Workshop, Hindman, Kentucky
July 12 & July 17, 2007: “Meet the Author” at Maplewood, New Jersey Library and South Orange, New Jersey Library
November 10, 2006: Featured reader, Appalachian Heritage First Annual Featured Readers event, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
September 23, 2006: Featured reader at Emory & Henry College, Emory, Virginia: Twenty Fifth Annual Iron Mountain Review Appalachian Literature festival.
June 27, 2006: The Clemente Soto Velez Center, Lower East Side, New York, NY
May 13, 2006: Reading for Kids and Others, The Goat Cafe, South Orange, New Jersey
.April 4, 2006: Featured reader at Ramapo State College, New Jersey.
West Virginia Writers Conference, June
4-6, 2004, Cedar Lakes Conference Center, Ripley, West Virginia. "The Scene in Fiction;" "Using Techniques
of Cinema in Fiction Writing,"
April, 2004: Fiction Festival, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, West Virginia.
"The New Appalachian Literature," What
Regional Writers Eat series, July 12, 2003, Conkling Hall, Renssalaerville,
New York.
"The Ethics of Fiction Writing," Sunday
morning Platform at the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, NJ,
March 16, 2003 (Also, Sunday Morning Platform of the Ethical Culture
Society of Essex County, NJ, September 14, 2004 and at the South Orange
(New Jersey) Library, January 8, 2004).
June 4, 2004: West Virginia Writers Conference,
Cedar Lakes, West Virginia.
April, 2004: Fiction Festival, West Virginia
Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, West Virginia.
Watchung
Bookstore, Montclair, NJ, April 3, 2003.
February 19, 2003: “Getting Your Novel Started,”
Barnes & Noble, Route 22, Springfield, New Jersey.
March 27, 2003.: Featured reader, Marshall
University, Huntington, WV.
January 21, 2003: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Backountry
Writers.
November 2, 2002: Mountaineer
Week, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
October 12, 2002: “Breaking Into Children’s Literature,”
Panel at Second Annual West Virginia Book Festival,
Charleston, West Virginia.
October 2001: “Getting Published,” Panel at West
Virginia Book Festival, Charleston, West Virginia.
March
7, 2002:KGB Bar (85 E 4th Street, NYC), BigCityLit’s "Degrees of
Apprenticeship" reading/recording series, special guest.
May 16, 1999: Skylands Writers Association, Centenary College,
Hackettstown, NJ, March 26, 2000.
Moroccan Star, Brooklyn, NY.
Kestrel
Conference, Fairmont, WV, April 10, 1999.
Book
'N Bean Café, Fairmont, WV, February 27, 1999.
The
Writer's Voice, New York, NY, May 1, 1998.
First Night performer, Maplewood-South Orange,
NJ First Night, Dec. 31, 1997.
Midmanhattan
Library, New York, NY. November
19, 1997.
Housing Works Bookstore Café, New York, NY, October
23, 1997.
Glenville
State College, April 26, 1996.
Midmanhattan
Library, New York, NY. February
8, 1996.
Emory
& Henry College, Emory, VA, November 9, 1995.
Friends
of the Library Reading, Wise County Public Library, Big
Stone Gap, VA, November 8, 1995.
Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Livingston, NJ,
March 13, 1995.
Dixon Place, New York, NY. February 2, 1995.
Montclair Public Library, Montclair, NJ.
January 29, 1995.
Midmanhattan Library, New York, NY.
November 30, 1994.
SELECTED
LECTURES, PANELS, AND WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND WRITERS
“Beginning Your Novel,” Writers Conference at Penn, October 14, 2006. Writing Conference at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The Scene in Fiction;” “Using Techniques of Cinema in Fiction Writing,” West Virginia Writers Conference, June 4-6, 2004, Cedar Lakes Conference Center, Ripley, West Virginia.
“The
New Appalachian Literature,” What Regional Writers Eat series, July
12, 2003, Conkling Hall, Renssalaerville, New York.
“The Ethics of Fiction Writing,” Sunday morning Platform at the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, NJ, March 16, 2003 (Also, Sunday Morning Platform of the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, NJ, September 14, 2004 and at the South Orange (New Jersey) Library, January 8, 2004).
December 2000: “Writing With Your Child,” Workshop for bilingual parents, New York City Public Schools Department of Bilingual Education, Brooklyn, New York.
February 23, 1999: “Folk Culture: Degrees of Removal,” West Virginia Folklore Society, Alumni House, Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV.
February 23, 1999: “An Inquiry Into My Grandmother,” Arts and Language Arts Educators, Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV.
May
24, 1998: “What I Learned from the Nineteen-Sixties,” Bergen Ethical
Culture Society, Teaneck, New Jersey.
April
26, 1998: “What I Learned from the Nineteen-Sixties,” Essex Ethical
Culture Society, Maplewood, New Jersey.
March
28, 1998: “Personal Fiction Writing,” New York City Public Schools Department
of Bilingual Education, South Bronx High School, Bronx, NY.
February
28, 1998: Deep Revision Workshop, Sarah Lawrence Graduate School, Bronxville,
New York.
CONTEST JUDGING , AND SELECTION PANELS
Judge, Emerging Writers contest, West Virginia Writers 2007.
Judge, Emerging Writers contest, West Virginia Writers 2002.
Judge, Emerging Writers contest, West Virginia Writers 2001.
Juror, Maryland State Arts Council, Fiction Panel, 2000.
Juror, Short short story contest, Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, 1997.
Judge, West Virginia Writers novel contest, 1996.
Screener, Associated Writing Programs Award Series in the novel, 1995. Selected a novel, No New Jokes, that was chosen by Judge Ron Carlson as the contest winner and subsequently published by Norton.
Certification Panel for Writers-in-the-schools, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 1994.
New York Foundation Fiction Fellowship Panel, 1989.
EDUCATION
AND ACADEMIC HONORS
Honorary
Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, May 16, 2004, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
Master
of Fine Arts, June 1972, School
of the Arts
Columbia
University, New York, N.Y.
Bachelor
of Arts, June 1969,
Barnard
College, New York, N.Y.
Phi
Beta Kappa, Magna
Cum Laude, Honors
in English, Estelle
M. Ellison Prize for Excellence in Literature.
1984—
present: Lecturer, New York University, School of Professional and Continuing
Studies. Created and still teach “Beginning Your Novel” and “Making
Your Novel Happen.” Have also
taught “Advanced Novel Writing," " Short Story Writing,” “Structuring Your Novel,” and “Mastering
New Writing Styles.” Developed and taught the first online section
of “Fiction II.”
2002— present: Online prose writing classes: "Summer Stories 2007," "The July High," Jan Plan," etc. For information, see Online Writing Classes with Meredith Sue Willis
Summer 2005: Faculty member (Short Story Writing), Appalachian Writers Workshop, Hindman Settlement School, Hindman, Kentucky.
1988—present: Writer-in-the-Schools, New Jersey
State Council on the Arts and Arts Council of the Essex Area. Workshops for elementary school students, junior high and high
school students, and teachers in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Union, and Monmouth
counties, New Jersey, and in the Newark Project.
Spring 1999: Artist-in-Residence, Fairmont State
College, Fairmont, WV. Gave readings and lectures, worked with college
classes and local high schools. Created
and taught an online creative writing workshop.
1971—present:
Consultant in Creative Writing, Teachers & Writers Collaborative,
5 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003. Workshops for teachers and
students from first grade through high school in creative and expository
writing. Schools have included PS 321, Brooklyn; IS 258, East New York;
Stuyvesant High School; High School of Creative Writing; Hunter College
Elementary School; and other schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn,
Queens, Nassau and Westchester Counties.
July 30 -August 2, 1998: Faculty member, West
Virginia Writers' Workshop, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
Led workshops and individual critique sessions at writers' conference.
1996: “Writing for Children,” Seton Hall University
School of Continuing Education, Seton Hall University, South Orange,
NJ.
1988,
1990, and 1991: Visiting Professor, The Cooper Union Institute for the
Advancement of Science and Art, Cooper Square, New York, N.Y. 10003. Creative writing and Fiction writing.
1988—
1991: Mentor, Expository-Writing-by-Mail, Center for
the Advancement of Academically Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD. Essay writing
for talented 8th— 10th graders through the mail.
1985— 1987: Visiting Lecturer, Pratt Institute,
Brooklyn 11205. Classes taught included Public Speaking/Communications
and Freshman English.
1981— 1984: Special Lecturer, College of White
Plains, Pace University, 78 Broadway, White Plains, N.Y. 10605. Fiction
writing, advanced fiction writing, and composition courses.
SELECTED COMMUNITY
SERVICE
2004 - 2006 Chair, South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, 2004
1996 - Present: Trustee South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race ; Vice-Chair for South Orange 1997- 2001; 2003-2004; Chair, 2004-2006; executive committe 2006 - present.
1988 - present: Ethical Culture Society of Essex County: Co-chair Platform committee (bringing speakers for weekly lectures) 1995-2004; Chair, Social Action Committee: 1994 - Present; President of the Board of Trustees: 1994- 1997.
Webmaster for website of the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County http://www.essexethical.org.
1994 - 1996: Social Action Committee, Friends and Neighbors
1999 - present: co-ordinating editor and webmaster for co-operative press Hamilton Stone Editions, http://www.hamiltonstone.org.
2000-2004, 2006- Present: Co-Chair Schools Committee South Orange Maplewood Community Coaltion on Race President,
Board of Trustees, Ethical Culture Society of Essex County 1994 - 1998
Chair, Social Action Committee,
Ethical Culture Society of Essex County 1993 - Present
Co-Chair,
Platform Committee,
Ethical Culture Society of Essex County 1993 - 2003
