About A.M. Larks
About A.M. Larks
A.M. Larks’s writing has appeared in Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, NiftyLit, Scoundrel Time, Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies, Five on the Fifth, Charge Magazine, and the Brevity, ZYZZYVA, and Ploughshares blogs. She has served as a judge for the Loud Karma Productions’ Emerging Female and Nonbinary Playwriting Award and has performed her stories at Lit Up at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette, CA. She is the managing editor and blog editor at Kelp Journal. She is the former fiction editor at Please See Me, the former blog editor at The Coachella Review, as well as the former photography editor at Kelp Journal. A.M. Larks earned an MFA in creative writing from UC Riverside at Palm Desert, a JD, and a BA in English literature.
Events
Purchase
Artifact Noveau Vol. 2 Issue 3
out of print
Celebrate! Young Poets Speak Out
California – Spring 2001
out of print
Works
FICTION.
Flash Fiction
“In Person” published by Five on the Fifth
Short Stories
“Sick Day” published by Nifty Lit
Children’s Lit
“The Isle of Tutti Fruity” published by Charge Magazine
A short story entitled “FIFTH GRADE ENGLISH FABLE INTERACTIVE ASSIGNMENT CREATE A FAIRY TALE PARTNER PROJECT”
was performed as part of the Town Hall Theatre Co.’s Lit Up Community Series
Reviews
Book review of Creatures by Crissy Van Meter for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of Salt Slow by Julia Armfield for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of The Pickle Index by Eli Horowitz, Illustrated by Ian Huebert for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of Lungfish by Meghan Gilliss published by Kelp Journal
Book review of Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima as part of the monthly column “Voice to Books” published by The Coachella Review
Book review of Black Card by Chris L. Terry published by Zyzzyva
Book review/Reading review of A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley published by The Coachella Review
Book review of The Houseguest by Amparo Dávila (translated Audrey Harris & Matthew Gleeson) published by The Coachella Review
Book review of White Dancing Elephants by Chaya Bhunaveswar published by The Coachella Review
Book review of The Mutual UFO Network by Lee Martin published by The Coachella Review
Book review of True Love by Micah Perks published by The Coachella Review
Book review of Woman, Running Late, in a Dress by Dallas Woodburn published by The Coachella Review
Book review of The Flicker of Old Dreams by Susan Henderson published by The Coachella Review
Interviews
Interview with Edan Lepucki about her latest book Time’s Mouth and her many other published works for Kelp Journal
Interview with Mary Otis about her latest book Burst and her short story collection Yes, Yes, Cherries for Kelp Journal
Interview with Vikram Paralkar about his latest book Night Theater for Please See Me
Interview with Carl Shuker about his latest novel A Mistake for Please See Me
Interview with Chaya Bhunaveswar about her collection of short stories “White Dancing Elephants” for Please See Me
Interview with Karen E. Bender about her latest collection “The New Order” writing, editing, and teaching for The Coachella Review
NONFICTION.
Creative Non-Fiction
Hybrid Non-Fiction piece “Does a Period Mean It’s the End?” where I muse about punctuation, writing, and communication on The Brevity blog
Hybrid Non-Fiction piece “All I Needed for 2018 Was a Heart and Knife Emoji” which explores, both the personal and public arenas, in the volatile 2018 year published by Scoundrel Time
Craft Essays
Point of View Essay, Published: A Craft Guide
Literary v. Genre, Published: A Craft Guide , co-written with A.E. Santana
Critical Essays and Reviews:
Critical Essay entitled “Still Playing the Girl” about women’s art, inclusion in the cannon, and the way forward published by Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies
Book review of Conversations with Birds by Priyanka Kumar published by The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals by Jack Ashby published by Kelp Journal
Book review of Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui published by The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book Review of From Scratch by Tembi Locke published by The Wave, Kelp Journal
Book review of The Condition of Secrecy by Inger Christensen (translated by Susanna Nied) published by The Coachella Review
Book review of Dark Chains by Latasha “Tacha” B. Braxton published by The Coachella Review
Book review of All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung published by The Coachella Review
Book review of Vanishing Twins by Leah Dieterich published by The Coachella Review
Book review of The Library by Stuart Kells published by The Coachella Review
Book review of The Wrong Way to Save Your Life by Megan Stielstra published by The Coachella Review
Interviews
Interview with Karen Rinaldi about her latest book (It’s Great to) Suck at Something for Kelp Journal
Interview with Susan Straight about her memoir In the Country of Women and a lifetime of writing for Ploughshares
Interview with Peter Houlahan about Norco ’80 , his true-crime book about the most notorious bank robbery in Southern California history for Kelp Journal
Interview with Ben Blatt about his book Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve for The Coachella Review
LETTERS FROM THE FICTION EDITOR.
Please See Me Issue #1: Conversation
Please See Me Issue #3: Pain Continued
Please See Me Issue #5: Heroes
PHOTOGRAPHY/ART.
Photo Reviews
Review of book and exhibit of The Curious World of Seaweed by Josie Iselin published by Kelp Journal
Review of A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World by Institute of Critical Zoologists (Robert Zhao Renhui) published by Kelp Journal
Review of You Next: Reflections in Black Barbershops by Antonio Johnson published by Kelp Journal
Review of California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History by Richard White and Jesse Amble White published by Kelp Journal
Photo Interviews
Interview with Sonali Roy for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Janina Aza Karpinska for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with el Kallpa for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Rex Wilder for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with KJ Hannah Greenberg for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Mackenzie Gellner for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Brittany Fields for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Clarissa Cervantes for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with David Murphy for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Mackenzie Gellner for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Michael Naify for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with K.L. Johnston for Kelp Journal
Interview with Em Harriet for Kelp Journal
Interview with Roger Camp for Kelp Journal
Interview with Abe Winterscheidt for Kelp Journal
Interview with Topher Mueller for Kelp Journal
Interview with Trey Burnette for Kelp Journal
Interview with Fabrice Poussin for Kelp Journal
Interview with Kimberly J. Soenen – “Some People” (Every) Body for Kelp Journal
Interview with @lifeofriley for Kelp Journal
Interview with Adrienne Christian for Kelp Journal
Interview with Cat Gwynn for Kelp Journal
Interview with Devi S. Laskar for Kelp Journal
Interview with Madie Wills for Kelp Journal
Art Interviews
Interview with Tommey Jodie for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Becky Benson for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Juan-Carlos Perez for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Rebecca Pyle for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with Hanna Wright for The Wave, Kelp Journal
GRAPHIC NOVELS.
Reviews
Review of “Family Style” by Thein Pham for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of “Dog Years”, by Jeff Kronenfeld Illustrated by Russ Kazmierczak Jr. for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of “The Secret Garden on 81st Street” by Ivy Noelle Weir Illustrated by Amber Padilla for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of “The Pervert” by Remy Boydell and Michelle Perez for Please See Me
Interviews
Interview with Leslie Gonzalez for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Interview with MK Czerwiec about ” Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371, the Graphic Medicine Manifest, and the genre of Graphic Medicine” in graphic nonfiction for Please See Me
Co-Interview of Keithan Jones and Amber Tillman with A.E. Santana for TCR Daily
DRAMA/FILM.
Reviews
Review of “Wipeout” by Aurora Real de Asua at B Street Theatre for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of “Sons of Maui” by Lee Cataluna reading at SF Playhouse for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of the documentary film “Wade in the Water: A Journey Into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture” published by Kelp Journal
A conversational review of The White Card by Claudia Rankine with A.E. Santana for TCR Daily
POETRY.
“Soldiers Now” in Proud to Be: Writing By American Warriors, volume 12 by Southeast Missouri State University Press
“Changing Times” published by Artifact Nouveau, Volume 2 Issue 3. Summer 2016
“Dream Man” in Celebrate! Young Poets Speak Out California – Spring 2001
Reviews
Review of Āina Hānau / Birth Land by Brandy Nālani McDougall for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of Ward Toward by Cindy Juyoung Ok for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of The Ferguson Report: An Erasure by Nicole Sealy for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of Diving At The Lip Of The Water by Karen Poppy for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of Aster of Ceremonies by JJJJJerome Ellis for The Wave, Kelp Journal
Review of Wrong Norma by Anne Carson for The Wave, Kelp Journal
SPEAKER.
Speaking: “Start Your Story”, No Az Book Festival (Virtual), April 2024
A 60 minute workshop on how to generate ideas to start your next story.
Speaking & Reading: Kelp Journal and Books at Lit Crawl Sebastopol, April 2024
A 45-60 live interview with authors Nik Xander Wolf and Ioannis Argiris as well as a reading of works from The Wave, Kelp Journal (learn more)
Speaking: “What Point of View Can Do For You” Horror Writer’s Association, Colorado (Virtual), February 2024
A 45 minutes presentation on POV using multiple literary examples from a wide range of authors. Discussion of the use of POV and all its benefits.
Speaking: “The Art of Acceptance: The difference between as YES! and a No when submitting to Kelp” – U.C. Riverside Palm Desert, December 2023
An hour and half presentation on submitting to Kelp Journal, The Wave, and Kelp Books; and submitting in general, with tips and tricks to get your work accepted by Kelp and others.
Speaking: “Published! Tips and Tricks from an Indie Editor, CWC Tri-Valley Branch, May 2023″
A 45 minute presentation on how to cut through the fray, bulk up your bio, and get your work out into the world.
Reading: NoAz Book Festival, April 2023
A half hour reading of Kelp Journal contributor story.
Speaking: Editors and Publishers Panel – NoAz Book Festival, April 2023
An hour long panel on the current state of indie publishing and the job of an editor.
Speaking: “What Point of View Can Do For You” – CWC Mount Diablo Branch, March 2023
A three hour workshop reviewing all the POV’s with accompanying short drafting exercises. Multiple literary examples from a wide range of authors on the use of POV and all its benefits.
Reading: from Nifty Lit Live October 2022
Reading an excerpt of Sick Day at the virtual reading of Nifty Lit contributors
Speaking: “What Point of View Can Do For You” – U.C. Riverside Palm Desert, December 2018
A forty five minute presentation encompassing problems and pitfalls of POV as well as providing expert examples of POV gone right.
Editorial Services
I am now offering Editorial Services for any length of work (micro, flash, short story/essay, or novel/book length). I am well-versed in a number of formats and genres so contact me today and let’s chat about your project!