Allison Kirkland

I am a writer and an educator. I see these two roles as interconnected: the classes I teach inform my writing, and my writing is informed by the classes I teach.

I’m a personal essayist and journalist. You can find my work in PBS, Nieman Storyboard the IndyWeek. My personal essays have placed in the Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition as well as the RCWMS Annual Essay Contest. In 2022 I was named an Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artist by the Durham Arts Council and my work has received fellowships and support from the Norman Mailer Center and the Durham Arts Council.

I earned an undergraduate degree in English from Duke University, an MFA in creative nonfiction from The New School and a Graduate Certificate in Publishing from the Denver Publishing Institute. Since 2016 I have been teaching creative writing to adults in nontraditional spaces. I have a great deal of experience working with writers who are working on memoirs, personal essays or other types of creative nonfiction. I’m skilled at asking the right questions to unlock a new layer of understanding, locating the heart of your story, infusing play and ease into workshop, and providing feedback in a way that honors the vulnerability of the writing process. I instruct an ongoing writing critique group independently and also teach classes locally and on zoom.