Philadelphia transplant, first in Ithaca, New York and now a few blocks from Lake Michigan in Edgewater, Chicago.
I write fiction and study the relationship between climate, trauma, apocalypse, and the narratology of video games.
All photos of me by David F. Lugowski
All other photos, screenshots, and videos are my captures unless otherwise noted.
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And if you’re curious what I’m playing, watching, listening to, or reading, here are my—
making art for the end of the world
Born in Philadelphia and raised in Upper Darby, PA, I write fiction and criticism on a variety of subjects — with a particular fixation on climate fiction and apocalypse studies. I’m an avid video game player and researcher; over the past few years, I’ve both written and presented on the relationship between video games and literary trauma theory. Having trained in both the humanities and the sciences at Cornell, I’ve run Sunset Over Ithaca since 2015. In 2023, I received an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English Literature from Northwestern University’s Litowitz Graduate Program.
Featured FICTION
Some Places I’ve Been…
Northwestern University
(2020 – Present)
In 2023, I earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and M.A. in English literature from the Litowitz Graduate Program at Northwestern University. Received a departmental teaching award for my work teaching English 202: Introduction to Creative Writing, during the 2021-2022 academic year. In my independent research, I focus on climate fiction, game studies and new media, and the myriad ways we imagine the end of the world. Currently, I work as a Program Coordinator in the School of Communication.
CollegeVine
(2016 – 2020)
Taught personal narrative — in the form of college application essays — to high school juniors and seniors. Managed a team (and later a division) of tutors, led livestream presentations about college admissions, and designed extensive training guides and curricula for use in multiple iterations of CV’s platform and product.
Cornell University
(2014 – 2018)
Earned a B.A. in English literature and Physics, with concentrations in Creative Writing, Science Communications, and a minor in Italian Studies. Had a short story buried in a time capsule under Klarman Hall, to be dug up in 2065. I received Cornell’s George Harmon Coxe Award in Creative Writing in 2017, and my thesis entitled “Surviving a Death at the End of the World: Reflections on Trauma, Apocalypse, and Dying in Video Game Narratives” received summa cum laude honors.
Sunset Over Ithaca 