A journal-keeper, I’ve been writing fiendishly about life’s experiences since I was thirteen years old. Like Harriet (of Spy fame) I have a vast library of notebooks filled with important observations about people, situations, and my place in the scheme of things. I spend my days editing others’ manuscripts, writing about memories and rodents, singing, playing piano, swimming, and humoring a hip condition. Until his recent death, I joined my father on walks, helping him search for his own remaining memories. I like to laugh and do that a lot, even when it’s inappropriate.

My undergrad and grad degrees in biology and public health led to twenty years as an occupational epidemiologist, where I studied and wrote about work-related diseases—an opportunity to hone objectivity, brevity, and an appreciation for the scientific method.

Non-scientific publications include six personal essays from my draft manuscript Downriver from Detroit: A Collection of Essays (in Belt Magazine, Kalamazoo College’s alumni magazine Lux Esto, the Ann Arbor Observer, Michigan State University Libraries Short Edition, and Gotham Writers the Razor). A lengthy piece was named a semifinalist in Tulip Tree Publishing’s “Stories That Need to Be Told” contest. A short story from my collection 458 Morton Avenue was selected as a quarterfinalist in the 2017 Screencraft Cinematic Short Story Contest. A memoir describing my college study abroad experience is complete; another describes my alternative existence camping during my high school years.

Contact me: nnelson235@gmail.com