Literary publishing and editing

Illustration of yellow pear with brown stem

Book publishing

ARC PAIR PRESS

Founder & Publisher, 2017 – 2021

a boutique publisher of perfect-bound mini-books, specializing in short collections of fiction and nonfiction, prose poetry, and novellas.

In the summer of 2017, I began a small publishing company that specialized in novella-length works. As most of our books sold at author readings and other events, the pandemic shut-downs led to an indefinite hiatus. However, up until that point, I reviewed nearly 700 manuscripts to select the top 1% for publication.

Under the name Arc Pair Press, I published seven literary paperbacks, including an honorable mention on 2018 Writer's Bone Year's Best Books List and a nominee for the 2020 Association for Mormon Letters Award for Creative Nonfiction.

Particularly Dangerous Situation by Patti White, 2020 A devastating tornadic storm hits Alabama after erasing the state of Mississippi. Among the survivors are a distraught weatherman, a woman strapped to a dental chair, a man carrying a dead ca — *Particularly Dangerous Situation* by Patti White, 2020

A devastating tornadic storm hits Alabama after erasing the state of Mississippi. Among the survivors are a distraught weatherman, a woman strapped to a dental chair, a man carrying a dead cat, and a golf-club wielding real-estate agent who encounters the undead. In this experimental novella, White’s poetic prose captures the endless trauma of catastrophe: the physical and emotional disorder, the chaotic and contingent patterns of events. Here, the reader will find no neat resolution. Life after grand-scale destruction and near-death experience is effectively another kind of cyclone: spinning and relentless, a state of free fall through dense and violent clouds.

Let It Be Our Ruin by Lee Tyler Williams, 2020—OUT OF PRINT Crisscrossing through the small towns of Argentina to find a rare rock album, a middle-school teacher from Texas is forced to confront his understanding of the past. Through the languag — *Let It Be Our Ruin* by Lee Tyler Williams, 2020—OUT OF PRINT

Crisscrossing through the small towns of Argentina to find a rare rock album, a middle-school teacher from Texas is forced to confront his understanding of the past. Through the language of music, *Let It Be Our Ruin* examines the myths of identity and historic realities. Rumors about a musician whose fame peaked during the Argentine Dirty War and teenage gossip about a high-school friend harmonize with the stories of nations to create a composition about grief, the multiple ways of speaking truth, and the blues.

Pleasing Tree by Brooke Larson, 2019
Nominated for the 2020 Association for Mormon Letters Award for Creative Nonfiction Brooke Larson’s essay collection Pleasing Tree explores the human relationship with the wilderness. Beginning with a M — *Pleasing Tree* by Brooke Larson, 2019

**Nominated for the 2020 Association for Mormon Letters Award for Creative Nonfiction**
Brooke Larson’s essay collection *Pleasing Tree* explores the human relationship with the wilderness. Beginning with a Mormon-founded experiment in primitive survival, teenagers hike the Arizona desert while Larson shines light on the effects of prolonged exposure to the outdoors. Recalling Biblical and religious sojourns, Larson maps her own travels from the desert to Salt Lake City to New York City to Jerusalem. This collection crawls with insects, communicative plants, and poetry. It pulses with blood and breath, excrement and the bodies of the living.

I and You by J. David Stevens, 2019—LIMITED EDITION | OUT OF PRINT A teenage son puzzles over his father’s obsession with American football. A Texas woman falls for an international graduate student. A middle-aged divorcee tries to right an old — *I and You* by J. David Stevens, 2019—LIMITED EDITION | OUT OF PRINT

A teenage son puzzles over his father’s obsession with American football. A Texas woman falls for an international graduate student. A middle-aged divorcee tries to right an old wrong in the life of a man for whom she serves as caregiver. In episodes where intimacy falters, characters must confront the unknowable lives of those closest to them: parents, lovers, confidantes. These are ghost stories of a kind, tales of what was lost and what was let go during the cultural journey from East to West.

Wake in the Night by Laura Krughoff, 2018 Six stories span a century of rural American women. Marriages occur in the 1930s for lack of other opportunities; a young girl dances to Thriller for her friend’s older brother; a pastor remembers her — *Wake in the Night* by Laura Krughoff, 2018

Six stories span a century of rural American women. Marriages occur in the 1930s for lack of other opportunities; a young girl dances to *Thriller* for her friend’s older brother; a pastor remembers her childhood spent fantasizing that she is the prophet John the Baptist. In the small towns of the Midwest, girls and women dream of finding voice and forcing the world to listen.

Mouth Trap by Rebbecca Brown, 2018—OUT OF PRINT Rebbecca Brown's prose poetry collection renders birds, beasts, and surroundings from the lens of an artist who structures form with feeling. Acute observations are captured with music and tangled i — *Mouth Trap* by Rebbecca Brown, 2018—OUT OF PRINT

Rebbecca Brown's prose poetry collection renders birds, beasts, and surroundings from the lens of an artist who structures form with feeling. Acute observations are captured with music and tangled in emotion. Through the creation of portraits and landscapes, Brown fashions an exhibit of dynamic lyricism and word play.

The Paper Life They Lead by Patrick Crerand, 2018 2018 Writer's Bone Year's Best Books List Honorable Mention A Pontiac Sunfire experiences Springsteen-esque glory days; women captivate with unusual beauty; a murderous sloth threatens a child. — *The Paper Life They Lead* by Patrick Crerand, 2018

**2018 Writer's Bone Year's Best Books List Honorable Mention**
A Pontiac Sunfire experiences Springsteen-esque glory days; women captivate with unusual beauty; a murderous sloth threatens a child. With plots that dive immediately into the absurd, Crerand captures the angst of existential crises, the search for meaning, and moments of depth and beauty through humor and attention to detail. This seven-story collection is funny, serious, and bizarre.

"Heather was an insightful editor; her guidance helped me shape the piece for publication, but also helped me see the narrative arc and the thematic potential of the piece more clearly."

Laura Krughoff, writer
Heather co-founded Requited with me and two other writers in 2008; she's a great collaborator. She contributes thoughtful ideas, meets deadlines and is careful that all involved feel like they’re important. I’d definitely work with her again."

HV Cramond, writer and editor
"Heather has a keen eye for complexities and aesthetic nuance, which is evident in her editorial skills and the generous feedback she always thoughtfully provides to her fellow writers."

Rebbecca Brown, writer
"Heather has a tremendously strong critical eye, and she presents her views to others with both passion and respect—a nice combination when one is dealing with magazine production."

Karen Craigo, business reporter and poet

Literary magazine publishing
with emphasis on fiction and creative nonfiction

Publishing, editing, reading, and promotion at independent and university-affiliated literary journals

Masque & Spectacle

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, 2014 – 2019

In 2019, I passed control of Masque & Spectacle over to editor James Reitter. The journal continues today to be a supporter and home for international voices in the arts.

Published 4 issues of international online arts journal per year, averaging 15 works per issue
Edited the work of more than 200 writers, poets, dramatists, and translators
Featured writers, translators, artists, and musicians representing 12 countries

Selection of Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction

2 Stories by Rachel Luria. March 2019.

“I Guess This Is What I’ve Spent My Life Doing” by Lucy Biederman, December 2017.

“Everything Was Quicksand” by Rebecca Fishow, December 2017. —Later published in The Trouble with Language: Stories, Trnsfr Books, 2020. Winner of the Holland Prize for Fiction.

“The Last Supper” by Shaelyn Smith, December 2017. —Later published in The Leftovers, Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2018. Winner of CLMP’s 2019 Firecracker Award for Creative Nonfiction. Winner of the 2017 CSU Poetry Center Essay Collection Competition.

“A Theory of Game, A Theory of Horror” by Josh Woods, December 2017. —Later published in O Monstrous World!, Press 53, 2019. Winner of the 2019 International Book Awards for Fiction: Short Story.

2 Poems by Rachel Nagleberg, December 2016. —”Do Androids Dream of Dick” received Honorable Mention for Sundress Best-of the Net.

“The World Dimmed” by duncan barlow, September 2016.

3 Poems by Bradley J. Fest, September 2016.

“Why Monet Still Matters” by Nicole Pekarske, Pictures & Words Issue, June 2016.

“Radio News” by Naomi Buck Palagi, December 2015.

“The Seashell” by z.m. quỳnh, The Vietnam Issue, June 2015.

3 Poems by Ellen Elder, December 2014.

2 Essays by Dustin Parson, September 2014. —Later published in Exploded View: Essays on Fatherhood, with Diagrams, The University of Georgia Press, 2018.

Requited Journal

Co-Founder & Nonfiction Editor, 2008 – 2011

Requited’s publishing ended in 2018. Issues are now archived with the
Loyola University Chicago library.

The word "Requited" over an orange background with varying shades

Curated literary nonfiction for quarterly literary journal and co-coordinated readings, release parties, fundraisers

Invited to co-host workshops as a literary nonfiction editor at the 5th and 6th Annual Northwestern Summer Writers’ Conference at Northwestern University