I come from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & Saint Paul, in Minnesota. I studied Creative Writing in Glasgow, Scotland, where I had the honor of having my literary work examined by the honorable Alasdair Gray. Since 2012 I've lived in New York, teaching for Gotham Writers Workshop and supporting writers through editorial consultations & collaboration to bring their literary visions to fruition. I have a broad editorial background, having held positions at magazines, small presses, assessment test publishers, and several leading educational publishers.
I've written extensively for the education market, texts and instruction in English Language Arts. I've managed copy editors, overseen print production, and edited novels for CreateSpace.com, the predecessor to Kindle Direct Publishing.
In 2015, my short story "The White Man's Incredulity Furrows His Brow"
From 2013 to 2016 I curated and co-hosted WO+rd, part of the O Positive Festival in Kingston, NY. In 2017, shared first place in a story slam with Too Much Information (TMI) Project. I taught at the 92nd Street YMCA, been on the Wholistic Life Navigation podcast, and BBC Radio.
A very indiscreet essay I wrote was published at LongReads.com, where it was a best of 2016 editor's pick. A follow-up was sought by an editor at The Times of London Sunday supplement and syndicated to the London Mirror. Equally candid, it detailed additionally my past struggles with sexual content on the internet.
Little known facts. I used a restroom facility beside Allen Ginsberg. I sold wine to Ian McEwan and scotch to Colin Dexter. I wrote a screen adaptation of Thomas McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano, and Fed-Ex'ed it to him uninvited. (He emailed me!)
In 2024, I founded a small literary press, Synthetic Prophetic.
I come from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & Saint Paul, in Minnesota. I studied Creative Writing in Glasgow, Scotland, where I had the honor of having my literary work examined by the honorable Alasdair Gray. Since 2012 I've lived in New York, teaching for Gotham Writers Workshop and supporting writers through editorial consultations & collaboration to bring their literary visions to fruition. I have a broad editorial background,...
Melvin Podgorski is young, naïve, American - and a coffee fanatic. It’s this passion that leads him from his native Chicago to 1990s Glasgow to scout out the prospects for a US coffee franchise. Looking for an escape from his suffocatingly suburban parents and the tangled wreckage of a divorce, he finds himself floundering in an alien land of...
Ben gave very sharp and astute feedback on our work. I learnt a lot from his close reading of mine and my classmates’ work.
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∯ Yuting S.
Ben is organized, kind, and thorough. His lectures are of a high caliber, and he always makes time for writing prompts in class which has been crucial to my development.
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∯ Joseph H.
I received comprehensive feedback/critique of my submissions. Ben definitely took the time to read and understand the stories, with constructive suggestions for improvement.
