I’m originally from rural Illinois but have spent my life in many homes, from New Orleans to South Korea. I received my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, and after traveling the world for almost two years, I’m now based in Richmond, VA, where I work as a full-time writer, editor, and consultant.

My creative work has appeared in storySouth, Matador Network, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Duende, Oyez Review, Blue Mesa Review, and The Drum Literary Magazine, among other publications. My fiction chapbook “Anywhere Else but Here” was published by Fjords Review in 2022, and my chapbook “Fratricide” was selected as the winner of the BLOOM Chapbook Contest for Fiction in 2012.

In 2013, I expanded my creative repertoire to include screenwriting, and my media arts projects have since been shown at festivals and conferences around the world. Most notably, the short film “Crosswalk,” which I wrote and directed, won the Audience Award at the Second Act Film Festival in 2013, and “Phantomythography: A Young Ghost Comes of Age,” a media art installation that I wrote and co-directed, won second place in the New Media Competition at the University Film and Video Association Conference in 2015.

In addition to my creative career, I have been a professional freelance writer and editor since 2007, during which time I’ve been involved in a number of projects, including writing and editing government and foundation grants for nonprofit organizations; writing for a children’s podcast/app (Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls); and editing dissertations, theses, journal articles, and full-length book manuscripts. Before making the move to writing and editing full-time, I spent my days traversing the state of South Carolina, educating individuals and organizations about domestic and sexual violence prevention, LGBTQ rights, and serving marginalized populations. These days, I call upon those years of experience to provide trainings and consulting services to nonprofits and businesses.

Besides writing and reading, in my spare time, I like to hike in the mountains, attempt new yoga poses, make up songs on my piano, and play sax in a community band.

Find me on Twitter: @AlexisStratton

Find me on LinkedIn

Check out my travel blog: You Are (Queer) Here

Note: This is the personal website of Alexis Stratton; the opinions contained here are solely my own and do not represent the views or endorsements of any organizations or businesses with which I may be affiliated.

Photo credit: Jamie Wulfekuhle-Zaweski at Radiant Snapshots