(Stockbridge, MA) — D.J. Thielke of Houston, Texas has been awarded the Stone Court Writer-In-Residence Program’s inaugural residency in Stockbridge, MA. Thielke is the author of 15 published short stories, two of which have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She has also been a Flannery O’Connor Short Fiction Award finalist. The Stone Court Writer-In-Residence Program, founded this year, is co-sponsored by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the Berkshire Waldorf High School.
The Stone Court Writer-In-Residence Program offers two twelve-week residencies each year, one beginning in September and one beginning in February, to provide emerging writers with the freedom, time and material support to concentrate on their creative work. Established to bring young writers who represent diverse American voices—particularly those from other regions of the United States—to the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, the Stone Count Writer-in-Residence Program also offers the visiting writer an opportunity to contribute to the local community by giving public readings and leading a creative writing “master class” at the Berkshire Waldorf High School.
D.J. Thielke’s work has appeared in journals such as Arts and Letters, Indiana Review, Cincinnati Review, Southern Humanities Review and the New Delta Review: Best of the Web. In addition, her plays have been produced at the Houston Fringe Festival and the Frenticore Fringe Festival. She currently serves as Assistant Editor of Narrative Magazine.
Thielke was raised in Houston, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Southern California in 2010 and her Master of Fine Arts from Vanderbilt University in 2013, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Nashville Review (2012-2013). For the past year, she has been a James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the University of Wisconsin.
“We were fortunate to receive a large number of excellent submissions for this residency,” David McCarthy, Chairperson of the selection committee, noted. “Among them, D.J. Thielke’s writing stood out to the entire committee, beautifully written and reflecting a maturity that impressed us all. She’ll be a wonderful new voice in our community.”
Waldorf High School Faculty Chairperson Dr. Stephen Sagarin added, “D.J. Thielke and the Stone Court residency will allow our students to see beyond their lives in the Berkshires, get to know the minds and voices of those from different parts of the country and improve their skill in creative writing.”