Jessi Lewis grew up on a blueberry farm in rural Virginia. Influenced by a childhood in the mountains, the women in her family, and evidence of environmental changes, Jessi writes about those places and people commonly overlooked. Often, there's a hint of mythology, magic and oddity thrown in too.
Her essays, short stories and poems have been published or are forthcoming in Oxford American, Carve, Sonora Review, The Pinch, Yemassee, and Appalachian Heritage, among others. Jessi's novel manuscript, She Spoke Wire, was a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Oxford American chose her short story, "False Morels," as the 2018 Debut Fiction Winner. Her short story, "Daria's Knives" received an honorable mention in Best American Short Stories, 2020.
Her work has been supported by the Tin House Summer Workshop and Bread Loaf Environmental.
Jessi has her MFA from West Virginia University. She now teaches writing in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and is in the final edits of a novel.
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