Dr. William Woolfitt
Lee University’s Dr. William Woolfitt had two fiction pieces selected for inclusion in “The Best Small Fictions of 2017” anthology: “What the Beech Tree Knows” and “Hatchlings.”
“I am delighted and honored to have my stories reprinted in such a fine anthology and shared with a wider audience,” said Dr. Woolfitt, assistant professor of creative writing.
“What the Beech Tree Knows” is based on Dr. Woolfitt’s research about deforestation and environmental injustice in Appalachia. Set in the late 1800’s, it is about a boy and a tree that becomes for him a kind of imaginary friend.
“Hatchlings” was written after Dr. Woolfitt volunteered to rescue leatherback sea turtle eggs in Costa Rica. His fiction is about three brothers who relocate endangered turtle eggs, trying to outwit the men in their village who pillage the nests and sell the eggs on the black market.
“The Best Small Fictions” is the first contemporary anthology solely devoted to honoring the best short hybrid fiction published in a calendar year. The series began in 2015, featuring seasoned and emerging writers.
Dr. Woolfitt joined Lee’s Department of Language and Literature in fall 2012 where he teaches creative writing and literature. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy and his Master of Fine Arts from The Pennsylvania State University. He received his Master of Arts from Hollins University and his Bachelor of Arts from Fairmont State College.
Dr. Woolfitt is the author of two books of poetry, “Beauty Strip” and “Charles of the Desert,” along with a chapbook of prose, “The Boy with Fire in His Mouth.”
Dr. Woolfitt’s poems and stories appear in such publications as Shenandoah, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Threepenny Review, Notre Dame Review, New Ohio Review, The Cincinnati Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Ninth Letter, and River Styx, among others.
The anthology will be available for purchase fall 2017.
To read other stories written by Dr. Woolfitt, visit https://williamwoolfitt.wordpress.com/.