Thin Ice And Other Risks – Ames Writers Collective

What’s your genre?
Fiction, novel and short story, occasional nonfiction

Are you published?
Traditional publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
In short: early encouragement, love reading, opportunity, and disillusionment with my first career choice.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Co-favorites) Raymond Carver, Alice Munro
Carver: simple, minimalistic use of language, his subtexts say so much. And, as he was once described: “He taught us that literature can exist with a bottle of catsup resting on a table in a trailer house.”

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver
One-Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Friend of My Youth by Alice Munro

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I’m a well-concealed introvert whose sometimes dark writing belies the fact that I’m a quite nice guy.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Read, read, read…all the writers you love.
Remember the advice of your old favorite uncle: “Work hard and don’t give up.”
The paycheck should not matter.
And finally, this is related to the previous. Marry well.

Author bio
Born and raised in Rolla, North Dakota, I worked as a pharmacist mostly in Alaska for fifteen years. I became a writer after earning an MFA degree at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.

My collection of short stories, Thin Ice and Other Risks, was published by New Rivers Press. I’ve also published many stand-alone short stories and nonfiction articles. My novel, True North, was published by BHC Press in late 2021.

I have several writing awards, the most significant being a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. I’ve taught fiction and nonfiction at Iowa State University. I live and work now in Ames, Iowa, while spending parts of summers in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota.

Click here to visit Gary.

Join us for an Author Spotlight featuring Gary Eller, author of True North.

Eller’s previous collection of short fiction, THIN ICE AND OTHER RISKS (New Rivers Press) was well-received and described by one reviewer as “reminiscent of Raymond Carver’s best work.” In addition to many short stories, he has published nonfiction articles on various topics such as commercial fishing in Alaska, rare museum collections, and post-divorce life. He has also published interviews and several articles on the craft of writing. His focus in the nonfiction genre, however, has been on baseball, one of his many loves.

His writing awards include the River City Award in Fiction, the Fowler Prize, and a Minnesota Voices Award, among others. He is a former Pushcart Prize nominee and recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has also taught fiction and nonfiction at Iowa State University and lectured widely on aspects of creative writing.

Copies of True North will be available for purchase and author signing.

This event is held in partnership with the
Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio.