Full-Length
Lance Sanderson, Fourth Grader (2023) Simul Books
A year in the life of Lance Sanderson, a fourth-grade boy growing up in Central Washington State during the early 1980s. Lance writes about friends, religion, school, family, race, and sports while trying to make sense of the world around him.
In Beginning: Poems (2021) Simul Books
Sixty-five new poems about a very ancient book, In Beginning goes way back to consider language, family, and divine encounters.
People Live Here: Stories from Yakima (2020) Simul Books
Fourteen pieces of flash fiction and short stories that offer glimpses of life in Yakima, Washington (ca. 2009–2014).
Short Works
“The Parable of Eleanor Perkins and Her Limp” (short story) Peatsmoke Journal
Eleanor Perkins is not exactly like every girl in school. This is one of my all-time favorite stories, and I was honored that it won Peatsmoke Journal‘s 2022 Fiction Contest, as selected by James Tate Hill.
“Starlings” (short story) Carve Magazine
This story, set in a farmhouse kitchen, provides a snapshot of assumed views of progress and race between an orchardist and a corporate lawyer. I am very proud that it was selected for the “Editor’s Choice Award” and appears in the first print edition of Carve.
“The Last Story I Cared About” (flash) Fiction Southeast
An unusual flash fiction piece about a writer, two cats, a Nazi dog, and an affair between professors. This piece was honored as a finalist in Fiction Southeast’s Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize.
“Fire: Summer 2015” (poem) Rust+Moth
This piece began as a letter describing the confining summer of forest fires in Washington State. It evolved into this lovely little poem.
“The Granger Spartans Have Not Lost Yet” (short story) Aethlon
A complex piece on how one high school basketball game affects the life of a small town, all unfolding in the small pause as a ball sits on a rim.
“Persona Or: All Sanctuaries Smell Like Stockholm” (short story) Santa Clara Review
High school, identity, religion, Swedish films, and winter in central Washington.
“The Photographer” (short story) Pacifica Literary Review
When a family’s most famous member dies (the Photographer), his granddaughter must try to find an image of him.
“The Risk of Winning” (short story) The Under Review
An athlete recounts his story of the most elusive of all sporting moments: perfect humiliation and infamy.
“Pin Oaks” (poem) Clackamas Literary Review
Fifteen lines about the saddest of all trees.
“Nesting” (poem) Heron Tree
Perhaps a love poem. At the very least, a meditation on the (welcome) intrusion of the unexpected.
“Fruit” (poem) The Purpled Nail
A poem from my In Beginning collection, “Fruit” is a formal experiment in connecting the ancient, the literary, and the personal at a pivotal garden moment.
“First Day” (short story) Mused
I always loved this piece but was never sure it would find a home: a delicate story of a mother’s insecurities and conflicts on a supposedly happy day: her daughter’s first day of school.
“Don’t Ask” (flash) Flash
It’s probably easier to print the story than to describe it. In short, two women convince their families that they (the women) are not straight.
“The Host” (flash) The Fictioneer
A wealthy man hides his true talent as a writer. His talent is easy to hide, given that he’s never actually written anything.
Additional Publications
“Arrivals and Departures” (short story) in DoveTales
“The Last Shot” (poem) in The Penwood Review
“Pedro Gutierrez’s True War Story” (flash) in The Literary Commune
Awards
Fiction Contest Winner, Peastmoke Journal, “The Parable of Eleanor Perkins and Her Limp”
Editor’s Choice Award, Carve Magazine, “Starlings”
Finalist, Ruby Irene Poetry Chapbook Contest, Arcadia, The Insufficiency of Pillows
Finalist, Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize, Fiction Southeast, “The Last Story I Cared About”
Semifinalist, St. Lawrence Book Award, Black Lawrence Press, People Live Here: Stories from Yakima.
Quarterfinalist, Able Muse Book Award, In Beginning: Poems.
Joe Johnson Writes 