Ashley Bethard

Hi. I’m Ashley.

I’m a writer who splits my time between the slightly bustling mini-metropolis of Sandusky, Ohio and my parents’ farm, a 65-acre estate in Collins, Ohio.

I have an MFA in creative writing from Ashland University. My thesis, which investigates the gray spaces of memory, looks something like an amalgamation of essay, memoir and lyricism.

I’m the Editor of Funcoast.com Magazine, an entertainment ‘zine and website based in northcentral Ohio. I’m the Managing Editor of Peripheral Surveys: A Postmodern Journal of Literature, Arts and Humanism and a copyeditor at Midwestern Gothic. I’m also a columnist/blogger for Specter Literary Magazine.

I contribute to Kaffe in Katmandu, a virtual artist hangout and blog. When I have time (a rarity), I author a blog of fictional-esque vignettes called The Casualty Chronicles and co-author Bloody Knees Press, a collection of oddities and excerpts that seek to explore, understand and pay tribute to the pseudo-groupie life.

Publications & Awards

“Do It With Mourning: The Merits of Making a Mess” (Column), Specter Literary Magazine, Oct. 19, 2011.

“I Am Speaking the Language” (Fiction; published at Used Furniture Review) selected as a Fwriction Review “Story of the Day,” October 10, 2011.

“I Am Speaking the Language” (Flash Fiction), Used Furniture Review, October 10, 2011.

“X-Men: First Class & Inception: What Films Lend to Writing” (Column), Specter Literary Magazine, October 6, 2011.

“Keep Your Masthead Clean, or: Just Say No to Literary Incest” (Humor, Essay), Specter Literary Magazine, October 3, 2011.

James Franco’s “Palo Alto”: A Twitter Review by @OhEmGillie & @AshleyBethard (Review), Specter Literary Magazine, September 26, 2011.

“On Magical Writing and a Gypsy Named Kerouac” (Column), Specter Literary Magazine, September 19, 2011.

“Albums of our Lives: Shooter Jennings’ Put the O Back in Country” (Essay), The Rumpus, August 12, 2011.

“This Is Not A Pipe” selected to be part of “Best of Hot Metal Bridge” anthology; forthcoming Fall 2011.

“Poste restante, part 1” (Fiction/guest blog), Kaffe in Katmandu, June 24, 2011.

Book Review: Frank Hinton, “I Don’t Respect Female Expression” (Review), Peripheral Surveys, June 16, 2011.

“Last Book I Loved, Goldengrove (Essay), The Rumpus, May 4, 2011.

“Here’s What Death Means for a Squirrel” (Lyric Essay), Peripheral Surveys, May 2, 2011.

—  “Fixed Points in the Universe” (Essay), Sea Giraffe, March 2, 2011.

“From Egypt to Obama” (Editorial), Sandusky Register, Feb. 23, 2011.

“Readers Report Back From…Neighborhood” on The Rumpus, Jan. 3, 2011 (pg. 7).

“This Is Not A Pipe” nominated by Hot Metal Bridge for the Dzanc Books “Best of the Web 2011” Anthology.

“This Is Not A Pipe” (Essay), Hot Metal Bridge, University of Pittsburgh, Spring 2010.

— Runner-up; “Shape in a Misshapen World” Festival of the Arts literary contest in prose for my nonfiction piece, “This is Not a Pipe,” May 2009.

— Ashland University Undergraduate Creative Writing Award in Prose, April 2008.

Select Articles

Much of my work can be found online at Funcoast.com or in its print counterpart, Funcoast Magazine (the entertainment website and ‘zine of The Sandusky Register).  Below is a sampling.

VIDEO: A peek into Blonde Swan’s stylebook

The queen of vintage revival: recycled.stylez’s Gina Ground-Hiser

A new road for the Womacks

Sandusky’s first-ever female roller derby team

Death by Rodeo wrangles another album

Walk talks: “It’s all about the song”

Where, oh where, did Dan Fester go?

Hermes + music = perfect winter haven

Huron native helps out big time bands

Montgomery visits Sandusky on ‘50 states in 50 days’ tour

Day One: Battle of the Bands, Me and Bobby McGee (and half a beer is enough, indeed)

Additional clips available upon request.

Education

MFA in Creative Writing - Creative Nonfiction
Ashland University - Ashland, Ohio
2008 - 2010

BA, English, Creative Writing; Minor: Applied Writing
Ashland University - Ashland, Ohio
2004 - 2008