Nick Almeida
Nick Almeida’s stories and essays have appeared in Pleiades, The Southeast Review, Mid-American Review, American Literary Review, Waxwing, and elsewhere. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Houston and holds an MFA from The Michener Center for Writers, where he edited Bat City Review. His chapbook, Masterplans, was selected by judge Steve Almond as grand prize winner of The Masters Review’s inaugural Chapbook Contest in Fiction and is available now.
Interview Excerpt:
Interview with Flash Frontier:
“I write fiction of all different lengths and, like everyone, have my notebooks of poetry too awful to share with the world. Flash fiction distils the form and is so challenging for the pressure it places on each unit of expression. It’s a form that respects the time and
intelligence of its reader. That’s the lesson I try to carry from flash into other forms of writing, that each authorial move is not only meaning-making, but also an offering of respect through compression and clearly rendered complexity. Flash teaches that a
relationship is continuous—built and strained and built and strained and rebuilt—between a piece of writing and its reader.”
–Nick Almeida
Recommended Books for Aspiring Writers
Student Testimonials
“From his expertise in the subject, to his encouraging yet guiding nature, to the
sense of humor that makes the material engaging, I enjoyed this class a lot! His
true passion and love for the craft of writing is infectious.”
“The class was fun, and I really feel like I got a lot out of both the workshops and
readings. I'd say this is one of the best classes to take as a creative writing
student.”
“He really takes the time to get to know and learn his students and makes us feel
comfortable by learning our individual quirks and styles.”
“Nick is respectful, encouraging, accommodating, and empathetic. He is also
quite funny and makes attending class worthwhile!”
Teaching Philosophy
Artistic development thrives with mindful experimentation. Writers should be empowered, their work treated with seriousness and care, and collaboration undertaken, always, with a spirit of community.
Interview Excerpt:
Interview with Flash Frontier:
“I write fiction of all different lengths and, like everyone, have my notebooks of poetry too awful to share with the world. Flash fiction distils the form and is so challenging for the pressure it places on each unit of expression. It’s a form that respects the time and
intelligence of its reader. That’s the lesson I try to carry from flash into other forms of writing, that each authorial move is not only meaning-making, but also an offering of respect through compression and clearly rendered complexity. Flash teaches that a
relationship is continuous—built and strained and built and strained and rebuilt—between a piece of writing and its reader.”
–Nick Almeida
Recommended Books for Aspiring Writers
- Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer by Peter Turchi
- From the Hilltop by Toni Jensen
- Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf
- The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich
Student Testimonials
“From his expertise in the subject, to his encouraging yet guiding nature, to the
sense of humor that makes the material engaging, I enjoyed this class a lot! His
true passion and love for the craft of writing is infectious.”
“The class was fun, and I really feel like I got a lot out of both the workshops and
readings. I'd say this is one of the best classes to take as a creative writing
student.”
“He really takes the time to get to know and learn his students and makes us feel
comfortable by learning our individual quirks and styles.”
“Nick is respectful, encouraging, accommodating, and empathetic. He is also
quite funny and makes attending class worthwhile!”
Teaching Philosophy
Artistic development thrives with mindful experimentation. Writers should be empowered, their work treated with seriousness and care, and collaboration undertaken, always, with a spirit of community.