Amanda Ellard

Doctoral student, concentration in Creative Writing

Education

Master of Arts in English concentrated in Folklore Studies from George Mason University, 2023 \

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Stetson University, 2022 

Bachelor of Arts double majored in Editing, Writing, and Media and Japanese Language and Culture from Florida State University, 2016

Scholarly Focus

• Speculative fiction
• Digital folklore
• Fandom studies

Publications

"When You Heard She Died" — microfiction, appeared in Flash Frontier's time-themed issue

"The Art of Voice Acting" — article appeared in the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage's Folklife Magazine

"2170" - speculative fiction short story, appeared in Anastamos literary journal

"Sound of Too Late" - lyrical flash fiction, appeared in Storyscape Literary Journal

"Mom and Dad's Key West Photos" - flash fiction, appeared in The Walled City Journal

"Maybe Get a Cup of Coffee Together" - flash fiction, appeared in The Walled City Journal

"When Escaping Reality Helps Define Identity: Expression and Empowerment in the Cosplay Community" — article appeared in the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage's Folklife Magazine

"Sleeping on a Bench" - fiction novella, no longer in contract

Positions

Quarter After Eight (opens in a new window) Editor (Fall 2025- Spring 2027)

Former New Ohio Review Assistant Fiction Editor (Fall 2024 - Spring 2025)

Former storyteller Intern for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage's Folklife Magazine

Former Editorial Assistant for the Journal of American Folklore: A Global Quarterly (2021-2023)

Awards

Outstanding Folklore Student Award, George Mason University, 2024

The Margaret Yocom Folklore Prize for the best student paper in folklore studies, 2023

Courses Taught

Ohio University:

• ENG 3610 Creative Writing: Fiction
• ENG 1510 Writing & Rhetoric I

George Mason University:

• INTS 249 Digital Literacy, a guest lecturer on podcast and video editing