Amanda Ellard

Doctoral student, concentration in Creative Writing

Education

Master of Arts in English concentrated in Folklore Studies from George Mason University, 2023 — Thesis titled "Chinese Danmei Webnovels: Translation Lockdowns, Masculinity, and Community-Building"

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Stetson University, 2022 — Thesis titled "Reversing Fire," a fiction novel, with a critical forward titled "When the Prison Talks Back and Fire Isn't for Burning the Past: Manufacturing Characters, Painting Worlds, and Exploring Identity"

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

Scholarly Focus

• Queer and speculative fiction
• Digital folklore
• Web literature
• Fandom studies

Publications

"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

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

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

Courses Taught

Ohio University- ENG 1510 Writing & Rhetoric I

George Mason University- INTS 249 Digital Literacy, a guest lecturer on podcast and video editing