Hi, I’m alex!

alex terrell (she/her) is a Black Southern writer and maker of worlds. She is a recipient of the 2018 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Her work has appeared in Black Warrior Review, The Offing, Puerto del Sol, BAX 2020: Best American Experimental Writing, The Kenyon Review and elsewhere.

  • writing, reading, alone time, chocolate, coffee, crochet (click here to see what kinds of stuff I make) , God, cats, true-crime podcasts, really any podcast that’s spooky and makes me think, did I say coffee?, faeries, Holly Black,fantasy, magical, real talk, but not casual cruelty like T. Swift says, poetry, beautiful, beautiful lines, gorgeous, gorgeous girls, a really good cup of coffee from Dunkin, men’s jawlines, androgyny, tea, my mom, taylor swift (don’t you judge me!), Jesus, journals + bookbinding, my sister, crafts of any kind, my best friend Erin, my lovely friend Claudia, making jewelry that looks like tiny books, cozy stuff, enemies-to-lovers storylines, did I say faeries?, being Black cuz it’s awesome, piercings, Ireland, Lord of the Rings (in particular, Galadriel) and so much more, but I’ll stop here for my sanity and for yours. 

my Teaching philosophy

Dream

Allow yourself to dream. Allow yourself to want. Allow yourself to hope. Allow yourself to believe that you can tell the stories you want to tell.

My philosophy as an educator is that all of us bring our own kinds of expertise, so if we all contribute what we know then we will have a wealth of knowledge to share with one another. My aim is to empower other writers to write their boldest stories, hone their craft, and build a solid foundation by which to reach their goals.

Plan

Allow yourself to come up with a plan. Allow yourself to set your wildest goals. Then figure out how to do it.

invest

Allow yourself to believe stories matter and they are worth investing in. Whether it’s taking classes, subscribing to your favorite lit mag, going on a writing retreat or getting an MFA, invest in the things that will help you become the writer you want to be.

Build

Allow yourself to do the work. Writing is hard. We all know that. But what’s harder is building a body of work. This takes years. (I am still doing it!) Crafting a foundation by which to build your house is perhaps the most important step. Hone your craft. Take your wins and your losses, but don’t count yourself out. Work towards sustainability.