Lori Jakiela

Lori Jakiela is an American author of memoirs and poetry. She won Stanford University's William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for non-fiction for her third memoir, Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth Maybe, in 2016.^[1][2]

Lori Jakiela
Occupation	Author
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Gannon University
Notable awards	William Saroyan International Prize for Writing (2016)

Education and career

Jakiela was raised in Trafford, Pennsylvania and attended Gannon University.^[3] She is a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg,^[4] and has also taught at Chatham University and served as co-director of the Chautauqua Institution's Summer Writers Festival.^[5]

Recognition

Jakiela won Stanford University's William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for non-fiction for her third memoir, Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth Maybe, in 2016.^[1][2] She was awarded a City of Asylum residency in Belgium in 2015.^[6]

She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.^[1]

Personal life

Jakiela has worked as a flight attendant and as a freelance journalist, including The New York Times. the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Washington Post. She is married to novelist Dave Newman.^[6]

Selected works

Memoir

• They Write Your Name on a Grain of Rice: On Cancer, Love and Living Even So (Atticus Books, 2023)
• Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe (Atticus Books, 2015; Autumn House Press, 2019)^[2][7]
• The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious (C&R Press, 2013)^[8]
• Miss New York Has Everything (Hatchette 2006)^[9]

Essays

• Portrait of the Artist as a Bingo Worker: Essays on Work and the Writing Life (Bottom Dog Press, 2017)^[10]
• Ed. by M.J. Fievre. All that Glitters: A Sliver of Stone Anthology (Lominy Books, 2013)
• Ed by Sheryl St. Germain and Margaret Whitford. Between Song and Story: Essays for the 21st Century (Autumn Press House, 2011)
• Ed. by Elizabeth Penfield. Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition (Pearson)
• Ed. by Lee Gutkind. Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know about Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction (W.W. Norton, 2008)
• Ed. by Dinty Moore. The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction (Pearson, 2006)

Poetry

• How Do You Like It Now, Gentlemen? Poems at Mid-Life (Brickhouse Books, 2021)
• Spot the Terrorist (Turning Point 2012)
• The Regulars (Liquid Paper Press, 2001)
• Red Eye (Pudding House, 2010)
• The Mill Hunk's Daughter Meets the Queen of Sky (Finishing Line, 2011)
• Big Fish (Stranded Oak Press, 2016)^[11]