Rae Cline

Fiction Writer, Creative Nonfiction Writer

New York, NY
New York US
Website: 
raecline.com

Author's Bio

Rae Cline's debut novel, Precious Ugly (7.13  Books), is a work of Appalachian literary fiction. It was a finalist for the Curt Johnson Prose Award and CRAFT’s First Chapters Contest. "Precious Ugly may be the most powerful debut of the year." — Largehearted Boy. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, North American Review, and StoryQuarterly. She is the founding editor of Eckleburg and lives in New York City. Read more at raecline.com.

Education: 
American University MFA
Johns Hopkins University MFA
Writers Retreats: 
Sewanee Writers’ Conference
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
Literary agent: 
Jennifer Carlson, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency

Publications & Prizes

Creative Nonfiction

Anthology:
North American Review: Vol. 304, No. 3, SUMMER 2019 (North American Review Press, 2019)
Journals:
McSweeney's Internet Tendency
,
Missouri Review
,
Paris Review
,
Stymie Magazine

Fiction

Anthology:
Grace and Gravity (Paycock Press, 2012)
Books:
Precious Ugly (7.13 Books, 2026)
,
The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals: Collected Stories (Patasola Press, 2011)
Journals:
A cappella Zoo
,
Annalemma
,
Bartleby Snopes
,
Caper Literary Journal
,
Diagram
,
Foundling Review
,
Gargoyle Magazine
,
Menda City Review
,
Mississippi Review
,
Opium Magazine
,
Pear Noir!
,
Redivider
,
Staccato
,
StoryQuarterly
,
The Foliate Oak Online Literary Magazine
,
Weave Magazine
,
Word Riot
Prizes won: 

Rae Cline's debut novel, Precious Ugly (7.13  Books), is a work of Appalachian literary fiction and was a finalist for the Curt Johnson Prose Award and CRAFT’s First Chapters Contest. Her story collection, The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals, was nominated for the PEN/Hemingway Award and Pushcart Prize. Her short fiction received honors from the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition and won second place in the Bartleby Snopes Short Story Contest. Her creative nonfiction was a finalist for the Terry Tempest Williams Creative Nonfiction Prize. Her work has also received honors, prizes, scholarships and fellowships from the &NOW Awards, Johns Hopkins, American University, Aspen Writers Foundation and more.

Watch

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Toni Morrison, Barbara Kingsolver, Dorothy Allison, Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O'Connor, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood
What I'm reading now: 
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Marietta, OH
Ohio
Raised in: 
Appalachia
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Sep 15, 2026