I earned my BA in Creative Writing from Kansas State University and an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University. My debut novel, The Evolution of Shadows, was published by Unbridled Books in 2009. I briefly published a DIY literary journal called The Project for a New Mythology, and currentlty host The Outrider Podcast, although it's on hiatus. 

There's not a very well integrated or welcoming writing community where I live, and the pandemic has made it even more fractured. So, I'm looking for a couple of things. 

First, a group of writers to discus craft, aesthetics, and the theory of creative writing and to workshop projects.   

 I'd also like to connect with other writers in situations similar to mine: traditionally published midlist literary writers struggling to get the next book accepted. 

My training is in the history of science and religion, and after writing a book on the history of empathy, I would

like to move into more creative nonfiction. I have a few pieces published in Cognoscenti, and at a blog at Psychology Today.

I am working on some pieces that are philosophical, historical and personal, and am trying to figure out what genre I am working in!

I am also an avid reader, and love to read and discuss books for inspiration and for research. 

I am a high school English and Creative Writing teacher. I have taught for one decade in local public schools, five years of which primarily served low-socioeconomic students. I enjoy dark literature: Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I'm also a fan of true crime anything- podcasts, documentaries, novels, etc. I am a mother to three children, two large dogs, one overweight cat, and a fluctuating population of fish. I am currently working on my master's degree in English, as well. 

I'm feeling for routes through a sprawling landscape of documentary fiction and other disciplines such as memoir, history, three-dimensional objects on exhibit, and performance. The broad topics might include diaspora, genocide, mothers and daughters, secrets and lies, and monuments, memories, and memorials.

I've published several times in small press magazines. However, I can't seem to avoid certain pitfalls. I'll send something out, thinking it's good and worthy of publication. After it's rejected, I read it and think to myself, "Why did I send this out?" Often I go through this process 5 or 6 times with the same story, rewriting in-between submissions, and shaking my head every time I read something post-rejection. I don't mind if I'm writing something an editor philosophically disagrees with my work. However, I've been called racist, sexist, all kinds of other "ists" because people just naturally assume I believe what my characters believe, either not being able to comprehend the possibility one can write something other than one's own opinions, or perhaps "istism" is simply the nature of the beast. Unfortunate, really. Fortunately, I'm not forced into kowtowing. I don't pay my bills by writing. I have benefitted at times from taking an editor's comments to heart and rewriting with them in mind always with respect to format, but if I suspect a comment is borne out of personal bias, and doesn't reflect on the quality of the writing, I tend to ignore it. I respond by never submitting to that magazine again. So what I'm looking for is an honest voice, people who will judge my writing based on its quality, not its content necessarily. I tend to compromise only in the manner and degree to which I preach. My goal is to not preach at all.

One point about the writing itself. I believe every story has its own voice. I struggle to find that voice in an effort to perfect the story. In that regard, I've had first drafts that were nearly finished and published after one or two edits. I've also had stories I've struggled with for years, in which the idea is bigger, it seems, than my ability to write it.

Hello. My name is Sarah Hamidi and I'm a student journalist, writer, and actress. I aspire to be a writer among many other things. I want to share my stories with the world and seek to enlighten myself with knowledge about society, people, and the world.

I hope to share my writing with the world in the hopes that they feel enlightened or that they've learned something from reading my writing and my works.

I have written before on my own as I enjoy journalism a lot. But, I enjoy the right kind of journalism, one that informs the public with accurate information and provides insight. I've been on hiatus with my Medium page, but I hope to resume writing on it soon and fully intend to do so.

I'm looking for a group that will continue to encourage me and critique my writing while honing my writing skills. I need a lot of help and encouragement for writing a book and I'm hoping to get support and help every step of the way in that endeavor.

I look forward to working with you all and let's create some awesome writing.