Linda Morganstein

Fiction Writer, Creative Nonfiction Writer

Author's Bio

I’m a writer, of both prose and poetry, who also happens to be the product of a Borscht Belt childhood in the Jewish hotels of the Catskills. I grew up in a culture of oral storytelling, surrounded by entertainers like my aunt Kyra, who rivaled Homer in her ability to turn an incident into an epic narrative of life and death. She didn’t need to pause for breath. Like a goddess, she breathed inspiration instead of air. All around me were people who lived to turn any experience into a story. People who loved to share a joke, giving old clunkers new life with their unique spins. “Parental guidance advised” had absolutely no relevance. X-rated stories and jokes were part of life. Like many artists, I felt like an alien child who had somehow landed in this raucous world of shouting adults. I took refuge in reading books and making things. A few years ago, I had a startling epiphany. I’d always dabbled in visual arts, although I’d chosen to concentrate on the written word. I wanted to do something entirely new. I decided to create a project that combined visual elements with poetry and prose in a narrative that was both text and pictorial. Not illustrated poetry or artwork with words in it, but a piece that was memoir, cultural history, spirituality, and philosophy, one in which the text and imagery were interdependent and both necessary to the whole. The result is Numinosity: My Life and Our Times, an illustrated book modeled on the iconic Life magazine, consisting of six chapters. Each chapter is an issue of an invented photo journal called Numinosity. The content is based on events of the times and my family history—fictionalized memoir, if you will. Unlike typical magazines, the six issues of Numinosity weave a single story. Each issue features articles from the perspective of iconic personalities—and I play all of them. In addition, I created all the advertisements for imaginary products, making fun of consumerism with fond ambivalence. Like the artist Cindy Sherman, I use my insecurities and swagger to make a larger point about the relationship of humor and tragedy in art.

Education: 
Iowa State University MFA

Publications & Prizes

Book:
My Life with Stella Kane (Regal Crest Enterprises, 2009)
Prizes won: 

AWARDS AND PUBLICATIONS

GIRLS IN ICE HOUSES, a novel. Regal Crest Enterprises. To be released March, 2014.

MY LIFE WITH STELLA KANE, a novel. Regal Crest Enterprises. March, 2009.

ORDINARY FURIES, a mystery novel. The first in a series featuring Alexis Pope, self-defense instructor. Spinsters Ink, Inc.  April 2007.

2000 COMMUNICATOR AWARD for  “Understanding Your Hysterectomy,” a videotape and accompanying brochure. Produced by Cogent Communications and MedPro Communications. November, 1998. (script and brochure writer)

1999 TELLY AWARD for “Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Illuminating the Mysteries of Multiple Sclerosis,” a videotape. Produced by Cogent Communications through an unrestricted educational grant provided by Berlex Laboratories. December, 1998. (scriptwriter and associate producer)

1999 BRONZE AWARD at THE PRIX LEONARDO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL (Parma, Italy) for “Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Illuminating the Mysteries of Multiple Sclerosis,” a videotape. Produced by Cogent Communications through an unrestricted educational grant provided by Berlex Laboratories. December, 1998.

1999 IN-AWE BRONZE AWARD (Medical Marketing Association) for  “Understanding Your Hysterectomy,” a videotape and accompanying brochure. Produced by Cogent Communications and MedPro Communications. November, 1998. (script and brochure writer)

“Second-Hand Smoke,” a short story. Fine Print ‘96, printed in conjunction with the Authors in the Park Festival, Winter Park, Florida, October 1996.

“This World of Light and Darkness,” a short story. 1993 Audre Lord Memorial Prose Contest Winner, sponsored by Woman-in-the-Moon Publications.

1992 Emerging Writer Award. $11,000 grant from the Astrea Foundation. (Judge: Dorothy Allison)

"My Moses Story," a short story.  American Fiction. New York: Birch Lane Press, 1993.

"The Elements of Mourning," a long poem.  Negative Capability. (Awards issue). Number 3, 1992.

"Pearl Street," a short story. One Meadway, a literary journal associated with Sarah Lawrence College, Spring 1992.

"Queen of Cups," a short story. Ethos, ISU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Magazine, November, 1990.

 

Iowa State University Research Excellence Award, for Catskill Stories, a collection of short stories comprising master's thesis, 1991. (Major professor and nominator: Jane Smiley)

Will C. Jumper Award, English Department, Iowa State University, for excellence in creative writing, 1991.

Pearl Hogrefe Grant-in-Aid, English Department, Iowa State University, for excellence in creative writing, 1991. 

Critical Writing Award, English Department, Iowa State University, for excellence in academic writing, 1990.

Pearl Hogrefe Fellowship in Creative Writing, Iowa State University, 1989-90.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Any Book by Liz Moore

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Born in: 
New York, NY
New York
Raised in: 
Monticello, NY
New York
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Mar 19, 2026