Publications

STORIES & ESSAYS

“Werewolf.” Catapult, 2022
“Dinner and a Fight: a catering crew story.” Ninth Letter. 2020
“Sierraville.” Whiskey Island, no. 64. 2014
“Winning the Tiger.” The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard, Topside Press. 2012
“Rita in Love” Confrontation, no. 111. 2011
“Dad & the Diarybox.” Fiction at Work. 2011

BOOKS

Have You Seen Me
Chicago Center for Literature and Photography

Chris and Vyv have always been there for each other. As the only two queer kids in their rural Midwestern town in the early 1990s, they’ve relied on each other to survive. But their friendship is tested when Vyv runs away to hitchhike to New York and continues to communicate with Chris via a secret email account. Meanwhile, Chris finds a summer job as a handyman for a mysterious survivalist, Albert, who lives off the grid on the outskirts of town. But as Vyv’s emails take a darker turn, and Albert’s visions for the future become more apocalyptic, Chris faces a choice between the risk of exposure and the thrill of being known.

“Refreshingly earnest and artfully wrought, Nelson’s debut is a quick, compelling read that warrants a wide audience.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“Could easily go up there with dark coming-of-age classics like Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim and The Body by Stephen King.”
–amazon.com review

AWARDS

Hobart L. and Mary Kay Peer Fiction Prize, for “Internal Combustion.” 2016
Hobart L. and Mary Kay Peer Fiction Prize, for “What the Devil Said.” 2015
AWP Intro Award Nomination, for “What the Devil Said.” 2015
University of Illinois List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent By Their Students (Creative Writing). 2014
Lambda Literary Awards: Finalist in Gay Debit Fiction and Bisexual Fiction for Have You Seen Me. 2011
Runner-up, Bellingham Review Tobias Wolff Award in Fiction, for “Caretaker.” 2010

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: