We recently connected with Jessi Ann York and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessi Ann, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?
My agent, Elizabeth Copps, reached out to me in August of 2022 after my first two published short stories were mentioned in the Summation section of Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13.
I had just started drafting a YA horror novel about a girl stuck on a cross-country team with an ultra-popular, hypnotic, and slightly sociopathic team captain who may or may not be the literal center of the universe.
Elizabeth told me it was a story she wanted to sell, so I signed with her and finished a draft of the book in August of 2023. She submitted the edited version to publishers at the start of 2024, so please send us your good energy, prayers, and spells as we wait to hear back.
I absolutely love getting feedback and perfecting things, so signing with Elizabeth and working on the book together in acts to incorporate all her edits was an exciting experience for me as a creative. I’m beyond thankful she wanted to take a chance on my queer, cross-country horror novel.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been told I write beastly southern women whose spite transforms them into beings who are much bigger and powerful than the bones containing them. You can find these women in my existing short stories published at professional-rate horror publications like Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cemetery Gates Media, Love Letters to Poe, and more.
I grew up in Normandy, TN, which has a population of a little over 100. My parents couldn’t keep me out of the creeks and caves surrounding the area. I think all the creepy crawly things hiding inside those woods are why I was eventually drawn to writing horror set in the south.
My most recently published short stories are in a mini collection that follows a group of women who are inevitably drawn to Normandy, Tennessee by the wolfish nature of their souls. The YA horror novel my agent is trying to sell is also set in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, which is only twenty minutes from Normandy.
I owe my success in publishing to the forests of rural Tennessee and the wicked things that grow there.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I’ve had to cut ties with friends and significant others who got upset when I wouldn’t cancel my scheduled writing time in the afternoons for them.
The chances of being traditionally published are ridiculously low, and it was hard for them to understand why I would dedicate two hours of my day to something that I am very likely never going to see any monetary return from. But writing, for me, is going to the gym. And I get pent up, if I don’t get my writing time in.
In the same way that running is a lifestyle for runners, writing is my lifestyle. Most runners don’t run every day because they want (or think) they’ll ever be in the Olympics. They run because it helps them get out extra energy or work through trauma.
Yes, I care about meeting personal goals and constantly improving–but I write every day because I would be a pent-up mess if I didn’t. If you’re only writing with the goal to get published, you’re going to get discouraged. But if you write because it feels good, the “no’s” you get from editors will roll right off of you.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Some writers who deeply inspire me–and who I recommend everyone check out, regardless of whether you’re a writer or solely a reader–are Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Carmen Maria Machado, and Samantha Hunt.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s short story collection Friday Black is testament to how powerful writing about your own lived experiences can be when put through the lens of science fiction and horror.
Carmen Maria Machado’s short story “The Husband Stitch” forever changed how I view relationships and impassioned me to write feminist horror fiction.
Samantha Hunt’s short story collection The Dark Dark has a raw and creeping voice throughout, which I try to emulate in my own fiction. You can feel the unnerving, dark kernel of truth in everything she writes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jessiannyork.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiannyork/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.a.york.14/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessiannyork
Image Credits
Ava Rymer did the last photo in the woods by the water. Mica Morgan did the photo of me under the umbrellas.