About Patty McCrystal

Patricia (Patty) McCrystal is a writer from Arvada, Colorado. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Mile High MFA program at Regis University.

Her work can be found in Joyland Magazine, Epiphany Magazine, Oyster River Pages, JMWW Journal, Atticus Review, Roi Fainéant Press, Slippery Elm Literary Journal and more, and on PBS.

In 2024, one of her stories made the fiction short list for the Disquiet International Literary Award. Her work has won the Slippery Elm Prose Prize, and has received a Pushcart Prize nomination, a Best of Net nomination, and a Best American Short Stories nomination. In 2023, she was a selected participant for the Kenyon Review and American Short Fiction writing workshops.

Patty is a Creative Writing Instructor for the Frames Prison Program through the Brink Literacy Project. The goal of the Frames Prison Program is to increase literacy rates, reduce recidivism, and use storytelling to empower incarcerated persons within the US prison system.

She is also the Marketing & Communications Manager at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, a nonprofit arts organization in Denver, Colorado that fosters education and engagement between artists and communities to create positive social change.

She is also a Volunteer Editor for the Hard Times workshop, a community writing program for those experiencing homelessness and economic hardship, hosted through Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Write Denver.

See my writing page to read online publications.

Contests & Nominations

Her story “A Strong Hand” made the fiction short list for the Disquiet International Literary Award in 2024.

Her short story “The Contest” was nominated for The Best American Short Stories in 2023.

Her short story “Last Words” was nominated for the Best of Net award and anthology in 2021.

Her short story “All Possible Exits” won the Slippery Elm 2020 Prose Prize and received a 2020 Pushcart Prize nomination.

Teaching, editing, guest speaking & workshops

2024

Creative Writing Instructor for the Frames Prison Program with Brink Literacy Project.

2023

Volunteer Editor for the Hard Times workshop, a community writing program for those experiencing homelessness and economic hardship, hosted through Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Write Denver. (2021-present).

Led a community writing workshop through Denver Writes, a non-profit dedicated to providing young writers in the Denver area with a supportive community and creative opportunities to express themselves through writing (August 2023).

Selected attendee for the Kenyon Review Writer Workshop (Kenyon College, OH, July 2023).

Selected attendee for the American Short Fiction Writer Workshop (Austin, TX, May 2023).

Selected reader for the City Silhouettes Writer Showcase at The Tattered Cover Book Store.

Guest presenter for the Regis Mile High MFA.

2022

Selected attendee for the Lighthouse Litfest Advanced Fiction Workshop with Laura van den Berg.

Guest presenter for the Regis Mile High MFA Residency.

2021

Collaborated with the "Our Time" wind quintet to make a literary music video titled "Collaboration in Isolation," which was live-streamed on YouTube with a live Q&A.

Taught a literary craft class for Alchemy Writer's Workshop: “Spandrels: Using In-Scene Objects to Guide Your Story’s Narrative.”

2020

Commissioned by PBS to write and record a “Letter to the Community.” Watch here >

Founding Circle Member of The Word | A Storytelling Sanctuary — A non-profit organization working to build a publishing community that will fight for inclusivity.

Poem published in the “Thought for Food” anthology to support the Denver Food Rescue.

2018-2021

Led a community writing workshop for women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming writers called “Virago.”

send me an email: patty.mccrystal [at] gmail [dot] com