Caleb J. Ross

Caleb J. Ross (born Caleb Ross, August 20, 1982, in Adak, Alaska) is an American writer of literary noir fiction and literary grotesque fiction. He is most well known for his novel Stranger Will. He currently lives in the Kansas City, KS suburb of Olathe with his wife and two sons.

Life
Caleb Ross was born in Adak, Alaska on August 20, 1982 on a military base. Within three months his family moved to Maryland where his father served in the Navy. Within five years his parents divorced and Ross moved with his mother to Osage City, Kansas where he lived until 2000.

During his 15 years in Osage City, Ross and his family (including two sisters, one younger and one older) lived in 11 different houses. These oft displacements, coupled with a lack of strong paternal guidance, would prove to be the thematic basis for much of his writing.

In 2000 Ross moved to Emporia, Kansas to attend Emporia State University with intentions to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree. However, in the middle of a sophomore level compositional drawing class he abandoned the visual arts direction in favor of creative writing. He cites his professor, Amy Sage Webb, as “almost single-handedly [opening his] eyes to what reading and writing, motivated by creativity, could do.”

Ross describes his work as literary in that it focuses on language rather than plot.

Ross' work has been compared to that of Chuck Palahniuk, Darren Aronofsky, Kurt Vonnegut, Dave Eggers, and Sherman Alexie

Based on the merit of his short story, "The Camel of Morocco” (which appears in the story chapbook Charactered Pieces: stories), Ross attended the Tin House Writers Workshop in Portland, Oregon in 2004 where he studied with author Peter Rock. He was the first ESU student ever to place in the competition for entrance into the Tin House Writers Workshop.

In June 2007, Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine Spirit Magazine featured a letter to the editor penned by Ross in appreciation of a recent issue featuring musician Tom Waits. During a subsequent Southwest Airlines flight, Ross received a free rum and coke for his contribution to the magazine. This event inspired the non-fiction essay “The Author Who Gets Free Drinks, a (Hopefully) True Story,” which Ross performed on April 9, 2010 in Denver, Colorado at Leela European Cafe.

In 2011, Ross embarked on a massive blog post tour in support of his novels Stranger Will and I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin. From March 2011 through November 2011, Ross contributed guest posts to over 70 blogs, ranging from literary blogs like HTML Giant, Big Other, >Kill Author, LitDrift, and The Nervous Breakdown to personal blogs of authors such as Matt Bell, Nik Korpon, Stephen Graham Jones, Paul G. Tremblay, and Ben Tanzer.

Education

 * Bachelor of Arts, English Literature Areas of focus: Contemporary American literature, American short story (Emporia State University)
 * Minor: Creative Writing Areas of focus: Fiction, postmodernism, metafiction (Emporia State University)
 * President, Sigma Tau Delta (2004)
 * Author Residency: Tin House Writers Workshop, Reed College, Portland, Oregon. (10–18 July 2004)
 * The Contortionist’s Hotseat: A six-week writing intensive taught by Craig Clevenger, author of the novels The Contortionist's Handbook and Dermaphoria. (2007)

Editorial Work

 * Creator/Moderator, The World’s First Author Podcast (2011–2012)
 * Creator/Moderator, The Velvet Podcast (2010–2012)
 * Editor/creator, AWP Blog (2009–2012)
 * Editor/creator, Oprah Read This > Oprah, Read This online fiction anthology (2009–2010)
 * Co-editor, Carbon Based Lifeform Blues (originally called Outsider Writers Collective, webzine [2008–present], OW Press (2009–present)
 * Reader/intern, MacAdam Cage Publishing (2009)
 * Co-editor, Colored Chalk zine (2008–2009)
 * Editor and Contributor for Flint Hills Review (2004–05)
 * Editor, Quivira student literary journal (2002–2005)
 * Judge, Kansas Writers Association Novel Competition
 * Reader, The Bluestem National Poetry Award

Contributor Work

 * Contributor, ManArchyMag.com (2012–present)
 * Contributor, Slothrop.com (2012)
 * Contributor, Oxyfictation.net, book reviewer (2008–2009)
 * Contributor, Thirdeye magazine, book reviewer (2007)
 * Contributor, Depraved Press, book reviewer (2007–2008)

Readings and Lectures

 * ManArchy Loves Perfect Edge Books and Lazy Fascist Press reading, Boston, MA, International Poster Gallery, “Strippers with Your Son” (7 March 2013)
 * $@!# Authors Say, Kansas City, MO, Czar Bar, "Strippers with Your Son" (24 May 2012)
 * Noir at the Bar, St. Louis MO, Meshuggah Cafe, “The Lipidopterist” (28 February 2012)
 * ESU Visiting Writers Series presents Caleb J. Ross, Emporia, KS (8 September 2011)
 * Live Nude Words reading, Washington, D.C, The Velvet Lounge, Stranger Will excerpt and “An Equestrian of Mental Health,” (3 February 2011)
 * Super Sexy 100% Classy Author Reading, Kansas City, Missouri, Method, As a Machine and Parts excerpt (2011)
 * Artjerk reading, Kansas City, Missouri, Slap n' Tickle Gallery, Will Write for ACID (a version of Will Write for Tobacco as appears at BULL Men's Fiction ) (2011)
 * Panelist, AWP Conference, “The Art and Authenticity of Social Media: Using Online Tools to Grow a Community.” Washington D.C, (4 February 2011)
 * OW Press The Velvet reading, Denver, CO, Leela European Cafe, “The Author Who Gets Free Drinks, a (Hopefully) True Story,” (9 April 2010)

Interviews with and articles about Caleb J. Ross

 * The Art of the Domestic Grotesque: An Interview with Caleb J. Ross
 * B&B EP 4 Caleb J. Ross (2012)
 * Books and Booze Podcast, EP 4 Caleb J. Ross (2012)
 * I Didn’t Mean to Interview Caleb J. Ross (2012) - Slit Your Wrists Magazine
 * The Digital Age of Domestic Grotesque: An Interview with Caleb J. Ross (2011) - Solarcide
 * “Published Grad Credits Writing Program” (2011) - The Bulletin, Emporia State University
 * Warmed & Bound Collection – The Multiple Voices Inside Your Book (2011) - Jay Slayton-Joslin’s blog
 * Episode #25 – Caleb J Ross: Warmed and Bound Sessions (2011) - Booked Podcast
 * Six Personal Investigations of the Act of Reading: Caleb J. Ross’ Stranger Will (2011) - Sunday Observer
 * Ten Everywhere: Caleb J. Ross and the Stranger Will Tour For Strange (2011) - Monkeybicycle
 * “I absolutely could not write Stranger Will today, with a kid” : An Interview with Caleb J. Ross (2011) - NOO Journal
 * Booked Podcast: Episode 11 – Interview with Caleb J. Ross (2011) - Booked Podcast
 * This Podcast Will Change Your Life: Episode 37 (2011) - Ben Tanzer
 * Caleb J Ross – Author of ‘Stranger Will’ and Internet Rockstar (2011) - Jay Slayton-Joslin
 * Dispatches from Thunder Road: Stranger Will (2011) - Mlaz Corbier
 * A dialogue with Caleb J Ross through the filter of his short fiction collection Charactered Pieces (2010) - Predicate #1
 * “The Interview” with Caleb J Ross (2010) - Asnycnow Radio’s “The World Today” on Blog Talk Radio
 * The Victorious History of Caleb Ross (2009) - JMWW
 * A Conversatinterview with Caleb J Ross (2009) - Pela Via’s blog
 * Blank und Questions Asks: an interview with author Caleb J Ross (2009) - Gordon Highland
 * Five for: Caleb J Ross (2009) - 3:AM Magazine
 * Reader Meet Author: Caleb J. Ross (2009) - What to Wear During an Orange Alert
 * Interview with Caleb J Ross (2009) - Craig Wallwork blog
 * Oxyfication Interview (2007) - Oxyfication.net
 * “Student studies writing with professional writers” (2004) - The Bulletin, Emporia State University

Awards

 * Kay Alden Creative Writing Scholarship (2003) from Emporia State University
 * Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semifinalist, top 100 out of 5,000 (2008)

Published Novels and Short Story Collections

 * I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin (2012)
 * As a Machine and Parts (2011)
 * Murmurs: Gathered Stories Vol. One (2011)
 * Stranger Will (2011)
 * Charactered Pieces: stories (2009)

Published Short Stories

 * We'll Learn Together (2014)
 * Three Days Ahead (2013)
 * The Removal Kind (2013)
 * The Three-Legged Dog (a story for kids) (2013)
 * Apocellypsis (2012)
 * Sebaceous (2012)
 * Different People Entirely (2012)
 * The Lipidopterist (2012)
 * “untitled” (part of the Life in 100 Words or Less project) (2011)
 * “untitled” (part of the Pushcorpse project) (2011)
 * Evenson’s Tongue (2011)
 * Click-Clack (2011)
 * Noise (2011)
 * As a Machine and Parts (novella excerpt, chapters 1 & 2) (2010)
 * Born Again Michael (2010)
 * Legs Unwilling (2010)
 * Sarah Palin, 12, Strikes for Workers (2010)
 * Charactered Pieces (2009)
 * The Camel of Morocco (2009)
 * Globe Valve (2009)
 * An Optimist is the Human Personification of Spring (2009)
 * My Family's Rule (2009)
 * E!Morphosis (2009)
 * Emoticon (2009)
 * It Sparks (2009)
 * Norman Rockwell Nostalgia (2009)
 * Reviews: Caroline Meyer’s Hidden Cigarette Butt, Joel Reynolds’s Dried Bar of Soap (2009)
 * Snake Girl at Scab (2009)
 * The Word Will Die Too (2009)
 * The Camp (2008)
 * Eyelid (2008)
 * Formaldehyde (2008)
 * A Trench is No Place For God (2008)
 * Car Dodging (2008)
 * Exhibit One – A Letter from Alex Fumar (2008)
 * The Barber Who Calls Himself Ferguson (2008)
 * Vertigo Unbalanced (2008)
 * Dry Dot (2007)
 * Our Guy (2007)
 * Refill (2006)
 * 5″ x 6″ in a Sturdy Frame (2006)
 * Petty Injuries (2006)

Published Non-Fiction

 * Denis Johnson Almost Drank My Pee (2011)
 * Even Strippers Bleed Red (2011)
 * Will Write for ACID Roam (2011)
 * The Author Who Gets Free Drinks: a (Hopefully) True Story (2010)
 * A Chinese Gemini (2009)