Miranda McLeod

Miranda McLeod is a writer and English professor at Gonzaga University. With a BA in sociology, an MFA in fiction writing, and a PhD in contemporary ethnic American literature, she has been consumed with the human need to tell stories all her professional life. She has taught writing and literature to college students for eighteen years, but it was her experience leading free public creative writing workshops in New York City’s Bryant Park that revealed to her how transformative encounters with literature can be outside the confines of academia. Many people become alienated from books because of learning differences (like her husband with dyslexia) or negative experiences in school (like her brother with ADHD), and it has become Miranda’s mission is convince “never readers” that not only can fiction be fun and enriching, it has the power to save us from the worst parts of ourselves.

Miranda’s short fiction has appeared in the Sunday Times of London, Willow Springs, Epiphany, and elsewhere. Her current book project, Traitor, is about her experiences as a Black feminist scholar befriending NYPD officers during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2014.

Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Miranda moved to the Spokane area in 2022 after 22 years in New York City. She lives on 18 rural acres north of the city with her husband, two cattle dogs, and six sheep.