Ron Yates

Fiction Writer

Lineville, AL
Alabama US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Ron Yates has been learning to write for most of his life. He produced good essays in high school, but his adolescent energies were largely devoted to tinkering with old cars, drag racing, drinking beer, and barely staying out of trouble. Although encouraged by his teachers to pursue higher education, Yates, after graduating in lackluster fashion, spent time languishing in factory jobs. An aching back and a caring girlfriend prompted him to explore other options. His enduring love of reading and nascent knack for writing guided him to a degree in English and a career teaching high school. Years later he earned an MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte. His fiction collection, Make It Right: A Novella and Eight Stories, was released in April 2019 from Ardent Writer Press; his novel, Ben Stempton’s Boy, was published later that year by Unsolicited Press of Portland Oregon. Yates, who lives near Alabama’s Mt. Cheaha on the shore of beautiful Lake Wedowee, has published stories in a variety of journals including Hemingway Shorts, The Writing Disorder, KYSO Flash, Still: the Journal, The Oddville Press, and Prime Number Magazine. He is married to his sweetheart Carol Yates, who has succeeded in making him a better man.

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Ben Stempton's Boy (Unsolicited Press, 2019)
,
Make It Right: A Novella and Eight Stories (Ardent Writer Press, 2019)

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Thomas Hardy, Dickens, Twain, Edith Wharton, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Flannery O'Conner, John Updike, Phillip Roth, Raymond Carver, Richard Yates, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Russo, Jane Smiley, Elizabeth Strout, ZZ Packer, Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus, Ron Rash, and Daniel Mueller.
What I'm reading now: 
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Atlanta, GA
Georgia
Raised in: 
Villa Rica, GA
Georgia
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jul 10, 2024