Photo credit: Adam Lee
Brandon Sward is a nonfiction MFA candidate at the University of Iowa with roots in Los Angeles. Before turning to literature, he studied social science at the University of Chicago, ultimately earning a PhD. His words can be read in The Chicago Reader, The Point, High Country News, and dozens of other local, national, and international publications. He has been a finalist or nominee for the Pushcart Prize, a Periplus Fellowship, a Writing Fellowship at A Public Space, and the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Residencies attended include Yaddo, Byrdcliffe, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He has completed workshops with Tin House, Lambda Literary, and Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. His current projects are a memoir that explores his relationships with men and a novel that follows two gay Mexican American roommates navigating Chicago’s DIY art scene after graduating from an elite private university.