Meet the Author: Garrett Ashley

    We often share author bios when we introduce a book, but our Meet the Author blog series gives us a chance to get to know our writers beyond accolades and career highlights.

    Today, we’re excited to introduce Garrett Ashley, author of our forthcoming chapbook, A Field Guide to North American Trees, co-published with Loblolly Press.

    Garrett Ashley, Author


    First, an introduction to Garrett and his work. Then keep reading to learn about his creative inspiration, the books he's reading, and more!

    Garrett Ashley's debut story collection, Periphylla and Other Deep Ocean Attractions, came out in 2024 from Press 53. His work has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, The Normal School, Sonora Review, Reed Magazine, and DIAGRAM, among other places. A Mississippi native, he now lives in Opelika, Alabama and teaches creative writing at Tuskegee University. 

    Where did you grow up?

    I grew up in the country near Brookhaven, Mississippi, a small(ish) town about an hour south of Jackson.

    What time of day do you typically write and what is it that draws you to that routine?

    My online work for Tuskegee University is flexible during the summer, so I'm usually writing anywhere between 10am and 4. During the regular semester, I'll try to get writing done in between grading and planning during my office hours. Routine is important, but I'll squeeze in whatever I can.

    Where do you find creative inspiration? What helps you get through writer's block?

    I read as much as possible, but I've also been trying to watch as many good movies as I can. I'm currently really into bleak slow cinema from directors like Béla Tarr and Chantal Akerman. When I'm feeling something like writer's block, I like to watch a movie that lingers on a scene and lets your eyes take in everything that's been set in place. Sometimes I'll watch something like Aleksei German's Hard to be a God (adapted from the book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky) and wonder how I'd translate the details of a scene into a word document. This gets me excited about writing.


    Garrett Ashley, Author

    Do you have a personal motto or mantra that you live by? If not, what’s a piece of advice that’s stuck with you?

    This is both writing and life advice. I'd just graduated high school and I was starting to meet, for the first time, other writers and creative people. Someone I met at a farmer's market told me, when I asked for advice, that I needed to pay attention to the small details in the world and teach myself to look at things closer.
    It might seem like basic advice for a lot of people now, but I think something that I and other people get wrong is that we're really focused on what we want to say, when we should also and more importantly (probably) try to figure out what the world is saying.


    What’s a book that’s had a lasting impact on you?

    It's a tie between Sharona Muir's Invisible Beasts and Jean Giono's Hill. Both are short books. Muir's Invisible Beasts is perfect for when I'm working on something a little weird and need a burst of inspiration. Giono's Hill is one of the first books I remember reading that feels like a maximalist novel, but most of the detail I'm seeing are happening in my head rather than on the page.


    Where can we find more of your work?

    My debut story collection, Periphylla, and Other Deep Ocean Attractions, released last year and is available at Press 53's website. My stories can be found at places like Apex Magazine, The Normal School, Asimov's Science Fiction, Sonora Review, and Diagram, and I have poetry at Summerset Review, Redactions, and Tilted House.



    Peek behind the scenes over the next few months at the making of A Field Guide to North American Trees on Instagram.
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