Work samples
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LobstersIn 2008, I spent one night in an ICU room with my intubated father. Years later, I took the searing memories of that endless, uncomfortable night and handed them off to a fictional character, a woman who's just been called to the hospital by her ex-husband's employer after he collapsed and was taken away by ambulance. Why in the world, she wonders, is she still his emergency contact? American Short Fiction chose "Lobsters" as its February 2020 website offering. -
When Big Wally Lost Two HeadsFor several years, NPR's "Weekend Edition" ran what it called the Three-Minute Fiction contest. During one round, novelist Ann Patchett served as judge. She issued a prompt: write a story that can be read aloud in three minutes and uses the words "button," "fly," "plant," and "trick." My story, "When Big Wally Lost Two Heads," was one of those chosen by Patchett to discuss on air and post on the NPR website. -
CollegialityOne year, Johns Hopkins Magazine asked me to write a short piece for the magazine's last page, where they traditionally published something by an alum. I chose to write about one of the best writers I ever knew personally, a freshman to my junior in my first real college writing class. His work leapt out for its energy and charm. It couldn't quite be contained. It was--he was--a force. He died when he was far too young, not long after his first novel was published. -
In the Bed"In the Bed," a creative nonfiction piece, appeared in Post Road, issue 30, spring/summer 2016. An earlier version of the piece received Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train’s March 2014 “Family Matters” competition.
About Elisabeth
Elisabeth Dahl's writing has been published by NPR.org, American Short Fiction, The Rumpus, Post Road, Necessary Fiction, and other outlets and journals. She’s also the author-illustrator of the middle-grade novel Genie Wishes (Abrams). She was a Writing Center Associate Fellow at Georgetown University, team-teaching undergraduates while completing her M.A. in literature and writing. A past recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council,… more
Short Fiction
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Big Wally illustration -
When Big Wally Lost Two HeadsFor several years, NPR's "Weekend Edition" ran what it called the Three-Minute Fiction contest. During one round, novelist Ann Patchett served as judge. She issued a prompt: write a story that can be read aloud in three minutes and uses the words "button," "fly," "plant," and "trick." My story, "When Big Wally Lost Two Heads," was one of those chosen by Patchett to discuss on air and post on the NPR website. -
Lobsters illustration -
LobstersIn 2008, I spent one night in an ICU room with my intubated father. Years later, I took the searing memories of that endless, uncomfortable night and handed them off to a fictional character, a woman who's just been called to the hospital by her ex-husband's employer after he collapsed and was taken away by ambulance. Why in the world, she wonders, is she still his emergency contact? American Short Fiction chose "Lobsters" as its February 2020 website offering. -
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Late Bloom (Necessary Fiction)This short story--"Late Bloom"--was published by the journal Necessary Fiction in 2016.
Creative Nonfiction
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Johns Hopkins Magazine winter 2013 cover -
CollegialityOne year, Johns Hopkins Magazine asked me to write a short piece for the magazine's last page, where they traditionally published something by an alum. I chose to write about one of the best writers I ever knew personally, a freshman to my junior in my first real college writing class. His work leapt out for its energy and charm. It couldn't quite be contained. It was--he was--a force. He died when he was far too young, not long after his first novel was published. -
Post Road cover -
In the Bed"In the Bed," a creative nonfiction piece, appeared in Post Road, issue 30, spring/summer 2016. An earlier version of the piece received Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train’s March 2014 “Family Matters” competition.
Poetry
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Little Patuxent Review winter 2011 coverTwo poems of mine appeared in the winter 2013 "Doubt" issue of the Little Patuxent Review. I read them at the issue's launch event (video included in portfolio). -
CurveMy poem "Curve" was awarded Third Place in the 2011 Maryland Writers’ Association Short Works--Poetry Contest. -
Reading
Humor
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Defenestration illustration -
An Open Letter to Charlotte A. CavaticaIn November 2016, Defenestration published my "fake nonfiction"/humor piece, "An Open Letter to Charlotte A. Cavatica," which imagines the complicated feelings that a vulnerable young spider might have about Charlotte from E.B. White's CHARLOTTE'S WEB. -
Family JeopardyThis humor piece imagines a world in which Jeopardy! has launched a family-focused spinoff. It appeared in The Rumpus's "Funny Women" series and received honorable mention in the Mark Twain House and Museum's 2015 Royal Nonesuch Humor Writing Contest.
Middle-Grade Fiction
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Genie Wishes front cover -
Book Trailer for GENIE WISHES by Elisabeth Dahl (Abrams Books)Using the line drawings I'd created for the book and a voiceover I recorded, I created this book trailer for GENIE WISHES before the book's release.
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School visit/presentationPhoto from a school visit soon after GENIE WISHES was published. I was reading from the book and sharing a PowerPoint presentation I'd made called "The Road to Publication," which offers an overview of how a book goes from early, early inspiration to bound print copy. -
Book event at Barnes & NobleSigning books at Barnes & Noble Charles Village, June 2013.
