Work samples

  • Baltimore stories
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    Rosalia Scalia has been described as Baltimore's own Flannery O'Connor. Her stories explore the working class that has long served as the city's backbone, building its neighborhoods and interacting with each other. Despite the grittiness of her stories, her characters always seem to find hope.
  • Baltimore stories--Joyce remembers a foster home.pdf
    Joyce remembers her best foster home when she lived with a family in Fells Point when she was a child. She stayed with this family until the foster mother died.
  • Stumbling Toward Grace
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    Rosalia Scalia's story collection, Stumbling Toward Grace (Unsolicited Press 2021) features working class characters from the south east Baltimore. They work as pipefitters or plumbers or dog groomers but they are yearn to connect to their loved ones. Despite the grittiness of her stories, the characters find hope. Her second collection is forthcoming in Jan. 2025 (Unsolicited Press). Baltimore stories is her first novel-in-progress.
  • pieintheskypizza-no contact.pdf
    This story is in the same tone that the literary novel with the working title Baltimore Stories is being written. Here is an interview on WYPR: https://www.wypr.org/show/on-the-record/2021-10-26/scalias-characters-stumble-toward-grace<br />

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About Rosalia

Baltimore City
Rosalia Scalia is the author the story collection, Stumbling Toward Grace, (Unsolicited Press 2021) and the forthcoming story collection, Under the Radar (Unsolicited Press 2025).  A number of her short stories  have been published in an array of literary journals, including but not limited to The Notre Dame Review, Amarillo Bay; The Baltimore Review; Blue Lake Review; The Oklahoma Review; North Atlantic Review; Pebble Lake; Pennsylvania English; The Portland Review; Quercus Review; Ragazine,… more
View Rosalia's Resume
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Baltimore Stories 1979

Set in the late 1970s, Baltimore Stories in the working title for a literary novel that chronicles the experiences of Joyce, a 30-something year old woman who has aged out of the foster care system. She gets entangled in the Baltimore drug trade to make extra money and then later quits it after being pressured to step up her game by selling heroin in addition to cocaine. The story takes place in the first six months of 1979 at a time when mom and pop grocery stories are being replaced by large supermarkets and at a time when the city is on the cusp of change. The story follows Joyce as she learns to step into her own power and exercise her own agency.

Scalia's charaters hail from the working class. They are blue collar workers with jobs like plumbers, waitresses, cashiers and also there are a few others who are teachers.
  • raising our voices for baker.pdf
    Rosalia Scalia worked with local writers Andria Nacina Cole, Carla Du Pree, Susan Mauddi Darraj, Kendra Kopelke, and Lalita Noronha to launch a reading series featuring diverse readers and attracting a more diverse audience. Held at the Impact Hub, the event also featured music by LEA and drew a standing room only audience. It is part of an ongoing effort to further integrate the local writing communities.

    • Stories that explore the human condition

    Scalia's stories explore the human condition and remind readers that regardless of background and socio-economic level, we are all human.  Laura Fitch of Reedsy Discovery describes Scalia's stories as a "must read," saying, they are a "masterful, emotional telling of what we miss as humans. "

    Her work has been described as "entertaining, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. Ms. Scalia has a deep understanding of the human condition. She navigates through the lives of her diverse characters so that the reader is fully engrossed in their experiences."

    "Scalia isn't afraid to shy away from topics like race and sexuality, which is a welcome change of pace. Her stories are never simple, and peppered with nuance and deep ideas. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys riveting, emotional stories with interesting characters and for whoever needs a gentle, kind reminder that we are all human."
    • An Author Reading with Taylor Garcia and Rosalia Scalia
      Rosalia Scalia’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Oklahoma Review, North Atlantic Review, Notre Dame Review, The Portland Review, and Quercus Review, among many others. She holds an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins University and is a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist's Award recipient. She won the Editor's Select award from Willow Review and her short story in Pebble Lake was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Baltimore with her family. Her collection "Stumbling Toward Grace" was published by Unsolicited Press in 2021. Her second story collection is forthcoming in Jan. 2025
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    Non-Fiction: Author Interviews and Op-Eds

    Scalia has highlighted other authors in a series of book reviews and author interviews, including authors in other nations, such as authors Amandeep Sandhu of India and T. Sher Singh of Canada.

    She has also written several op-ed articles published in the Baltimore Sun and elswhere.
    • Articles and Editorials
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      A partial listing of published articles highlighting literary figures and editorials on a range of topics.

    • Interviews with Rosalia Scalia

    Scalia has been featured in a Baltimore Magazine and on WYPR radio show, "On the Record" with Sheilah Kast. She has been interviewed in JMWW and in other outlets.

    https://www.wypr.org/show/on-the-record/2022-04-18/stumbling-toward-grace-through-short-stories

    https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/book-review-rosalia-scalia-little-italy-author-stumbling-toward-grace/

    https://www.littsburgh.com/start-reading-stumbling-toward-grace-by-baltimores-flannery-oconnor-rosalia-scalia/

    https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2021/12/20/stumbling-toward-greatness-an-interview-with-rosalia-scalia-by-jen-michalski/
    • Baltimore Magazine, Nov. 2021
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      "Baltimore fiction readers may not know Rosalia Scalia’s name, but they should. An award-winning local short story writer, the Little Italy native’s work has appeared in numerous literary magazines over the years, including the North Atlantic Review, Notre Dame Review, The Portland Review, and closer to home, The Loch Raven Review." This is the intro paragraph about Scalia, a Baltimore botn author whose stories are set in the metro area.
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