Resume

David Peak
616.304.5660
rubberpalmtrees@yahoo.com

Objective:

Writing, Editing, Teaching.

Publications:

Short Fiction:
2008 - “Carnivali and the Carmelites,” will be appearing in Issue #7 of Doorways Magazine (Fall).
2008 - “Mourning,” published in The Green Flash (Issue #1, Spring).
2007 - "Trauma Train," published in Abaculus 2007, an anthology published by Leucrota Press.
2007 - "How to Make a Mother Love Her Children," published on www.writingisnotacrime.com.
2007 - "Getting Fetched for the Long Wait," published in Hair Trigger 29.
2006 - "Star Crossed Lovers," published in Lying Down with Full Stomachs (Journal One, Fall).
2005 - "Sinister Clouds / Obsidian Obelisk," published in Belletrist: An Anthology.
2003 - "God's Lonely Piano Man," published in Display Magazine (Volume 77).

Creative Non-Fiction:
2007 - "Catching Air," published in No Touching Magazine. (Issue #4, May).

Edited Manuscripts/Articles:
2008 - Low Man by T.J. Vargo will be released in October by Leucrota Press.
2008 - “Committing to Quality Education” by Julie Adrianopoli was published by the Illinois Arts Alliance.
2008 - AIMprint: Making Our Imprint on Arts and Learning was released by Columbia College Chicago Press.

Experience:

Reservoir Magazine         Oct. 2007 – Present
- Managing Editor
- Contributing Writer
Editorial position requires assigning, collecting and editing of new articles each week for online magazine dedicated to student life. As Managing Editor in 2008, responsibilities included updating the magazine's mission statement and defining the direction of the publication. Reservoir is currently on temporary hiatus.

Leucrota Press            Sept. 2007 – Present
- Junior Editor
Editorial position requires one-on-one contact with authors, consultation regarding overall structure and development of novel-length manuscripts.

Teens Together         Jan. 2006 – Present
- Head Writing Instructor
- Book Project Coordinator and Manuscript Editor
Teacher of creative writing for community outreach program. Responsibilities include employing Story Workshop Method® to writing exercises for high school students of varying age, as well as assembling and editing annual anthology of student work. Also responsible for hiring book designers and copy-editors.

Music Theatre Workshop      June 2007 – October 2007
- Grants Administrator
Required to find, digest and apply current published research, data and studies related to juvenile justice, youth development and arts programs. Also wrote web-copy for the company’s website. Founded in 1984, Music Theatre Workshop is a non-profit organization that provides free, year-round performing arts programs to adolescents living in under-served areas of Chicago and incarcerated in juvenile prisons.

Center for Community Arts Partnerships        Sept. 2006 – Nov. 2007
- Copy-editor
- Indexer
- Reader
Responsible for reading and editing manuscript for AIMPRINT: Making Our Imprint On Arts and Learning. Applied first-hand knowledge of arts integration and teaching experience to manuscripts. Re-hired again in May ’07 in order to perform final edits of manuscript galleys. In October of ’07, created and compiled manuscript’s index by subject.

ACT/WRITE        Sept. 2006 – May 2007
- Intern
- Teaching Artist
- Book Project Coordinator and Manuscript Editor
Assistant to teaching artist at Theodore Herzl Elementary. Employed Story Workshop Method® to writing exercises for 8th grade class. Taught selected sections of curriculum. Used position to gain skills necessary for becoming a teaching artist. Edited anthology of student work during first year of involvement. During second year of involvement, became overall coordinator of the anthology publication, as well as maintained position as manuscript editor. Responsibilities as coordinator included: managing the involvement of all teaching artists, acting as liaison with book designer and printer, planning and preparing book release party and subsequent reading.

F Magazine         Sept. 2006 – Jan. 2007
- Intern
- Reader
Assigned both clerical and editorial responsibilities for nationally distributed publication. Organized and maintained incoming manuscripts and submissions. Served as slush pile reader. Internship required the refinement of production and marketing skills. Proofread and copy-edited correspondence. Collaborated with editor-in-chief on submission guidelines for 2007's novels-in-progress contest.

Hair Trigger         Jan. – May 2006
(Columbia College Chicago’s annual anthology of student work)
- Student Editor
Served on board of eight Student Editors. Read, critiqued and selected student manuscripts for publication. Hair Trigger has won numerous awards, including first place prizes in national competitions from three different organizations: the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines and the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association.

Columbia College Chicago        Sept. 2005 – Apr. 2006
- Fiction Writing Tutor
Employed Story Workshop Method® in one-on-one tutoring sessions with Columbia College Chicago students of varying age. Gained first hand experience in several Chicago Public Schools working as fiction writing tutor with students in grades 3-12. Responsible for grading students at the end of the semester.

Scholarships/Awards:

2008 – Gold Crown Award given to Hair Trigger 29 by the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association (served as Student Editor).
2008 – Finalist, John Schultz and Betty Shiflett Scholarship Award.
2008 – Recipient of National Merit Scholarship.
2007 – Recipient of National Merit Scholarship.

Honors and Achievements:

- Founder and co-editor of The Ghost Factory—a literary magazine dedicated to themes of cultural identity. Currently serving as Editor-In-Chief. The Ghost Factory is working on its second issue.
- Completed two semesters of Practice Teaching; one at Paul Revere Intermediate in Blue Island, Illinois; and one at Onahan Elementary School in Chicago. Taught full class of twenty-plus fourth- and fifth-grade students weekly creative writing workshops (10 sessions each).
- Fiction Writing Judge for 2008’s Young Chicago Authors competition.
- Associate Editor on Alexis Pride’s novel, Where the River Ends (published by UTour Press).
- Studied the works of Franz Kafka in Prague during summer of ’05.
- Published collection of stories, Belletrist: An Anthology, with the Czech National Library (served as Assistant Editor).

Notable Readings:

Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, Fiction Writers at Lunch (featured reader), Feb. 2008
Chicago, Kate the Great’s Bookstore, Night of Horror Fiction, Sept. 2007
Chicago, Sheffield's, Reading Under the Influence (featured as Special Guest), Sept. 2007
Chicago, Kate the Great's Bookstore, Sexy Bald Men, August 2007
Chicago, Danny's, No Touching Issue #4 Release Party, May 2007
Chicago, Manual Labor, Freshly Squeezed #6, May 2007
Chicago, Manual Labor, Freshly Squeezed #5, Feb. 2007
Chicago, Manual Labor, Freshly Squeezed #4, Nov. 2006
Chicago, Manual Labor, Freshly Squeezed #2, Nov. 2005
Prague, The Globe, Book Release for The Belletrist, Jul. 2005

Skills:

Experienced teacher of Story Workshop Method®. Excellent copy-editor, proofreader. Able to oversee, coordinate and organize large scale projects such as anthology publications and public readings. Publishing and editing experience on nearly every level: professional, not-for-profit, scholastic and independent. Extensive researching, technical writing and grant writing experience. Capable of balancing and managing multiple simultaneous deadlines. Flexible team-worker.

Volunteering:

Story Workshop Institute         Jan.2006 – Sept. 2006
Volunteer for non-profit organization, the Story Workshop Institute. Responsibilities ranged from acting as liaison with schools and community organizations to helping staff prepare marketing and distribution of informative materials.

Memberships:

AWP (The Association of Writers & Writing Programs).

Education:

Columbia College Chicago         Present
- Creative Writing MFA Candidate (Projected Graduation Date: May 2010).

Columbia College Chicago        Sept. 2003 – May 2007
- Fiction Writing (BFA). Graduated with honors.

References available upon request.