A native Southern Californian, alumna of University of Southern California’s historic School of Cinematic Arts, and graduate of San Diego State University’s MFA writing program, Tara Stillions Whitehead (she/her) is a filmmaker and writer teaching in Central Pennsylvania.
Tara is the author of three books: The Year of the Monster, released by Unsolicited Press in September 2022, They More Than Burned, from ELJ Editions in March 2023, the concept album/chapbook titled Blood Histories from Galileo Press in 2021.
Her writing has appeared in placed like cream city review, The Rupture, Fairy Tale Review, Gone Lawn, PRISM international, Chicago Review, Pithead Chapel, Jellyfish Review, and Hobart.
Her essay, “The Mother Must Die and Other Lies Fairy Tales Told Me,” published in Fairy Tale Review, was designated as a notable essay in the Best American Essays 2022 anthology, edited by Alexander Chee.
Her books have appeared on SPD’s fiction bestsellers list, and her stories were included in Wigleaf’s Top 50 in both 2021 and 2022. She has been nominated for Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, the Pushcart Prize, and the AWP Intro Journals Award.
She is Assistant Professor of Film, Video, and Digital Media Production at Messiah University, where she is also faculty for the renowned Young Writers Workshop, and has given public lectures on monsters, media, and film.
Tara Stillions Whitehead 