Wendy Ralph
Wendy Ralph is a creative writer and instructor at the University of South Carolina who resides in Columbia, SC. Her novel in ProgresS, (tentatively titled)This Side of Neverland was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Faulkner Wisdom Contest and her autobiographical story "Waiting" was a finalist in Wasafiri's 2009 New Writing Prize.
Life
Wendy Ralph is an American novelist, memoirist, and short story writer who was born in Waco, Texas in 1976. As a child, her family moved often and lived in Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. Ralph grew accustomed to being the "new kid" and developed as a young writer during her early years of transition. After graduating from Evans High School in Evans, Georgia in 1994, she went on to be a scholarship athlete in both tennis and cross country and received her Bachelor of Arts in both English and Communications from Augusta State University in Augusta, Georgia (2002). She graduated with honors and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2004. Currently a doctoral candidate and instructor at the University of South Carolina, she divides her time between her writing, teaching, and her duties as the nonfiction editor of Yemassee literary journal.
Wendy Ralph (formerly Korenek-Flesner) married professional hockey player Bradley Ralph of Ottawa, Canada in Maui, Hawaii in 2006 and the couple welcomed a baby daughter, Riley W. Ralph in May 2008.
Writing
Ralph has published short stories, poems, photography, and creative nonfiction. Her writing is terse and poignant with astute sensory details and a keen sense of humor. She is often inspired by childhood, family, her time abroad in Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean, and an obvious fascination with human nature. A semi-autobiographical novel in progress, a project she's completing at USC under the guidance of Australian-born author Janette Turner Hospital1, has already met positive reception as a semi-finalist in the Faulkner Wisdom Competition. Parts of the novel have also been published separately.
'"The little boy stepped in close, his bright eyes wide with a secret. I bent down, my ear to his mouth, and he removed the fingernail he'd been chewing to speak.
'Are you...are youreallyWendy?--the Wendy lady?' he asked. A little confused, I whispered back,'Yesss'...I'm Wendy, have we met?' He shook his head slowly, looked around the room to make sure no one was watching, and when his eyes returned to mine you'd swear it was Christmas.'Can you teachmeto fly?' he asked."--This Side of Neverland''
Preliminary feedback for This Side of Neverland:
“The intricate movements of the plot structure and the shifts in narrative tone create a high-energy aura. And the sheer quirkiness of the characters, especially Mr. Darling, is a pleasure, but its not a cheap pleasure. It encodes wise and compassionate comments about eccentricities.”—Janette Turner Hospital
Publications
2009-- "The Garden" (Creative Nonfiction) in Yemassee Vol. XVI, No. 2
2009-- "Left Behind" (Fiction) in Upstreet, Vol. 5
2006-- "Will" (Fiction) in Verbsap Online
2005-- "Rhythm Before Reason" (Fiction) in Short Story, Vol. 13, No. 2
2003-- "Speak and Spell" (Fiction) in Carillon
2002-- "A Bad Name" (Fiction) in Sandhills, Vol. XXVII