At the inner edge of San Francisco’s Richmond district, an eye winks open from the fog. The eye surveys the streets and avenues below, pausing on a house with an old van stalled in the driveway and weedy patch of fenced yard out back. One could say the plot of land was unloved. But Earth prefers other forms of love, like fire and rain and roots, like worms tunneling earth through their elastic bodies. And fences mean nothing to the worms as they go about their silent and unseen business….
From “Year of the Rabbit”
“Author Lisa Meltzer Penn has crafted a delightful story whose interesting characters catch our attention immediately. . . .This is how good stories are written and what we look for in the pieces we choose to publish.“
Online Stories:
“Balancing Act” and “Crowing From the Darkness” featured in TMI Project’s “Alone Together” pandemic essay series, May 2021
“Year of the Rabbit“: Fabula Argentea Issue #31, September, 2020
“The Prisoner” Video storytelling in San Mateo County Library’s virtual Story Cafe, Summer, 2020
“Chasing Carol Stein”—Video storytelling in San Mateo County Library’s virtual Story Cafe, Summer, 2020
“Clouds Over Syracuse”: Migozine, Spring, 2020
In Print Stories:
“A Kiss Is A Kiss” (December, 2021)–Fault Zone: Reverse
“The Prisoner” (2017)—Fault Zone: Uplift and Video storytelling version in San Mateo County Library’s Story Cafe
“Chasing Carol Stein” (2016)—Fault Zone: Transform
“Revere the Rain” (2016)—Fault Zone: Transform
“The Eyes Have It” (2015)—Fault Zone: Diverge
“Prescience” (2014)—Fault Zone: Shift
“Love Letter to a Fish” (2013)—Fault Zone: Over the Edge; Cupboard Pamphlet: Love Letter Volume (June 2007)
“Report From the Suburbs” (2012—Fault Zone: Stepping Up to the Edge
“Eating Your Young” (2012)—Carry the Light Anthology (from The San Mateo County Fair); San Bruno, CA Patch.com, June 12, 2012
“The Mermaid Comes Home” (2012)—Best of The Sand Hill Review (from 2000-2011); The Sand Hill Review Volume XII (2011); Nominated for a Pushcart Prize
“Afternoon Light” (2010)—Fault Zone: Words from the Edge
“Drawing Back the Curtain” (2004)—Transfer Magazine #87, Publication of San Francisco State University
“N-Judah” (1996)—Travelers’ Tales: San Francisco
“Toro, Torero” (1995, 1998, and 2002 editions)—Travelers’ Tales: Spain
“Special Delivery” (1995)—Travelers’ Tales: Spain, first edition
Opinion Pieces:
Erie Canal Days: Put the History Back Into DeWitt Celebration—The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York, August 5, 2009
A Sexist Storyteller—Fort Bragg Advocate News: Community Forum, September 12, 1996
Readings and Interviews:
“The Prisoner”—Video recording for Story Cafe, San Mateo County Libraries, Summer 2020
“Chasing Carol Stein”—Video recording for Story Cafe, San Mateo County Libraries, Summer 2020
A Suspense for our Times: A Conversation with Pretty Things Author Janelle Brown, Video Recording, June, 2020—San Mateo County Public Libraries with Lisa Meltzer Penn
Lisa Meltzer Penn Spills the Beans—Sand Hill Review podcast series, 2018
Promo Video for California Writers Club Literary Stage at the San Mateo County Fair, June, 2018
Awards:
San Mateo County Fair Literary Arts Competitions
- “The Prisoner”—First Place Short Story, June 2016
- Serenade—Second Place Short Story, June 2015
- Tile Store—Third Place Short Story, June 2015
- “The Eyes Have It”—First Place Short Story, June 2014
- “Prescience”—Second Place Short Story, June 2013
“The Mermaid Comes Home” (2011)
Nominated for a Pushcart Prize by The Sand Hill Review
The guy holding the sack has a Mickey Mouse tattoo on his wrist. When Rollo opens the door, the guy reaches into the sack and pulls out a rabbit by its long ears. “Surprise!” he says, and the rabbit’s hind legs kick at air. He laughs. “Five of them for Year of the Rabbit.”
“Year of the Rabbit”
Lisa Meltzer Penn 