About Me

No one is a bad writer. I believe that passionately. They just need practice and guidance from a more experienced writer to build a practical set of writing skills. I have been writing for 20 years. My poem "Hollow Words" was published in the 2007 summer edition of Caesura, the journal for the Poetry Center San Jos. That same year my short story "Static Night" won the Dawson Prize from the PEN American Center. In 2010, my screen play "A War for the City in the Sea" was a quarter finalist in the Blue Cat Screenplay Competition. My passion for all things writing led to my founding of Gamin Publications. It is an independent publishing company that is rapidly becoming a platform for emerging and experimental authors. Currently I am working with World Fantasy Award winner Scott Nicolay to create an online magazine focused on experimental fiction, especially from indigenous authors. I am an active member of the Portland writing community. I am a co-founder of The Hour That Stretches spoken word event. The series' primary focus is to promote writing, in all its forms. This has resulted in strange pairings like icon William F. Nolan featured alongside 19 year old feminist poet Anna Suarez. The creation of a space that encourages interracial and inter-generational writing is an overwhelming source of pride. I am currently a Writing tutor at Clackamas Community College. I have worked as an adjunct in the Art program at Clackamas Community College. My primary focus was introduction to drawing, but I have taught gallery management classes and sequential art workshops. I have also taught college experience workshops for The Clackamas Middle College, a charter school. In every case I worked with Senior Faculty member David Andersen to create curriculum, grading rubrics, syllabi, etc.

Education & Certifications

Q&A with Justin

Tutoring Subjects