Colette Sartor is an award-winning writer whose linked short story collection ONCE REMOVED (University of Georgia Press) won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the IAN Best Book of the Year Award for Short Story Collections, and the Juror’s Choice Award and the Short Stories Award from the National Indie Excellence Awards, among other awards. Her stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, KENYON REVIEW ONLINE, CARVE MAGAZINE, SLICE MAGAZINE, PRAIRIE SCHOONER, and COLORADO REVIEW.

Colette has taught writing for almost 20 years and currently teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, Los Angeles Writers’ House, and privately. She also co-hosts the Literary Roundhouse Bookclub and curates a variety of online resources concerning craft, submission, publication, community, mentoring, and other writing-related topics on her website page, Writers’ Resources, and on her Facebook page. Before becoming a writer, she practiced entertainment law, representing clients ranging from writers, actors, and producers to major motion picture studios and independent production companies. She served as a Co-Executive Director and Co-Creative Director of Feature Contest & Retreats for CineStory from 2017 until 2020, when she became CineStory’s Executive Director.

A longtime Los Angeles resident, Colette lives in West LA with her husband, son, and German Shepherd dog who has yet to outgrow his destructo-boy tendencies, and she never wants to practice law again.

Photo by Rayme Silverberg