I’m Serena R Simpson,

a writer from Chicago, IL. I’m currently working on my debut novel. Teenaged Sweetpea will confront years of repressed and newly unearthed family secrets, making her reconsider her allegiances and decide whether to flee home in a small, rural southern IL town in search of self-discovery.

You can find my published writing online in Barrelhouse, Ninth Letter, and forthcoming in The Notre Dame Review.

I'm a 2026 Periplus fellow!

What is the quality of light in the room? What is its source?

These questions, posed by a long-time writing mentor, helped me learn to write with full immersion and attention to physical space and the possibilities of inhabiting it. I encourage every writer to consider them from scene to world-building to the writing process.

May you and your art always reflect all the available light.

Read My Writing