"With the fingers of the potter; And the laughing tale of the fool
The arranger of disorder; With your strange and simple rules"
-- Suzanne Vega
SHORT BIO
Jamie Beth Cohen is a writer, storyteller, and worker bee who has done many things in order to feed and clothe herself and her family, but none as enjoyable as scooping ice cream in the summer of 1993 in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the author of The Alice Burton Novels (WASTED PRETTY and LIMINAL SUMMER, both from Black Rose Writing), and her words have appeared in HuffPost, The Washington Post, Salon, and many other outlets including SFWP Quarterly. In 2021, she was named Best Storyteller in Lancaster (PA). She is currently working on a memoir about her complicated father, their layered relationship, and his unexplained death. When she’s not writing, reading, working, or spending time with her family, she can be found mentoring incarcerated writers and novice storytellers.
Twitter / Insta
MORE ABOUT ME
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and currently live in Lancaster City, PA with my husband, our two children and our two cats. My seventeen years outside of the Keystone state took me to Fairfax, VA; New York City; College Park, MD, and Los Angeles, CA.
I am a graduate of The Ellis School for Girls and have studied writing at Long Lake Camp for the Arts, the (now, sadly defunct) Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts at Mercyhurst College (where I later served as the Assistant Resident Director), and George Mason University where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in English/Writing with a minor in Art History. I have a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from Baruch College - City University of New York.
My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, HuffPost, Today.com, TeenVogue.com, YES! Magazine, Ravishly, Kveller, DAME, SFWP Quarterly, Entropy, and several other outlets.
All I have ever wanted to do is write, but I have done a number of other things in the service of feeding, clothing and sheltering myself and my family. My favorite job was scooping ice cream when I was sixteen years old. I think everything about sixteen was wonderful and amazing, except all the stuff that was horrible.