Jim Stallings

Biography

Jim Stallings is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D., University of Virginia) Author Jim Stallings with an interest in myth, ritual and narrative; he is a long-time student of literature and studied with James Dickey, Robert Penn Warren, and Larry Heinemann, among other teachers. He is a bookdoctor in fiction and a senior news editor with a major publishing company. He has written novels, scripts, short stories and poems. Through his editorial services company Mockingbird Press he has critiqued hundreds of novels and scripts and line-edited many fictional works; he has ghosted novels, novelizations, scripts, treatments and stories. His Mockingbird Press bookdoctor clients have been nominated for literary prizes like the Pushcart Prize and one client remained on the NY Times bestseller list for nine months and won a movie production contract. Jim lives in San Antonio with his wife Laurie. He likes books, music, good food, brandy and cigars, leisurely walks and lively conversation.

Jim has said about the art of writing: "Writing, the act of composing, is a daily, almost religious act of catharsis and realization. I listen for the voice, wait for the image, and then go with it to the end. From there I've learned from my various writing teachers to rewrite and read aloud until the language, the vision and voice come together. I especially enjoy the sprint of short, spontaneous, Zen-like stories; the marathon of scripts and novels are almost the same thing but repeated many times over. I've always favored the 100 yard dash and the quarter mile to twenty-six miles to break on through to the other side."

Jim is married to a talented artist, Laurie. To see Laurie's work please visit her website here.