Bio:
John Vercher is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of English & Philosophy. His expertise is in creative writing, specifically book-length fiction. His published works and future writing focus on issues of identity and family. As a teacher, John is passionate about “pulling back the curtain” on and opening the door to publishing for writers from systematically disenfranchised communities by sharing with transparency his journey through the process from working professional and student to published author. John endeavors to make writing, whether academic or creative, enjoyable for students by making the work personal, finding ways students can connect to their writing at an individual level by focusing on subjects in which they are most invested. His teaching strives toward the decolonization of language in composition and fiction, particularly examining the meanings and origins of “craft” in creative writing. His goal is to have students write with their authentic voice and to resist erasure of that voice, and he supports students through frequent communication and expectation setting.
John’s debut novel, Three-Fifths, was nominated for multiple awards, including the Edgar and Strand Critics’ Award for Best Debut Novel, was listed as a 2019 best book of the year in the U.S. and U.K. and has been printed in several languages. His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, has also sold internationally and was critically acclaimed in multiple outlets, including Booklist, Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, and NPR’s Fresh Air. His third novel, Devil is Fine, publishes June 18, 2024, from Celadon (an imprint of Macmillan). In 2023, John was selected to be the inaugural Wilma Dykeman writer-in-residence at UNC Asheville.