Jac Jemc

Jac Jemc is a Teaching Professor in the Literature Department at the University of California, San Diego. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and serves as Faculty Director of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop. A recipient of the 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship, Jemc specializes in horror, speculative fiction, and fragmented narrative forms, with a focus on sentence-level stylistics and humor. Her work has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition and Selected Shorts.

Education: MFA in Creative Writing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (no specific year noted).

Research & Awards: Her publications include five novels such as Empty Theatre (2023) and My Only Wife (2012), recognized for their innovative narratives. Awards include the Chicago Review of Books Award and Lambda Literary Award nominations. Residencies include Arctic Circle, Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.

Professional Roles: Editor for Hobart (web fiction) and decomP (poetry). Leadership in Clarion Writers’ Workshop reflects her commitment to nurturing emerging writers.