Maddie Norris

Maddie Norris is a Teaching Professor and Kenan Visiting Writer affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona and a BA in Psychology and English from UNC Chapel Hill. Her work bridges creative nonfiction with interdisciplinary themes like medicine, environmental justice, and feminist theory. Currently residing in Tucson, Arizona, she teaches at the University of Arizona while maintaining active research interests in literature, science, and cultural studies.

Education:

• MFA Creative Writing, University of Arizona (2020)
• BA Psychology and English, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (2017)

Research Interests: Norris explores intersections of aesthetics with science writing, literature and medicine, and social justice through creative essays. Her work employs medical frameworks to interrogate grief, identity, and environmental ethics, as seen in her award-winning essay collection The Wet Wound: An Elegy in Essays (2024).

Awards: Her essays have been honored with the Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction (Ninth Letter, 2019), two Notable distinctions in Best American Essays (2020, 2022), and residencies like the Monson Arts Center (2021). She was also a Thomas Wolfe Scholar at UNC Chapel Hill (2013–2017).