Rachel Holbrook

Rachel Holbrook writes from her home in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and six children. She earned her BFA in Creative Writing from Tennessee Wesleyan University.

Rachel fell in love with words and literature as a child, and has spent her life with her nose in a book. She began writing poetry and short stories when she was nine years old. Her first publication was her poem The Bible in her Granny’s church bulletin when she was ten years old. Seeing her name in print in strangers’ hands was the first small taste of what she knew she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She received awards for writing in middle school, high school and college, but put her writing dreams on hold for a decade while starting a family. When her last two children entered Kindergarten, Rachel finally completed the manuscript for her first novel and began writing a weekly serial which quickly grew in popularity. Her serial was picked up by two local papers, as well as being read online by readers around the country. Rachel has enjoyed a string of publications from 2015 until the present.

In March 2018, Rachel received an Honorable Mention from Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society at their annual Convention for her short story “A Slow Burn.”

In April 2018, Rachel received the Springs of Helicon Poetry Award from Tennessee Wesleyan University.

In March 2019, Rachel took second place in LitMag’s Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction for her story “The Girl from the Trailer Park.”

In April 2019, Rachel received the Creative Writing Prize from Tennessee Wesleyan University, awarded by the English faculty, for her short story “They Shall Take Up Serpents.”

Rachel’s other work has previously been published or is upcoming in the following publications:

Burningword Literary Journal

*82 Review

CENTURY 121

They Stood Alone (anthology) , Old Mountain Press

Akitsu Quarterly

The Avalon Literary Review

Ink In Thirds

GTK Creative Journal

Ginosko Literary Journal

the Same

The Springs of Helicon

Addiction Recovery Anthology, Madness Muse Press

The Society of Classical Poets

Sigma Tau Delta

You can also find Rachel’s personal blog, Nothing Gold, by clicking here.