BIOGRAPHY: After several years of career experimentation, K. Alan Leitch discovered a passion for teaching, and, especially, teaching literature. This built upon his inborn love of writing to the point that his most rewarding moments involve the laughter, tears and outrage of readers moved by his work. Inspired by his study of literature at Oxford, and by great authors like John Updike, Leitch challenges himself to synthesize literary style with the accessible, adventure-driven genres that entertained him as a young reader. His publications include two First-Place entries, a Third-Place entry, and another finalist in the WOW! Literary Journal, a prize-winner in ‘A Visit from the Duchess’ (a printed anthology by Stringybark Stories), and Second-Place entries in literary editions of newletters by I.E.U. Australia and the English-Speaking Union. He is the author of several dozen short stories, as well as five novels, including the Textnovel and Serena McDonald Kennedy award-winning (but unpublished) ‘Starlite Lanes: We Bowl for Democracy’, and its partner-novel, ‘Driven,’ which is also unpublished—though not for long! As a citizen of both Canada and Australia, Leitch considers himself a global denizen, and hopes one day to make a memorable contribution to American history…Some of his award-winning fiction can be sampled and read at the links below, or on the Projects and Samples page of this site.
HOME: Surfers Paradise, QLD
PREFERRED NAME: Keith
HOME: Calgary, Alberta Canada
BORN: 1965
GENDER: Male
HOBBIES: Roller-skating, designing free telephony, making salad, pretending to read minds in public.
AWARDS AND PUBLICATIONS:
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The Malicious Mist of Misery Sound | |
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Mixed Colors | |
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Ease | Fall, 2015 Fiction Competition |
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Starlite Lanes: We Bowl for Democracy |
Recipient:Textnovel Award
Final Reading: Serena McDonald Kennedy award
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| Honorary Mention | Damp Courtship | Winter, 2017 Fiction Competition |
| Final Judging | Last Gift of the Coltray | 2017 Parsec Short Story Contest |
| Final Reading | My Father’s Voice | Winter, 2016 Fiction Competition |
| Final Reading | The Colorful Cargo of Captain Jimmy | Summer, 2016 Fiction Competition |
| Second Place | The Hug | Independent Education Union’s open category fiction award |
| Honorable Mention | Enduring Entropy | Published in “A Visit to the Duchess,” by Stringybark Stories. |
PLATFORM:
SOCIAL MEDIA: See other samples of my writing, along with my blog, at http://www.KAlanAuthor.tk . Follow me on Twitter @KAlanAuthor .
ORGANIZATIONS: Member: English-Speaking Union; Member: English Teachers Association of Queensland; Organizer: South-East Queenland Public Speaking Adjudicator: Rostrum Voice of Youth Adjudicator: Lions Youth of the Year Public Speaking Adjudicator: GC Debate
SPEECHES PER YEAR: 1-3
SAMPLE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: Saint Stephen’s College; A.B. Paterson College; APS Schools’ Association
SCHOOL:James Cook University/Oxford University
DEGREE:Master’s Degree
GENERAL FIELD OF STUDY:Education
SPECIFIC FIELD OF STUDY:English Literature (particularly at Oxford)
ACTIVITIES AND SOCIETIES:Member of the English Speaking Union and the English Teachers’ Association of Queensland
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:Not only has my postgraduate academic writing earned me Distinctions, but my studies of literary style and perspective have opened new avenues toward constructing reader-centered narratives. The accessible plots that I love to write are enhanced by a perfect balance of influence from literary masters.
CURRENT FIELD: Education
RELATED EXPERIENCE: English Literature and Advanced Placement English Extension teacher.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE:Finding new ways of teaching and motivating students to learn about literature keeps my literary toolbox continuously refreshed. Furthermore, familiarity with the attitudes and styles of teenagers informs the voices of my Young Adult fiction.
MY WRITING STYLE: Emotions symbolized are a powerful narrative tool. Spiderwebs of anger crawl from the bellies of my characters to twist their faces; flightless joy grounds them to a family they did not know they loved. Any object in the setting can link to feelings.
MY DISTINCTIVENESS AS A WRITER: A range of life-experiences creates a rich field of sources for a writer, and I have worked in I.T., Secondary and Post-Secondary Education and retail, in three countries 9,000 miles apart. My extensive world travel and time with many socioeconomic classes have exposed me to a patchwork of voices that stitch together into my own unique narrative.
Keith,
I loved your story, Mixed Colors. It was one of the most vivid and moving pieces I’ve read in a long time. Congratulations on your win. Thank you also, for following my blog. Welcome to the fence jumpers. @sheilamgood at Cow Pasture Chronicles
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Thank you so much. Inspiration does play a part!
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