Two great men and Founding Fathers: Benjamin Franklin, the “founding father who winks” (Isaacson); and George Washington.

A diagram of the plot of Liberty: An American Odyssey, composed while on a writer’s residency in Banff, Canada.

The turkey vulture, an antagonist in Liberty: An American Odyssey.

Meleagris Gallopavo: The Wild Turkey with her little poults (female turkeys) and jakes (male turkeys) (photo courtesy of the Boston Globe).

A flock of wild turkeys marching down my street in Boston, MA!

A ‘scene stack’ method of outlining each scene in Liberty: An American Odyssey during an earlier drafting phase.

My name is Kirkley Elizabeth, and I’m a writer of fiction and creative non-fiction.  My latest projects are a novel set in Philadelphia, and a memoir.

The seed of my novel, American Fledgling, was planted when my husband I and were sitting in Sabrina’s Cafe in Callowhill, Philadelphia one autumn.  It was Thanksgiving weekend, and we somehow got onto the topic of unique Thanksgiving traditions in our great country.  Out of one of those traditions–the turkey’s presidential pardon–the idea for my novel, American Fledgling was born.  Each of the images above reflects a hint about this novel featuring animal life, alternate American history, and magical realism.

My novel American Fledgling is complete, and I am currently seeking representation for this work of speculative fiction.

My memoir-in-progress centers on my upbringing in the Philadelphia area, my coming of age, and my family as well as my travels throughout China–where I lived for two and a half years–and back again.