Essays and Short Fiction

Selected Short Fiction

• “Prolific Donor,” in Ploughshares (Summer, 2024).

• “Love of Her Life” in Missouri Review (Spring, 2022).

• “We Are Not Thinking About Ourselves,” in CutBank (Spring, 2022).

• “Impact Play,” in Kink, an anthology published by Simon & Schuster (February 2021).

• “One More Night Behind the Walls” in Kenyon Review Online (July/August 2020).

• “Detonator” in Guernica (May 10, 2019).

• "You Have to Continue, You Have to Hurry" in Missouri Review (Winter, 2017). 

• "Pay Attention" in The Paris Review (Winter, 2017).

• "The House We Stole" in Green Mountains Review (Spring, 2016).

• "La Boca del Lobo" in Southern Review (Summer, 2014).

• "We Have Faith That This Will Work Out" in City Arts Magazine (January 2014).

• "Safari in the Bayou" in ZYZZYVA (Spring, 2013).

• "Two Sisters" in Phoebe (Fall, 2010).

• "Mr. McNamara's Suit" in Seattle Review (Spring, 2010).

• "A Room on the Eighth Floor" in Conjunctions (Fall, 2008).

• "Horizon" in Michigan Quarterly Review (Fall, 2007). Note: This story also appeared in Best New American Voices 2008, ed. Richard Bausch.

• "Barbarians' Fantasies" in Boston Review (March, 2007).

Selected ESSays

• “Writing Big Feelings (Minus the Maudlin)” in Writer’s Digest (May/June, 2024).

• “Everyone Loves a Metaphor—But What if the Metaphor Doesn’t Love You Back?” in Brevity’s Blog, March 24, 2023.

• “Sticking the Landing: 6 tips on Writing the End of a Short Story” in Writer’s Digest (December 2022).

• “Seven Tips to Rev a Stalling Story,” in Writer’s Digest (July 2022).

• “Third-Person Limited: Analyzing Fiction's Most Flexible Point of View” in Writer’s Digest (March 2019).

• "Feeling Less Alone Through Fiction, Not Facebook" in City Arts (October 2017).

• "Letter to a Stranger: Washington, DC" in Off Assignment (December 2016). 

• "Ye Olde Canterbury" in Seattle Weekly (November 2016).

• "The Laughter Club" in The Sun magazine (June 2015).

• "Lessons from the Chef" in The Brooklyn Quarterly (Summer 2015).

• "Around the Corner" in Tin House Online (May 2015).

• "Circle Dancing," in Extraordinary Rendition: American Writers on Palestine (published by O/R Books in 2015).

• "How I Came to Live in a Chair Emporium" in The New York Times -- Modern Love column (January 2015).

• "Life in the Group Room" in The New York Times Magazine -- the Lives column (March 2014).

• "A Guide To AWP For People Who Don't Know What AWP Is" in The Stranger (February 2014).

• "I'm Not a Hero for Taking Care of my Kids" in Slate (July 2013).

• "Northwest Passage" in The Guardian (May 2013).

• "Steal my Book" in The Atlantic (November 2012).

• "Lessons from a Hustler" in Granta (December 2011).

• "How to Sell Furniture to Celebrities" in Salon (December 2011).

• “Land of Secrets: Confessions of a Fake Sri Lankan Journalist” in The Atlantic Online (May 2011).

FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS, PLEASE SEE PETER'S CV, HERE.