Essays and Short Fiction

Selected Short Fiction

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

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

  • “Impact Play,” in Kink, 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

  • “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). reprinted online HERE.

  • “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 The Open Bar, Tin House's blog (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 (May 2011).

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