Oil painting by artist and friend Kit Colman
About
Amy Payne began her professional life with a decade in the business of Higher Ed publishing. From there, she returned to her great love, language, and earned her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. This degree, combined with her experience, opened the door to writing, teaching, and speaking, a path she’s been walking ever since.
In late 2020, a long road trip under big western skies returned to her the understanding that writing is part of what makes her most alive. In 2021, after almost 20 years, she left the formal classroom to give her writing its time. And, here she is. Doing it.
Publications:
Neighbor: A Handbook, serial released on Medium (boosted twice and given Top Race Writer Badge)
“The Funbus to Anamoose,” Story Magazine
“Covenant,” Medium (boosted)
“Chaff and Grain Together,” Alaska Quarterly Review
“Item Seven,” CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women
“Hard Bargain,” Nimrod
“Revision,” Puerto del Sol
“Zihuatanejo,” the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Magazine
Educational Experience:
Educational and Writing Mentor: Adult, College, High School; ongoing
Lecturer, Creative Writing Department, San Francisco State University
Upper School English Teacher and Restorative Justice Faculty Lead: Woodside Priory School
Adult Writing Classes: Portola Valley Town Center
Sixth grade writing specialist and Seventh grade English Teacher: Corte Madera School
K-8 Writing Alignment Consultant and Poet in Residence: Corte Madera School
Director of Curriculum, Language Arts Specialist, and Amy the LIBRARIAN :) : Synapse School
Private and guest teacher - creative writing workshops
Speaking:
Graduation Address, Woodside Priory, June 2020
Epiphany, Woodside Priory, January 2020
Building a Community, Ladera Community Church, August 2019
On the Road, Who is Your Teacher?, Ladera Community Church, May 2019
Humor, Dignity Pie, and the Still Small Voice, Woodside Priory, Oct 2018
The Power of Language, Ladera Community Church, May 2018
The Bowl, Ladera Community Church, August 2015
Living Stones, Ladera Community Church, May 2014
A Talk on Laity Sunday, Ladera Community Church, October 2005
In 2019, the Senior class dedicated the yearbook to Amy, one of the great honors of her life.
Readings and Awards
First Friday—A Literary Event, Woodside Arts and Culture, Oct. 2014
Action Fiction! Stories Performed, Dec 2013
Peninsula Literary Series Presents, April 2011
Adobe Books, 2004
SFSU, Wilner Award Reading 2005
Nominated James D. Phelan Award 2015
Nominated Mary Tanenbaum Award, 2015
Nominated Joseph Henry Jackson Award, 2015
AWP Intro Journals Award in Fiction, 2005
Nominated Best New American Voices, 2002, 2004
Nominated Rona Jaffee Foundation, 2007
SFSU, Wilner Award, Honorable Mention, 2005
WORKSHOPS
Amy has run a variety of private workshops that range from all forms of creative writing to themes like awakening play, creativity, and the inner writer.
Contact her to schedule or inquire.