Kristen Simental is a Mexican-American author and the founder and publisher of Five South. She’s had several pieces published in The Los Angeles Press, Sheriff Nottingham, and The Los Angeles Review of Books PubLab. She is a twice Kenyon Writer’s Workshop Fellow, and a Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop Fellow. Her novella, “Why, Arizona” was one of two finalists for the 2019/20 deGroot Prize at the Miami Book Fair. 

Kristen Cool Photo 2021.jpeg

FICTION

Skipping Stones - Sheriff Nottingham
Hunger and Lonliness - 100 Words of Solitude
Unpatriotic - LARB PubLab

Up, Up, and Away - The Los Angeles Press

 
 

May 2020 - May 2022

 

Editor-in-Chief, Five South

 

Managing editor, editor-in-chief, web design, podcast engineering, marketing, and wearer of many hats and manages a staff of sixteen readers and editors.

 

May 2022 - Present

 

Currently serving as founder, CFO, publisher, social media, human resources.  

Education & Classes

 

  • American Graphics Institute - Adobe InDesign

  • The Wharton School - Marketing

  • Southern New Hampshire University - English

  • UC San Diego - Copyediting I and II 

 

Workshops

 

  • Second City Sketch Writing Workshop

  • Robert McKee - Romance Screen Writing

  • Robert McKee - Action Screen Writing

  • Jerry B. Jenkins - Novel Writing

2019 & 2021

 

Kenyon Writer's Workshop

Kristen has been accepted to the Kenyon Writer's Workshop *two years in a row. 

 

 

Summer 2020

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Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop Fellow

Attended the 6-week publishing workshop hosted by LARB.

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*2020 cancelled due to Covid. 

2019/2020

 

Issue Editor, Fiction Editor Inscape

Curated, edited and designed the fall 2020 issue. Prose editor for the spring 2021 issue.