About
Ran Walker (he/him) is the author of over 30 books. His short stories, flash fiction, microfiction, and poetry have appeared in a variety of anthologies and journals. Prior to becoming a writer and educator, he worked in magazine publishing and practiced law in Mississippi.
He is the winner of the Indie Author Project's 2019 National Indie Author of the Year Award (selected by judges from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, IngramSpark, St. Martin's Press, and Writer's Digest), the 2019 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Best Fiction Ebook Award, the 2018 Virginia Indie Author Project Award for Adult Fiction, and the 2021 Blind Corner Afrofuturism Microfiction Contest. His collection Keep It 100: 100-Word Stories was selected by Kojo Baffoe for South Africa's Sunday Times' Best Reads of 2021.
Ran is also the recipient of both a 2005 Mississippi Arts Commission/NEA artist grant and a 2006 artist mini-grant. He served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Mississippi Arts Commission in 2006. Additionally, he is a past participant in the Hurston-Wright Writers Week Workshop and is the recipient of a fellowship from the Callaloo Writers Workshop. Since October of 2019, he has been writing microfiction exclusively, particularly works between 50 and 100 words. He has been featured in Library Journal and Publishers Weekly and at the Library Journal Day of Dialog in October 2019. He has served as a judge for several regional and national contests, and he also regularly writes for Writer's Digest magazine, where he serves as a Contributing Editor.
Ran's novel The Last Bluesman (formerly Mojo's Guitar) was translated by Philippe Loubat-Delranc and published by Parisian publisher Éditions Autrement (in both 2015 and 2019) as Il etait une fois Morris Jones. (More information can be found under the "Français" tab under "Writings" on this site.) He has also had various poems and stories translated and published in Arabic and Greek.
Ran is the writer and director of the short film The Last Semester, which was an official selection for the SFO Film Festival in Hampton, Virginia. Just like his work in microfiction, he aims to create short films of great brevity.
Ran is a graduate of Morehouse College (BA in English), Pace University (MS in Publishing), and George Washington University Law School (JD). He also has a Certificate in Book and Magazine Publishing from the New York University Summer Publishing Institute and has done graduate work in English at Mississippi State University. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (inducted through Chi Chapter) and the Horror Writers Association, and he serves on the executive board for the James River Writers, as well as the NaNoWriMo Writers Board.
Ran is an Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Hampton University and teaches with Writer's Digest University. He also serves as a principal writer with Worldspark Studios. He lives in Virginia with his wife and much better half, Lauren, and his wonderful daughter, Zoë.
He is the winner of the Indie Author Project's 2019 National Indie Author of the Year Award (selected by judges from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, IngramSpark, St. Martin's Press, and Writer's Digest), the 2019 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Best Fiction Ebook Award, the 2018 Virginia Indie Author Project Award for Adult Fiction, and the 2021 Blind Corner Afrofuturism Microfiction Contest. His collection Keep It 100: 100-Word Stories was selected by Kojo Baffoe for South Africa's Sunday Times' Best Reads of 2021.
Ran is also the recipient of both a 2005 Mississippi Arts Commission/NEA artist grant and a 2006 artist mini-grant. He served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Mississippi Arts Commission in 2006. Additionally, he is a past participant in the Hurston-Wright Writers Week Workshop and is the recipient of a fellowship from the Callaloo Writers Workshop. Since October of 2019, he has been writing microfiction exclusively, particularly works between 50 and 100 words. He has been featured in Library Journal and Publishers Weekly and at the Library Journal Day of Dialog in October 2019. He has served as a judge for several regional and national contests, and he also regularly writes for Writer's Digest magazine, where he serves as a Contributing Editor.
Ran's novel The Last Bluesman (formerly Mojo's Guitar) was translated by Philippe Loubat-Delranc and published by Parisian publisher Éditions Autrement (in both 2015 and 2019) as Il etait une fois Morris Jones. (More information can be found under the "Français" tab under "Writings" on this site.) He has also had various poems and stories translated and published in Arabic and Greek.
Ran is the writer and director of the short film The Last Semester, which was an official selection for the SFO Film Festival in Hampton, Virginia. Just like his work in microfiction, he aims to create short films of great brevity.
Ran is a graduate of Morehouse College (BA in English), Pace University (MS in Publishing), and George Washington University Law School (JD). He also has a Certificate in Book and Magazine Publishing from the New York University Summer Publishing Institute and has done graduate work in English at Mississippi State University. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (inducted through Chi Chapter) and the Horror Writers Association, and he serves on the executive board for the James River Writers, as well as the NaNoWriMo Writers Board.
Ran is an Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Hampton University and teaches with Writer's Digest University. He also serves as a principal writer with Worldspark Studios. He lives in Virginia with his wife and much better half, Lauren, and his wonderful daughter, Zoë.