Tad Bartlett is a poet, essayist, and fiction writer. He was born in Ankara, Turkey; raised in Selma, Alabama; and married into New Orleans, Louisiana. Tad received his undergraduate degrees in theater and creative writing from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama; and a law degree from Tulane University. He is currently a student in the MFA program in fiction at the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans.

Tad’s essays and photography appear in a semi-monthly column on the Oxford American website centered on food and Southern life, as well as an essay on musical landmarks in Katrina recovery in association with the December 2012 Louisiana Music Issue. Tad’s poetry is also set to appear in an upcoming issue of the Double Dealer Redux. Previously, Tad’s writing and photography have appeared in the Mobile Press-Register and the Selma Times-Journal.

Tad’s work was a finalist in the short story category of the 2012 William Faulkner-William Wisdom writing competition; his work was also a finalist in the poetry category of that competition in 2011, and in the essay category in 2010. He has also placed work on that competition’s short list for finalists and semifinalist lists in the short story and novel categories in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Tad also has received an Honorable Mention designation in the February 2013 Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers.

In 2010, 2011, and 2012, Tad served on the faculty of the Words and Music Conference, selected to present short fiction and poetry on the conference theme each year. In 2013, he performed readings in the UNO Gold Room Reading Series and the MelaNated-Peauxdunque Sunday Shorts Reading Series. In 2011, Tad was selected to attend the inaugural Oxford American Summit for Ambitious Writers.