Eckhard Gerdes

Eckhard Gerdes was born in 1959 in Atlanta, Georgia, and has lived in Switzerland, Germany, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Katanga, the Republic of South Africa, as well as in several locations throughout the United States in Illinois, Georgia, Iowa, Alaska, and California. He has three children and five grandchildren.

He earned his MFA in Fiction Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also holds an MA in English from Roosevelt University in Chicago, and a BA in English from the University of Dubuque in Iowa.

Perhaps best known for his novels, his work reflects experimental technique, sometimes ignoring time, space, or cause-and-effect, in the service of stories of individuals struggling to transcend fear and limitation.

His critical work on modern and post-modern literature has appeared in the Review of Contemporary Fiction, the American Book Review, and, recently, has included a chapter on the writing of his friend Raymond Federman in Jeffrey R. DiLeo's collection Federman's Fictions (SUNY Press, 2011).

Gerdes is also the editor of the Journal of Experimental Fiction and publisher of its associated press, JEF Books.

He is the author of

• Projections [a novella, 1986, No Press]
• Truly Fine Citizen [a novel, 1989, Highlander Press]
• Ring in a River [a novel, 1992, Depth Charge Press]
• Cistern Tawdry [a novel, 2002, Fugue State Press]
• Przewalski's Horse [a novel, 2006, Red Hen Press]
• The Million-Year Centipede, or, Liquid Structures [a novel, 2007, Raw Dog Screaming Press]
• Nin and Nan (appeared in Bizarro Starter Kit (Blue) [a novella, 2008, Bizarro Press]
• My Landlady the Lobotomist [a novel, 2008, Raw Dog Screaming Press]
• The Unwelcome Guest b/w Nin and Nan [two novellas, 2010, Enigmatic Ink]
• Hugh Moore [a novel, 2010, Civil Coping Mechanisms; 2012, Heroinum Press; 2015, Dirt Heart Pharmacy Press]
• Three Psychedelic Novellas [three novellas, 2011, Enigmatic Ink]
• The Sylvia Plath Cookbook: A Satire [a short story chapbook, 2012, Sugar Glider Press]
• ’S A Bird [a play, 2013, Black Scat Books]
• 23 Skidoo! 23 Form-Fitting Poems [poems, 2013, Finishing Line Press]
• How to Read [nonfiction, 2014, Guide Dog Books]
• Blues for Youse [poems, 2015, ATTOHO Sounds]
• White Bungalows [a novel, 2015, Dirt Heart Pharmacy Press]
• Recto & Verso: A Work of Asemism and Pareidolia [w/ Dominic Ward, art, 2015, Dirt Heart Pharmacy Press]
• Three Plays [three plays, 2016, Black Scat Books]
• Marco & Iarlaith: A Novel in Flash Fictions [novel, 2018, Black Scat Books]
• The Pissers' Theatre [novel, 2021, Black Scat Books]
• The Chronicles of Michel du Jabot [novel, 2022, JEF Books]

• Recipient, &NOW Award for Innovative Writing
• Nominee, Georgia Author of the Year
• Finalist, Starcherone Prize for Innovative Fiction
• Finalist, The Blatt Novel of Novels Award
• Finalist, Wonderland Book Award
• Recipient, Richard Pike Bissell Award for Creative Writing

Essays on his work, and reviews of individual publications, have appeared in

• Texas Review
• American Book Review
• Rain Taxi
• Notre Dame Review
• Review of Contemporary Fiction
• Blue Print Review, and elsewhere.

• Bio from Raw Dog Screaming Press
• Bizarro Central
• Author's website
• The Journal of Experimental Fiction website
• Word Riot interview
• Penman Review interview
• E & E's Compounding Pharmacy interview