About
Writing
Shastri Akella's debut novel "The Sea Elephants" has been published by Flatiron Books (USA, Canada) and Penguin (India). He was a writing resident at the Fine Arts Works Center (2021) and the Oak Springs Garden Foundation (2023). He's winner of 2022 FracturedLit Flash Fiction Contest and the 2023 Best Microfiction Contest. His writing has appeared in Guernica, Fairy Tale Review, CRAFT, The Masters Review, Electric Literature, World Literature Review, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing and PhD. in Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He's an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Michigan State University. Contact him for readings and book signings at your bookstore, college or library.
Teaching
Shastri Akella has 12 years of teaching classes at a high school, undergraduate, and graduate level. His areas of expertise include creative writing, contemporary world literature, and world and genre film, among others. Along with working in traditional institutions, such as the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Bryant University, and Deerfield Academy, he’s taught at summer camps (Great Books) and given talks around the country at institutions such as the University of Alabama Huntsville, Hollins University, Mississippi State University, and University of Toronto Scarborough, among others. In 2016 his teaching was recognized with the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award. Contact him if you would like him to conduct a talk, seminar, or guest workshop at your institution.
