I’m Elizabeth Preston, and I live at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. I have a PhD in English with research emphases in rhetoric, composition, writing center work, pedagogy, audience awareness, and humor writing. I also have academic backgrounds in psychology and economics. I currently teach college writing, teach writing to business professionals, and work as a technical writer.
I’m constantly writing, researching, reading, teaching, or fishing (hey, a person has to have hobbies). This blog is about the tribulations, jubilations, and contemplations of me trying to break into the literary and screenwriting worlds, make use of my education, and enjoy life while attempting to stay sane.
I’m hoping to add continually to this list, but here are some of my writing and academic accomplishments and some of my current projects. You can also check out my writing portfolio.
Selected Publications
“Unlocking the Mysterious Pyramid: What You Need to Know Before Fishing Pyramid Lake,” 2020
DUN Magazine
Click Here to Read the Article.
Editor of Arenas, Therese et al. Composition Currents: Core Writing Program. 3rd ed., Fountainhead Press, 2019
Editor of Arenas, Therese et al. Composition Currents: Core Writing Program. 2nd ed., Fountainhead Press, 2018.
“10 Things to Know Before Dating The Girl Who Loves Nature and Being Outside,” 2017
Thought Catalog, nonfiction
Click Here to Read the Article.
“12 Ways to Secure that 4.0 GPA in College,” May 2015
Thought Catalog, nonfiction
Click Here to Read the Article.
“Beware the Thesis: 10 Steps to Crafting an ‘A’-Worthy Thesis,” February 2015
Thought Catalog, nonfiction
Click Here to Read the Article.
“I Kept Walking,” 2012
Brushfire Zine, nonfiction
“Challenging the Champ,” September 2011
Stellaria, nonfiction
“Lake Baikal,” August 2011
Stellaria, academic paper
“Cookie for Your Thoughts,” January/February/March 2010
The Storyteller: A Writer’s Magazine, fiction
Won 3rd Place People’s Choice Award.
Awards
James Q. and Cleo K. Ronald Dissertation Fellowship, 2021
Winner of the 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition in the Doctoral Category, 2021
Click Here to See the List of Winners.
Clocks, 1-hr. grounded sci-fi drama television screenplay, 2018
Quarterfinalist in the PAGE Awards
Click Here to See the List of Quarterfinalists.
Clocks, 1-hr. grounded sci-fi drama television screenplay, 2018
Semifinalist in BlueCat‘s Annual Screenwriting Contest
Click Here to See the List of Semifinalists.
Clocks, 1-hr. grounded sci-fi drama television screenplay, 2018
Winner of Roadmap Writers’ 2018 Pitch Contest, TV Screenplay Category
My Superhero Brother, animated, family feature, 2017
Semifinalist in the Television Category in Scriptapalooza
My Superhero Brother, animated, family feature, 2016
6th Place in the Television/Movie Script Category in Writer’s Digest Writing Competition
Better in Boston, chick flick feature, 2016
Honorary Mention in the Television/Movie Script Category in Writer’s Digest Writing Competition
“HMO: Help Me Out,” July 2015
5th Place in 1st/2nd Quarter 2015 America’s Funniest Humor Writing Contest for HumorPress.com
Click Here to Read the Story
“Heaven, Hell, and a Passing Grade,” 2014
1st Place in the 1st/2nd Quarter 2014 America’s Funniest Humor Writing Contest for HumorPress.com
Click Here to Read the Story
Guest Blog Posts
“Pucker Up: Writing a Kissing Scene,” February 2015
A Writer’s Path
http://ryanlanz.com/2015/02/28/pucker-up-writing-a-kissing-scene/
“The Good, the Scary, and the Scarring: 10 Creepy and/or Terrifying Classics,” February 2015
The Book Blogger
The Good, the Scary, and the Scarring: 10 Creepy and/or Terrifying Classics
“Break the Boredom for Winter Break,” December 2014
Sixteen & Successful
http://sixteenandsuccessful.org/2014/12/10/break-the-boredom-for-winter-break-by-elizabeth-e-k-preston/
“Rushing to Clubs,” September 2014
Sixteen & Successful
http://sixteenandsuccessful.org/2014/09/01/reblog-rushing-to-clubs-by-elizabeth-preston-from-at-the-foot-of-the-sierras/
Conference Presentations
“It’s a Funny Story: A Case Study of Humor and Laughter in a Writing Center,” 2021
TutorCon, Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association
“The Graduate: How Writing Centers May Engage With, and Serve, Graduate Students,” 2021
Northern California Writing Centers Association Conference, 2021
“Laughing Together: Using Humor Writing to Encourage Diversity and Inclusivity in First-Year Composition,” 2021
Minds, Means, and Materials: A Shared, Virtual Second Annual Writing and Well-Being Conference and the second University of Nevada, Reno Crossings: Exploring Shared Work in Writing Conference
“WPAs and Graduate Students as Travel Buddies,” 2020
CWPA Conference (accepted 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic)
“Humor Us: Humor as a Research & Administrative Agenda,” March 2018
Northern California Writing Centers Association (Un)conference
Co-presented
“It’s a Funny Story: A Case Study of Humor and Laughter in a Writing Center,” November 2017
University of Nevada Reno Graduate Student Association Poster Symposium
Received an Honorable Mention in the Liberal Arts/Social Sciences/Education Category
“A Funny Hybrid: Crossing Humorous Texts and the Teaching of Writing,” April 2017
Crossings Conference at the University of Nevada, Reno
Functioned as the annual Northern California Writing Centers Association’s Conference
“Power, Writing, Interdisciplinarity: Confronting Power Structures via Diverse Writing Practices,” April 2017
Panel Presentation
Individual Presentation: “Humor Writing and Situated Knowledge in Beginning College Composition Classes”
“Laughing on the Edge,” March 2014
On the Brink Conference
Interdisciplinary graduate conference on the cultural, social, and material
implications of risk
Presented and chaired
“Third-Wave Feminism: Another Step in Feminism’s Evolution,” February 2014
Fourth Annual College of Liberal Arts Graduate Student Symposium (CLAGS)
Regional interdisciplinary graduate student conference
“The Dialect of the American West,” 2013
Renovation Conference
Regional interdisciplinary graduate student conference
“Chick Lit: Tales from a Third-Wave Feminist Perspective,” 2011
Undergraduate Research Poster Conference
Interdisciplinary undergraduate conference
Won a Honors Undergraduate Research Award (HURA) from the university
At the Foot of the Sierras 
Far too amazing an “About” page to pass up. Do I even need to say, “I’m impressed.” At any rate, you have a new follower, and I’ll read you soon. (You caught me just as I was getting ready to head to bed, but you are definitely first on my list for tomorrow.
Thank you very much! Hopefully, the PhD programs I’m applying to will feel the same. Cross your fingers!
My goodness! Look at that list of current projects. I’m lucky if I can keep my grocery list and journal functioning at the same time. I wish you MUCH success!
Don’t forget about your blog! 🙂 Thank you, and I wish you success as well.
Love your blog! So thorough and informative but still fun!!!
Thank you very much for the read and for the follow! Also, thank you for the very kind words! 🙂
You have the good taste to like my friend who likes dragonflies and is a healer of souls. So I am following you.
Thank you for the follow. She’s (and I’m assuming that we’re talking about Calen from Impromptu Promptlings) a fantastic writer, and she knows how to touch those notes of tenderness, sadness, and joy in both her prose and poetry.
That’s her 🙂
Thank you for the follow. I love your posts!
Thank you! 🙂
Delighted by your writing as well as your photos. Do you live near Oregon House?? My son lives there!
Thank you, and thank you for stopping by my blog and reading. 🙂 No, I don’t live in a place nearly as green as Oregon House. I’m just lucky enough to have parents who like to garden. 🙂
Thanks for the follow. You have an impressive list of credits. I’m honored to have you stopping by. 🙂
Thank you! I’m hoping that it will grow. Thank you for reading and for the follow!
Hi! I just wanted to stop by, say hello and that I’m glad you liked my blog. Congrats on your Master’s, and good luck working on your doctorate. That’s awesome! I’m looking forward to reading some of your material. 🙂
Thank you very much for your kind words and for stopping by. I look forward to reading your posts as well. 🙂