Writer
My new short story, “Birthday at the Hermitage,” is out now in The Los Angeles Review. It’s set at a hermitage on the outskirts of Ávila, Northern Spain, where I spent many summer afternoons as a child. Writing it gave me the chance to revisit those grounds. I even reached out to the hermitage to confirm some details about the preserved crocodile at the sanctuary entrance, and the keeper sent me a wonderfully thorough description and photos. 🙃
I was honored to serve as guest fiction editor for the fall/winter issue of Crab Creek Review. The theme for fiction was immigration and displacement, and we’ve curated a moving, complex set of pieces that offers variety in both content and form. Big thanks to Julia Hands for the opportunity! The new issue is available through Crab Creek Review‘s Submittable.
We could be reading you in the next issue of Crab Creek Review! Submissions are open for themed fiction on displacement/immigration. I’m honored to serve as guest fiction editor for this issue, and we’ve got a wonderful team waiting to read your subs.
Writers, please submit fiction (up to 3,500 words) or get the word out to others. Submissions are open until April 1. Check out the guidelines!
SAND Journal has published my flash fiction piece “Notes on Medical History,” inspired by a visit to the famous wall of skulls in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. The piece is a surreal departure for me, and I’m grateful it found such a wonderful home. 
The full issue is available for purchase on the SAND website. Thanks to the editors!
I’m thrilled to have my short story “Those Who Point Like Arrows” on Terrain.org this month. The piece takes place in northern Spain, and I grew so attached to this protagonist that I started a novel draft about her life after completing it. Huge thanks to Simmons Buntin and the other editors—they were so wonderful, thorough, and thoughtful to work with! ❤❤
I’m honored to have my short story, “Silencing,” in the May issue of World Literature Today. The piece takes place in Ávila, Spain—where I spent part of my childhood after leaving Bosnia—and it follows an older woman who, while spying on her neighbors out the window, gets herself caught in a complicated misunderstanding. Huge thanks to editor Michelle Johnson and her team for all their care. I’m thrilled to be included in this dream magazine, and in such wonderful company. 
I’m thrilled to be a semifinalist for the Ohio State University Press 2022 Non/Fiction Collection Prize! Big thanks to the editors, and congrats to this year’s winner!
Lana Spendl 