Hi, I’m Taylor! I’m a short-story writer and a freelance journalist living in the heart of the Fondren neighborhood in Jackson, MS. I’m a 2019 graduate of the Mississippi College Writing program. I returned to my alma mater and completed a Master’s degree (also in English) in 2023. I’ve won a few awards for my work in the classroom: the University’s Perry Medal, the Sarah A. Rouse and Psi Zeta Chapter awards given annually to an outstanding English major. I also won the Graduate Research Symposium for my work on religion in Anne of Green Gables.
My studies in composition, rhetoric, and literature enabled me to write well and passionately about social justice and civic engagement, and my journalism bylines can be found in the Mississippi Free Press, the Clinton Courier, the Jackson Free Press, the Canton News, and the Long Beach Breeze. I’ve written about the need for Medicaid expansion in a red state, about pay disparity in Mississippi – the last state in the union to pass an equal-pay-for-equal-work law, and about the enduring legacy of Emmett Till. I was also part of the “Trusted Elections” team at the Mississippi Free Press that brought home an SPJ Diamond Award for our coverage of the 2020 election.
My short fiction often spotlights religious people behaving badly, the joy and pain of aging, and that pesky emotion we all experience: longing. I want my writing to have substance and elegance, but it’s sometimes a tough line to walk. I try to learn from my favorite writers: Anne Lamott, my fellow Mississippian Jesmyn Ward, Madeleine L’Engle. I’m also in a writing group that pulls no punches, so that’s helpful, too.
When I’m not writing, I’m a higher education professional, an adjunct English professor, and the chair of the worship committee at a reconciling United Methodist Church. More importantly, I’m a friend, a daughter and granddaughter, a neighbor, a Jacksonian, and a doubt-riddled believer. I’d love to write something for you or to hear your thoughts on my writing – feel free to email me at taylormckayhathorn@gmail.com or Tweet me at @_youaremore_.
