About

Dana is the founder of the Story Club franchise. She produces and hosts Story Club Cleveland and teaches at Literary Cleveland and StoryStudio Chicago. She has been published in McSweeney's Internet Tendency,  The Rumpus, Tampa Review, and her stories have been featured on WBEZ, WCPN, and Vocalo.org (89.5 FM), among many others. You may see her upcoming performance schedule here. 

Dana has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Northwestern University and an MA in Religious Studies from The University of Chicago. 

Publications

Press

Podcasts

Awards

  • Named "One of Ohio's 13 Funniest Women" by Cleveland.com, 2018
  • Outstanding Young Alumni Award, Wittenberg University, 2015
  • New City Chicago ranks Dana as one of Chicago's top 50 literary influencers , 2015
  • AWP Intro Journals Award, Creative Nonfiction, 2010
  • University of Chicago Writers Studio Award Student Prize, Honorable Mention for Best Portfolio, 2009
  • Lester S Crowl Award for Best Creative Writing Portfolio, Wittenberg University, 2000
  • Sinclair Community College Writing Awards, First Place Prose, 1999, Second Place Poetry, 2000
  • University of Indianapolis Ananda Awards, First Place Prose, Second Place Poetry, 1996​

Performances
  • Fictlicious
  • Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit Fest 2011
  • Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit Fest 2011
  • Vocalo Presents: Music & Stories Live
  • Live Lit on the Lake
  • Stoop-Style Stories
  • Cafe Cabaret
  • Stories at the Store
  • Waiting for the Bus

Panels / Lectures

  • Literary Cleveland Inkubator, 2020 - talk on the business of publishing
  • Cuyahoga Falls Library, 2020 - 4 week class on storytelling
  • Northwestern Summer Writer's Conference, 2019 - panel on Live Lit
  • Hemophilia Federation of America Symposium, 2018 & 2019 - workshop on storytelling 
  • Literary Cleveland Inkubator, 2018 - talk on storytelling for beginners
  • SW Ohio Hemophilia Federation, 2018 - workshop on storytelling for advocacy
  • Baldwin Wallace Social Change Summit, 2018 - workshop on storytelling for social change
  • Femmes Speak Up, 2018 - panel on public speaking
  • Kent State, guest lecturer for Media, Power & Culture class, 2017 - storytelling and power
  • Northwestern Summer Writer's Conference, 2017 - workshop on publishing
  • Ashland University MFA Summer Residency, 2016 - panel on performing your work
  • Northwestern Summer Writer's Conference, 2015 - storytelling performance
  • Wittenberg University Department of English colloquium, 2014 - storytelling workshop
  • Chicago Writers Conference, 2014 - panel on publishing 
  • Printer's Row Lit Fest, 2014 - panel on producing live lit events
  • Printer's Row Lit Fest, 2013 - Women of our Word - panel on female performers in Live Lit 
  • Northwestern MFA Career Day, 2013 - Teaching in the City Panel 
  • Printer's Row Lit Fest. 2012 - Live Lit Panel
  • AWP 2012 - Memoir Without a Net
  • Chicago Theater Conference, 2012 - Live Lit Panel
  • Chicago Literary Alliance, 2012 - panel on performance publishing