Draft:Kathleen Latham

Kathleen Latham Giugliano (May 28, 1964 - present) is a flash fiction author, short storyist, and poet. She was born in California where she spent most of her childhood before moving to Massachusetts. She currently lives in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Fiction

In 2007, Latham's first short story 3:57 (Night Vision) was awarded the Grand Prize of the Writer's Digest 7th Annual Short Short Story Competition.

In 2008, her short story Two Seconds was chosen as a Top Ten Finalist in The Southeast Review's World's Best Short Story Contest. It was published in volume 27, No.1.

In 2017, Latham's short story Rubbernecking was published by Flash Fiction magazine. Prior to this publication, a version of Rubbernecking was selected as a Finalist in Shenandoah's 2008 Bevel Summers Prize, but at that time it was titled They Found Moby.

In 2018, Latham's short story Man with a Hoe was published in Crack the Spine XVIII in the print anthology. Its original appearance in publication, however, was in the May issue of Crack the Spine Literary Magazine.

Latham's work Obligate Species was published in Fictive Dream in 2020. She continued to have success with her publications, particularly as her work expanded into flash fiction. Her flash piece Reception was publish in the Boston Literary Magazine, where all work must be limited to 250 words or less. Her work Things Like This was published in the Bright Flash Literary Review in 2021. As her success in short fiction continued, Latham entered a period of writing microfiction. Her works Immaturity, Cervical 4, and Quenched were published in 50-Word Stories in 2021. Cervical 4 also appeared in 50 Give or Take, Vine Leaves Press in 2021. Also in this year, she wrote the microfiction work When the Solid Gives Way, which was published in 100 Word Story in 2021. Her slightly longer microfiction work, Dolores tells charles she's going to the gym was published in Spider Road Press in 2021. It won the Web Microfiction Award and appeared in their charity zine PARE. It was also nominated for 2021 Best Small Fictions.

In 2023, Latham's short fiction Fourth Grade Science Lesson, Chickasaw City, Alabama was awarded third place in the International Bath Flash Fiction Award. It was also nominated for Best Small Fictions, 2023. Her work Rats was longlisted by Reflex Press for their flash fiction contest in 2022. Barely A Sound was selected as a top ten story included in The Masters Review Anthology XI by judge Peter Ho Davies. Latham's flash fiction piece Men Like Them (Marks Park, Sydney, 1988) was shortlisted in New Flash Fiction Review's 2023 Flash Fiction Prize. Her story Anna Wonders Whether Birds Will Build a Nest With Cat Hair received the Bridport Prize, Highly Commended 2023 and was produced in their anthology.

Most recently in 2024, her short story Brightly, Brightly was published in The Ilanot Review, Parents: Prose Edition, and her story B Word was published in Tenacity: Brilliant Flash Fiction's 10th Anniversary Anthology, 2024. She is currently working on her first novel.

Poetry

One of Latham's earliest published poems On Running Into an Ex-Lover was published in Alehouse, Number 3 in 2009.

In 2016, Latham was selected as the featured poet for Clockwise Cat, Issue 34. This publication included six of her poems (Obedience, The Difference Between Me and the Published, Love vs. Gravity, Will Power, Closure, On Running into an Ex-Lover) as well as her original photography. Of these poems, Closure and On Running into an Ex-Lover were selected for the 2012 Press 53 Open Award Top Ten Finalist.

In 2017, The London Reader published Latham's poem Metamorphosis 2.0. Her poem Heart Block was published in Picaroon Poetry, Issue 8, and her poem Sixteen was published in Issue 10.

In 2019, two of Latham's poems were included in the Tipton Poetry Journal, Issue #40: ALL NEWS IMAGES and Multiverse. Multiverse is considered one of her best pieces of published poetry to date. Two additional poems were included in Tipton Poetry Journal, Issue #41: Cranberry Juice and Enough. Cranberry Juice is considered one of the happiest pieces of Latham's poetry collection, as the majority of her work has darker tones. It was later included in Vita Brevis Press, Volume IV's 2020 poetry anthology What Is All This Sweet Work? where it was featured along with another poem by Latham titled How Annie Comes to Decide She'd Rather Be Given a Heads Up Than a Toasted Everything Bagel. Her poem Taking care of Dad, After Mom was chosen as a special feature poem in Eclectica Magazine, Volume 23, No.2. In December, Eunoia Review published her poem Reservations. Constellations, Volume 9: Confessions includes two of Latham's poems, Full Immersion, 1982 and Stupid.

In 2020, Red Wolf Journal published two of Latham's poems on love: Advice for Josh on the Last Girl He'll Break Up With and How to Find the Love of Your Life. This journal would go on to include two more of Latham's poems in a later issue: I Had a Dream Last Night That We Sat in Your Black Corolla and You Only Come to Me in Dreams and Only Sometimes. Her poem This Just In was published in the special issue of the River Heron Review in September of 2020. Her poem Chivalry in Men, Idiocy in Women was published in Chestnut Review, Volume 2, No.2 that same year. Her politically-themed poem Looking Back At The Time Senator Jeff Flake Asked Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Whether He'd Rather Fight 100 Duck-Sized Horses Or One Horse-Sized Duck was published in The New Verse News in December of 2020.

2021 brought more poetry publications. Latham's poem Red Jacket was included in the Constellate Literary Journal, Issue 6. Small Spaces with Hard Walls was published in Red Eft Review in 2021.

Her poem When Your Mother Suggests Scrapbooking as a Form of Therapy won second place in Oprelle Publications' Into Pieces Contest in March of 2022. This is How I Picture Your Bedroom was published in Close Up: Poems on Cancer, Grief, Hope, and Healing, an Orchard Lea Books collection. The Anti-Heroin Chic, Issue 30 published two of Latham's poems: To the Bone and Give Me Back.

Her poems Nantasket Beach and Notes on a Missing Son were published in The Comstock Review, Volume 37:1 in 2023. The Comstock Review later included Latham's poem Gift in their Fall/Winter issue.

Latham's first book of poetry The Ones is due to be published in late 2024. It includes a variety of previously published poems.

Education

Latham graduated summa cum laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. She received a Ed.M. degree in developmental psychology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Personal Life and Inspiration

Latham was born in California to Charles and Barbara Latham. She is the youngest daughter of four. Latham married cardiologist Robert Giugliano. She has four children (Alessandra, Gabriella, Dominic, and Dante). Latham lives in Westwood, Massachusetts with her husband Robert. She taught a creative writing at the local High School. They have a black cat named Dobby, referenced often in her work.

Much of Latham's work reflects on her own personal experiences of love, family, and loss. Her microfiction work Cervical 4 reflects on a true story of her own mother, a former nurse, who saved the life a man at a beach who had a high cervical fracture and ended up paralyzed for life and ultimately resenting being saved. Her poem Taking care of Dad, After Mom was written shortly after her own mother died and reflects her personal experiences with grieving a parent. The poem Stupid remarks on a real experience that Latham had while living in Cambridge and studying for her psychology degree. Advice for Josh on the Last Girl He'll Break Up With was written for a close family friend, and notably includes one of the few instances where Latham includes the first name of a person in her poetry.