Writer Spotlight

May was made for Chicago writing group member Robyn Detterline! Robyn has been a writer since before she could write. In kindergarten her book about Snickers the Clown won a prize in the Indiana Young Authors contest. Other selected titles by Robyn from this era include “The Magic Necklace” and “Halloween on 66th Street.” In her teen years her focus switched to poetry and music, and she thought she’d grow up to be a viola teacher or a rock star; however, during her sophomore year her short story “She” won third place in the Project XL contest for high school students. She won 1,000 bucks and the wheels in her brain started turning. In her senior year she completed her first novel, which one day she may actually get back to and turn into a fine young adult book.

Robyn attended Loyola University Chicago and earned her degree in English, with her concentration in creative writing. While at Loyola her fiction and poetry were featured in Loyola’s literary publications. She also “completed” her second novel while in college, which she is still revising, six years later. During her senior year she received honorable mention in the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation’s young adult short story competition, and she also received an honorable mention in the Lorien Hemingway short story competition.

Since her time at Loyola, Robyn cofounded Literary Writers Network. She is an active LWN writing group member, is the managing editor for 10,000 Tons of Black Ink, and has read her stories at various Prose Shows. This month, Robyn’s short story “Other Fish” is featured in elimae magazine.

Congratulations to Robyn for her many accomplishments!