New essay published by Syndrome Magazine

 A new essay on learning to drive - with hair-raising results: https://thesyndromemag.com/not-driving-myself-crazy-by-martha-patterson/

Anthology "HUMANS IN THE WILD: Reactions to a Gun Loving Country" is published

From Swallow Publishing & Mythic Picnic Press, the anthology HUMANS IN THE WILD: Reactions to a Gun Loving Country has just been published.  My short drama TARGET PRACTICE is included in the volume.

Half-hour one-act -- NEW YORK'S FINEST

I recently cut and revised this one-act play taking place on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

SYNOPSIS: 4-character play.  Fiona, a secretary living in Alphabet City, helps solve a murder and meets the love of her life -- a policeman investigating the crime.

Short story - A CONSTANT MAN

 SYNOPSIS: As he grows into adulthood, a man realizes he can't save his dementia-afflicted mother.

New short story - A DILEMMA

SYNOPSIS: A young woman finds consolation about an ill-advised affair, not from a priest, but from a co-worker.

New short story - FAVOR

 Through a mistake made by his teacher, a young n'er-do-well student is given very good end-of-the-year grades on his report card.

New short story - THE AFFAIRS OF THE RICH

 On a lunch hour errand, a woman employed at a law firm hears more gossip than she bargained for - and is left wondering about her own tenuous fate.

New short fiction - HOME

 On a rank, rainy night, a man ends up feeling mistaken about his wife's lack of faith.

New short story - THE WATER FAIRY & THE LEGEND OF SHAVONNE

A traditional fairy tale about a poor young woman beleaguered by a witch, who ends up marrying a prince after being rescued by a fairy.

New short fiction published - THE GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE

My flash fiction THE GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE has been published by the International Human Rights Art Festival; you can read it here:  https://ihraf.org/ihraf-publishes-2020  

It's about an encounter between Americans and a couple from the Middle East.

New publications July/August 2020

A book review I wrote of Deirdre Bair's excellent memoir PARISIAN LIVES, about encounters she had with playwright/novelist Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot) and feminist Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex), will be published by The Book Smuggler's Den on July 24th.

And a poem I wrote titled SPACE will be published Aug. 2nd by Syndic Literary Journal.

New publications in 2020

My short script LIFE'S RICH PAGEANT has been published by Smith Scripts in the U.K.: https://www.smithscripts.co.uk/product/lifes-rich-pageant-by-martha-patterson/  In it, two women lunching at the Four Seasons discuss the COVID pandemic, the wisdom of using acronyms in emails, and trade memories of embarrassing moments.

My essay BEAUTY IS A FEMINIST ISSUE was published by the print arts & literature journal Havik (this issue titled "Homeward") in early July.  It's about how the pressure of always "looking good" affects women.

My short play THE GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE will be published on the platform of the International Human Rights Art Festival in the coming 12 months - it deals with an encounter between Americans and Arabs.  

New production of monologue AMBER - A RECOGNITION OF BIRDS

My self-produced monologue AMBER - A RECOGNITION OF BIRDS has been featured in the 2019-2020 Engage Art Contest, with the theme of Ephesians from the Bible.

Monologue THAT WEEKEND IN BELFAST to be produced in the United Kingdom, July 2020

My monologue about a young woman let down by a musician, titled THAT WEEKEND IN BELFAST, will be produced via a podcast called "How to Be Young Again" in the United Kingdom on July 4th, 2020.  Producer is Lita Doolan.

Variant Literature to publish essay MY SOUTHERN DAD

In July, in a print literary journal, Variant Literature will issue my 2,500-word essay MY SOUTHERN DAD, an autobiographical tale of my humorous and fractious relationship with my father.

New 10-minute play - AN UNROMANTIC ENCOUNTER

SYNOPSIS: On a rampart during the Battle of Britain, a sexy Dutch nurse and a reluctant English soldier "get it on."

Short story A LITTLE LIE to be published

Wingless Dreamer will publish my short story A LITTLE LIE in a fiction anthology on the topic of "Overcoming Fear" this year.

Three new publications: BEAUTY IS A FEMINIST ISSUE, QUEENIE, and RICHARD GERSTL

My essay BEAUTY IS A FEMINIST ISSUE will be published by the Havik literary journal in late May, 2020.

Also, monologue QUEENIE from my play CHESS & THE MIDDLE EAST is being published by Applause Books this year.

And my monologue RICHARD GERSTL, about a real, mentally ill painter who lived in Austria and committed suicide after a failed love affair with the wife of one of his best friends in 1908, has been published by In Parentheses last weekend.

THESE PEOPLE - new full-length drama

SYNOPSIS: A full-length drama in one act.  Three tenants of a run-down apartment building - an aging editor with epilepsy and depression, a young business woman from India, and a schizophrenic male bike messenger - become unlikely comrades.  A story about good faith, love, and friendship.

Syndrome Magazine will publish essay LEARNING TO DRIVE in 2020

Syndrome Magazine, a feminist humor publication, will publish my essay LEARNING TO DRIVE this spring.

SUMMARY:  What happens when you get your license at 16 but never feel comfortable behind the wheel?

New 10-Minute Play - UNDER THE STARS

Written for a competition.

SYNOPSIS: On a camping trip, Charlotte and Trudy strike sparks, but not of the usual campfire kind.