A CREATIVE

Steve Gerkin is an accomplished author and essayist with a writing career spanning over two decades. He has published four books and over fifty nonfiction essays, earning a reputation for his rich storytelling and thoughtful exploration of history, place, and the human experience. His most recent work, the forthcoming Echoes in Light: Images into Writing, is a compelling collection of ekphrastic writings in multiple genres, each piece prompted by the striking imagery of photographer Sam Joyner.

Gerkin’s earlier publications include Hidden History of Tulsa (The History Press, 2014), which sold over 7,000 copies and remains a significant contribution to Tulsa’s historical narrative. His subsequent books, Someone Left the Gate Open (Gibbs, 2016) and 4th & Boston: Heart of the Magic Empire (Mullhaus Publishing, 2017), continue his exploration of Tulsa’s past and present, delving into personal and collective histories with a nuanced voice.

In addition to his books, Gerkin’s stories have been anthologized in A Voice Was Sounding (This Land Press, 2011-2014), highlighting his versatility and the breadth of his nonfiction work. His dedication to the craft of writing extends beyond his own work; he currently serves on the board of The New Territory literary magazine and is an active member of the Tulsa NightWriters, a community of writers who gather to support and develop their craft.

Through his writing, mentorship, and community involvement, Steve continues to impact the literary landscape, particularly in Tulsa and the surrounding region.

IN THE WRITING COMMUNITY

Affiliations

The New Territory, Board Member |  2024 – present

Association of Writers & Writing Programs | 2022-present

Off Campus Writers’ Workshop | 2023 – present Member

Tulsa NightWriters, Member


Editorial Positions

Contributing Editor | This Land Press | 2011-2014


Honors

Yale Writers’ Workshop | Fiction Workshop Acceptance | June 2024

Oklahoma Book Award | Finalist | Nonfiction | 2017

Writing Workshops 

University of Iowa Summer Writer Festival | 2017-2020 & 2023-2024

Whose Voice is This?: A Primer on Style | July 2019

The Frangible Memoir and Writing About Nowhere | July 2018

Fakes, Frauds & Forgeries: How to Turn Mundane Forms into Lively Stories & Essays and The Momentary MFA: The Essay  | July 2017


Conference Speaker

John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Symposium (Tulsa)

The DNA of Reconciliation | May 2018

Tracking Down Diamond Dick | May 2013

IN PUBLICATION

Center for Public Secrets

J.B. Stradford: Carnage Without Death | August, 2023

Beno Hall: Tulsa’s Ku Klux Klan Klubhouse | July, 2023

The Dons of Tulsa’s Ku Klux Klan: Exposing the Leaders Behind the Secret Brotherhood | July, 2023

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The Iowa Review

Legend of the Protester with the Molar Bandana |  June, 2020

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The New Territory

Jim Thompson, True Crime Novelist: Teetering on Hells’s Doorstep | Summer 2018

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This Land Press Anthologies

Race Reader, 2017 | The Unlikely Baroness; First Charged, Last Freed; Diamond in the Rough

A Voice Was Sounding, Volume 5, 2015 First Charge | Last Freed

A Voice Was Sounding, Volume 3, 2014 | Mood Swing  

A Voice Was Sounding, Volumes 1&2, October 2012 | Beno Hall

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Edible Tulsa

A Serious Focus on Cuisine: Chef Curt Herrmann | July 2017

Unique Master Chef Event in Tulsa: Chef Jonathon Moosmiller | December 2016

Chef Michael Fusco Remains an Icon | September 2016

Upwardly Mobile: Chef Sean McDonald | August 2016

Grapes of Persistence: Girouard Hybrids | December 2015

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 La Semana

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? | March 24, 2015

The Travails and Triumphs of Assimilation | March 17, 2015

The Challenges of the Hispanic Family | March 10, 2015

This Land Press

 The Unlikely Baroness | March 2015

Pushing the Sky: Adventures of an Okie Ace | January 2015

First Charged, Last Freed: The Exonerated Czar of Greenwood | June 2014

USS Los Angeles Floats Over Tulsa | March 2014

Hay Is For Hosses | March 2014

The Odd Couple of Civil Rights Reconciliation | September 2013

The Malevolent Ones: Unmasking the Founders of Tulsa’s Ku Klux Klan | May 2013

Diamond in the Rough | May 2013

All About Bob: When Senator Kerr Ruled the Roost | December 2012

They Might Be Giants: A Pigskin Bushwhack in the Osage | July 2012

Standpipe Hill Seldom Stood Still | June 2012

Mood Swing: Oklahoma Fiddler Spade Cooley Played Rough | March 2012

Harry Sinclair: A Gambler, A Prisoner, A Legend | January 2012

The Ringleader: The Burning of the Coliseum | December 2011

Beno Hall: Tulsa’s Den of Terror | September 2011

Electric to Eco Trolley: Champions of Tulsa Transportation | September 2011

Creepy’ Karpis and Tulsa Central Park Gang | July 2011

The Man in the Box | May 2011

Cedar Street: Tulsa’s Proudest Thoroughfare | April 2011

No Phones, No Fools, No Frets | February 2011

Planet of Mushrooms: a Fungi Odyssey | January 2011

Grapes of Wrath, a Red Dirt Reprise | October 2010

IN VIDEO

Hidden History of Tulsa

Produced by the Oklahoma Educational Television Station (OETA), the following videos are from Steve’s presentation at a Tulsa library. These informal and informative videos highlight several of his favorite chapters in Hidden History of Tulsa. You’ll get insights into  J.B. Stradford – the wealthiest man in Greenwood who lost the most in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Dick Roland – the teenage African-American bootblack who became the scapegoat of the Massacre, wrongly identified as the spark that set the black community of Greenwood ablaze, and Spade Cooley – a murderous Oklahoman who battled Texan Bob Wills for the title of King of Western Swing.

First Charge, Last Freed

Diamond in the Rough

The Murderous Maestro

“To read is to voyage through time.”

Carl Sagan