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
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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Legend of the Protester with the Molar Bandana | June, 2020
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Jim Thompson, True Crime Novelist: Teetering on Hells’s Doorstep | Summer 2018
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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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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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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
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.