About the Author

Author Lori Ericson grew up in a graveyard. Her family home was also the cemetery office complete with sample headstones in the front yard. One of her first jobs was plucking dead flowers from Styrofoam blocks and selling the Styrofoam back to the florist for nickels and dimes.

Retired to full-time writing, Ericson’s career included everything from a part-time college gig running the crotch machine at a local pantyhose factory to briefly managing the cemetery after a family illness. After two decades as a newspaper reporter, she “went to the dark side,” so they say in journalism, and spent sixteen years in local government as a city planner. Ericson isn’t sure which of her diverse career moves helped shape the mess of stories that spill out of her brain.

Ericson lives in northwest Arkansas with her biggest supporter and husband, Lloyd. They stay busy adoring their grandchildren and serving two rescue dogs, Dexter and Ruby.

As a reporter, Ericson won multiple journalism awards from the Arkansas Press Association, the Associated Press Managing Editors Association of Arkansas, Arkansas Press Women, and an Honorable Mention from the National Federation of Press Women.

Her fiction writing has earned her numerous awards from Ozarks Writers League and Ozark Creative Writers for her short stories and novels A Lovely County and A Lovely Murder. Ericson is also a Georgia Romance Writers 2024 Maggie Finalist, taking second place in the nationally recognized contest in the pre-published category for contemporary romance for her manuscript Love Six-Foot Deep.

She’s also been inspired by the world’s most cherished grandchildren to write middle-grade fiction. A Christmas adventure, under the working title of Granny’s Magical Snow, is in editing as of the spring of 2025.

MEMBERSHIPS:

  • Georgia Romance Writers
  • Ozarks Writers League (former president)
  • Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc.

PUBLISHED SHORT STORIES:

  • 2011 Echoes of the Ozarks, Ozark Writers League, “Unsung Hero”
  • 2013 Echoes of the Ozarks, Ozark Writers League, “A Ghostly Encounter”
FICTION AWARDS:
  • 2024 — Second Place – Maggie Award, Contemporary Romance Prepublished Contest, from Georgia Romance Writers for Love Six-Foot Deep
  • 2015 — President’s Award and 1st Place for Unpublished Manuscript, Ozarks Writers League, for A Lovely Murder
  • 2015 — First Place for Horror Short Story, Ozark Creative Writers, for No, Mama
  • 2014 — Showcase Award, Second Place, Ozark Writers League, Second Place for the short story Mailbox Confession
  • 2010 — High Hill Press Award, Next Great American Novel Contest, First Place, for Arkansas 309, Ozark Creative Writers, 2010 (Book published in 2015 as A Lovely County)
  • 2011 — Gene Andereck Short Story Contest, Ozark Writers League, Second Honorable Mention, for short story Backyard Magic

JOURNALISM AWARDS:

  • In-Depth Series Reporting, Third Place, The Morning News, Arkansas Press Association, 2007
  • Section/Supplement Edited by Entrant, First Place, Arkansas Press Women, 2005
  • Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant, First Place, Arkansas Press Women, 2005
  • Personal Columns, Humorous, First Place, Arkansas Press Women, 2005
  • Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant, First Place, Arkansas Press Women, 2004
  • Investigative/Enterprise Reporting, Honorable Mention, National Federation of Press Women, 2003
  • Special Articles, First Place, Arkansas Press Women, 2003
  • News Feature, First Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Associated Press Managing Editors Association, 1999
  • Business Reporting, Third Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Associated Press Managing Editors Association, 1999
  • In-Depth Reporting, Third Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Arkansas Press Association, 1999
  • Beat Reporting, Second Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Associated Press Managing Editors Association, 1998
  • Deadline News Reporting, Second Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Arkansas Press Association, 1997
  • In-Depth Reporting, First Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Arkansas Press Association, 1997
  • Beat Reporting, Second Place, Northwest Arkansas Times, Associated Press Managing Editors Association, 1996
  • In-Depth Reporting, First Place, Prairie Grove Enterprise, Arkansas Press Association, 1994

5 thoughts on “About the Author”

  1. Pingback: About | Lori Ericson, Author

  3. Lori, everything about me was destroyed by a state 309 inmate, while being housed in a county jail.
    I want to tell my story.
    Thank you
    Danny O’Dea

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  4. Dear Lori,

    As the president and founder of the Creative Writing Club at the University of Arkansas, I wanted to first express how excited I am that you will be coming to the Northwest Arkansas Writers’ Workshop Free Conference this Spring, and also to invite you to come speak on campus if you have time while you are in the area. We would absolutely love to have you! If you are interested, feel free to contact me at my personal email at crconroy@uark.edu, or at the club’s email at cwclub@uark.edu.

    Having said that, I am sure you are very busy, so if you are unable to make a special stop at the U of A, I understand, and I will look forward to seeing you at the NWAWW’s Free Conference!

    Sincerely,
    Cami Conroy

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