Donley Watt
​Donley Watt received an MFA in fiction writing at the University of Arizona in 1990, where as a graduate student he won a teaching excellence award.  Since then he has published short stories and essays in numerous literary journals and anthologies including: Texas Monthly, The LA Review, Cutthroat, High Plains Review, New Texas ’92, Concho River Review, Writer’s Forum, Louisiana Literature, The Texas Observer, among others. 

He has written six books: Can You Get There from Here? 1994 (Texas Institute of Letters Best First Book of Fiction), The Journey of Hector Rabinal and Spanish translation El Viaje de Hector Rabinal, 1994 (Finalist, Medicine Pipe Award, Western Writers of America), Haley, Texas 1959 in 1999, Reynolds, 2002, and Dancing With Lyndon, 2004. His latest book is Oaxaca, 1998 published in 2022.

From 1988-1993 he wrote more than two-dozen book reviews for The Dallas Morning News. He’s been a fiction editor for Gemini Ink and Cutthroat -A Journal of the Arts.  Donley Watt has taught creative writing at the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, and Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. He is a member and a former Vice-President of the Texas Institute of Letters. 
© 2022 Donley Watt 


Reviewers’ Comments:

“The power of Donley Watt’s stories lies in their complicated simplicity.” 

“Watt’s narrative style is emotional and energetic, giving the impression that the words are storming onto the page…”

“The wonder of Watt’s writing is his skill at avoiding sentimentality.”

“As usual, his characters are portrayed with an honesty that gives them true dimension.” 

“… Watt’s economic style and storytelling powers rival those of Larry McMurtry in his early works.”

“ A carefully crafted work by a first-rate writer.”

“ These stories convey the lay of the land; the slow, careful way people talk, their values and their dreams.”

“ … Watt proves himself again, to be an expert craftsman and a compelling storyteller.”