Pete Beatty
Curriculum Vitae · Updated November 2026
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Current Position
Instructor, Department of English, The University of Alabama, 2023–present
Education
MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction), The University of Alabama, 2019
Thesis: Cuyahoga · Adviser: Michael Martone
BA in History, University of Chicago, 2003
Publications
Books
Cake: A Novel. Scribner, forthcoming 2028 (under contract).
Cuyahoga: A Novel. Scribner, 2020. Audio edition, Simon & Schuster Audio, 2020. Paperback edition, Scribner, 2021.
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel.
Reviewed in the New York Times Book Review, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and elsewhere. Excerpted in Literary Hub.
Selected Praise
- “Beatty evokes the familiarities of genre, history and place while drafting them for a wild new context… Cuyahoga is a breezy fable of empire, class, conquest and ecocide…”—New York Times Book Review
- “Cuyahoga is tragic and comic, hilarious and inventive—a 19th-century legend for 21st-century America.”—Boston Globe
Book Chapters
“2016 Cleveland Indians.” Baseball Prospectus 2016, edited by Sam Miller, Jason Wojciechowski, and Patrick Dubuque, 2016. Invited chapter.
“Pilgrim’s Progress.” Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology, edited by Richey Piiparinen and Anne Trubek, Rust Belt Chic Press, 2012.
Selected Short Fiction, Nonfiction, and Journalism
- “Percival Everett’s Therapist Is Better Than Yours.” Republic of Letters, October 3, 2025.
- “22 Ways of Looking at Chief Wahoo, Baseball’s Biggest Shame.” Vice Sports, September 2017.
- “Chief Wahoo.” Prairie Schooner, August 2016.
- “The Identity of the Indians in Modern-Day Cleveland.” Cleveland Scene, April 2015.
- “Jason Giambi and How Far a Bat Can Carry You.” Vice Sports, February 2015.
- “5K” (fiction). Cleveland Scene, January 28, 2015.
- “Clickbait Jesus.” Cleveland Scene, August 2014.
- “Train Dreams.” Rust Belt Magazine, August 2014.
- “Boomerang.” Rust Belt Magazine, April 2014.
- Review of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Trop, March 2014.
- “A Complete Ranking of ESPN’s 30 for 30 Films.” Vulture, October 2013.
- “Opportunity Corridor.” Rust Belt Magazine, September 2013.
- “Actual Devils: Fausto Carmona’s Weird Damage.” The Classical, 2013.
- “An Interview with Sergio De La Pava” (with Kristi McGuire). The Believer (online), October 2012.
- “Collared.” The Classical, June 2012.
- “You Used to Be Big.” The Classical, December 2011.
- “Jim Thome Takes His Rips.” Pitchers & Poets, May 2011.
- “The Dull Genius of Dirk Nowitzki.” GQ (online), April 2011.
Teaching Experience
Founder and Director, Frog Hospital Revision Workshop Series, The University of Alabama, 2026–present
Instructor, Department of English, The University of Alabama, 2021–2022 and 2023–present
Graduate Teaching Assistant, The University of Alabama, 2015–2019
Instructor, Alabama Prison Arts & Education Program, 2016
Part-Time Faculty, Kent State University, 2014–2015
Courses Taught
- EN 101, 102, 103: Freshman Composition / Advanced Freshman Composition
- EN 200: Introduction to Creative Writing
- EN 210: American Literature Survey
- EN 301: Introduction to Fiction
- EN 408: Speculative Fiction
Courses Designed
- EN 408: Novel Workshop. Two-semester sequence teaching craft and generative strategies for long-form fiction.
- UH 401: Story Problems. Honors capstone guiding students through the history and theory of narrative as they build a final project drawing on their entire undergraduate education.
- UA 101: Welcome to the Anthill. One-credit “Legends” course introducing students to college life through the work of the scientist and Alabama alumnus Edward O. Wilson.
- EN 254: Blue Collar Literature. Special-topics course on working-class narratives and subject matter. Authors included Dorothy Allison, Rebecca Harding Davis, Studs Terkel, Joy Harjo, and Tomás Rivera.
- EN 255: Climate Fiction. Special-topics course sketching the past, present, and future of stories about weather. Readings included the Book of Genesis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Lorax, Kim Stanley Robinson, Octavia Butler, Tommy Orange, and Jon Raymond.
- EN 256: The Art of the Scam. Special-topics course in development for Spring 2027. Authors will include Herman Melville and Emma Cline.
Directed Study
- Directed Individual Study: Publishing Research (Skyla Pearson), February–April 2025
Editorial Experience
Senior Editor, Verto Literary, 2022–2023
Provided hands-on developmental editing for a boutique editorial agency.
Assistant Acquisitions Editor and Rights & Permissions Manager, University of Alabama Press, 2019–2021
Managed rights and permissions for the press’s backlist and acquired select titles.
Assistant Editor (Fiction/Nonfiction), Black Warrior Review, 2015
Read submissions for a long-running, graduate student–run literary journal.
Acquisitions Director, Open Road Integrated Media, 2013–2014
Negotiated more than 50 deals to publish backlist titles in digital editions, including Eduardo Galeano’s Memory of Fire trilogy.
Managing Editor, The Classical, 2011–2014
Helped found, fund, and publish a literary sports magazine.
Senior Editor, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008–2013
Acquired, edited, and published original titles for a trade publisher. Notable acquisitions include Sam Quinones’s Dreamland and Ioan Grillo’s El Narco. Complete list of titles available on request.
Associate Editor, University of Chicago Press, 2005–2008
Worked on a distinguished list in the life sciences and science studies.
Readings and Presentations
Presentations and Panels
- Faculty Panelist, New View Program, Capstone Center for Student Success, The University of Alabama, September 28, 2026.
- “Old Joy: Using History Creatively.” CW Presents series, Department of English, The University of Alabama, November 13, 2025.
- Presentation to Red Rook Press (undergraduate organization), The University of Alabama, October 22, 2024.
- Panelist, “Creative Writing Presents…,” The University of Alabama, September 28, 2023.
- Presenter, Creative Composition series, The University of Alabama, August 2018.
Readings
- Pure Products at Kentuck Festival of the Arts, Tuscaloosa, AL, October 2024, 2025, and 2026.
- Cleveland Public Library NaNoWriMo Reading, Cleveland, OH, November 8, 2023.
- Campbell House Workshop and Reading Series, University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL, October 11, 2023.
- Cleveland Public Library, Carnegie-West Branch, Cleveland, OH, March 14, 2022.
- Hub City Books, Spartanburg, SC, September 30, 2021.
- Salem Literary Festival, Salem, MA, September 12, 2021.
- Rocky River Public Library, Rocky River, OH, June 9, 2021.
- Ohioana Book Festival, Columbus, OH, April 5, 2021.
- Mac’s Backs, Cleveland Heights, OH, March 3, 2021.
- Pure Products, Tuscaloosa, AL, September 2017 and February 2021.
- Gathering Volumes Books, Perrysburg, OH, January 5, 2021.
- Hudson Library and Historical Society, Hudson, OH, October 21, 2020.
- Ernest & Hadley Books, Tuscaloosa, AL, October 20, 2020.
- Thank You Books, Birmingham, AL, October 15, 2020.
- Willoughby Public Library, Willoughby, OH, October 14, 2020.
- Square Books, Oxford, MS, October 6, 2020.
- MFA Reading Series, The University of Alabama, April 2019.
Honors and Awards
Instructor Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of English, The University of Alabama, 2026
Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, 2025
Honors College Course Design Fellowship, The University of Alabama, 2024
Taleamor Park Artist Residency Fellowship, 2019
Elizabeth Meese Prize in Nonfiction, Honorable Mention, 2018
Graduate Council Fellowship, The University of Alabama, 2015–2017
Service
University Service
- Faculty Adviser, SPACE Journal (undergraduate publication), The University of Alabama, 2025–present
- Member, Assessment Committee, Department of English, 2025–2026
- Department Representative, Fall Majors and Minors Fair, 2025
- Member, Undergraduate Creative Writing Committee, Department of English, 2024–2025
- Judge, Realizing the Dream Essay Contest, Division of Community Affairs, The University of Alabama, 2024–present
- Member, Ad Hoc AS 101 Committee, Barefield College of Arts & Sciences, October 2024
- Docent, Alabama Museum of Natural History “Night at the Museum,” February 2019
- Organizer, MFA Reading Series, The University of Alabama, 2015–2016
Professional and Community Service
- Referee, Individual Excellence Grants, Ohio Arts Council, 2025
- Panelist, Grant Application Review, National Endowment for the Humanities, 2024
- Lecturer, “Intro to Acquisition,” University of Chicago Graham School, 2012
- Panelist, American Society of Journalists & Authors, 2010
Professional Affiliations
- Association of Writers & Writing Programs
- Society of Midland Authors
References
Available upon request.