Author and retired teacher Gregory Wolos is about to have a new collection of short stories published. Since retiring as an English teacher at Schenectady High School, Wolos has published more than 80 short stories in literary magazines nationwide and has six Pushcart Prize nominations. His third book, The Thing About Men, will be published by Cervena Barva Press this fall.
Gregory Wolos recently was interviewed by Jack Rightmyer for an article in the Times Union.
When … Wolos retired in 2009 after 31 years in the classroom, he had the dream of finally becoming a full-time writer. “I’m living pretty much the retirement gig I always wanted,” he said from his home just outside of Boston, where he and his wife moved to be closer to their children. “This has been all part of my vast eternal plan.”
Wolos realized when he was in his late 30s and early 40s he was never going to be an independent writer and live off his writing. “I went back to get my doctorate mid-career and did publish a handful of short stories at that time, but my kids got older. They needed me to drive them around, and I decided to put off the full-time writing till I turned 55.”
Wolos later explains why he chose to write short stories.
“Short stories have always been my favorite type of writing. They fit my style better. Maybe I have a short attention span, but I’ve always enjoyed reading short story collections. I don’t mind going from one story to another with different characters and different settings. Most readers would probably prefer to get lost in a big novel they could read for months at a time, but not me.”
Read more on the Times Union website.
