Richard Krawiec is an award-winning writer in both the U.S. and France. His French novels, Paria, Vulnerables, and Dandy, were published  by Tusitala Editions, in paperback by 10/18 Univers Poche and Points Press. They have received rave reviews from, among other places, Rolling Stone and L’Obs. In the States, Krawiec’s work has gained attention from the New York Times, Publishers Weekly Recommended List, Village Voice Real Life Rock Top Ten, L.A. Times and elsewhere. 

He has published two novels, a story collection, three plays, and three books of poetry in the U.S., most recently Women Who Loved Me Despite. His investigative feature articles have won regional and national awards. His literary awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and twice from the North Carolina Arts Council.  Individual stories and poems appear in Drunken Boat, Shenandoah, Sou’wester, Levure littéraire, Dublin Review, Chautauqua Literary Journal, and elsewhere.

 His writing is often described as focusing on the lives of the underclass, and is informed by his personal  experiences.  He grew up in the depressed, working class city of Brockton, Massachusetts, and his many jobs include assembly line worker, dishwasher, newspaper delivery person, truck driver, fast food and short order cook, cabbie, waiter and teacher. He has taught writing to children and adults in homeless shelters, women’s shelters, prisons (including Death Row), literacy classes, refugee resettlement collaboratives, programs that help survivors of sexual assault, drug recovery programs, housing projects and at other community sites. Krawiec designed the curriculum for, and taught for over two decades, the Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Fiction Writing online courses for UNC-Chapel Hill, winning their Excellence in Teaching Award for his efforts. He teaches Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting, Memoir and Hybrid Writing classes through a variety of community arts venues.

He is the founder of Jacar Press, a Community Active Press that supports progressive groups and individuals. Jacar publishes a diverse assortment of poetry books and also runs an internationally-focused online magazine, One.