My latest short story publication is "Manifest Destiny", appearing in Live Free or Ride, a theme anthology about the Concord Coach (of Wells Fargo fame). My story is a western speculating on the Lost Dutchman Mine. It takes place amidst the U.S. wars with Mexico for California and Texas and a number of legendary figures appear, including the Hermit of Supersition Mountains, the Peralta Brothers, The Lost Dutchman Jacob Waltz, and his Apache wife Ken-Tee. If you are still searching for the gold and seek fictional inspiration for clues, pick up a copy at Plaidswede Publishing Co.

In 2014, "Five Deaths of Ellie Marsh" was awarded the $2,000 Jack Dyer Prize by Crab Orchard Review. This story was the labor of several years, prolonged by my own grief at having lost close friends to suicide. The story was based on my own experiences coping and from the coping of those close to me. The story is modeled on the Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Grief. I'd like to think the story might help readers who have suffered a loss (particularly to suicide) realize that it is normal for them to experience whatever emotions they are experiencing, and that they will pass with time. If you haven't yet read my story, it's currently available online. Volume 19, Issue 1 (Winter/Spring 2014) at Crab Orchard. (direct link to the issue)

Troy Ehlers is a writer and the founding Editor-in-Chief of Minnetonka Review, the literary magazine that rose to national recognition and published over a hundred talented authors during its five-year span.

He has several works-in-progress, one of which is a collection of linked stories that was chosen as a finalist in the Wilkes University James Jones First Novel Fellowship. Presently he's working on the novel that serves as the climax for this collection.  "A Storied Life", "Towering Sea", and "The Tide of Night" are all from this larger work and have been accepted for publication in national literary journals (see the Publications page for more details). Simultaneously, he is now revising a completed novel that is 275 pages (90,000 words) in length and has begun a second novel and a nonfiction project.

When he's not writing, you can find Troy reading, boating, kayaking, traveling, hiking, skiing, or dabbling in various arts and design projects. He created this website (and is in fact writing this bio in the third person) and its graphics (including the postage stamp navigation bar which he'd be boasting of if only he weren't so humble), and you can get a sampling of his photography, visual art and designs on the Gallery Pages.

Troy earned his Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Spalding University.  Over the years, he's studied and workshopped fiction at The Loft (Minneapolis's literary community); the Tin House Writer's Workshop; and University of Minnesota Duluth's workshop. He also worked as a full-time intern at Milkweed Editions, where he gained experience in all aspects of the publishing industry.  He served as a residency teaching assistant at Spalding University and taught Composition and Literature as an adjunct professor at Concordia University, St. Paul.