Appalachian by birth and now rooted in the Adirondack–Tug Hill region, Kelley Martin is a writer, editor, and arts organizer whose work centers on place, memory, and community. She is the author of A Place Called Solid (2015), a memoir of landscape and belonging, and her nonfiction and poetry have appeared in Now and Then Magazine, Mountain Echoes, SN Review, The Appalachian Independent, Palooka Literary Journal, and the Anthology of Appalachian Literature.
Before relocating to upstate New York, Kelley spent many years working in nonprofit arts organizations and literary publishing, shaping editorial projects ranging from journals and magazines to books and broadsides. She has taught writing and literature at universities across the country, bringing her love of story and regional culture into the classroom.
Kelley holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, an MA in English from North Carolina State University, and a BA in Journalism from St. Andrews University. She studied fiction with Lee Smith at NCSU and memoir with Marion Winik at the University of Baltimore—mentorships that continue to influence her voice and approach to narrative.
Her current work blends writing, editorial practice, and community arts programming, with a focus on amplifying rural and regional creative voices.