Meet a Board Member: Lindsay A. Chudzik

Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to introduce Lindsay A. Chudzik, a board member. Lindsay has been a community-engaged professor and practitioner for over 15 years, currently serving as the coordinator of engagement and service-learning at the University of Baltimore. Her debut novel, The Most Cake, is forthcoming from Wildling Press. Lindsay’s short stories and essays have appeared in several journals, including The Chiron Review, Defenestration, Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose, Ghost Town, Haunted Waters Press, Magnolia Review, Map Literary, Parhelion, Pembroke Magazine, and more. Additionally, she was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Feels Blind Literary and serves as a peer editor for articles related to service-learning for the Journal for the Study of Cooperative and Experiential Education. Lindsay is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of several awards for excellence in community-engaged teaching and leadership. In her free time, she loves pizza, pupusas, politics, pop culture, and punk rock, as well as every dog she’s ever met.

Lindsay wanted to say this about working with Yellow Arrow:

“When I lived in Richmond, Virginia, for 15 years, I was immersed in the literary community there. This started when I earned my MFA in fiction and playwrighting from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), but my involvement deepened post-graduation through my work as a board member for James River Writers and as the assistant director of RVA LitWalk. I was an associate professor at VCU, where I taught research and creative writing, but I also facilitated many community-based writing courses as well. This included creative nonfiction courses for returning citizens at Opportunity. Alliance. Reentry. (OAR) and Grove House, the latter a residential program for women who were recently released from incarceration, as well as creative writing courses for girls living in public housing.

I met some of the staff for Yellow Arrow at CityLit Fest last spring, and I was immediately drawn to their mission, as most of the creative and scholarly work I’ve done has centered around elevating the voices of women and girls. I also knew I needed to get involved in the literary community in Baltimore. Though relatively new here, I consider Baltimore my soulmate city. The key piece missing was a connection to other writers, but Yellow Arrow felt like a natural fit.”

Tell us a little something about yourself:

My short stories and essays have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and have appeared in several journals (see above). I took a bit of a break from writing short stories to work on my debut novel, The Most Cake, which is slated to launch later this year with Wildling Press. This novel is the first piece I’ve written that’s Young Adult, but since writing it, I’ve become obsessed with all things Young Adult to the point that I’m pretty sure the folks at Netflix think I’m 13. The Most Cake is set over five days in 1996 and explores the ways we do and don’t talk about intergenerational trauma, addiction, and sexual assault, though it’s also a punk rock love story and a tribute to Courtney Love, a musician who I wanted to reclaim as the feminist hero I believe she is.

What do you love most about Baltimore?

I’ve lived in Wilmington, Delaware, Philadelphia, New York City, Richmond, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, but I currently live in Baltimore, and I’m confident this will be my forever home. As I mentioned above, I consider it my soulmate city. There is so much creativity and quirk—I hate that word, but it’s hard to think of another that captures what I’m trying to say—and every day here feels like a new adventure. What impresses me most, however, is how warm, kind, and connected residents of Baltimore are. Aside from the neighborhood where I grew up in Wilmington, I’ve never known so many of my neighbors. A few here and there, sure, but I know so many people in Ridgeley’s Delight! We have monthly happy hours, an annual gala, and more. We also live just beside Camden Yards, so Orioles season feels particularly special. I can’t imagine living anywhere else!

What are you working on currently?

Now that most of the work on my debut novel is behind me, I’m finishing my short story collection, Check ‘Yes’ If You Like Us. Some of these stories were previously published, while others are brand new, though some of the characters appear in multiple stories. I hope to be ready to query the collection by mid-summer. I’ve also started my second novel, a dark comedy about a neighborhood association gone awry. My roots are in playwrighting, however. Given that Baltimore has such a vibrant theater community, my goal is to get back into playwrighting over the next year as well.

What genre do you write or read the most, and why?

I mostly write fiction that could be categorized as dark comedy, though my debut novel is Young Adult. It’s also apparently historical fiction because it’s set in the 1990s (this was hard for me to hear). I write creative nonfiction as well.

I love reading one-act plays, short stories, novels (especially Young Adult and magical realism), and memoirs. Bonus is if any of these are funny. My favorite recent book is More Strange Than True by CJ Spatro, the perfect book for anyone who loves dogs, humor, magic, and Philadelphia. I happen to love all four.

Can you recall an early memory that might have sparked your love of writing/reading?

There are so many! I loved reading from an early age. Whenever I had to go to the doctor as a child, my mom would bribe me with new Bernstein Bears books. I also preferred reading to people over having them read to me. This is embarrassing, but when I saw my first Broadway show in elementary school, Cats, that was the moment I knew I wanted to be involved in theater in some way. In middle school, we read a theatrical adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank that I found abysmal, so I tried to rewrite it in a way that better captured the original work. I don’t think any writer could do this project justice other than Anne Frank, of course, but this was the first time I realized I wanted to be a writer in a concrete way.

What book is on the top of your to-be-read pile?

Well, I just purchased six books this morning [that I write this]! I think I’m going to start with The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett.

Who has inspired and/or supported you most in your writing journey or in everyday life?

My mom inspired me to pursue all my dreams, including writing. She taught me to always be my authentic self and to be unapologetic about this, no matter who it made uncomfortable. This landed me in a lot of trouble in my Catholic high school, but this has served me well throughout the rest of my life. My mom was also the funniest person I ever met, and I hope I at least capture a tenth of her humor in my writing.

My mom’s passing in October 2023 was the most difficult experience I’ve navigated, but I also met my absolute soulmate during that time (we’re getting hitched in October 2026 at the site where Edgar Allan Poe is buried in Baltimore). Bobby has since become my biggest supporter, feeling genuine excitement when I succeed and making it possible for me to consistently carve out time for writing and all the other things I care about.

If you could have a workspace anywhere, where would it be and why? What would it look like?

I honestly prefer a noisy workspace with a lot going on around me, so a bar or café in Baltimore is perfect. Being able to eavesdrop on others’ conversations always inspires me. If I’m at home or in a quiet office, I’ll get distracted by dogs, making snacks, and basically every other thing other than writing.

What advice do you have for new writers or anyone starting a new adventure?

Connect with other writers! This does not mean you need to be in an MFA program to do so. There are so many opportunities to meet and, more importantly, learn from other writers. Find those opportunities and dive in! While every case is different, I learned far more about writing and publishing post-MFA.

Also, if you are writing anything at all, you are a writer! You don’t need to be published. You don’t need to write for hours each day. Do make time for yourself to write and be consistent about it, though. No one else will do that for you!

What’s your vision for Yellow Arrow in 2026?

I would love to help plan Baltimore-based events to engage more writers in the city. I’m also interested in leading writing workshops for community members, particularly those who have been historically marginalized or overlooked by literary circles.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we LUMINATE a path for women-identifying creatives this year by purchasing one of our publications or a workshop from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, for yourself or as a gift, joining our newsletter, following us on Facebook and Instagram, or subscribing to our  YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.