Michael Downing
Michael Downing is a writer originally from New Jersey, now living in Georgia. His latest book, Saints of the Asphalt, is available online and at select bookstores. Over the past twenty years he has written plays, published several books, and his short stories have appeared in numerous literary publications. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times, and his fiction appears in several anthologies, including Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression (ed. S.A. Cosby), On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Anthology (ed. Curtis Ippolito), and Six Sentences Volumes II & III (ed. Rob McEvily).
He is the founder and former Creative Director of StoryTellers, a community-based literacy organization in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Rome, Georgia, dedicated to helping underserved teens and young adults develop confidence through creative writing and self-expression.
He now lives northeast of Atlanta with his wife Helen, but remains unmistakably New Jersey — attitude, edginess, and Springsteen songs (just not Bon Jovi).
GREAT FUCKING ADVICE FOR WRITERS.....
Believe in your fucking self. Write your fucking story the way it needs to be written. Write that fucking book or story - don't just fucking talk about it. Edit that fucking story. And revise and fucking edit it again. Don't be afraid to fucking rewrite what you've already written if it doesn't work. Don’t fucking procrastinate. Stay up all fucking night writing. Or get up fucking early to write. Work outside of your fucking habits. Keep fucking learning. Read a fucking book. Then read more. You can’t be a better writer if you don’t fucking read. Find fucking inspiration everywhere. Stop fucking blaming agents. Or editors. Or Amazon. Or book stores. Or the entire fucking publishing industry. Learn to take some fucking criticism. Get over your fucking self. Use fucking spell check. Make your readers fucking care about what you’ve written. Question fucking everything you’ve written and make it better. Fucking network with other writers. Learn to fucking appreciate the writing community. Send that fucking query but read the fucking submission guidelines. Writing is fucking hard. So is life. Nobody fucking cares about the challenges writers face. Work harder. Don’t fucking quit. Don’t let rejections define you. Or your writing. Be fucking creative. Think about all the fucking possibilities writing offers. It can be the best fucking job in the world if you don't fuck it up. And keep fucking writing.
"WHAT MATTERS MOST IS HOW WELL YOU WALK THROUGH THE FIRE"
-CHARLES BUKOWSKI
Bad Intentions
In 2026, Michael Downing will serve as editor of "Bad Intentions, a crime fiction anthology inspired by the music of Warren Zevon, to be published by Literary Garage. The collection brings together new and established voices in crime fiction, each story drawing from the grit, humor, and darkness that runs through Zevon’s work.
All proceeds will be donated to Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based charity whose core goal to drive hunger from communities today by providing immediate food relief and to end hunger for good.
