Meet a Staff Member: Marylou Fusco
Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to introduce our Author Support Coordinator, Marylou Fusco. Marylou grew up in the wilds of New Jersey and knew she was a writer forever. She holds a BA in journalism from St. Bonaventure University and an MA in creative writing from Temple University. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, GED instructor for pregnant teens, and ghost tour guide. Marylou’s writing has appeared in PopMatters, Carve, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mutha magazine, and various literary journals. She has won the Philadelphia City Paper and the feminist literary journal, So to Speak’s, short story contests. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband and daughter.
“I’m looking forward to being part of this growing and vital writing community,” says Marylou. “Through launch events and networking, I hope to be a resource and support for the emerging authors who publish with us.”
Marylou recently took some time to answer some questions for us. Show her some love in the comments or on Facebook/Instagram!
Tell us a little something about yourself.
I grew up in a fairly rural town, but my adult years have all been marked by cities. I lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for 20 years before moving to Baltimore with my family in 2017. My career path in Philly was pretty nontraditional—I bounced from writing to nonprofit work to teaching and back again to writing. I became involved with the excellent Philadelphia Stories magazine. I decided to apply to Temple’s MA program. All of these experiences fed my writing and pushed me to publish more.
What do you love most about Baltimore?
I love that it is a city of neighborhoods, each unique and vibrant in their own way. I’m grateful to live in a diverse community in southeast Baltimore where families and working artists live and work side by side. And I’m heartened by the everlasting hope and optimism that so many people hold for Baltimore.
How did you get involved with Yellow Arrow and what do you do?
I discovered Yellow Arrow soon after my family moved here in 2017. As much as I loved Philly’s writing community, I don’t think I ever found a space devoted entirely to emerging women writers. Yellow Arrow really struck me as special in that way. I started attending workshops and readings and became good friends with Founder Gwen Van Velsor. Yellow Arrow continues to be a bright spot for me as I find my way in a still (somewhat) new city.
What are you working on currently?
I’m currently editing my novel and working on more nonfiction. In trying to raise a good human, I hope to be the kind of mother who is okay revealing both her passions and flaws to her daughter.
What genre do you write and why?
Fiction was always my first love. I worked in journalism to have a bit of stability and write fiction on the side. For a long time. I was insistent that fiction and nonfiction remain in two very distinct and separate categories. That’s evolved over time. While I still love fiction, I’ve also become more interested in creative nonfiction or work that doesn’t easily fit into a specific category.
Who is your favorite writer and why?
Too hard to name just one! Joy Williams, Mary Gaitskill, Flannery O’Connor. I especially love writers who are fearless in the topics they tackle and who capture a specific voice or sense of place/time. My models are writers who are able to evoke the complexity and brokenness of our world along with a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.
Edited to add: I just finished Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda, an Ecuadorian writer. Not a novel for the faint of heart, but I was completely blown away. She’s so, so good.
Who has inspired and/or supported you most in your writing journey?
I was very fortunate to have had the engagement and support of many people, especially early on. There were teachers who believed me to be talented and told me so. The same goes for writing group members whose critiques pushed me to grow. My classmates at Temple introduced me to more experimental writing styles and hybrid works. As I’ve gotten older, I’m especially inspired by other working artists who exist in the real world of jobs, childcare, dirty dishes while still managing to create art.
What do you love most about writing?
To paraphrase other writers who have spoken more eloquently about this than I can: that the urge to create is a radical life force that can transform us if we allow it to.
In a world that still favors surface flash and glitter, writing forces us to truly pay attention. To see. We should never underestimate the power of writing and sharing our work as we never know how it might touch someone in a profound and unexpected way. Mostly, writing reminds us that we are not alone.
What advice do you have for new writers?
Read a lot. There’s a bunch of literary sites that publish craft articles, interviews, and selections from new works. My favorites are The Rumpus, Literary Hub, Electric Lit. Find out who is writing about the things you like and or are interested in and read them. Find (or create) your own writing community. It could be as simple as two or three other writers who commit to getting together once or twice a month to share what you’ve been working on. If publication is important to you, figure out what you need to do to hone or perfect your work. It’s also important to figure out how promotion and networking will work for you.
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We look forward to working with you Marylou! Yellow Arrow recently revamped and restructured its Yellow Arrow Journal subscription plan to include two levels. Do you think you are an Avid Reader or a Literary Lover? Find out more about the discounts and goodies involved at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-subscription. Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts.
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