Nonfiction books

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• Landscaping for Wildlife: Essays on Our Changing Planet. Forthcoming 2025

• Where East Meets West. 2020

• Pecan America: Exploring a Cultural Icon. 2019

• Red Dirt Country: Field Notes and Essays on Nature. 2019

• Small Stream Bass. 2002

• Oklahoma Sportfishing. 2002

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Selected essays

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• “The Essence of Home.” The Fourth River. 2022

• “New Turnpike an Attack on Wildlife.” The Sunday Oklahoman. 2022 

• “To Know a Place.” Big Sky Journal. 2022

• “The Flavors of Home.” Catamaran Literary Reader. 2020

• “Answering the Humble Knock.” Harvard Divinity Bulletin. 2019

• “The Gray Ghosts of Oahu.” Sporting Classics. 2023

• “Chow-Chow-Cha!” Kitchen Work. 2023

• “Fuller Brook Dreams.” Pittsburgh Quarterly. 2022

• “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.” Blueline Magazine. 2022

• “Consider the Catfish.” Tulane Review. 2020

• “The Net.” Critical Read. 2020

• “Salmon on the Table.” Gastronomica. 2020

• “A Taste of Home.” Traverse Magazine. 2020

• “A Street Photographer’s Guide to Havana.” Santa Clara Review. 2018

• “Decoy." The Meadow. 2018*

• “No Alterations.” The Lindenwood Review. 2018**

• “The Decisive Moment.” New Mexico Review. 2018

• “It Nourishes You.” Kestrel. 2017***

• “A Very Special Fish.” Arkansas Review. 2017

• “Oh, Give Me a Home…” The Smart Set. 2017

• "The Solace of Flowing Water." Notre Dame Magazine. 2016

• "How Millennials (Almost) Killed the Wine Cork." The Atlantic. 2016

• "Enigmatic Frenchman." Sport Literate. 2016

• "Phyllis Brings Me to My Census." The Christian Science Monitor. 2015

• "Fires." Southwest Review. 2015

• "Breathe." Los Angeles Review. 2015

• "A Hand." Santa Clara Review. 2014

• "Running as a Means to an End." Sport Literate. 2013

• "Edmond, Oklahoma." Orion. 2013

• "Last Light." Saw Palm. 2013

• "Pie Transports Me." The Christian Science Monitor. 2013

• "The Power Tool Experience." Woodworker's Journal. 2008

• "Sometimes, Fishing Vicariously is as Good as the Real Thing." The Norman Transcript. 2003

• "Tales From the Shark Side." The Norman Transcript. 2003

•  "Fountains of Youth." Oklahoma Today. 1999

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*     Cited as a "Notable Essay" in The Best American Essays and The Best American Sports Writing. 2019

**   Nominated for the Pushcart Prize. 2018

*** Cited as a "Notable Essay" in The Best American Essays. 2018

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Anthologized works

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• “For the Love of Pie.” Flash Nonfiction Food. 2020

• "Money Note." The Very Best of Big Table Publishing: Vol. II. 2019

• Introduction. Illinois River Survey: A Visual Record. 2011

• "Chance of Rain." Battle Runes: Writings on War. 2011

• "Fresh Paint." Ain't Nobody That Can Sing Like Me. 2010

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Other books

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• The Sharks of Al Jubail. 2018

• Wish You Were Here. 2016

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Education

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• BA in English. University of Oklahoma. 1999

• MFA in creative writing. University of Central Oklahoma. 2010

• Graduate Certificate: Food Policy & Sustainability Leadership. Arizona State University. 2023.

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For John's complete CV, which includes citations for his stories, essays, literary reporting, and magazine articles dating back to 1997, please contact him here.