Mitchell Waldman is a genre-crossing author whose fiction delves into the fragile intersections of identity, alienation, and the surreal. His latest novel, The Visitor (June 2, 2025, ATTM Press), offers a psychologically rich and philosophically unsettling narrative about fractured identity and the haunting question of who—or what—we truly are. The novel has been praised for its introspective tone and imaginative scope, echoing the stylistic disquiet of Philip K. Dick and the emotional resonance of Never Let Me Go.
Waldman's previous works include the short story collections Brothers, Fathers, and Other Strangers—noted for its emotional range and thematic complexity—and Petty Offenses and Crimes of the Heart, featuring stories where quiet betrayals and ordinary misfortunes sharpen into existential truths. His fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, showcasing a voice that blends raw realism, surrealist undertones, and subtle social critique.
A former legal editor with over 35 years in the publishing field, Waldman brings structural precision and reflective nuance to his writing. He studied literature with acclaimed authors Mark Costello and Paul Friedman at the University of Illinois, and holds a J.D. from Southern Illinois University. He currently serves as Fiction Editor at Blue Lake Review, where he champions narratives that confront the complexities of the human condition.
Mitchell Waldman's fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and has received a First Place award in the 13th Story Fiction Contest.
His short story collection Petty Offenses and Crimes of the Heart was a finalist in the 2015 Bookbzz Prize Writers Competition.
Mitchell's poem "The Cold Swing" was a Pearl Prize winner in Sweetycat Press's Jewels in the Queen's Crown Best of the Best contest, judged as one of the best pieces in the press's prior publications and marked for inclusion in the Press's Jewels in the Queen's Crown anthology, published in 2022.
His story "A Karmic Questioning" was included in the Second Quarterly Review 2023 of Bewildering Stories, highlighting the best stories in the journal for the second quarter of the year.
Waldman was also co-editor (with his partner, the poet and journalist, Diana May-Waldman, author of A Woman's Song) of the books, Wounds of War: Poets for Peace (PublishAmerica, 2006; reprinted Blue Lake Books, 2019) and Hip Poetry (Wind Publications, 2012; reprinted Blue Lake Books, 2019).
Born in Chicago, Illinois and now based in Rochester, New York, he shares a literary life with Diana. Together they explore the resonances of trauma, art, and personal truth across creative forms. They have six children and six grandchildren.
