Will Entrekin is an award-winning writer and an educator based in Denver, Colorado and currently seeking representation for his first novel, The Prodigal Hour. Originally from New Jersey, Entrekin studied fiction and screenwriting at the University of Southern California Master’s in Professional Writing program with best-selling authors such as Rachel Resnick, John Rechy, and Janet Fitch and filmmakers including Irvin Kershner, Syd Field, and Coleman Hough. He wrote The Prodigal Hour as his thesis under the guidance of Sid Stebel, an author Ray Bradbury called “The greatest writing teacher ever,” and received the 2007 Cohen-Kempthorne Fellowship. Entrekin also taught English composition at USC.
In 2007, Entrekin published his self-titled debut collection of short stories, poetry, and essays; it garnered positive reviews, made it to the second round of judging in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book of the Year contest, and in its electronic version became the first e-book on Apple’s iPhone. The book includes poetry that was recognized by the Academy of American poets, and, in honor of an essay detailing Entrekin’s experiences on September 11th, 2001, one dollar from the sale of every book is earmarked for donation to the United Way New York City.
Entrekin spent nearly six years in and around Manhattan, where he worked in the commercial production department at Young & Rubicam New York on Madison Avenue, developing brand identity for clients such as Jaguar, Nickelodeon, Philip Morris, and Sony. Shortly after September 11th, Entrekin moved home to South Jersey, where he worked as a personal trainer and a teacher before he accepted a position as assistant editor of the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, an Apex-award winning clinical trade journal for psychiatric nurses.
Entrekin studied biology and English literature at Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, where he won the Stephen J. Rosen Memorial Writing award and earned membership into the national Biological, Literary, and Jesuit Honor societies. He graduated cum laude as a Gerard Manley Hopkins scholar with degrees in both science and literature, but his most formative experience was a year studying theology with Father Robert Kennedy, S.J., roshi, a Jesuit priest and Zen master in the White Plum lineage. Entrekin is also an Eagle scout and a member of the Order of the Arrow in the Boy Scouts of America.
