Hello!

I’m a writer and cartoonist who lives in Astoria, OR.

My book Floppy: Tales of Genetic Freak of Nature at the End of the World (2023) is playful novelistic memoir about the emotional landscape of living with connective tissue disorders Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome. It won the Red Hen Press Nonfiction Award and was a finalist for the 2024 Oregon Book Award.

I have a B.A. from McGill University (2004) and a Master’s in Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University (2011), and I have two decades of experience in various editing specialities, from indexing to developmental editing.

Looking for my editing/indexing services? I am on hiatus until January 2024, at which point I'll be accepting new indexing clients. Contact me to get on the calendar!

You can see a selection of my four-panel comics over on Instagram @alyssajgraybeal.

Awards, Residencies, Outreach

2024: Judge for Los Angeles Review Nonfiction Prize

2024: Finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Floppy

2022: Centrum Emerging Writer Residency

2021: Halls Island Artist Residency

2020: Winner of the Red Hen Nonfiction Book Award for Floppy