Kelly Beard

Kelly J. Beard is the author of the critically acclaimed full-length memoir, An Imperfect Rapture, as well as personal essays published in Ruminate, Creative Nonfiction, Santa Ana River Review, Five Points, Bacopa Literary Review, and other literary journals. In 2019, she was named Georgia Author of the Year for memoir) by the Georgia Writers Association. Kelly came to creative writing after decades of working as an employment discrimination lawyer, during which time she received multiple awards for her legal and community service, including being named a “Super Lawyer,” a “Star of Atlanta,” and one of the nation’s “Preeminent Female Lawyers.” Her work assisting victims of domestic violence earned her a Certificate of Recognition from the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Kelly returned to college in 2014 in order to learn the craft of creative writing, earning her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2016. Her work explores American shadowlands through lyrical writing saturated with beauty and wisdom.