After eighteen years of teaching literature Michael Twist decided to try his hand at writing some of his own. Always fascinated by human nature, Michael's stories often focus on the decisions people make and the internal conflicts they experience in doing so. Michael's short story "Ties That Bind" won the 2011 William Faulkner Riverfest Literary Competition. His short story "Americans Do Love Their Cars" won the 2011 Quid Novi Festival Writing Contest. Also in 2011, Michael placed second in the Writers' Journal, Write to Win Contest with his short story, "Nearly Perfect". In 2012 Michael placed two stories ("Tea in Chesapeake" and "Dear John") in the finals of the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize sponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network as well as making the finals in the Press 53 Open Awards Competition with his short story "Out on a Limb". His micro-fiction has been short-listed numerous times in the Flash 500 competitions. Michael lives near Sandy Oregon with his wife, two daughters and Labrador.