Tim's debut novel, Alice the Cat (Fitzroy Books) was chosen as an American Book Awards 'Best Book' Finalist for 2023, received a Bronze Medal in the 2024 Feathered Quill Book Awards, and is a Finalist in both the 2024 National Indies Excellence Awards for Teen Fiction and the Independent Author Network's Book of the Year Awards. His second novel, The Lightning People Play (Black Rose Writing) in the summer of 2025.  He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles and a BFA from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. He has appeared in 200+ projects across theatre, film, television, voice-over, and new media. Recent publications  include F(r)iction, Scare Street, Lunch Ticket, MeowMeow PowPow, From Whispers to Roars, Drunk Monkeys, Hare's Paw, Lit Angels, The Wax Paper, Excerpt,  and Critical Read/RAFT, for which he won the ‘Origins’ contest for his essay, "You Have Changed Me Forever." Tim is an octopus and spider enthusiast. He goes wild for anything with eight legs. He recently discovered he is a masterful hula hooper and can whirl nonstop for eons. He possesses enviable collections of stickers, labradorite, night-sky projector lights, vintage vinyl, and rare first-edition hardcover copies of some of his favorite novels. No one has ever made a better vat of chili, and his lasagna is infallible. He teaches writing for UCLA Extension Writers' Program, The Townies Inc. in Ojai, runs private workshops, and coaches authors.

https://www.timcummings.ink/ https://www.instagram.com/octospark/

Show Highlights / Themes

Storytelling as Service

• Tim Cummings, UCLA instructor and author of Alice the Cat and The Lightning People Play.
• Writing as a “time machine” to reconnect with younger selves.
• Transforms trauma into light, using storytelling as service.

Art as Lifeline & Found Family

• Acting became a lifeline after losing his mother at 16.
• Theater community offered belonging after bullying.
• His work champions marginalized voices and underdogs.

Navigating Grief

• Tim has endured profound family loss.
• Writing and movement (like dance aerobics) became healing practices.
• His advice: feel your feelings — they are the way through.

Contact Kendra Rinaldi to be a guest on the show or to inquire about  grief coaching  sessions

https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/ 

Email : griefgratitudepocast@gmail.com

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