Writer and MFA student
University of Virginia

Pierce was one of three students selected nationally to receive NPR's prestigious Joan B. Kroc Fellowship, an intensive training program designed to bring exceptional graduates into public radio and journalism. Following the fellowship, he stayed on with NPR as a producer, blogger, and reporter. He's reported on shrimp boats, archaeological digs, rattlesnake ranchers, and Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. He traveled the country in 2008, covering the presidential elections. He's currently enrolled in the creative writing program at the University of Virginia. Pierce has a story, Shirley Temple Three, in the December issue of the New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/12/24/121224fi_fiction_pierce) and the Atlantic fiction edition will publish a Pierce short story in the spring.