River Selby

River Selby worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska.

They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD in Nonfiction with an emphasis in postcolonial histories, North American colonization, and postmodern literature and culture. River has spent nearly a decade researching the history of fire suppression in the United States, Indigenous fire and land-tending practices, climate change impacts, and ecological adaptations across North American landscapes. Their research is informed by their extensive field experience.

River is a first generation high-school and college graduate. They hold an MFA in fiction from Syracuse University, and a BA in English and Textual Studies from the same institution, where they served as a Remembrance Scholar before graduating summa cum laude, with honors. River’s work has been published in Vox, High Country News, Bellevue Literary Review, Vice, Tricycle, and the New Ohio Review.

River was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest.