Iris Graville

Author: Iris Graville

Iris Graville is a creative nonfiction writer from Lopez Island, WA. She holds an MFA in writing from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, is the publisher of SHARK REEF Literary Magazine (http://sharkreef.org), and a former board member for the Orcas Island Literary Festival (oilf.org). As a writer, Iris strives to give voice to the untold stories of ordinary people. Her profiles and personal essays have been published in national and regional journals and magazines. Iris’s first book, “Hands at Work—Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands,” received numerous awards including a Nautilus Book Award. Her second book, “BOUNTY: Lopez Island Farmers, Food, and Community,” combines photographs, profiles, and recipes to present an intimate, behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to bring food from earth to table on Lopez Island, WA. Her memoir, “Hiking Naked—A Quaker Woman’s Search for Balance,” (Homebound Publications, 2017) is a personal narrative of what she learned in the remote mountain village of Stehekin, WA about work, community, and leadings of the Spirit (as well as dealing with six feet of snow in the winter, ordering groceries by mail, and living without a telephone). It received a Nautilus Silver Award. In 2018-19, Iris served as the Washington State Ferries’ first Writer-in-Residence on the “Interisland” route, traveling only among Lopez, Shaw, San Juan, and Orcas islands. What resulted from that time was "Writer in a Life Vest," thirty-six essays that explore climate change and endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales, while leading readers to ask questions and find resilience, inspiration, and hope. The book was released by Homebound Publications in March 2022.