James A. Foster

Author, Epicure, Wrangler of Cats

I recently retired from the University of Idaho as a Distinguished Professor of Biology, Philosophy, and Computer Science, with an extensive academic publication and editorial record in the sciences, mathematics, and humanities. Since retirement, I write novels, short stories, and poems. I was shortlisted in Synkronicity, a semi-finalist in TulipTree Stories that Need to be Told contest, and runner-up in the Palouse Writer’s Guild short story competition. Thirty-four years ago, I moved from Chicago to a tiny North Idaho town, much like that in TO BURY LILLY. When not writing, I read classical Greek poetry, play the blues, and shoo my calico kitten, Skitterbutt, off my keyboard.

Recent News

Notes from the Wonderground

Recent Posts

Another public reading

I will read something tonight at the WSU English Faculty Open Mic night, at Brused Books in Pullman, WA, from 18:00-19:00. Maybe I’ll read my new short story “Redletterjacket”, or perhaps a collection of poems on the transience of parenthood.

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Public reading

Tomorrow I’ll give a public reading of “Interview with a Trout,” “The Goddess Bastet,” and “The Points” at the Latah County Library in Moscow, Idaho, sometime between 18:00 and 20:00. It’s my first public reading!

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Short Story to appear in Jersey Devil Press

“Interview with a Trout at a Sidewalk Cafe in Amsterdam,” a 720 word surreal meditation on mortality, Just appeared in the April 2025, issue 128, of Jersey Devil Press (https://www.jerseydevilpress.com/?page_id=8984). Amazingly, they accepted the story less than two weeks after I finished

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Lots of submissions

I just submitted several poems and short stories. Since I stopped worrying about finding an agent for “To Bury Lilly” my productivity has been explosive. See the blog for why I (temporarily) stopped looking for an agent, and “Current Projects” in the

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Another public reading

I will read something tonight at the WSU English Faculty Open Mic night, at Brused Books in Pullman, WA, from 18:00-19:00. Maybe I’ll read my new short story “Redletterjacket”, or perhaps a collection of poems on the transience of parenthood.

Read More »

Public reading

Tomorrow I’ll give a public reading of “Interview with a Trout,” “The Goddess Bastet,” and “The Points” at the Latah County Library in Moscow, Idaho, sometime between 18:00 and 20:00. It’s my first public reading!

Read More »