Peevish Penman · About
About Peevish Penman
A writing resource for unconventional writers.
Peevish Penman is a writing resource for unconventional writers, with articles on fiction, science fiction, publishing, editing, creativity, and the realities of the writing life.
Created by writer and former librarian Carrie Bailey Allen, Peevish Penman has been encouraging writers to approach writing as both a craft and a profession since 2009. Carrie is also the editor of the Handbook of the Writer Secret Society.
Her personal motto?
Insert Coffee. Repeat.
The Writer: OA Allen
Under the pen name OA Allen, Carrie writes science fiction and speculative fiction about the stranger systems where belief, power, history, and technology converge. She favors metaphysical idealism over materialism and stories about ordinary people over the chosen few.
She studied philosophy before earning a graduate degree in information studies in New Zealand, where she lived for several years. She taught English in Chile and moved from Oregon to North Carolina, finally settling in Vermont.
With a family history containing both sides of the colonial story, she is particularly interested in what happens when competing versions of reality are all, inconveniently, true.
The Books
Novels, novellas, a coloring book, and the free Writer Secret Society handbook, all in one place: see all of OA Allen’s books →
The Writer’s Mission
Carrie spent years working as a librarian before a severe balance disorder and hearing loss changed the course of her career. She turned tragedy into opportunity, reclaiming control of her personal narrative through writing and publishing books with the support of her husband and children.
Peevish Penman grew from the same impulse: to share what she has learned and encourage other writers to explore writing as both a craft and a profession.
Carrie lives in Vermont, where she maintains a regimented schedule of coffee and creativity under the direction of her miniature schnauzer. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and meditation.