Rachel E. Hicks

Welcome! I write poetry, fiction, and essays, and also work as an editor. Please browse my site to see samples of my writing and to discover what I enjoy thinking and writing about. 

My poetry has been published in various literary journals, including Ekstasis, Vita Poetica, The Windhover, St. Katherine Review, Off the Coast, Gulf Stream Magazine, and Baltimore Review. My short story, “Drink It Dry,” won The Briar Cliff Review‘s Annual Fiction Contest for 2019. I also write essays and guest blog posts and am working on a novel.

I am the assistant editor at Mars Hill Audio, which produces and curates audio resources (interviews, lectures, and essay readings) that help listeners examine the distinctive features of the culture of modernity and how those features are in conflict with Christian faithfulness. Our editorial selections cover a large spectrum of topics, including theology and philosophy, law, education, sociology, media ecology, literature, and the fine arts.  

As a former freelance copyeditor, I worked with various clients in the corporate, federal, and nonprofit sectors, and also worked with individuals on their book manuscripts. A former high school English and homeschool teacher, I’ve also volunteered with an international relief and development agency.

A few of my favorite things: electric scooters, spicy Sichuan food, hiking, cool weather, and unhurried time to read.

If you are a writer, editor, agent, or publisher (especially in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metro area), and you like what you see here, I would love to connect with you! Please contact me on this site or connect with me via LinkedIn.

As you start your journey through my site, let me send you on your way with this thought: In Out of Africa, Isaak Dineson (Karen Blixen) narrates how some Kikuyu farm youth responded to her recitation of poetry. Their response takes my breath away: “Speak again. Speak like rain.” When I first read that, I had to stop and revel in the perfection of it. That is what poetry can do, what words can do—they have the capacity to refresh in a life-giving way, like rain.

(See my poem, “Speak Like Rain,” under the “Poems” tab.)