Troy Ehlers is a fiction writer and Editor-in-Chief of the finest up-and-coming print literary journal in the country, Minnetonka Review.

He has several works-in-progress, one of which is a collection of linked stories that was chosen as a finalist in the Wilkes University James Jones First Novel Fellowship. Presently he's working on the novel that serves as the climax for this collection.  "A Storied Life", "Towering Sea", and "The Tide of Night" are all from this larger work and have been accepted for publication in national literary journals (see the Publications page for more details). Simultaneously, he is now revising a completed novel that is 275 pages (90,000 words) in length and has begun a second novel and a nonfiction project.

When he's not writing or working for Minnetonka Review, you can find Troy boating, kayaking, reading, traveling, or dabbling in various arts and design projects. He created this website (and is in fact writing this bio in the third person) and its graphics (including the postage stamp navigation bar which he'd be boasting of if only he weren't so humble), and you can get a sampling of his photography, visual art and designs on the Gallery Pages.

Troy was born and raised in Minnesota and now lives on Lake Minnetonka. Although he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in business finance and worked with stocks and options for several years, writing fiction has always been his passion. At eight years old, he would borrow his mom's typewriter and make himself into an adventure hero (often saving friends from mishap and physical danger before capturing the villains). Writing is his primary occupation, but he finds it no less enjoyable now than he did as a child--he's continually amazed at the breadth and depth of what can be accomplished through the art.

In October 2004, Ehlers completed his Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Spalding University.  Over the years, he's studied and workshopped fiction at The Loft (Minneapolis's literary community); the Tin House Writer's Workshop; University of Minnesota Duluth's workshop; and Odyssey (a six-week intensive workshop focusing on genre fiction). In 2005 he was a full-time intern at Milkweed Editions, where he gained experience in all aspects of the publishing industry.  He's also worked as a residency teaching assistant at Spalding University and taught Composition and Literature as an adjunct professor at Concordia University, St. Paul.