Welcome to the archives here at Rita Welty Bourke. Have a look around.
Rita Welty Bourke has published over forty pieces of fiction and non-fiction in literary magazines including The North American Review, Cimarron Review, Louisiana Literature, Shenandoah, Witness, and the Black Warrior Review. One of her stories, Gunnison Beach, has been included in an anthology entitled Naked compiled by Susan Zakin. Five have been nominated for Pushcart prizes.
Ms. Bourke was a semi-finalist in the Faulkner Words & Music Literary Contest for Novel-in-Progress in 2004, 2005, and 2006. She was a finalist in America’s Best Short Fiction Contest in 1994.
She wrote and edited narratives that provide historical context for songs on the recently released 3 CD set entitled This Is My America.
Ms. Bourke is currently at work on a historical novel. The story centers around a ”heart balm” lawsuit that rocked a small Maryland town in 1912.
Rita Bourke is married to the songwriter, Rory Bourke, and has three daughters: Allyson, Kelley, and Leslie. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.