About Marcus

Marcus Berkemeier is a West Hollywood lawyer with a background in political science and history. His X page is devoted to promoting positive news from the 50 States to hopefully combat (even just a little) the fractures growing throughout U.S. society. He grew up in the rural Midwest and gained experience in D.C. working in the U.S. Senate, on a presidential campaign, and studying law, which led him to Oxford University for a program on human rights.  

In 2016, Marcus was named a West Hollywood writing scholar by the City of West Hollywood, California and PEN Center USA, as part of PEN’s Emerging Voices program. His short stories have appeared in several magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, Adelaide Literary Magazine, and the Bombay Review anthology distributed worldwide. His recent story was a long list finalist for the 2022 Able Muse Write Prize for Fiction, and another one was a quarterfinalist in the 2022 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition. Also, his teleplay was a semifinalist in the 2023 Page Turner Screenplay Competition, Genre.

His first novel is forthcoming.

Check out Marcus' short stories through the Stories link.

Click on the Home page link to Marcus' Instagram - it tracks his favorite books, bookstores, and literary-related travel sites.  Also try out his X feed for Marcus Berk's The 50, which highlights positive news stories from the 50 States.