Steve Trumpeter’s first published short story “Sky Boys” won Chicago Reader’s 2012 Pure Fiction contest. Since then, his work has also appeared in The Southern Review, Chicago Tribune, Hobart, Salamander, Chicago Quarterly Review, and many others. His story “A Pamphlet for This” was a finalist for the Chicago Tribune’s 2019 Nelson Algren Award, and “You Would Set Your Jaws Upon My Throat” came in 2nd for Zoetrope: All-Story’s 2019 fiction contest, judged by Tommy Orange. He’s also been a finalist in fiction contests run by Glimmer Train, Third Coast, Sycamore Review and Beloit Fiction Journal and has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes. He teaches writing classes at StoryStudio Chicago and was the former co-host of “Fictlicious,” a quarterly live-lit and music series at the Hideout.

A lifelong musician, he grew up playing saxophone before taking up bass, guitar, keys, drums and yes, even a few months’ worth of trumpet lessons. He played most of those instruments and shared the songwriting duties in The Infrasonics from 2000-2011, recording two albums and playing dozens of shows in the Chicagoland area.

Since 2019, his artistic pursuits have branched out to include oil painting, with a focus on landscapes, architecture and portraits. If you are interested in purchasing original artwork or commissioning a project, head over to the contact page.

By day, Steve is an IT Director in the financial industry. He lives in Chicago, Illinois with his wife, Kathryn, and their cat, Talisker.