Meet Jim Zervanos—teacher, artist, and award-winning author whose work blends vulnerability, resilience, and the transformative power of storytelling.
Jim is the author of:
📚 That Time I Got Cancer: A Love Story —a memoir of survival, love, and hope
📚 Your Story Starts Here (Spring 2024) —a moving collection of essays about teaching, connection, and change
📚 LOVE Park — a celebrated novel set inPhiladelphia
His essays have been published in English Journal, WinningWriters.com, and recognized as finalists in contests by Fourth Genre and December Magazine. Fiction by Jim has appeared in Chicago Quarterly Review, CimarronReview, Cream City Review, Hawaii Review, and more. Hisstories have won the Folio annual fiction prize, been anthologized in Philly Fiction and Philadelphia Noir, and earned praise from authors like Steve Almond and Dennis Norris II.
Beyond the page, Jim is also a lifelong teacher. He currently teaches at Penncrest High School in the Philadelphia suburbs, where he lives with his wife and two sons. With an MFA from Warren Wilson College and academic honors as ascholar-athlete at Bucknell University, Jim brings a rare combination of discipline, artistry, and humanity to his work.
In this episode, Jim shares:
✨ How cancer transformed his outlook on life and writing
✨ Why storytelling is essential for connection and healing
✨ Lessons from decades of teaching and mentoring young writers
✨ His journey from baseball scholar-athlete to nationally recognized author Jim Zervanos’s story is one of courage, creativity, and heart—proof that through writing and resilience, we can all find meaning and connection.
👉 Learn more about Jim and his work: https://jimzervanos.com
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