About the writer

I’m Dora Acosta—writer, educator, editor, and storyteller. My formative years began in Haiti. A country rich in culture, texture, and deeply rooted in tradition. When I learned to write, writing became my therapy. I used it to ask the questions I never could have of the adults around me and to capture the answers when they came. I popped words like they were pills and overdosed on the stories they formed.

When I first recognized my culture in books, I grew weary of how one-dimensional it all seemed. We do not only exist as a poor, once-enslaved nation practicing voodoo. We also exist as a country that fought for our freedom, seeking God earnestly, full of life, vigor, and color. I intend to capture that in my stories—in all the ordinary moments that get overlooked.

I hold a Master’s degree in Education and have spent most of my career in classrooms. Both taught me that people learn best through stories. I write flash fiction rooted in real life because I believe ordinary moments deserve the same weight as extraordinary ones.

The Publication

Ordinary Witness collects micro stories rooted in real observation and shaped by imagination. Small moments. Ordinary lives. The kind of things that turn out to matter once someone writes them down.

Every story starts with something true and imagines the rest — somewhere between memory and imagination, which is to say, somewhere close to the truth.

New stories are published weekly. Subscribe to receive the stories straight to your inbox.

Want editorial feedback on your own writing?

I offer craft-level feedback on flash fiction, personal essays, and creative nonfiction — from a writer's eye and an educator's instinct for clarity. Learn more at doraacosta.com.