• By Don Dwiggins
  • Posted Friday, January 13, 2012

The Double Life Of One Ray Morrison

Unbeknownst to the cats, dogs and rodents who are his patients or their human companions, local veterinarian Ray Morrison has long been living a double life. When not occupied with work or family Dr. Morrison writes short stories, many of which have been published.

Only twelve years old when a trip to the vet with an aunt and her ailing cat determined his educational and professional future, the future Dr. Morrison discovered in high school another passion: writing poetry and fiction. Some years later, Morrison doubled as editor and contributor to the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine newsletter, an outlet for his humorous short fiction that readers enjoyed.

In 1991, after four years as practicing vets, Drs. Geisler and Morrison bought Ard-Vista Animal Hospital in Winston-Salem, established decades earlier by Dorothy and Bert Kolet, also a wife/husband. After devoting the next eight years to his family, practice and business, Morrison, in 1999 at age 42, resumed writing, grappling with a novel before discovering his current preferred form, short fiction.

On the subsequent 12 years, Morrison says: “I began writing more and more short stories and eventually got the courage to submit some. After plenty of rejection, I had my very first story accepted for publication in 2005. Since then, I have had over two dozen stories published and won either first, second or honorable mention in a number of contests, most recently taking first prize in the short story category of the 2011 Press 53 Open Awards. With this success, Kevin Watson, the publisher and founder of Press 53, has asked to publish my debut collection of stories, which will come out this fall.”

A short membership meeting for the Friends of the Central Library will follow the program.

Come hear Ray Morrison read from his stories and discuss his midlife journey into writing.

Sunday, January 29th
Central Library Auditorium
2 pm to 3:30 pm

Work with Us

Employment Opportunities

Job Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities

Open Appointments List