DELLA LEAVITT
WRITER
Della Leavitt's debut novel, Vivian's Decision, will be published on April 14, 2026 by She Writes Press.
An evocative work of historical fiction in 1956 Chicago, it's an all too relevant story of repeated history, female friendship, and the strength that it takes to make choices of one’s own.
In 1956, when Vivian Jacobson, an overwhelmed mother, grapples with having an illegal abortion, she discovers her Jewish immigrant mother faced the same crisis when pregnant with Vivian.
After careers in tech and math education, ten years ago, Della Leavitt began an intensive DIY study of writing fiction within the vibrant Midwestern writing community. In addition to courses at Chicago's StoryStudio and the Newberry Library, Della continues to study in ongoing editors' private workshops. Della served on the Board of Directors of the long-running Off Campus Writers' Workshop for four years.
She lives in Chicago with her spouse of several decades and their fearless feline Vic (Victoria), named for Sara Paretsky's legendary detective. Their son and his wife, welcomed daughter, Nora Shirley, in 2024.
04 AWARDS & PUBLICATIONs
AWARDS:
2021. Historical Fiction short term fellowship. Newberry Library. Chicago, Illinois
2021. Individual Artists grant. City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special events (DCASE).
Off-Campus Writers' Workshop. Flash Fiction 2nd place.: "Penicillin".
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​PUBLICATIONS:
​Leavitt, Della (June, 2024). "Hannah's Pledge." In Feisty Deeds: Daring Women across Six Centuries.
Leavitt, Della (April, 2023). "On Squirrels & Other Interlopers" (pp. 95-103). In Meaningful Conflicts: The Art of Friction. Windy City Publishers.
Leavitt, Della (2023). "Chicago's writing community: Nurturing new voices." About Write. https://ocww.info/About-Write?p=chicago-writing-community-nurturing-new-voices
Leavitt, Della. (May, 2022). "The Necklace" in FreeFlashFiction. https://freeflashfiction.com/fiction/the-necklace/
Leavitt, Della. (2021). "Repeal!" (pp. 99-107). In Turning Points: An Anthology from Members of the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop. Windy City Publishers.
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Leavitt, Della. (October, 2020). Chicago Literary Hall of Fame guest blogger.
https://chicagoliteraryhof.org/blog/entry/persistence-at-the-3rd-annual-virtual-storystudio-conference
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Leavitt, Della (August, 2020). GameChangers documentary film. Personal essay contest winner. https://www.gamechangers.film/contest
"Remembering the Marshall vs. New Trier match-ups."
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Leavitt, Della. (2019). "The Week That Was" (pp. 100-105). In J. Rehak (ed.) A Reason to Be Here. A collaborative novel from the Off Campus Writers' Workshop. Windy City Publishers.
Leavitt, D.R. (2017). "Where I am from," Vitae Scholasticae: The Journal of Educational Biography. Special Issue: Family Methodology. 34(2), 28-31.
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Leavitt, Della. (2017). Honorable Mention. Prose. "The Return of the 17-Year Locusts," In Word of Art 3: InPrint Writers, Rockford, IL.
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Leavitt, D.R., Palius, M.F., Babst, R.D, Donegan, R., Lampkin, J.L, Smith, M., & Whitford, P.A. (2013).
Teachers create a Professional Learning Community to be a place of their own. Mid-Atlantic Education Review, 1(1)3-16.
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Leavitt, D. R. & Washington, E. N. (2013). “I teach like you are all gifted:" Leading lowest-track students to become confident mathematics learners. In A. Cohan & A. Honigsfeld (Eds.), Breaking the mold of education: Innovative and successful practices for student
engagement, empowerment, and motivation (4th in a series) pp. 171-178. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
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​Leavitt, D. R. (2010). Inquiry as Stance: Practitioner Research for the Next Generation, Book review. i.e: inquiry in education, 1(2), Article 7. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol1/iss2/7
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Leavitt, D.R. (2010). (Unpublished dissertation). "Meek, but Not Weak!" A Resilient Black Female Mathematics Teacher Composes a Purposeful Life. University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. Proquest, UMI-3417385.
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"Return of the 17-year Locusts"
awarded Honorable Mention, prose
"That was the Week that Was" p.99
One-Sentence Story from "Repeal!" the Turning Points anthology
"No one could tell me what to do, then or now."
