“He was sorry — he was sure he was, and that he should feel this way with his sadness. But the classical music was so fine.”

The Cleaving

A man with glasses taking a selfie in front of a bookshelf filled with books.

Mark Mrozinski began as a pianist, composer, and educator before serving as a dean and vice president in higher education. His short fiction appears in print and online publications like Beyond Words, CaféLit, Louisiana Literature, Mystery Magazine, The Lit Nerds, The Penn Review, and Twin Bird Review. He is a three-time Writer’s Digest award winner, including the 25th and 26th Annual Short Story Competitions and the 2025 Writing Competition. He was shortlisted for the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and won second place in the 2022 Tennessee Williams Short Fiction Contest. He also composes and arranges music, with works published by RCM Publications in Toronto.

Mark lives in Chicago with his family.