Abigail Mills
About
Abigail Mills (she/they) is a writer from Alexandria, Virginia. She received her MFA in fiction from George Mason University in 2026. Their work has appeared in Exposition Review, Santa Clara Review and Volition. She won the GMU Rinehart Fiction Award in 2026 and was a runner-up for the Virginia Downs EcoPoetry Award in 2025.
Abigail writes across genres. She began writing stories as a child, and self-published two children’s books at 13 and 17. Currently, she is seeking representation for her debut novel that centers religious deconstruction and has a second novel in progress.
Publications
“Sanctuary”
Flash Fiction, 2025
Exposition Review’s Flash 405 “Anchor” Contest Honorable Mention
“Do You Remember Her Face?”
Flash Fiction, 2024
Santa Clara Review, vol. 111.2, p. 3
“Metal Nest”
Flash Fiction, 2024
Santa Clara Review, vol. 111.2, p. 26
“Burn Scars”
Flash Fiction, 2024
Santa Clara Review, vol. 111.2, p. 75-76
Essie and the Storm Cloud
Children’s Illustrated Fiction, 2017
Written, illustrated, and self-published at age 17.
The Adventure of Nutty Oakwood
Children’s Chapter Book, 2014
Written at age 9 and self-published at age 13.
“I was immediately sucked into this piece from the first sentence. I’m so fascinated by these characters, the complexity and ambiguity of this relationship between two young people from seemingly different worlds.”
Ashley Moon, judge, February 2025 Flash 405 contest, “Anchor”
“Dereliction”
Forthcoming from Appalachian Review
“Nonlinear”
Forthcoming from Appalachian Review
“In DC on the Last Sunday in March”
Forthcoming from Appalachian Review
“Catching Sunlight in a Vase”
Poetry, 2022
Volition, vol. 32, p. 5
“Once Again”
Poetry, 2022
Volition, vol. 32, p. 34
“Dusk”
Poetry, 2021
Volition, vol. 31, p. 8
“Through this poem, I see the annual celebration of cherry blossoms in an utterly new way, with Barbie-pink quinceanera gowns, with an acknowledgement of adjacent waste. That last line–“this is our gift to trample and cherish”—is haunting. What will we decide, the larger we? Not “or” but “and.” The poem recognizes that we will do both: celebrate and ruin, as we humans seem to always do.”
Elizabeth Bradfield, judge, Virginia Downs EcoPoetry Award 2025