Nils Gilbertson writes crime and literary noir fiction. His stories often follow ordinary people caught up in desperate circumstances, examining what drives us to act as we do. Nils has placed short stories in a variety of publications. His story “Washed Up” was named a Distinguished Story in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022. He has written two novels which he aims to publish in the future.
Nils’s influences are wide-ranging. He is a fan of 20th-century classics such as Hemingway and Flannery O’Connor, as well as the noir lineage of Hammett, Chandler, Cain, Ross McDonald, and Jim Thompson. As far as contemporary writers go, a few favorites include Denis Johnson, Willy Vlautin, Donald Ray Pollack, Megan Abbott, and Dennis Lehane. Nils also enjoys philosophical fiction such as Camus, Kafka, Hesse, and Walker Percy.
Music is also a significant influence on Nils’s writing, in particular, the country/folk genre. This includes older artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zandt, as well as modern bands like the Turnpike Troubadours, American Aquarium, and Jason Isbell. To him, great country music means great storytelling that examines the dark side of the day-to-day. Those same themes are prevalent in his stories.
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Nils currently lives in Texas with his wife, son, and German shorthaired pointer. He works as an attorney to keep the lights on.