Bretty Rawson is a narrative & story consultant, dachshund dad, and writer, examining the edges of boyhood, shadow, and dream.
Bretty currently runs Slow Blink, a storytelling studio that combines craft, psychology, and linguistics to help brands and organizations anchor and elevate their stories. You can read more about “story anchors,” the narrative framework at the core of Slow Blink’s work. You can see past clients and projects here, which range from full-day workshops for independent day schools to digital storytelling series for wine regions.
In 2015, after receiving an MFA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from The New School, Bretty co-founded Seventh Wave, a BIPOC- and queer-run literary organization that publishes art in the space of social issues. Seventh Wave was a Finalist in 2021 for Best Magazine (CLMP’s Firecracker Award) and Finalist in 2025 for Best Organization Award (AWP Writing Organization Award). From 2018 - 2025, Bretty served as Director of Programs for Seventh Wave, overseeing their Community Anthologies and digital residency programs. A hand-writer at heart, Bretty also co-created, handwritten, a place in space for pen and paper, which was featured in The New York Times, Heritage Radio Network, Atlas Obscura, Real Simple, among others, and which partnered with The New York Public Library, The Sketchbook Project, The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, among others, to showcase the power of the pen and paper. handwritten is resuming publishing in 2027.
CV available upon request.
Bretty is currently at work on a fiction manuscript, Shadow Boys, which follows the story of four neighborhood boys who lose their shadows. Their writing has been published in PANK Magazine, The Rumpus, Nowhere Magazine, among others, and they’ve received support from the Banff Center for Arts & Creativity. Bretty is currently on the Board of Directors for Seattle City of Literature and Born to Adapt, two nonprofits with missions to connect people across the globe. Bretty has been a Teaching Artist at writing retreats, in charter schools, and with writers-in-the-school programs.
In past lives, Bretty worked an overnight shift for two years at a law firm in New York City; ran digital storytelling efforts for Washington State’s wine industry for four years; and for three nonconsecutive summers, worked on slime lines in fishing canneries in Alaska, most recently in Unalaska, Alaska, whose island slogan is, Your unforgettable, undiscovered journey awaits you in Unalaska. Long ago, Bretty lived in Kisakata, a town of 8,000 on the northeast coast of Japan, where they taught English for two years to their favorite age: third graders.
Connect w/ Bretty.
Interested in Bretty’s work or in working with Bretty via Slow Blink? Curious about Seventh Wave, and/or how to join TSW’s community of 500+ writers and artists? Looking to build or refresh your website? Navigating the world of branding, craft, or storytelling in nonprofit, corporate, or tech environments? Fill out the form to the right and Bretty will be in touch within a week.