Hi, I’m merritt k. I’m a writer, editor, podcaster, and game designer. I have an MA in Sociology from the University of Washington, though I do not recommend going to graduate school.
From 2013 to 2015, I ran the game curation site Forest Ambassador. I also made some little narrative games during that time that you might have heard of, a few of which gained some critical acclaim. I’ve since taken most of them offline, but if you need access to them for a class or exhibit or something, let me know.
In 2016, I was the NYU Game Center’s first Artist in Residence. After that, I was briefly the editor of the now-defunct streaming service VRV’s blog (it has since been folded back into Crunchyroll), which published media criticism and original comics. People really liked it, but it died when AT&T acquired the company and realized they didn’t need a smart pop culture vertical because their money guys saw the collapse of media coming.
From 2019 to 2023, I worked at the games and culture site Fanbyte, where I was variously a podcast and streaming host, editor, and writer. We had a lot of fun, but the site was too beautiful to live and was killed by its corporate masters.
Podcasts! I’ve done so many podcasts. I hosted Woodland Secrets, dadfeelings, and Papal Bull (with Eric Thurm), as well as Channel F and The K-Hole during my tenure at Fanbyte.
My writing on games, fashion, and interpersonal advice has been published in outlets like SSENSE, Real Life, MEL, and Polygon, as well in a number of books. I’ve also published poetry at places like The Collapsar, Heavy Feather Review, The Poetry Society of America, and Nat Brut.
Right now, I’m a regular contributor at the last comedy website, 1-900-HOTDOG, and make comics and write fiction over on Patreon. I am represented by Connor Goldsmith at Fuse Literary. I’m also developing games with my studio In Secret Places. Our first title, Fledgling Manor, came out in December 2024.