A Carnivalesque Menagerie of Twisted Ink

Words on the Wire.
Thoughts in the Dark.

Where Southern Gothic, dread, and shadowed folklore collide with archival history, fables, and communal witness, curated under the Vickerian imprint by Robert Vickery II.

Featured Writings Creative Folios

Featured Headlines & Impact

Academic Scholarship, National Publications, Historical Archives, and Public Advocacy

Oct 22, 2026 • International Fiction Adjudication

Halloween Writing Contest Finalist: Top 5 of 55 Submissions

Robert Vickery II's psychological horror submission, The Cut-Off at Exit 53, was officially selected on October 22nd, 2026 as a Top 5 Finalist out of 55 international entries in the 2026 CommuterLit.com Halloween Contest. His work will be showcased across the literary platform from October 26th through October 31st.

CommuterLit.com Showcase →

Institutional Alliance • Auburn University

Auburn University Partnership: Basic Needs Degree Pathways

Dr. Sarah Grace, Program Administrator for Hunger Solutions and the Hunger Solutions Institute at Auburn University, has partnered with Robert Vickery II to develop collegiate degree pathways and professional certifications in basic needs, specializing in food insecurity interventions designed specifically for the urban and rural food deserts of Mobile, Alabama.

Auburn Hunger Solutions Institute →

Statewide Keynote • ACCS Regional Conference (Nov 8–10)

ACCS Invited Presenter: Plate It Forward • Chancellor's Award Nominee

Alabama Community College System invited presenter for the "Plate It Forward" food rescue initiative, co-advisor Robert Vickery II has been invited to bring student leaders to present at the ACCS Regional Conference in Montgomery, Alabama, November 8th through 10th. The initiative is officially nominated for the 2026 Chancellor's Exemplar Program Award recognizing institutional innovation and community impact.

ACCA Conference Portal (Be Bold) →

National Journal • Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

Editor / Published Article: "Plate It Forward" – Change Makers (6th Edition)

Featured publication and editorial contribution in Phi Theta Kappa's national Change Makers journal, chronicling the evidence-based "Plate It Forward" food rescue initiative, basic-needs campus distribution, and transformative service learning.

Read Journal Issue →

Campus Honor • Bishop State Community College

Reading is Freedom Challenge: Week Two Prize Winner

Robert Vickery II was named Week Two Prize Winner for the institutional "Reading is Freedom: 250 Books for 250 Years" initiative led by Dr. Pamela Moore at Bishop State Community College. Submitting and reading 10 full-length books during the month, Vickery's marathon pace provided the critical momentum that led to the campus successfully reaching its institutional reading goal.

Campus Reading Laureate

Community Spotlight • This Is Alabama

Phi Theta Kappa: Transforming Campus Basic Needs

Regional feature spotlighting the Alpha Epsilon Nu PTK chapter led by co-advisor Robert Vickery II at Bishop State, driving innovative multi-campus interventions to combat collegiate food insecurity with institutional dignity.

View Feature →

Statewide Press • AL.com

Students Hit Campus Hunger Head-On With Free Corner Store

Statewide news feature reporting on the innovative grocery relief model and volunteer logistics, featuring an in-depth interview with Professor Robert Vickery II detailing systemic collegiate food security solutions.

Read AL.com Story →

Community Coalition • Love All Pantry

Pantry Logistics & Student Coalition Support

Partner dispatch highlighting logistical operations, retail grocery rescue partnerships, and collaborative distribution networks; article shouts out Robert Vickery II's partnership in data collection for the 103 Corner Store and his efforts as co-advisor of PTK and co-chair for the Food for Thought Faculty Committee.

View Partner Dispatch →

Institutional News • Bishop State

103 Corner Store: 3,000 Food Assistance Services

Bishop State official release documenting the rapid scaling and community impact of the campus basic-needs relief and grocery distribution network; feature highlights the leadership and frontline efforts of Robert Vickery II, prominently picturing him alongside his dedicated campus relief team.

Read Campus Coverage →

Workforce Development • Bishop State LAC (2024)

Writing Consultant & Coordinator: Airbus Aerospace Program

Serving as Writing Consultant and Coordinator in 2024 through the Bishop State Learning Assistance Center, Robert Vickery II directed specialized career development seminars for the Airbus Aerospace Program—focusing on advanced technical resume formulation, executive interview preparation, and workplace communication strategies that led directly to a 99% graduation-to-work employment placement rate.

Workforce Placement Directorship • 99% Placement

Workforce Development Seminar • Bishop State (2023)

Invited Presenter & Writing Consultant: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

In 2023, Robert Vickery II served as invited presenter, writing consultant, and coordinator for workforce development at Bishop State Community College, delivering a comprehensive week-long professional development seminar for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers centered on high-stakes business communication, technical clarity, and precision corporate writing practices.

Corporate Workforce Seminar

Campus Advocacy • Phi Theta Kappa Partnership

Vickerian Van Gogh Exhibit: De-Stigmatizing Mental Health

In 2024, Robert Vickery II partnered with Phi Theta Kappa for Mental Health Week, placing an original Van Gogh piece from the Vickerian Collection on institutional display for two years to bridge conversations dismantling mental health stigma. The masterpiece was selected as the college's official 2024 Christmas card and inspired a collective campus community painting initiative led by artist Lydia Host.

Campus Exhibition • 2024–2026

Campus Dedication • Troy Today

TROY Cuts Ribbon on New Center for Student Success

Dedication coverage of the Center for Student Success at the Montgomery Campus; features Robert Vickery II, coordinator of student retention and student success for Troy Montgomery, in expanding student access.

Read Troy Feature →

Keynote Address • CACC Professional Development (2018)

The Academic Death Penalty: The Evolution of Plagiarism

Invited speaker and presenter for Central Alabama Community College's 2018 Professional Development seminar. Vickery delivered "The Academic Death Penalty: The Evolution of Plagiarism," using satire to joke that Renaissance surgeon Thomas Vicary was his long-lost cousin and history's first plagiarist—framing how borrowed text can be praised in one century and penalized in the next, while tracing the institutional aftermath and ethical repercussions it creates.

Historical Monograph: Thomas Vicary →

Academic Address • Auburn University Montgomery

Invited Presentation: Graduate Pedagogy & Composition

Robert Vickery II was invited as guest speaker to address Auburn University Montgomery graduate students and emerging scholars on contemporary pedagogical theory, composition methodologies, and the evolving landscape of higher education instruction.

Graduate Faculty Colloquium

Faculty Governance • Central Alabama Community College

Chair of the Faculty Council • President's Cabinet (2014–2015)

At Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Alabama, college faculty voted Robert Vickery II as Chair of the Faculty Council for the 2014–2015 academic year, serving concurrently as designated faculty representative on the President's Cabinet to steward shared governance, institutional policy, and instructional advocacy.

Faculty Governance Record

Faculty Honor • Auburn University Montgomery

Dr. Robbie Jean Walker Outstanding Adjunct Award (2014–2015)

Conferred the prestigious Dr. Robbie Jean Walker Outstanding Adjunct Award, presented to Robert Vickery II, Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) and Lecturer for Auburn University Montgomery in the Department of English and Philosophy, honoring exceptional instruction and humanities mentorship.

Excellence in Teaching Award

Institutional Articulation • AUM / Auburn University

SEAMLESS Academic Articulation Coordinator (2010)

Appointed in 2010 as coordinator, Robert Vickery II directed the SEAMLESS articulation bridge program connecting Auburn University Montgomery and Auburn University, advancing transfer mobility and academic continuity.

Program Directorship

Global Exchange • Department of English & Philosophy

Confucius Institute ESL Academic Partnership

Partnership with the Confucius Institute at Auburn University Montgomery for the English as a Second Language (ESL) program for scholars from Hubei, China; coordinated by Robert Vickery II for the Department of English and Philosophy.

International Program Administration

National Colloquium • Duke University

Duke University: The x = a + b + c Writing Architecture

Robert Vickery II was invited as an undergraduate by Duke University to present his proprietary college writing formula, x = a + b + c, exploring rhetorical architecture and examining the pedagogical importance of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) digital learning environments for contemporary educators.

Duke Learning Innovation • MOOC Colloquium →

Front Page Feature • The Outlook (Vol. 126, No. 78)

CACC Remembers Holocaust with Educational Exhibit

Front-page coverage in The Outlook (Alexander City, Alabama, April 19, 2018) highlighting the commemorative educational exhibit curated by Central Alabama Community College English instructor Robert Vickery II, featuring original historical artifacts from the Holocaust from the VICKERIAN collection.

The Outlook • April 19, 2018 • Vol. 126, No. 78

Academic Archive • AUM Digital Repository

The Shoah's Impact on Family Continuity and Paternal Bonds: Understanding the Phenomenology of Father-Son Relationships in Art Spiegelman's Maus and Elie Wiesel's Night

Complete archival graduate thesis authored by graduate student Robert Vickery II, examining Holocaust generational trauma, paternal continuity, and phenomenological memory across canonical survivor texts.

Read Thesis Manuscript →

Fraternal Archive • Pi Kappa Phi Digital Museum

Pi Kappa Phi Historical Membership Record

Archival registry and digital preservation entry documenting chapter leadership and archival recovery for Robert Vickery II in the national museum repository.

View Museum Record →

Featured Writings & Placements

Writings for Different Competitions and Themes • Folk Horror and Noir, Psychological Horror, Gothic Suspense, Fairy Tales and Fables, and Investigative Nonfiction

Title / Project	Genre / Format	Status / Outlet / Recognition	Action / Links
The Cut-Off at Exit 53 Selected by Editor Nancy K. Clark	Halloween Horror / Thriller • Southern Gothic Noir	Top 5 Finalist (Top 5 of 55 Entries) CommuterLit Halloween Horror / Thriller Contest Showcase feature scheduled October 26th – October 31st; 1st & 2nd place winners announced Monday, October 26th.	Read Synopsis → CommuterLit.com ↗
How Gingy Got Ginger-Snapped! Fairy Tales & Fables • Children's Poetry	Rhyming Verse / Fable Parable	Published Contest Entry FanStory "Poem for a Child" Competition Active voting and member showcase for children's storytelling verse.	Read Folio → Read on FanStory ↗
The Salt Line Mystery, Crime & Thriller Verse	Experimental Poetry / Coastal Crime Lore	FanStory "No Limits" Entry FanStory Poetry Competition Submitted to the "No Limits" contest to push experimental boundaries, blending atmospheric crime procedural with Southern Gothic mystery.	Read Folio → Read on FanStory ↗
Five Stars for a Bucket Full of Ghost Dust Humor Poetry / Elegy in Satire	Satirical Elegy / Free Verse	Contest Submission (2026–2027) Winning Writers • Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest Transforms a deeply poignant grief—losing beloved 12-year-old bulldog Vincent—into cathartic humor and absurdist review culture.	Read Excerpt →
Statutory Shadows Archival Investigation • Municipal Legal History	Investigative Journalism / Historical Monograph	Seed Grant Submission (Winter 2027) Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) Early Reporting Grant Statutory Shadows: How Post-Reconstruction Southern Municipalities Weaponized Status Offenses to Criminalize Black Sacred Space, 1880–1925.	Read Prospectus →
The Wax and the Wire Southern Gothic Historical Fiction	Gothic Suspense / Faulknerian Prose	Under Review Zoetrope: All-Story 2026 Short Fiction Competition A retelling of a historical Florida love story gone awry, crafted in the style of Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and relocated to rural Alabama.	Read Folio →

The Creative Folios

Folk Horror and Noir, Psychological Horror, Gothic Suspense, and Fairy Tales and Fables

Halloween Horror / Thriller

The Cut-Off at Exit 53

CommuterLit Halloween Contest Top 5 Selection • Cash Prize Finalist

An immersive haunted house attraction in Mobile, Alabama—engineered around regional urban legends, town myths, and shadowed Gulf Coast folklore—derails into genuine psychological horror when the simulation refuses to let its guests leave.

Read Synopsis →

Fairy Tales & Fables / Children's Verse

How Gingy Got Ginger-Snapped!

FanStory "Poem for a Child" Contest Entry

Baked out of pure spite, fireplace coal-ash, and fermented cider. A gritty, rhythmic children's fable about a confection with a fierce bite that outwits the hearth.

Read Excerpt → FanStory ↗

Mystery, Crime & Thriller Verse

The Salt Line

FanStory "No Limits" Contest Entry

An experimental poetic exploration testing the outer frontiers of crime writing, tracking murder procedural notes and nocturnal salt margins along the Gulf tide.

Read Full Text → FanStory ↗

Country Song • Adding Hell to Heaven

Hope Heaven has a Smoking Section

Lyrics & Melody by Robert Vickery II

Created as a gritty, irreverent country anthem that takes pearly-gate reverence and unapologetically adds a little bit of hell to heaven.

View Overview → Listen on YouTube ↗

Songwriting • First Love & Innocence

How Will I Know

Lyrics & Melody by Robert Vickery II

Crafted to capture the kinetic rush, unshielded innocence, and vulnerable emotional reckoning that defines first love.

View Overview → Listen on YouTube ↗

Songwriting • Cinematic Comedy & Emotion

Fifty Percent

Lyrics & Melody by Robert Vickery II

Takes a hilarious cinematic moment and translates it into an authentic musical expression of raw emotion, hesitation, and decisive action.

View Overview → Listen on YouTube ↗

Reviewer Critiques & Feedback

Editorial notices, literary adjudications, and studio feedback across prose, verse, and songwriting

“

“Congratulations, your story, The Cutoff at Exit 53, submitted for our Halloween Week 2026 contest, has been placed in the top five and will be showcased October 26th through October 31st. First and second place winners will be announced on Monday, October 26th.”

Nancy K. Clark

Editor • CommuterLit.com

“

Vickery commands the page with bone-deep Southern atmospheric dread. The verse and fiction move with rigorous economy and unsettling psychological suspense, confronting silence and ritual without compromise.

Literary Reviewers & Contest Judges

Fiction & Poetry Competition Panel

“

Lyrically haunting, rhythmically disciplined, and steeped in authentic Gulf Coast lineage. The songcraft across the folios carries the gravitas of dark roots narrative—sparse, deliberate, and undeniably cinematic.

Studio & A&R Listener Dispatches

Songwriting & Production Feedback

Robert Vickery II seated in private book archive

The Dossier

Robert Vickery II is an American author, essayist, poet, lyricist, and tenured professor originally from Montgomery, Alabama. His fiction and scholarship traverse Southern Gothic realism, psychological suspense, and the darker, subversive side of classic fairy tales. Bringing sixteen years of higher education instruction in English, literature, and philosophy, his research centers on Gulf Coast Somatic Conjure Theory, Southern material culture, and Mobile Hoodoo traditions, building upon Zora Neale Hurston's ethnography. He lives along the Gulf Coast with his rescue dog, Zeus. Author portfolio and portfolio works on FanStory: Robert Vickery II on FanStory. Creative archive: vickerian.com.

Correspondence & Representation

Send to Dispatch • Direct all inquiries regarding editorial submissions, anthology rights, readings, speaking engagements, and musical collaborations below.

Words on the Wire.Thoughts in the Dark.

Featured Headlines & Impact

Halloween Writing Contest Finalist: Top 5 of 55 Submissions

Auburn University Partnership: Basic Needs Degree Pathways

ACCS Invited Presenter: Plate It Forward • Chancellor's Award Nominee

Editor / Published Article: "Plate It Forward" – Change Makers (6th Edition)

Reading is Freedom Challenge: Week Two Prize Winner

Phi Theta Kappa: Transforming Campus Basic Needs

Students Hit Campus Hunger Head-On With Free Corner Store

Pantry Logistics & Student Coalition Support

103 Corner Store: 3,000 Food Assistance Services

Writing Consultant & Coordinator: Airbus Aerospace Program

Invited Presenter & Writing Consultant: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Vickerian Van Gogh Exhibit: De-Stigmatizing Mental Health

TROY Cuts Ribbon on New Center for Student Success

The Academic Death Penalty: The Evolution of Plagiarism

Invited Presentation: Graduate Pedagogy & Composition

Chair of the Faculty Council • President's Cabinet (2014–2015)

Dr. Robbie Jean Walker Outstanding Adjunct Award (2014–2015)

SEAMLESS Academic Articulation Coordinator (2010)

Confucius Institute ESL Academic Partnership

Duke University: The x = a + b + c Writing Architecture

CACC Remembers Holocaust with Educational Exhibit

The Shoah's Impact on Family Continuity and Paternal Bonds: Understanding the Phenomenology of Father-Son Relationships in Art Spiegelman's Maus and Elie Wiesel's Night

Pi Kappa Phi Historical Membership Record

Featured Writings & Placements

The Creative Folios

The Cut-Off at Exit 53

How Gingy Got Ginger-Snapped!

The Salt Line

Hope Heaven has a Smoking Section

How Will I Know

Fifty Percent

Reviewer Critiques & Feedback

The Dossier

Correspondence & Representation

Title

Words on the Wire.
Thoughts in the Dark.