meet Kym
I only do drama on the page.
I'm a creative writer, storyteller, author, coffee enthusiast, big dreamer, believer, recovering procrastinator, and book junkie who loves God and His gift of life.
Dreamer
Wordsmith
Book Worm
Kendra Y. Mims
Official Bio
Kendra Y. Mims won her first writing award in third grade for her short story, “The Big Splatter.” That moment encouraged her to keep writing. Today, she is a writer based in Charlotte. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism. In addition to writing fiction, she serves as the managing editor for a medical magazine. She has received multiple Apex Awards of Excellence for her coverage on sickle cell disease and health care disparities and a 2026 APEX Grand Award for feature writing.
Kendra writes stories with edge and heart, exploring themes of loss, grief, faith, family structures, and the tension between holding on and letting go. Her work has appeared in Breast Reconstruction Magazine, (In) Courage, Mahogany Hallmark, The Masters Review, Hair Trigger, Midnight & Indigo and elsewhere.
She was a featured writer in the 2026 Purple Threads Community Showcase at Theater Charlotte and is a 2026 Kimbilio Fellow. She was also selected to participate in the 2026 Storehouse Voices' Women & Words literary program.
A creative at heart, Kendra loves reading and all things autumn. When she is not writing, you’ll find her listening to jazz on vinyl, collecting books, discovering coffee shops throughout Charlotte, or rewatching iconic TV series like The Office and A Different World. She has completed a novel and is developing a short story collection.
Allow me to Introduce Myself
(In My Own Words)
My love for writing, storytelling, and reading developed at an early age. As a child, I explored writing short stories with my vivid imagination and discovered how I could use my creativity to bring words to life. My passion for the pen grew from there. My parents always encouraged me to become a writer and supported my gift.
As an analytical introvert with a tendency to overthink my coffee order, writing is one of the few things I’ve always been 100 percent sure about my entire life, and I’ve never second guessed my career choice.
My mom was my biggest supporter, always one to read my work, commend my talent, and send me journals with handwritten notes that quietly nudged me to keep pursuing my writing goals. She nurtured my gift from a young age. We frequently took trips to the local library, where I spent countless hours reading books and writing stories.
My purpose for writing took on a deeper meaning when I lost my mom to cancer in 2015. As I struggled with my faith, wellness, and pursuing my creative work, I began to write through the grieving process. Although my mother is no longer here, writing is a way for me to honor her memory. She’d want me to keep writing to encourage others and to achieve the dreams I shared with her.
One thing I know for sure…
In my greatest moments and darkest nights, my love for the pen has remained constant and helped me get through hard times. Although life is unpredictable, I still want to write. I still want to pursue my God-sized dreams—the familiar ones from childhood and the new ones birthed from life's storms. I've discovered that our pain can be repurposed for an assignment much bigger than ourselves. And I still want to make the most of this journey and make a difference.