Pen Name:
None
Genres:
Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Short Stories, Stageplays
Website:
Social Media:
Other Contact Information:
4tc2@comcast.net
Bio
Joe Cappello’s creative life began when he accepted a minor role in a play, walked on stage for the first time, and came to the terrifying realization that, “Oh, no, they sold tickets!”
Fortunately, he overcame his initial stage fright and began accepting roles in community theatre, the parts of Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and Ivan Lomov in The Proposal among his favorites. He studied acting in New York City and performed in a couple of Off-Off Broadway productions including Sam Shepherd’s Buried Child, where he played the crotchety, whiny patriarch, Dodge (a part for which his wife felt he was uniquely suited).
He wrote and produced plays for children, awarding roles to his sons and other kids in his neighborhood (earning the gratitude of their parents who considered rehearsals free babysitting).
But the logistics of staging plays proved too time consuming, so he started writing short stories and flash fiction pieces and submitting them for publication. Many of the stories presented in his collection of short stories have been published in online magazines and anthologies, and some have achieved recognition, most notably, “The Secret of the Smiling Rock Man,” First Place, National Federation of Press Women’s Communications Contest (2022); “They Only Showed Elvis from the Waist Up,” First Place, SouthWest Writers Writing Contest (2023); and “Running Errands,” Finalist, Hemingway Shorts Competition, sponsored by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park (2023).
Joe invites you to read more of his work and follow his anything-but-straight-line career at JoeCappelloAuthor.com.
Books
Title: The Secret of the Smiling Rock Man
Published: April 2026
Genre: Short Story Collection
In his first collection of short stories Joe Cappello presents an array of characters whom he describes as having “rocks in their heads.” Instead of accepting the hand life has dealt them, they pursue more outlandish solutions to its problems. The reader witnesses firsthand the zany antics these characters employ to cope with the situations they encounter in each story: Mortality…daring to know death’s secret and determined to face it without fear and dread; Workplace… seeking an environment that is based on teamwork and respect, rather than fear and intimidation; Family…taking extraordinary steps to unite an estranged family and to bring another closer together; Language…re-establishing the sacred role of words in our lives as a unifier of people and a conveyor of truth. All told with a healthy dose of humor and a belief that life can be joyful, hopeful and a down-right hoot.
Available for Sale
Poetry/Short Stories
“A Poem about a Poetry Reading” ♦ Medium, Apr 12, 2026
“Skeletons in the Closet (and in the Bay)” ♦ Short Story ♦ Medium, Oct 21, 2025