A World Without Books

Bradley Sides' writing appears at Chapter 16, Chicago Review of Books, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, The Rumpus, Southern Review of Books, and elsewhere. He holds an MA in English from the University of North Alabama and is an MFA candidate at Queens University of Charlotte. He lives in Florence, Alabama, with his wife.Those Fantastic LivesCity of Light Publishing, 2021

Marilyn Peterson Haus learned to read and write in a one-room school set in the midst of a sea of corn, and then rode a rickety yellow school bus seven miles to the nearest town (population 700) for middle and high school. Everything was oriented around the railroad that sliced through the tallgrass prairie, heading west. Marilyn's own journey took her in the opposite direction, and after attending Augsburg College (now Augsburg University) in Minneapolis, she and her husband moved east and settled in western Massachusetts, where she raised three children, earned an MBA and launched a successful business career. After retiring from her day job, Marilyn followed her dream to become a writer, began attending a weekly writer's workshop, and over the course of ten years, wrote and completed Half a Whole – her first book. When she isn't writing, Marilyn can be found shoveling compost around the coneflowers, hostas, and day lilies that overflow her many flower gardens.Half of a Whole: My Fight for a Separate LifePost Hill Press, 2021

Philip J. Kowalski has taught courses in critical thinking and American literature at Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts.Canine in the Promised LandAtmosphere Press, 2021

Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. She holds a B.A. in English from Old Dominion University and an M.A. in English/Fiction Writing from the University of New Hampshire. She is currently the Assistant Dean of Curriculum & Assessment for Champlain College Online, where she is an Associate Professor. Her fiction and poetry have been published in literary magazines and several themed anthologies. Her debut novel, Telling Sonny, was published by Adelaide Books in 2018. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband.Telling SonnyAdelaide Books, 2018

Keith Madsen is a retired minister who is using his retirement to pursue a lifelong interest in writing fiction. Keith has published short stories in Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, Talking River, Short Story America and Adelaide. He is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers' Association. Keith lives in East Wenatchee, Washington with his wife Cathy, where he enjoys teaching chess to grade school children.The Sons and Daughters of ToussaintAdelaide Books, 2018

Donna Koros Stramella is a writer from Maryland whose fiction and nonfiction pieces have been published in Adelaide Literary Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review, Columbia Magazine, and the Baltimore Sun. She is a previous award-winning journalist and video writer-producer. A graduate of the University of Tampa MFA in Creative Writing, she authored Coffee Killed My Mother and is currently working on a second novel.Coffee Killed My MotherAdelaide Books, 2020

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Steven Armstrong is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, and author. He spent several years in the nonprofit world of maternal health, becoming inspired by countless stories of resilience, while working as an editor and staff writer reviewing films. Steven holds a BA in Creative Arts from San Jose State University and an MFA in Writing and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. His work has appeared in the Samizdat Literary Journal.Dragon DaughterAtmosphere Press, 2021

Joshua M. Greene is a popular lecturer on Holocaust history and an author whose biographies have sold more than a half-million copies worldwide. A former instructor at Hofstra and Fordham Universities, Greene is the recipient of numerous awards for his books and films. He sits on the board of Yale University Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies and has served as director of strategic planning for the United Nations Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders.Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor to Wall Street LegendInsight Editions, 2021

Peter Friedrichs is a pastor of a religiously liberal and socially progressive church. He lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with his wife and biggest supporter, Irene. They are the proud parents of two adult daughters and grandparents of three elementary-aged boys.And the Stars Kept WatchAtmosphere Press, 2021

Jacqueline T. Johnson is an avid reader, who dared to fulfill a dream with her debut novel Test of Time. "Writing is an expression of who I am. It's where my emotions, thoughts, and dreams come alive."Test of TimeCreatespace, 2013

Bella Masala is a creator of art of all sorts. She recently quit her job to pursue her passion in writing, which she crafts with love. She currently lives in Silver Spring, MD.The Ghost QueenAtmosphere Press, 2020

Dani Putney is a queer, non-binary, mixed-race Filipinx, & neurodivergent writer originally from Sacramento, California. Their poems appear in outlets such as Empty Mirror, Ghost City Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Juke Joint Magazine, & trampset, while their personal essays can be found in journals such as Cold Mountain Review & Glassworks Magazine, among others. They received their MFA in Creative Writing from Mississippi University for Women & are presently an English PhD student at Oklahoma State University. While not always (physically) there, they permanently reside in the middle of the Nevada desert.Salamat Sa IntersectionalityOkay Donkey Press, 2021

Christy Leskovar was born in Butte, Montana, and grew up in Kennewick, Washington. She graduated from Seattle University with degrees in mechanical engineering and French and then joined Bechtel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she worked on the design of nuclear power plants. After stints in Kansas, Barcelona, and San Francisco, she transferred to an assignment in Las Vegas. It was during a visit to her hometown that she learned the shocking news about her great-grandmother having been arrested for murder (in 1913). She left her engineering career to find out what happened and write a book about it.East of the East SideFarcountry Press, 2021 

J.D. Jahn, a native of Iowa, studied British literature in college and graduate school. He published scholarly articles on English Renaissance poetry as an assistant professor of English, before moving on to serve as a writer, editor, and director of communications and marketing for six higher education foundations. Now retired, he lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with his wife, who's also a devoted Anglophile.The Crone's Tales: Fables for New TimesAtmosphere Press, 2021

Chad-Michael Simon was born in Toledo, Ohio and has been an illustrator at Root, Inc. for twenty years. He lives in Michigan with his wife, children, and pets. Yellowstone: The Bears of Caldera is his first novel.Yellowstone: The Bears of CalderaHyphenatedPress, 2019

Will Johnson is a musician and songwriter who has played in the bands Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, Marie/Lepanto, Overseas, New Multitudes, and Monsters of Folk. He also releases records under his own name, and makes paintings centering on the subject of baseball and its history. His work has appeared in American Short Fiction. He was born in Kennett, Missouri, and currently lives in Austin, Texas. If or When I Call is his first novel.If or When I CallGoliad Media Group, 2021

Lucy May Lennox is a connoisseur of novels featuring men with physical disabilities. After growing frustrated with all the cliches, ignorance and stereotypes, she decided to write her own positive take on disability. She also loves immersing herself in earlier historical periods and imagining the lives of people who don't usually make it into the history books. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest USA with her husband and children.Flowers by NightLucy May Lennox, 2020

Formerly a violinist at the Metropolitan Opera, Erica Miner is now a full-time award-winning writer, screenwriter, lecturer and journalist. She regularly contributes to major arts websites and presents her opera lectures on both coasts. Her "Opera Mystery" novel series, based on her own experience as a longtime violinist at the Met, allows a candid glimpse at this eccentric art form's inner world.Staged for MurderTwilight Times Books, 2020

Joyce Yarrow is a Pushcart Prize Nominee with short stories and essays that have appeared in Inkwell Journal, Whistling Shade, Descant, Arabesques, and Weber: The Contemporary West and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Yarrow is a member of the Sisters in Crime organization and has presented workshops on “The Place of Place in Mystery Writing” at conferences in the US and India.Zahara and the Lost Books of LightAdelaide Books, 2020 

Barbara McHugh, PhD, is a Buddhist practitioner with a degree in Religion and Literature from the Graduate Theological Union and UC Berkeley. She is a published poet and writing coach. Her research for this book includes exhaustive study of Pali texts in translation and extensive travel in India.Bride of the BuddhaMonkfish, 2021

Kelechi (Kay Kay) Uchendu is the founder and CEO of Kay Kay's World, LLC. Kay Kay's World, LLC includes Kay Kay's Fashion (a fashion brand that has been featured in British Vogue and other media outlets) and her website Kay Kay's Way, www.kaykaysway.com. Kay Kay graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Political Science Pre-Law and a specialization in Environmental Studies in 2013. She then graduated from Vermont Law School with her JD in 2016 and her LLM in 2018. Kay Kay also has a Master's degree in Business of Fashion from LIM College. A cool fact about Kay Kay is that before the age of 22, she had been to every continent (including Antarctica).Bully FriendsEmerald Publishers, 2020

Susan Jane Gilman is the author of five books: The novels “Donna Has Left the Building” and “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street,” plus the memoirs “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress” and “Kiss My Tiara.” She has been a commentator for NPR and written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Ms. magazine, among others. Though she lives in Geneva, Switzerland, she remains, eternally, a child of New York.”Donna Has Left the BuildingGrand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group, 2020

Natalie Nascenzi is a copywriter, poet, and author from Rhode Island. Now residing in New York City, you can find her every morning on the East River capturing the sun peeping over the horizon. The rest of her day is spent wandering the city, chasing the sun, and writing wherever she can. Writing is both her career and passion. Her love for the art of word play and rhyming has led her to a career in marketing and in her life as a poet. She has made an impression on New York City's open mic community with her infectious personality and a unique writing style. From 'Out of Chaos' to now, Natalie has spread her message of hope and transformation; and is excited to continue the journey with readers through "The Aftermath of Unrest."The Aftermath of UnrestNatalie Nascenzi, 2020

Richard L. Rose is a Richmond writer and composer, whose eighth opera, Monte & Pinky, was performed at the Black History Museum of Virginia in April 2018. Rose is also the author of Frameshifts, a book of stories and poems in two volumes (2011).PushBackAtmosphere Press, 2021

Nathan Dean Talamantez is a Bay Area transplant from Texas, Air Force veteran, and current student pursuant of his MFA from California Institute of Integral Studies. Dean received his undergraduate in cultural anthropology in 2013 from Texas State University. His writing tends toward the examination of complex social issues from unfamiliar and often surreal angles.Sacred FoolAtmosphere Press, 2021

Martha Ackroyd Curtis is an Australian writer, and artist. She works in the realms of video, installation and multi- mediums. Her work consists of large-scale installation art, which is formulated through cohesive conceptual design. She has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas, and participated in various art festivals.Hello TittyBusy Bird Publishing, 2020

Daniel Hagedorn lives in Seattle, Washington, where he was born and raised, with his wife and elderly dog. An alum of Pacific Lutheran University, he now splits his time between writing and helping various businesses and entities do what they do. The Lodestar is his first published novel.The LodestarAtmosphere Press, 2021

Jane P. Perry is a retired Researcher Teacher from UC Berkeley's Child Study Center. Since sheltering in place, Jane has interviewed with Paula Whitacre, appeared in Hidden Timber Books Small Press Author Reading Series, and has published in Persimmon Tree, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Women Writers, Women's Books and The Oaklandside.White Snake Diary: Exploring Self-InscribersAtmosphere Press, 2020

Heidi Turner is a writer and musician from Maui, Hawaii who writes in the in-between space of grace and disaster. She earned an MA in English from Azusa Pacific University and is now pursuing an MFA in Fiction from the University of New Hampshire.The Sacred Art of Trespassing BarefootHeritage Future, 2019

Stephanie Harper is the author of Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside (Propertius Press, 2020), as well as a poetry collection entitled Sermon Series (Finishing Line Press, 2017). She writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.Wesley Yorstead Goes OutsidePropertius Press, 2020

Nick Olson is an author and editor from Chicagoland now living in North Carolina. He was a finalist for Glimmer Train's Very Short Fiction Award, and he's been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, Hobart, decomP, and other fine places. His debut novel, Here's Waldo, is available now.Here's WaldoAtmosphere Press, 2020

Philip Brunetti has been writing fiction and poetry since his early 20s. His innovative work has been published in various literary journals including Cobalt, The Boiler, The Wax Paper, and Identity Theory. He lives in Brooklyn and currently works as a librarian. Newer Testaments is his first published novel.Newer TestamentsAtmosphere Press, 2020 

Susannah Rodríguez Drissi is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright, translator, and scholar. Her work has appeared in Publisher's Weekly, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Miami Herald, Nuevo Herald, Literal Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Latin Poet's Guide to the Cosmos (Floricanto Press, 2019) and the award-winning plays Houses Without Walls, Rey y Atenea, and Hola, Soledad. Her novel Until We're Fish published in October, 2020.Until We're FishPropertius Press, 2020

Eddy Boudel Tan is the author of two novels, After Elias (Fall 2020) and The Rebellious Tide (Summer 2021). His work depicts a world much like our own — the heroes are flawed, truth is distorted, and there is as much hope as there is heartbreak. ​After EliasDundurn, 2020

Janet Stilson lives in 2 worlds. On one hand, she is a journalist. On the other, she writes scripts, novels and short stories that largely fall in the grounded sci-fi and fantasy genres and illuminate the human condition in provocative ways. She lives in New York with her husband and two opinionated cats.The JuiceDragon Moon Press, 2021

Mimi Nicklin is a keynote speaker and empathetic leader. She's the author of a new book about empathetic influence, Softening the Edge: How Humanity's Oldest Leadership Trait Is Changing Our World. She has been featured on NBC, Forbes, and TechRepublic.Softening the EdgeThe DreamWork Collection, 2020

Lainey Cameron is a recovering tech industry executive. Her award-winning novel, The Exit Strategy, a #1 Amazon Best Seller, was inspired by a decade of being the only woman in the corporate boardroom. It's been called a "rallying call for women to believe in themselves and join together”.The Exit StrategyThe Wild Rose Press, 2020

Suman Mallick's debut novel, The Black-Marketer's Daughter, was shortlisted for the Disquiet Open Borders Book Prize. Mallick serves as Assistant Managing Editor of the literary magazine, Under the Gum Tree. He received his MFA from Portland State University. He lives in Texas with his beloved daughter and dog.The Black-Marketer's DaughterAtmosphere Press, 2020

Joost Douma studied classical Latin and Greek in high school and history and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He is the founder of the Dutch National Science Center, NeMo, in Amsterdam. His extensive research for Betrayal of a Republic was conducted over a nine-year period, at relevant sites including Spain, Italy, and Turkey.Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman MatronaHistria Books, 2020

Thomas Bazar is the author of the novel, An Expectation of Plenty, recently published by Atmosphere Press and the plays Momo & Toto and Maximus O.; recently staged by A Band of Actors (A Band of Actors). His recent poems have been published by Lucky Jefferson.An Expectation of PlentyAtmosphere Press, 2020

Kristina Moriconi is a poet, essayist, and visual artist whose work has appeared in Brevity, Cobalt Review, Lumina, Literary Mama, and elsewhere. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two dogs. Her book, In the Cloakroom of Proper Musings: A Lyric Narrative, was published in August 2020.In the Cloakroom of Proper Musings: A Lyric NarrativeAtmosphere Press, 2020

Rhiannon Garrard is a criminology and policing student who broke out into literature with a paranormal murder mystery. Her books combine her favourite things in life: martial arts, policing and fantastical horror. Rhiannon is a huge fan of Gothic and sci-fi horror books, with horror classics like Frankenstein and Lovecraft's stories being a large influence on her work. She is currently a student with a side job as a special constable with Essex police.Vanity: Murder In The Name Of SinAtmosphere Press, 2020

Christina Chiu is the winner of the James Alan McPherson Award for her novel Beauty. She is also author of Troublemaker and Other Saints, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.  Troublemaker was a nominee for a BOMC Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and winner of the Asian American Literary Award. Chiu has published in Tin House, The New Guard, Washington Square, The MacGuffin, Charlie Chan is Dead 2, Not the Only One, Washington Square, and has won literary prizes from Playboy, New Stone Circle, El Dorado Writers' Guild, World Wide Writers. Chiu hosts the virtual Let's Talk Books Author Series and curates and co-hosts the Pen Parentis Literary Salon in NYC. She is a founding member of the Asian American Writers' Workshop. Christina is also a shoe designer. She received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University.Beauty2040 Books/Santa Fe Writers Group, 2020

Tucker Lieberman has published three nonfiction books. His essays are in two anthologies recognized by Lambda Literary, and his poetry chapbook based on the Epic of Gilgamesh was a finalist in Grayson Books' 2020 contest. He is originally from the United States and now lives in Bogotá, Colombia.Ten Past Noon: Focus and Fate at FortyGlyph Torrent, 2020

Jeremy Kitchen is known as Chicago's Punk Rock Librarian, and he really is a librarian and a writer. His most recent publication is a short story in the upcoming collection "Echoes of a Natural World: Tales of the Strange and Estranged" Edited by Michael Daley. He's also co-host of the Eye 94 Podcast.Echoes of a Natural WorldFirst to Knock, 2020

R. Conrad Speer, a Canadian author, lives in Saskatchewan.  His new collection of fiction, ‘Saint Lazarus Day and other stories', was published in 2020 by Atmosphere Press.  He holds a postgraduate certificate in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh.Saint Lazarus Day and Other StoriesAtmosphere Press, 2020

As a writer and educator, Kelsey Freeman focuses on Indigenous rights, immigration policy, social justice, and public policy. In 2016, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English and study migration in central Mexico. She is the author of No Option but North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border, which is based on her year of interviewing Central American migrants as they journeyed through Mexico. She currently works at Central Oregon Community College, where she runs a college-readiness program for Native American high school students. Kelsey holds a BA in Government and Legal Studies with high honors from Bowdoin College.* * *No Option but North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the BorderIG Publishing, 2020

Ann Dávila Cardinal is a novelist and Director of Student Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) where she also earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including poets Virgilio & Jose Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning author Tere Dávila. Five Midnights was her first solo novel.* * *Category FiveTor Teen, 2020

Lauren Shippen is the author of The Infinite Noise, and the creator and sole writer of the popular audio drama, The Bright Sessions. She also wrote MARVELS, an audio adaptation of the popular comic, released in 2019 by Marvel and Stitcher. MovieMaker Magazine and Austin Film Festival named Shippen one of 25 Screenwriters to Watch. She was born in New York City, and grew up in Bronxville, New York. Currently she resides in Los Angeles.* * *A Neon DarknessTor Teen, 2020

This Vietnam-era Marine solo paddled 3,500 miles of Canada's wilderness before discovering it was never the hows that would be difficult to write about; it was those troubling whys.* * *ZHIMON, A Solitary AdventurePronghorn Press, 2019

Sara B. Larson is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the YA fantasy Defy trilogy and the Dark Breaks the Dawn duology. She can't remember a time when she didn't write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, their four children, and their Maltese, Loki.* * *Warriors of Wing and FlameTor Teen, 2020