B.J. Hollars is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He is the author of Thirteen Loops: Race, Violence and the Last Lynching in America (University of Alabama Press, 2011) and the editor of You Must Be This Tall To Ride (Writer’s Digest Books, 2009), Monsters: A Collection of Literary Sightings (Pressgang, 2012) and Blurring the Boundaries: Explorations to the Fringes of Nonfiction (University of Nebraska Press, 2012).
Website: http://bjhollars.com
Brian Oliu is originally from New Jersey and currently lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His work is anthologized in Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2 (Norton), Metawritings: Toward a Theory of Nonfiction (University of Iowa Press), and Blurring the Boundaries: Explorations to the Fringes of Nonfiction (University of Nebraska Press). ‘So You Know It’s Me’, a series of Tuscaloosa Craigslist Missed Connections, was released in 2011 by Tiny Hardcore Press.
Website: http://www.brianoliu.com/
Chad Simpson is Origami Zoo’s first author. His stories have appeared in many magazines and journals, including McSweeney’s Quarterly, Esquire, Orion, and The Sun. He lives in Monmouth, Illinois, and teaches fiction writing and literature classes at Knox College.
Website: http://sadchimpson.com
Anne Valente‘s fiction appears or is forthcoming in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Ninth Letter, Copper Nickel and Redivider, among other journals. Her short story collection, By Light We Knew Our Names, is forthcoming from Dzanc Books. Originally from St. Louis, she currently lives in Salt Lake City.
Website: http://www.annevalente.com/
Laura van den Berg was raised in Florida and earned her M.F.A. at Emerson College. Her stories have appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008, Best New American Voices 2010, and The Pushcart Prize XXIV. Her first collection of stories, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (Dzanc Books, 2009), was a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection and shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Award. Laura currently lives in Baltimore.
Website: http://www.lauravandenberg.com/