Author interviews

Janet Burroway is the author of poems, plays, essays, children’s books, a memoir, and nine novels, including The Buzzards, Raw Silk, Opening Nights, Cutting Stone (all Notable Books of NYTBR), and Simone in Pieces, due out November 2025. Her Writing Fiction, the most widely used creative writing text in America, is now in a tenth edition, her four-genre text Imaginative Writing in its fifth. Her plays have been produced and read in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London.

Hope Pecord is a 17-year-old poet whose work is deeply rooted in personal experience and emotional truth. She began writing seriously in eighth grade and uses poetry as a way to explore stigma, healing, and identity. A dancer for 12 years, Hope found her voice in writing after stepping away from the art form due to its toxic environment. Since then, poetry has become a powerful outlet and a reclaiming of self. Encouraged by family, friends, and teachers, she is now sharing her work with the world.

H. R. Reid is a 21-year-old writer from Bradford, studying English Literature at Newcastle University. She writes creatively under authors Max Adams, Lars Iyer, Alex Pheby and Jacob Polley, and also works as a freelance editor. She writes poetry, script, and prose. She lives with long-term health conditions including ASD, ADHD, PMDD, and Endometriosis.

I was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, attended Penn State University, where I majored in rugby, beer, and coeds, and miraculously graduated with a B.A. degree in journalism in 1976. In 1991, I earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. I’ve now been writing professionally for more than 40 years, primarily as an award-winning journalist. Since 1999, I’ve owned and operated the freelance writing service SuperWriter, Inc. My work has appeared in both regional and national publications, including AARP, Life Extension, Boca Magazine, and The National Enquirer.

A native of southern California, Gary graduated from Duke University, Florida Atlantic University and the Naval War College. He first embarked on a career teaching Political Science, and then served as an intelligence analyst with the National Security Agency for thirty years, serving in various capacities at home and abroad. After retiring, Gary moved to central Florida, where he enjoys writing, golf, and swimming and lives with his wife, Tracy. He has combined his lifelong interest in genealogy and Civil War history in The Broken Fife, a historical novel loosely based on the life of his paternal great-grandfather, Junius Hart.

Gail received her BA in history from Brigham Young University and her MLIS from Syracuse University. Now a retired librarian, Gail and her husband, Richard, reside in Boise, Idaho, with their Anatolian Shepherd, Loki. When not writing her Gallagher Girls mysteries, Gail tends her medicinal herb garden, does landscape and portrait painting, and traces her family history.

Florence Nnolum is a passionate writer and educator with a deep interest in life, spirituality, and human connection. With a background in English and Literary Studies, Florence has taught both children and adults, bringing empathy and insight into her work. The Re-incarnation is her debut book, offering readers a thoughtful exploration of life, death, and the mysteries that connect us all.

My documentary Carisbrooke Castle was broadcast on SKY TV. Three of my other fourteen travel films were shown on Australian television. I have written three children's stories, three staged plays, scenic travel features, theatre reviews, award-winning poetry, personality profiles and three novels—and I teach. I gave workshops alongside Sir Andrew Motion at the Tennyson Bicentenary and have taught for Screen South, Connexions, Isle of Wight College, independently, and with young people with learning difficulties.

Eleanor Keisman’s short stories, essays, and poetry have appeared in Litro Magazine, The Bangalore Review, Tough Crime, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, and The Wild Umbrella, as well as adapted for "The Other Stories" podcast. After earning her BA in Liberal Arts from The New School, Eleanor left the US and spent over a decade living and working as an English teacher in Czechia, Poland, and China. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Drexel University and co-organizes an English-language writing group in Vienna, where she lives. New Animal is her first novel, and was shortlisted for Broken Tribe Press' MFA Award.

Atmosphere Press was an ideal fit for me. I have gone the traditional publishing route and found that process unnecessarily complex. Atmosphere Press provides everything I need to publish quality stories in a way that allows me to focus on my writing.