Apex Book Company

A young writer and editor from Appalachia Kentucky, Jason has seen his fiction appear in nearly two dozen books and magazines. He’s a prolific non-fiction writer, having dozens of essays, reviews, and editorials published in print and on the web on varied subjects such as gaming, geek culture, and politics. He earned his college degree from Transylvania University, making him an ideal candidate to head a horror magazine. He was a 2006 Stoker Award nominee for his work on the Aegri Somnia anthology.

In 2007, he published his first chapbook (under the newly formed APEX BOOKS division of Apex Publications) titled Webs of Discord. He appears in Writers Workshop of Horror and has a collection of Appalachian horror titled Irredeemable from Shroud Publications coming out in the spring of 2010. Jason invites you to visit his personal webspace at http://www.jason-sizemore.com.

Gill hails from Britain, known for infusing her writing with clever and sassy ‘royal’ turns of phrase. Her writing has won several fiction awards and she has seen a number of her scientific papers published in respected research journals throughout the world (notably in pharmacology). Gill was a 2006 Stoker Award nominee for her work on the Aegri Somnia anthology. She has a second anthology titled Gratia Placenti that she is producing with co-editor Jason Sizemore.

Deb is a writer and editor whose work explores the shadowy side of human nature and the alien in the everyday. An editor for a trade magazine by day, by moonlight she becomes Queen of the Books at Apex. She is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop, and edits for them when she’s not sculpting, lighting dance shows, or playing with power tools. Her fiction has seen the dark of day in Apex Digest, Shadowed Realms, and various live readings; she rarely confesses the locations of her nonfiction. Every once in a great while she updates her blog at http://debtaber.livejournal.com. Mostly, she lurks in the Pacific Northwest.

Mari Adkins grew up in the foothills of southeastern Kentucky. Her poetry and other writing has appeared in the e-zine “Whispers of a Stone Circle”, Aegri Somnia, the e-zines associated with the defunct 3Sides Literary Agency, and in “Apex Online.” Mari is a member of the Toasted Cheese online writing community. You can visit her website and blog at http://mariadkins.com.

This Incredible Whirlwind of Beauty and Dynamite’s first in-print publication appeared in Apex Digest Issue #3. Since then she has gone on to publish a major picture book ( AlphaOops: The Day Z Went First), co-edit a critically-acclaimed all-star benefit anthology (Elemental: New Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and be hand-picked to pen the official Compendium for Sherrilyn Kenyon’s bestselling Dark-Hunter universe. Her short fiction has been published in Realms of Fantasy and Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Alethea works as a buyer for Ingram Book Company and an editor for Solaris Books in the UK. She continues to bring her in-depth knowledge of both the horror and science fiction genres to Apex and serve it out in the form of engaging interviews and whimsical and entertaining informal essays. Check out Alethea’s own plans for global domination at her website: http://www.aletheakontis.com

Justin publishes the popular webcomic Popped Culture where he eviscerates anything related to pop culture. Nothing is sacred. Especially not the Burger King or Scott Baio. He is a professional graphic designer and is the artistic vision behind the Apex brand. An active member of the independent comics movement, he commonly works with noted comic writers as Jim Lujan and Scott Hinze. Not just an artist, he will also take pen to paper and write the occasional review or opinion piece for Apex. In 2007, Justin was nominated for a Chesley Award for his unique vision and art direction he’s given Apex Digest. Visit PoppedCulture.net to read Justin’s excellent webcomic and to see more of his unique style of art.

Emily is a copyeditor and writer from Southern California; she brings to her work both an unhealthy level of interest in grammar and a love for science fiction. While working behind the scenes for various trade and academic presses, she also co-authors a savage, erratic review blog at http://community.livejournal.com/pleasedonot. Emily is one of the shoemaker’s elves at Apex, tinkering quietly at night and vanishing when seen. She is currently copyediting a business title for a major fast food chain and writing about pulp.

Born and raised in the dark woods and twisted apple orchards of New Hampshire, Maggie is a recent summa cum laude graduate of SUNY Albany with a double major in English and Asian Studies. She brings a bit of fresh blood to Apex from her experiences interning both in the marketing department of Tyco Electronics, and in the IT and marketing departments of SUNY Press. Her writing, both fiction and non-fiction, has been published in a number of small venues, and she has a short story coming out in the upcoming Fantastical Visions IV anthology.

Jennifer Brozek, the creator and co-editor of the Grants Pass anthology (Aug 2009, Morrigan Books), is a freelance author for many RPG companies including Margaret Weis Productions, Rogue Games and Catalyst Game Labs. Her contributions to RPG sourcebooks include Dragonlance, Castlemourn, Colonial Gothic, Shadowrun and Serenity. She has also co-authored three books including Dragonvarld Adventures with Margaret Weis. She is published in several anthologies, is the creator and editor of the semiprozine, The Edge of Propinquity, and is a submissions editor for the Apex Book Company. When she is not writing her heart out, she is gallivanting around the Pacific Northwest in its wonderfully mercurial weather.

In 1984, a layoff ended Lester Smith’s eight-year career as a sheet-metal worker–he’d been looking for something else to do anyway. A stint in the Illinois National Guard led to Licensed Practical Nurse school―which in turn led to college, a degree in English, a minor in Spanish, and an undying love for British Romantic period poetry, especially the darker bits. In 1987, a professional-practice gig turned to a full-time position at Game Designers’ Workshop, where he wrote the Dark Conspiracy horror role-playing game. In 1991, he moved to Wisconsin to work for TSR, where he designed the Origins-award-winning Dragon Dice. Since 1998, Les has been employed as a writer and technologist for Sebranek Inc., an educational design house. In his spare time, he is president of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and sporadic publisher of Popcorn Press. Les describes his personal blog (www.LesterSmith.com) as a “convergence of poetry, game design, and Web tech,” believing that all three produce magic through formalism.

A purveyor of fantasy and science fiction, Zakarya somehow still finds to juggle two teaching jobs, study English Literature and Creative Writing full time, and be everybody’s favorite person.

Zakarya has been published in several small press venues in both the short prose and comic book formats, and is currently helping to create the not-for-profit Seven Earths e-journal for black and ethnic minority writers.

His very few and far between thoughts and musings can be found at zanwar.livejournal.com.

Weened on horror films and bred to grammatical obsession, McKenzie frequently finds herself more than slightly frustrated with the stupidity of the world. She is fascinated by the worlds that exist on paper and in minds only. Latin, medieval studies, and English are her favorite subjects. She enjoys listening to Celtic music, oldies, and symphonic metal (her musical tastes are more unusual than that though) and her favorite authors are Mercedes Lackey and Lynn Flewelling. She is currently working on writing two fantasy novels set in a world of her own design. She also writes poetry, paints, and debates philosophy and logic with friends and family. She hopes to publish a novel before gray hair and wrinkles take over her body and begin deleting information from her brain.

Submissions Editor Martel Sardina

The only thing Martel Sardina loves more than writing fiction is reading it. Her passion for stories and storytellers have taken her on journeys to places she never dreamed she’d go. In addition to writing, Martel is a Contributing Editor for Dark Scribe Magazine, the hostess of the World Horror Convention’s Reading Café, and the co-editor of the Hell in the Heartland anthology (Dec 2007, Annihilation Press.) She spends her spare time in bookstores and libraries shilling her favorite authors’ works. Martel is a member of the Horror Writers Association. Visit her online at www.martelsardina.com.