Featured Writers: Anne Heltzel, John Langan, and Peter Vinogradov with excerpts from works in progress by Jan Alexander, Toby Barna, and Kevin Freeman.
Anne Heltzel began her publishing career in 2007 while working toward her MFA, which she earned from The New School. She is currently an editorial director at Abrams Books in NYC and has written or ghostwritten more than a dozen books for children, teens, and adults. Anne lives in Saugerties with her husband and their two dogs. Find out more at anneheltzel.com.
John Langan is the author of two novels and five collections of stories. He is a recipient of the Bram Stoker and This Is Horror awards, and is one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson award. John lives in the Mid-Hudson Valley with his family, human and animal. (He is sure there is a bear just outside his window.)
Peter Vinogradov has lived and worked in Saugerties since the iPhone 5. He writes for a living (usually software, sometimes fantasy novels). He once had a great sense of humor and a thick head of hair. Recently he hosted and performed for the (sold out) standup comedy show at Orpheum.
Jan Alexander is the author of the novel Ms. Ming’s Guide to Civilization (Regal House Publishing), a Leap Frog Fiction Prize semi-finalist. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica magazine, 34th Parallel, Neworld Review, and Everyday Fiction. Her flash fiction stories have received honorable mentions from Flash Fiction magazine and the spring 2021 Women on Writing contest, as well as a Pushcart Prize nomination
Toby Roxane Barna is an editor for McGraw Hill Education and is working on several of her own creative writing projects. She has a BA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College and has written two books of knitting patterns: Design Doubles (Stackpole Books, 2018) and Easy Knits for Beautiful Yarns (Stackpole Books, 2021).
Kevin Freeman lives in Saugerties and works as a baker at the Hudson Valley Dessert Company when he isn't politically agitating, gardening or playing volleyball. Although he has published personal essays to his name, he is drawn to Science Fiction and has been trying to finish a novel for too many years.