Born and raised in Tripoli-Lebanon, Omar El Abed has experienced his fair share of bloodshed and loss. Despite being a civil engineer who has worked on several projects including the improvement of the transportation plan in Tripoli, he couldn’t let go of his passion for books. As the years went by, he started writing to feed his obsession, and soon enough, he wrote his first book - THE HOLLOW AND THE SAINT, inspired by the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. Omar loves dark psychological novels and stories with a meaningful, strong plots and convincing characters.
Ladderbird represents Omar's work THE HOLLOW AND THE SAINT.
Ladderbird represents Omar's work THE HOLLOW AND THE SAINT.
Gregory Adams is from Hingham, Massachusetts, and many of his stories are set in the New England towns and cities that he knows so well. He graduated from Massachusetts College of Art Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) with a degree in Media and Performing Arts. His stories have appeared in many small press publications and two anthologies: ONE DAY IN HELL and THE RIVER ABOVE. In writing his stories, Gregory seeks to achieve the unsettling ambiance and the nerve-rattling tension of traditional horror, along with the satirical touches and humor. Ladderbird is representing his horror novella BLACK HOLE SLIDE.
Ely Azure, a native Floridian and United States Air Force veteran, has been conjuring imaginative tales since she was 11 years old. Her fiction has been shortlisted and longlisted in several writing competitions. Her short fiction has been published in Ragazine's Art & Entertainment magazine and her poetry has appeared in Z Publishing’s Best Emerging Poets Anthology as well as the Cypress Dome literary magazine. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California, Riverside. Professionally, she has volunteered as a poetry reader for The Whistling Fire, worked as a journalist for the military news publication Goodfellow Monitor and as a staff writer for the Teen Wrap section of The Florida Times-Union newspaper.
M Shelly Conner, PhD is a multi-genre writer and an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas. Her work has been published, produced and/or screened at: Second City Chicago, Outfest, Playboy Magazine, AfterEllen, The Root and several print anthologies. Shelly is the creator of Quare Life Web Series (http://quarelifetv.com) and the dapper queer culture website www.dappervista.com.
Ladderbird is representing her novel "everyman".
Ladderbird is representing her novel "everyman".
Nate Chang is a genderqueer author and professor of English currently living south of Seattle, Washington. Their work has appeared in The Pitkin Review Literary Magazine, Paper Tape, and Soul’s Road: a Fiction Collection . They enjoy musty old books, weird comics nobody has ever heard of, and model tanks.
Ladderbird is representing their literary fiction THERE ARE NO BUTTERFLIES IN SOUTHPORT.
Delisa Gross was raised in Texas where winter is the season for shorts and tacos are served on every corner. She attended Texas Christian University where she became passionate about writing and education. Inspired by the lack of diversity in young adult fiction, she wanted to create stories that represented people from different backgrounds. To her, a good story not only holds words but a sense of hope.
Ladderbird is representing her YA fantasy novel ASH TO ARSON.
Dawn Reno Langley, a Fulbright scholar with an MFA in Fiction and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, lives and writes in Durham, North Carolina. Passionate about social justice issues since her first article was published (when she was 9 years old), she has over 500 articles published in regional, national, and international publications; has published award-winning essays, short stories, and poetry; has published novels such as THE MOURNING PARADE, nonfiction books, and children’s books; is a theater and music critic in the Triangle area; and she has presented a TEDx talk on “How Creatives Will Save the World.”
Caroline Lear was born in Washington DC and raised in Alexandria, VA. After discovering a heart defect when she was three years old, she spent her childhood in and out of hospitals, finding endless comfort in stories. To her, books were magic, and helped her to heal every time she got sick. She decided she wanted to be a writer by the time she was seven years old, and was stubborn enough not to give up on her dream. Now at twenty-two years old, she’s healthy and thriving, still chasing the magic of storytelling and still too stubborn to quit.
Ladderbird represents her YA fantasy novel THE KINGDOM BELOW.
Ladderbird represents her YA fantasy novel THE KINGDOM BELOW.
Cody Luff is a native of Montana who managed to escape and is now hiding out in Oregon. He has won several awards including: Fiction Winner of the Montana Book Festival’s Regional Emerging Writer’s Contest 2016, finalist for the Prime Number Magazine Award for Short Fiction, the CutBank chapbook contest, the Iron Horse Literary Review Single-Author Issue Competition, and honorable mention for the Bear Deluxe Magazine Doug Fir Fiction Award. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, and his stories have appeared in Pilgrimage, Cirque, KYSO Flash, and other publications. His story “Horticulture" was a notable story for the 2014 storySouth Million Writers Award.
Ladderbird is representing his short story collection TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FIRE and his novel RATION.
Ladderbird is representing his short story collection TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FIRE and his novel RATION.
Nneka M. Okona, a travel and food writer, is from Atlanta, Georgia, by way of Stone Mountain. Nneka began her writing career in newspapers and since then has transitioned for writing for both magazines and digital publications. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Food & Wine, SAVEUR, Food52, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dallas Morning News, Lithub and many more.
Ladderbird is representing her travel memoir BLACK-EYED PEAS AND PAELLA.
Brian Reeves is a writer and teacher based in Vancouver, WA. His short stories have been published in Spark: A Creative Anthology and Sand Hill Review, and his self-published novel, A CHANT LOVE AND LAMENTATION, A was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
Ladderbird is representing Brian's crime novel SUN DOGS.
tammy lynne stoner’s work has been selected for more than a dozen anthologies and journals. Her first novel, SUGAR LAND from Red Hen Press has been met with rave reviews. She’s been nominated for a Million Writers Award, offered an SLS fellowship to Kenya, and earned her MFA from Antioch University. Stemming from what her grandmother calls her “gypsy blood”, tammy has lived in 15 cities, working as a biscuit maker, a medical experimentee, a gas station attendant, and a college instructor, among other odd jobs. She’s also the Publisher of Gertrude journal and wrangler for GERTIE, a queer book club.
Ladderbird is representing her collection, GRENADINE KISSES AT MIDNIGHT, and her cross-genre novel, THE CYCLE OF SALT (book one in a series).
Ladderbird is representing her collection, GRENADINE KISSES AT MIDNIGHT, and her cross-genre novel, THE CYCLE OF SALT (book one in a series).
Dan Raburn lives in the Appalachian foothills of north Alabama and has been an English teacher and vocational training specialist while honing his writing skills. He began writing at the age of ten and published his first short story at seventeen. Early success whetted a lifelong passion for storytelling, and he now writes genre-bending books he hopes will make a difference. His interest in the sufferings of “natural” man in an industrial and global society generates fast-paced thrillers with literary underpinnings. Published work includes BLOOD BOUNTY from Zebra Books and short stories in Far West Magazine.
Ladderbird is representing several of Dan's thrillers including WALKING ON BRIMSTONE, YESTERMAN, and COLORS OF MIDNIGHT.
Ladderbird is representing several of Dan's thrillers including WALKING ON BRIMSTONE, YESTERMAN, and COLORS OF MIDNIGHT.
Mark Troy’s first novel, PILIKIA IS MY BUSINESS, was nominated for a Shamus Award, Best First Private Eye Novel, by the Private Eye Writers of America. His novel, THE SPLINTERED PADDLE, was deemed “Hawaiian noir at its best.” From Kirkus Review: “It reveals the dark underbelly of Hawai’i and builds tension right up to the explosive conclusion.” Mark’s short stories have appeared in magazines and ezines such as Spinetingler, Plots With Guns, and The Thrilling Detective. His story “Teed Off” was accorded an honorable mention by Otto Penzler and James Ellroy, editors of Best American Mystery Stories, 2002. Mark is a member of Brazos Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Private Eye Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, The Short Mystery Fiction Society, International Thriller Writers, and Texas Association of Authors. Mark has been a panelist at various mystery conventions. Most recently he appeared on two panels at Left Coast Crime 2017.
Ladderbird is representing his crime thriller QUESTIONS OF LOYALTY.
Ladderbird is representing his crime thriller QUESTIONS OF LOYALTY.
J.N. Wells is an artist who received training at the University of Illinois and at the world-renown Yale Summer Cabaret, home to Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro, among many others. Originally from Chicago, J.N. has lived and worked in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and he currently resides in the suburbs of Chicago. As an avid reader of YA Sci-fi, J.N. has two loves: books and coffee.
Ladderbird is representing his YA Sci-fi novel TIANNA - HUMANITY'S LAST HOPE.
Catherine Adel West was born and raised in Chicago, IL where she currently resides. She graduated with both her Bachelors and Masters of Science in Journalism from the University of Illinois - Urbana. Catherine counts Oscar Wilde, Octavia Butler, Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin among her many literary heroes. Her work is published in Black Fox Literary Magazine, Five2One, Better than Starbucks, Doors Ajar, 805 Lit + Art, The Helix Magazine and Lunch Ticket. In between writing and traveling, Catherine works as an editor.
Ladderbird is representing her novel POTTER'S WHEEL.
Ladderbird is representing her novel POTTER'S WHEEL.
Jamie Yourdon, a freelance editor and technical expert, received his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. His short fiction has appeared in the Alaska Quarterly Review, Underneath the Juniper Tree, and Chicago Literati, and he has contributed essays and interviews to Booktrib. Froelich's Ladder (Forest Avenue, August 2016) is his debut novel. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Ladderbird represents his cross-genre, Sumerian novel MITU.