Portland Noir

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

CHRIS A. BOLTON writes the webcomic SMASH (www.SmashComic.com), which he cocreated with his artist brother Kyle. He created, wrote, and directed the webseries “Wage Slaves” (www.myspace.com/wageslaveseries). He lives in Portland, where he works for an online bookseller of certain renown.

BILL CAMERON is the author of Lost Dog and Chasing Smoke, both Portland-based mysteries. His stories have appeared in Spinetingler Magazine, the Dunes Review, and in the anthology Killer Year, edited by Lee Child. Lost Dog was a finalist for the 2008 Rocky Award and the 2008 Spotted Owl Award. Cameron lives in Portland, where he is currently writing his third novel.

DAN DEWEESE’S stories have appeared in various journals, including Tin House, New England Review, Washington Square, and Pindeldyboz. The recipient of an Oregon Literary Fellowship and twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, he serves as coordinator of the Writing Center at Portland State University.

MONICA DRAKE is the author of the novel Clown Girl. Her short stories and essays have been published in the Northwest Review, Three Penny Review, Nerve.com, and other places. She teaches writing at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and has lived in Oregon since Lewis and Clark made their big trip west, more or less.

ARIEL GORE is the author of seven books, including Atlas of the Human Heart, The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show, and How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead. For more information, visit arielgore.com.

JUSTIN HOCKING lives in Portland and is Executive Director of the Independent Publishing Resource Center (www.iprc.org). His fiction and articles have appeared in Open City, Foulweather, Thrasher Magazine, Transworld Snowboarding, Concrete Wave Magazine, Travel Oregon, and the Nieve Roja Review. He coedited the best-selling anthology Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End, and is currently at work on a memoir about surfing in New York City.

JOËLLE JONES is the Russ Manning Award-nominated artist of Token, a young adult graphic novel written by Alisa Kwitney. She has collaborated with author Jamie S. Rich on numerous short stories and two full comics projects-the romantic puzzler 12 Reasons Why I Love Her and the hardboiled crime tale You Have Killed Me-in addition to their story in this volume.

KAREN KARBO is the author of How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great. Her three novels have all been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year; The Stuff of Life, her memoir about her father, was a People Magazine Critic’s Pick and winner of the Oregon Book Award. Her many essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in Outside, Elle, Vogue, Esquire, Redbook, More, Self, Sports Illustrated for Women, Entertainment Weekly, the New Republic, the New York Times, and Salon.com.

MEGAN KRUSE is a fiction and nonfiction writer based out of Portland. Her work has appeared in Oyez Review, Bellingham Review, Fiddlehead, Oregon Literary Review, Phoebe, Gertrude, and the first volume of Vespertine Press. Kruse has been the recipient of residency grants from the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center in Nebraska and the Ragdale Foundation of Illinois, as well as an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship.

GIGI LITTLE is the author/illustrator of two decidedly un-noir children’s picture books, Wright Vs. Wrong! and The Magical Trunk (both published under the name Gigi Tegge). She spent fifteen years in the circus as a professional clown and a lighting director, and she can spin a mean lasso. Now living in Northwest Portland, she’s a longtime member of Tom Spanbauer’s Dangerous Writing community and is currently working on a novel.

LUCIANA LOPEZ is the pop music critic at the Oregonian in Portland. She has lived in Japan and Brazil, and speaks mediocre Japanese and decent Portuguese. Her writing has appeared in several journals and anthologies.

JAMIE S. RICH, in addition to his graphic collaborations with Joëlle Jones, is the author of several novels, including The Everlasting and Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? (featuring a cover by Jones). His other comics work includes the series Love the Way You Love and Lying Down. Rich posts his words online at confessions123.com.

KEVIN SAMPSELL is a small press publisher and bookstore employee living in Portland. His writing has appeared widely in newspapers, websites, and literary journals. He is the editor of The Insomniac Reader and the author of Beautiful Blemish, Creamy Bullets, and the forthcoming memoir, The Suitcase.

JONATHAN SELWOOD is the author of the dark comedy The Pinball Theory of Apocalypse. Like all native Oregonians, Sel-wood was born in California. He enjoys talking very loudly when intoxicated, composting kitchen scraps, excessively rolling his Rs when ordering burrrrrritos… using ellipses…

FLOYD SKLOOT has published fifteen books, most recently the memoir The Wink of the Zenith: The Shaping of a Writer’s Life, the poetry collection The Snow’s Music, and the novel Patient 002. His awards include three Pushcart Prizes and a PEN USA Literary Award; his work has appeared in The Best American Essays, The Best American Science Writing, The Best Food Writing, and The Best Spiritual Writing.

ZOE TROPE, Portland’s own pseudonymous, fat, queer redhead, was born in 1986. Her high school memoir of suburban love and loathing, Please Don’t Kill the Freshman, was published when she was seventeen years old. Since then, her writing has appeared in many newspapers, magazines, and anthologies, including Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday and Northwest Edge III: The End of Reality. She lives, works, drinks, bakes, bikes, and writes in Portland.

JESS WALTER is the author of five books, including The Zero, a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award in fiction and Citizen Vince, winner of the 2005 Edgar Award for best novel. He has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the ITW Thriller Award, and the PEN USA Literary Award in both fiction and nonfiction. His books have been New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR “Best Books of the Year” and have been published in eighteen languages.

KIMBERLY WARNER-COHEN is a Portland transplant and the author of Sex, Blood and Rock ’n’ Roll. She is currently working on her next novel.