Jess Simms is the author of the flash fiction chapbook Cryptid Bits (Last Picked Books, 2024) and the managing editor of After Happy Hour Review. They earned their MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University in 2012 and later that year they joined the Rahnd Table workshop group, which they've been a member of since. In 2022, they co-founded Scribble House with fellow Rahnd Table member Liz Abeling, with the goal of connecting writers in western Pennsylvania with knowledge, resources, and support.

In 2023, their micro-chapbook Shapeshifter Diaries was published as part of Rinky Dink Press' 10th series. Their short fiction has also appeared in more than 20 other journals and anthologies (some of which you can read further down the page if you're curious). Among their favorite things to nerd out about are mythology and languages, and they've tried their hand at creating both to varying levels of success. Cooking and gardening are foremost among their more normal areas of interest. They are mildly addicted to traveling, taking advantage of their digital nomad powers to meander around the world whenever possible, and are particularly drawn to ancient sites and ruins. They are also a life-long SFF geek, weaned first on stories like Animorphs, Redwall, and Goosebumps, then finding early influences in the Dune Series, the Wheel of Time, Star Trek, Star Wars, and novels by Anne Rice and Stephen King. They live with four cats and two humans in an old house in Pittsburgh, where they work as a freelance writer and editor.

Recent clips:

• The Creepy Appalachian Cryptid You've Probably Never Heard Of (Mental Floss, December 2024)
• El Rumbo de la Muerte (Gamut Magazine, October 2024)
• Appalachia's Ugliest Cryptid Drowns In Its Own Tears (Atlas Obscura, October 2024)
• The Reality of Housing Affordability in Pittsburgh (Allegheny Independent Media, October 2024)
• 3 Avoidable Submission Mistakes that Sabotage Your Acceptance Odds (Authors Publish, August 2024)
• Meet the Local Writers Driving Pittsburgh's Literary Publishing Renaissance (Pittsburgh City Paper, May 2024)