Tim Poland grew up in Ohio and now lives and works in the New River Valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia. He is the author of Escapee (America House, 2001), a collection of short fiction. His fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in various literary journals, such as The North American Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, Literal Latte, Appalachian Heritage, Rattle, Main Street Rag, Sow's Ear Poetry Review, The Furnace Review,and others. He is the recipient of a Plattner/Appalachian Heritage Award (2002), a Best of the Net Award (2007), and his work has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He is a professor of English at Radford University in Radford, Virginia.