.M. VESPER writes speculative tales and poetry from Phoenix. Though new to publishing, his work has already earned a Pushcart Prize nomination for "The Second Death of Wallace Porter" and a Shirley Jackson Award nomination for "Glass Eyes." His writing appears in Variant Literature, Intrepidus Ink, Not One of Us, and elsewhere. His poetry was recently shortlisted for Chestnut Review's Summer 2025 Issue.

Behind the fiction: a high school English teacher who's taught across three states, briefly escaped to Special Collections librarianship, then returned to the classroom. He holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Teaching.

Weekends mean desert hikes with his wife and two dogs, losing hours to video games, or rooting for his team come football season. Through it all, books remain the constant.