Paul Counelis, Contributor, is a freelance writer from Michigan. He writes for many publications and sites about a variety of topics, including Rue Morgue magazine (Monster Kid Corner), Flint Comix and Entertainment and also writes for Michigan’s Halloween paper Fear Finder. He is a movie reviewer for multiple websites, and the editor of the seasonal magazine Halloween Machine.
Connor Coyne, Editor, has published two novels, Shattering Glass and Hungry Rats. His work has also been published in Santa Clara Review, Moria Poetry Zine, East Village Magazine, the Flint Broadside, the Moomers Journal of Moomers Studies, and Qua. Coyne is a cofounder of the Gothic Funk Nation and director of the Gothic Funk Press.
Nic Custer, Contributor, is a poet, playwright, journalist and native of Flint, Michigan. His work has been published in Qua, the Offbeat and Red Fez. Custer’s “Rustbelt Noir” poetry has been rejected by such notable publications as Poetry Magazine, PANK, Washington Square, the Cleveland Review, Devil’s Lake, Muzzle Magazine, North American Review, Passages North, Great Lakes Review, Midwestern Gothic, AGNI, and many others.
Desiree Duell, Editor, is a Flint native, community artist, sculptor, and non-profit consultant. She has worked on a variety of community art projects in Maine, Maryland, Wyoming, and Michigan.
Michael Evans Kelly, Contributor, was born and raised in Flint then attended Georgetown Preparatory School, University of Notre Dame and Wayne State University. He has long been active in a variety of civic and artistic organizations. He writes, travels, and tries to make sense of things.
ML Kennedy, Editor and Chicago-based writer and coffee drinker specializes in offbeat humor, violence and monsters. Tiny Toe Press published his debut novella, The Mosquito Song, in October of 2011. His next book, a short story collection called Thanksgiving for Werewolves and Other Monstrous Tales, is slated for release this summer.
Bob Mabbitt, Contributor, was born in Kalamazoo, raised in Grand Rapids, educated in Alma, and enlightened in Flint. A 10-year sense of urgency for activism lead him away from creative writing and into managing editor positions for Flint indie publications The Uncommon Sense and Broadside, among other crusades. Thanks to Mark’s Hat for rekindling an old urgency.
Sam Perkins-Harbin, Designer, is a graphic designer and freelance-for-hire in Chicago. His satisfied clients include Salamander Games, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, BBC Knowledge Magazine, Steampunk Chicago, the American Student Dental Association, and the SAVO Group. Perkins-Harbin is a cofounder of the Gothic Funk Nation and designer for the Gothic Funk Press.
Brittany Reed, Editor, is a Flint native, actor, poet, and performer. She has worked on recent projects with Flint Youth Theatre and Shop Floor Theatre.
Ruby Spademan, Contributor, is a high school student. She writes both fiction and poetry, and published her first novel, Stole My Heart, in 2012, when she was just thirteen years of age. She is also a singer/songwriter who has participated in the February Album Writing Month challenge at FAWM.org. She is currently working on her next novel, Symphony of Birds.
Reinhardt Suarez, Editor, is a Minneapolis-based writer, editor, musician, and teacher. He has been published in various strange places, under various strange names. He is also a lead singer for the storytelling band of musical misfits known as The Pork Chop Express. Most importantly, he is a teaching-artist at The Loft Literary Center, where his students consistently blow him away. Follow him at @ReinhardtPierre on Twitter and at www.theporkchopexpress.com.
Tom Sumner, Contributor and Flint native is a talk radio host, writer, and musician with three books of humorous essays called All I Wanted Was A Haircut, A Little Off The Top, and Just Part It In The Middle. You can find Tom’s books at Pages Bookstore in downtown Flint. Look for Tom on Facebook.
Jan Worth-Nelson, Contributor, is primarily a poet and essayist, although she did wrestle out one novel, Night Blind, based on a real story from her two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga. She loves the Flint River and prefers to call it by its Ojibwa name, Pewonigowink. Unlike almost everybody else, she thinks the river water tastes pretty good. She writes a monthly column for East Village Magazine, and has been published several dozen times in newspapers, literary magazines and anthologies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Mark’s Hat was funded via Kickstarter and would not be possible if not for the generosity of our backers:
Arlow Xan, Roger Beckett, Robert Burack, John Cherry, Helen Colby, Josephine Cuyugan, Doodle Tribe, Paul Lathrop, Christian Pavkovich, Thomas Spademan, and Gordon Young.