Rusty Barnes grew up in rural northern Appalachia, where most of his work takes place. He received his B.A. from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and his M.F.A. from Emerson College. His fiction, poetry and non-fiction have appeared in over two hundred journals and anthologies. After editing fiction for the Beacon Street Review (now Redivider) and Zoetrope All-Story Extra, he co-founded Night Train. He’s published two collections of fiction and three collections of poems. His latest book is Reckoning, a novel published by Sunnyoutside Press in March 2014.
He is a nationally recognized and oft-solicited authority on flash fiction under all its various names and permutations, and serves on writing conference faculties and panels throughout the country, including recently with Associated Writing Programs, Somerville News Writers Festival, [email protected], The Parlor, and Grub Street Writers. He taught composition, fiction writing, and literature for over ten years at New England universities such as Emerson College and Northeastern University. His stories have been translated into Finnish, French, Polish, and Russian. He lives with his wife, poet Heather Sullivan, and his outstanding family in Revere, MA, a stone’s throw from the ocean.