At NAR, we have pride in our work. With the generous support of the University of Northern Iowa, North American Review provides practical experience for learners interested in independent literary publishing. We are uniquely situated to provide genuine production experience with a magazine that is read and shared globally. We are committed to the education and further development of the literary publishing community within the state of Iowa. This means teaching the concepts, skills, and ethics of independent literary publishing to ensure a multitude of voices can be heard in a world of ever-growing media entities.
The Editors of North American Review
GARY KELLEY has studied painting and design at the University of Northern Iowa earning him a BA in art. His early career focused on graphic design and art direction until the late 1970s, when his painting and design experiences merged into a career as an illustrator. As an illustrator, his awards include 28 gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York; also Best-In-Show recognition in New York and Los Angeles Illustrators’ Exhibitions. Gary has created a number of murals for Barnes and Noble bookstores across the country and a massive exterior mural for the Google Data Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was inducted into the Society of Illustrators (NY) Hall of Fame in 2007.
RACHEL MORGAN is an instructor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. She is the author of the chapbook Honey & Blood, Blood & Honey. Her work is included in the anthology Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in American and has appeared in the Journal of American Medical Association, Boulevard, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere.
J. D. SCHRAFFENBERGER is a professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of two books of poems, Saint Joe's Passion and The Waxen Poor, and co-author with Martín Espada and Lauren Schmidt of The Necessary Poetics of Atheism. His other work has appeared in Best of Brevity, Best Creative Nonfiction, Notre Dame Review, Poetry East, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere.
EMILY STOWE is a visual artist and writer who earned her BA in Studio Art: Printmaking from the University of Northern Iowa. She serves as the Managing Editor and Visual Art Editor for the North American Review. She is also the Founding Editor and publisher of the online Mag Pie magazine. Before coming to the NAR, Emily was a secretary at the University of Northern Iowa for 10 years, and very active with local and national volunteer work with the AFSCME labor union. She lives in Waterloo, Iowa with her husband, Kent, and two cats, Willow and Oz.
SETH THILL is a poet from Dubuque, Iowa and an Assistant Editor of the NAR. He has published one chapbook, Cover, Recover, and has had work appear in Indiana Review, Pidgeonholes, Plainsongs, and elsewhere. He lives in Eastern Iowa with his fiancé, dog, and two guinea pigs. He is a root beer connoisseur who shoots roughly 75% from the free throw line.
GRANT TRACEY, author of three novels in the Hayden Fuller Mysteries; the chapbook Winsome featuring cab driver Eddie Sands; and the story collection Final Stanzas, is fiction editor of the North American Review and an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches film, modern drama, and creative writing. Nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize, he has published nearly fifty short stories and three previous collections. He has acted in over forty community theater productions and has published critical work on Samuel Fuller and James Cagney. He lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
JAKE VOLK is the first North American Review Fellow and Assistant Editor, focusing on publishing content for Open Space. He is a former Editor-in-Chief of The Flyer Newspaper, and a former high school special education teacher. Jake's work has appeared in The Flyer Newspaper and Windows Fine Arts Magazine. He is working toward his MA in English. Jake lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa with his partner and their cats: Gaia, Orpheus, and Stella.