Billy Tooma (b. 1984) was raised in northern New Jersey. After graduating from North Arlington High School, he attended William Paterson University, earning a BA in English Literature & Secondary Education. Two years later, Tooma would complete his MA, at the same institution, in English Writing. His thesis would become his first book, "The Great Obesity Crisis & Other Poems." The followup was the short story collection, "Shin's Shadow & Other Stories."In addition to his writing career, Tooma is also an independent filmmaker, earning an award nomination for his first documentary, "Fly First & Fight Afterward: The Life of Col. Clarence D. Chamberlin." As of early 2014, Tooma is in production on his second documentary, "Poetry of Witness," based off the work of Carolyn Forché (who is also featured in the project).His first novel, "A Seemingly Unstoppable Dawn," is the culmination of over four years of writing, on and off, based off of a short piece that saw its inception in 2008, during Tooma's first semester in graduate school.He lists Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, and Michael Chabon as three of his literary idols. Currently, Tooma is an Instructor of English Literature & Writing at Essex County College, and a doctoral candidate at Drew University.