James Van Pelt teaches high school English in western Colorado. He has been publishing fiction since 1990, with numerous appearances in most of the major science fiction and fantasy magazines, including , Talebones, Realms of Fantasy, Analog, Asimov's, Weird Tales, SCIFI.COM, and many anthologies, including several "year's best" collections. His first collection of stories, Strangers and Beggars was released in 2002, and was recognized as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. His second collection, The Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories, which includes the Nebula finalist title story, was released in August 2005 and was a finalist for the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award. His novel, Summer of the Apocalypse was released November, 2006. The Radio Magician and Other Stories appeared in September of 2009 and received the Colorado Book Award in 2010. His newest collection, Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille, appeared in November, 2012.