Who We Are

Who We Are

Executive Editors

DM Hoffman (he/they)
David’s first horror stories were read to him as lullabies.

From those early days with Edward Gorey, discovering Poppy Z. Brite and Anne Rice’s works in grade school, and exploring the classic works of Shelley, Poe, and Lovecraft, David has indulged in the odd for as long as he can remember.

His own works have been featured in multiple micro-fiction and poetry anthologies, soundtrack compilations (as a singer/songwriter), and chapbooks.

David holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program.

    Emily Young (she/her)
    Emily Young is a big fan of dystopian stories.

    Her favorite dystopian novels include The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Feed by M.T. Anderson, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

    Emily holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program and attended the Tin House Young Adult Fiction Workshop in Spring 2021. When she’s not writing, she works as a freelance fiction editor with Angelella Editorial and tries to teach her dog, Fury Rose, the names of her toys.

    Emily is represented by Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. Her debut YA novel, A (Dead) Thing Like Me, comes out summer 2026 with Holiday House.

      Submission Readers

      Aileen Johnson (she/her)
      Aileen loves goosebump-inducing fiction and film. She especially enjoys stories that marry themes of power & privilege, race, gender, sexual identity, and xenophobia with haunting and weird elements. She’s a huge fan of filmmaker Jordan Peele, and writers Helen Oyeyemi and Jewel Gomez.

      Aileen holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program. Aileen also has a JD from GW Law School. She is currently an acquisitions reader for a literary agency.

      When Aileen is not working, writing, or cheering on fellow writers, she enjoys hanging out with her wife and son and exploring the great outdoors with their spoiled Pit Bull/Boxer mix named Wink, who sleeps as much as possible and snores very loud.

        Kyle McHugh (he/they)

        Kyle McHugh is a trans author, artist, and educator.

        His writing focus is on poetry, flash fiction, verse novels, and young adult fiction.

        Kyle holds a Master’s degree in Secondary Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in English. His original flash fiction has been featured in the Hundred Word Horror series of anthologies from Ghost Orchid Press.

        Kyle has been an avid reader since childhood, and enjoys scary stories that expose the anxieties of being stuck in our mortal bodies and situations.

        Kyle lives in Albany, New York, with his wife and their two sons.

          Neidy McHugh (she/her)
          When it comes to literature, Neidy McHugh believes the weirder the better.

          She’s a fan of works that purposefully cross genres and experiment with form. In her own writing, she enjoys crafting characters who create chaos from order or order from chaos.

          Neidy holds both her BA and Master’s degrees in English and works in higher education administration for the state of New York.

            Marianne Murphy (she/her)
            Marianne can’t get enough of all things surreal, uncanny, and out-of-this-world. While earning her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and BFA in Animation, she specialized in short-form horror and experimental media. Her work has been included in publications such as CICADA, LADYBUG, SPIDER, and Highlights for Kids Magazine.

            Marianne has taught writing and art workshops for over a decade, and currently develops content and UI/UX for educational software. She lives in Philadelphia with several fake plants and two mysterious cats.

            You can find Marianne @flamingoboots on Instagram.

            Alexis Powell (she/her)
            Alexis loves all things vampiric and unusual. At four years old, Alexis’s first crush was Rudolph Sackville-Bagg, and she hasn’t stopped wanting to be a creature of the night since then. Darren Shan (whose novels also shaped a worrying amount of her personality), Clive Barker, Anne Rice, and Stephen Graham Jones are some of her favorite horror writers. She enjoys horror that makes her skin crawl but also acts as catharsis for everyday struggles.

            She currently attends VCFA, where she will receive her MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults, and works as a bookseller in the world’s greatest bookshop. When she isn’t reading or writing, you can find her cooing at her adorable pet snake, drawing, or playing the guitar.

            Tom Shimmield (he/him)
            Tom Shimmield’s love of horror started young with books like Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and continues to this day through his love of classics such as Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and of course: everything Stephen King. Tom enjoys atmospheric, character-driven and suspenseful stories that can tug at your heartstrings while also leaving you speechlessly afraid. Everything from psychological horror to ghost stories and monsters, it’s all right up his alley.

            Tom holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Writing from Champlain College, with a specialization in editing and publishing. When he isn’t reading or writing, he’s working as a freelance editor for Angelella Editorial, or probably picking out the next good read.

              Harper Stuart Villani (they/them)
              Harper’s interests in horror and dystopian fiction deepen daily.

              Some of their favorite past reads include Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

              Harper attends VCFA and is working toward their MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. They are slated to graduate in Summer of 2023. When they’re not reading and writing, they’re tutoring kids or spending time with their polycule and six pets.

                Jay Whistler (she/her)
                Jay holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults and an MA in technical writing. She has worked as a professional writer for over thirty years, was a university writing instructor for over 16 years, and served as an editor for a literary journal.

                She is currently an acquisitions reader for a literary agency and a freelance editor with Angelella Editorial.

                Her first MG nonfiction title, THE GHOSTLY TALES OF SAN ANTONIO, debuted in August 2021.

                She also grew up in a haunted house and comes from a family of psychics.